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Edward the Elder (Old English: '; c. 874–877 – 17 July 924) was an English king. He became king in 899 upon the death of his father, Alfred the Great. His court was at Winchester, previously the capital of Wessex. He captured the eastern Midlands and East Anglia from the Danes in 917 and became ruler of Mercia in 918 upon the death of Æthelflæd, his sister. All but two of his charters give his title as "''Anglorum Saxonum rex''" or "king of the Anglo-Saxons".〔Simon Keynes; Higham (2001), p. 57.〕 He was the second king of the Anglo-Saxons as this title was created by Alfred.〔 Edward's coinage reads "EADVVEARD REX."〔Higham (2001), p. 67〕 The chroniclers record that all England "accepted Edward as lord" in 920.〔Higham (2001), p