St. Edward of England, King and Confessor (~1004-1066)
King St. Edward was the best loved of all the English kings. He was a tall, well-built man, but he was never too healthy. Nevertheless he was able to rule his country and well and keep peace most of the time because he trusted God and held firm when necessary. He was a gentle, kind man who never spoke excessively, or with an unnecessary harshness, even to the meanest of persons. To poor people and foreigners alike, he showed special charity, and he helped monks in every way he could. It was his justice to everyone and his love for God’s Church that made St. Edward so popular with the English people. They would even cheer him as he rode out hunting, which was his favorite sport. Yet they all knew that even if he was out for days at a time, he would always assist each morning at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.
EARLY LIFE
Edward was born at Oxfordshire as the seventh son of King Æthelred II. His father had first married Elgiva and had six children. When she died, the king married again, this time with Emma of Normandy, who was Edward’s mother. He had two full siblings, Alfred and Godgifu, but in charters he is always listed behind his older half-brothers, showing that he ranked behind them.
During his childhood, England was the target of numerous Danish Viking raids under the leadership of Sweyn Forkbeard and his son, Cnut. In 1013, after a successful invasion, Sweyn seized the English throne and Emma fled to Normandy. Her sons and husband followed soon thereafter. Yet the following year Sweyn died and the English people requested Æthelred return as their king, upon the condition that he rule more justly than before. He only ruled two more years and in 1016 was succeeded by Edmund Ironside, Edward’s older brother and rightful heir. He waged a war against the Danes, now led by Cnut. Cnut emerged victorious in 1017 and after having Edmund killed, became the undisputed king of England. He also had Edward’s other half-brother executed, leaving Edward as the leading Anglo-Saxon claimant to the English throne. Edward was in great danger. Once more he had to flee for his life into Normandy. He lived there in exile many decades. The time that followed was very turbulent for England, as various families vied for the throne.
RISE TO THE THRONE
It was a time of great instability as Normans, Anglo-Saxons, and Danes all fought amongst each other for England. Eventually, on Easter day in 1042 AD, without the loss of one life and with unanimous support of people, nobles, and foreigners alike, Edward was raised to the English throne. The occasion was cause for great joy and should itself be considered quite miraculous, yet Edward had vowed he would prefer to never have the throne if it meant the shedding of blood and God heard this just prayer. True to form, he refused to exact any vengeance, even on those who had murdered members of his family. The happiness of the reign of St. Edward the Confessor is the proof of his virtue and a lasting example for all subsequent Christians of how a good Catholic king ought to live and rule. He ushered a glorious age for England that still evokes nostalgia in English Catholics. Monasteries flourished in his reign and abject poverty was non-existent.
SAINTLY VIRTUE
The great virtue of St. Edward is alone sufficient to have had him raised to the altars of the Church. He always shunned vanity, pleasure and pride, fortifying his will against these deadly poisons that so flooded the courts in which he lived. From his infancy, he fostered the opposite virtues of prayer, mortification, and humility. He delighted in prayer, assisted at Mass daily, visited churches and monasteries, and sought to converse with the most holy and learned among the churchmen of his day. He was modest in his action and sparing in his words, knowing full well how much evil flows from unrestrained tongues. Instead he preferred to maintain himself in a recollected spirit, resisting the snares and dangers of forwardness in speech. His mildness and sweetness of temper were however his most noted virtues. These flowed from a profound humility and universal charity. Ambition could find no place in his heart, which had been crucified to the world and the false interests of passion. A few stories from his life will hopefully help foster in us a devotion to him.
St. Edward was full of mercy and forgiveness. Once he awoke and saw a young page stealing from the gold coins on his desk. He remained silent. He awoke and caught the page stealing again! This then occurred a third time. That time the King did speak, telling the page to hurry away quickly for the king's steward was coming and would surely punish him, perhaps even execute him. The page fled with his loot. When the steward found the missing money, he was furious and sought the culprit. Yet Edward the Confessor calmed him down, explaining that the one who took it needed it more than they did. He assured his steward that the page had been sufficiently reprimanded, knowing his life has been spared, and would amend his ways. He was willing pardon this, which after all had only been an offense against his person and not the commonwealth.
During King Edward's life, England was at peace. He was always able to negotiate the necessary cessation of hostilities among warring factions (including the Danes), chiefly on account of the great reverence in which they all held him. The only war he ever undertook was to restore Malcolm, the rightful King of Scotland. Following a night of prayer, fasting, and penance, Edward won a glorious victory upon the battlefield and the resulting devastation was minimal. The populace acknowledged that it was the mighty hand of God which had wrought this triumph through King Edward. Earl Godwin of the Normans also caused trouble for Edward at court, yet he married his daughter and thus assured peace.
A JOSEPHITE MARRIAGE
Since his youth, Edward held purity in the greatest esteem. He preserved virtue both in mind and body without stain. St. Aëlred tells us that the devil assaulted Edward greatly in his youth, provoking him to lust through many vices in the royal court. Yet through his great humility and mortifications, he emerged triumphant and far stronger from this battle. Privately, Edward consecrated himself to God in a vow of life-long chastity.
However, once he was king, there was a great deal of political pressure for him to marry. Edward recommended the manner to God, joining much fasting and alms deeds to devout prayer and only then disclosed the secret of his heart to the fair-maiden, Edgitha. She was the daughter of the Earl Godwin but completely unlike him. She was not only remarkable for her beauty, but excelled in all the accomplishments of the fairer sex and, more importantly, was filled with virtue and devotion. She happily agreed to join Edward in wedlock and to consecrate herself as well in life-long virginity to God. The two were summarily joined in holy wedlock and lived as brother and sister till death did them part.
A WISE AND PIOUS RULER
Edward cancelled various taxes which had been created by the conquering Danes. Yet he was also so generous with alms, that his treasury was quite empty and he lived in far less opulence than many of his vassals. At that time, taxes were generally only raised for war or situations of emergency. Yet seeing how destitute was their king, the dukes and barons raised a special tax to fill his treasury. This they presented to him on Christmas Day. King Edward was greatly moved and thanked his subjects for their solicitude. However, he perceived this money had been gathered by what he considered an unjust tax and a pillaging of the poor. He insisted that each farthing be returned to the original owner, stating it would be better for him to suffer before his subjects!
Edward’s enemies, led by Earl Godwin, then conceived of a plot against his mother and accused her of both morally scandalous and treasonous actions. In an effort to remain impartial, Edward allowed his mother, the queen, to be tried by a court of bishops and noblemen. The testimony presented was divided and yet it seemed certain that the snares laid for Queen Emma would prove her undoing. King Edward spent the final night of the trial in prayer – not so much that his mother would be “saved” but that God would have the truth prevail. Emma too spent the night in prayer and returned to hear her verdict like Susanna of old. She protested her innocence. Court soldiers then removed her shoes and blindfolded her. Then nine red-hot ploughshares were laid upon the ground in St. Swithin’s Church (where the trial was taking place). She was ordered to walk forward toward the altar rail. As she walked, she asked how far she was through her process of purgation, only to have the blindfold removed and to see what all other marveled at. She had walked upon all the red-hot steel blades without any damage to her feet and without a cry of pain. This miracle convinced all of her innocence. Hd her son was the most contrite. He had all her goods and estates returned. Then he exposed his bare back for two bishops to discipline, in thanksgiving to God and in contrition for his fault of credulity.
The following year a most remarkable event took place. Earl Godwin was at supper with the king at his palace in Winchester. Knowing that many still accused him of the plots against Queen Emma and the death of Alfred (the King’s brother), the Earl wished to vindicate himself before his saintly king. In a rash oath, invoking God, Earl Godwin exclaimed that he wished if he were guilty of such accusations he might never again swallow a morsel of meat. The feast began. The Earl took his first mouthful of meat. He choked upon it and died.
St. Edward also showed his honesty and fidelity by how he kept his word – to God and to men. When he was still living in exile in Normandy, he made a promise to God that if his family would ever experience peace and honor again, he would make a pilgrimage to St. Peter’s tomb in Rome. After he had reigned and established pace throughout, he knew it was time to fulfill his promise. He held a council to inform the nobles of the vow of his youth, yet they pleaded that he not keep this vow. They knew his weak constitution might not survive the harsh journey and they were certain that in his long absence the kingdom would fall back into strife and ruin among all the warring factions - peace was only maintained in deference to his kind and noble leadership. King Edward was troubled. He recognized the prudence of the counsel but knew he was bound to this most solemn vow. He opted to send two bishops as ambassadors to His Holiness, Pope Leo IX. The Pope decreed that King Edward would be exempt from the vow, for the good of his people, but all the money which would have been allotted for the trip should be given to the poor and the King should establish a shrine to St. Peter in England. This King Edward willingly did. He helped found the Cathedral to St. Paul in London and outside the walls to the west of the city founded a monastery in honor of St. Peter. It was said that in the time of the Romans a temple to Apollo had stood there which an earthquake destroyed. King Edward endowed the monastery in a most magnificent manner from his patrimony and obtained from Pope Nicholas II many exemptions and privileges for it in 1059. Since then, this abbey came to be known as Westminster, the richest abbey in England, the site for the crowning of kings, and the burial place for the greatest English.
A MIRACLE WORKER
Once an Irishman named Gillemichel was brought to the king. He was a cripple and covered with running sores. The king carried him upon his back to a pilgrimage site, and when their prayers concluded, the man was instantaneously completely cured!
On another occasion, a woman with a great swelling in her neck full of corruption and exhuming a foul stench, dreamt that she was supposed to present herself to the king. She found him and begged his blessing. He not only prayed for her, but proceeded to wash the putrid wound with his own hands, and then blessed her with the Sign of the Cross. The sore then burst and cleansed itself.
These two were testimonies given by God of his sanctity while he lived. It was posthumously revealed that the king had miraculously healed many others.
DEATH AND CANONIZATION
St. Edward had a great devotion to St. John the Evangelist, the great apostolic model of purity and charity. Because St. Edward had never denied a request made in the name of St. John, the Apostle appeared to him and informed him that his death was fast approaching. The pious king erected monuments to St. Peter and St. John and a monastery dedicated to the angels. Using funds he bequeathed in his will he asked that the Holy Sacrifice might always be offered there in a manner most pleasing to God.
Now very ill, he took himself to bed and by the most perfect exercises of devotion prepared himself for death. He received the sacraments and died, vowing he had left his wife a virgin and telling his tear drenched spouse: “Weep not, my dear daughter, I shall not die, but shall liver. Departing from the land of the dying, I hope to see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living.” After having reigned for twenty-three years, King St. Edward died on 5 Jan 1066.
Since William had no living heirs, the Danes named Harold Godwinson as King of England. He death marked the end of Anglo-Saxon rule in England.
The same year of King Edward's death, William the Conqueror crossed the British Channel with an invasionary force. On 14 Oct 1066 he decisively defeated and killed King Harold at the Battle of Hastings. Thus, the peace of England was once more disrupted and the Norman invasion, held at bay during Edward’s life, would forever alter the history of England.
Forty years after his death, a young Norman named Ralph, who was an entire cripple, was made whole while praying at his tomb. The body of King Edward was found entire, with the limbs flexible and clothes fresh. Six blind men then recovered their sight at his tomb and various other bonafide and attested miracles followed. This led Pope Alexander III to canonize him 1161. During the reign of King Henry II, his incorrupt body was then transferred to Westminster Abbey on 13 Oct 1163. He was named one of the national heroes and, along with St. George, a patron saint of England. Out of respect for his memory, the kings of England would receive his crown and put on his dalmatic and maniple as part of the royal robes. Although the crown has since been changed, it is made in imitation of his and bears his name.
Let us resolve, out of charity and peace, to never say unkind words to anyone. Let us pray that by the grace of God, and the intercession of his holy confessor king, we too, will speak modestly, humbly, kindly and truthfully with all.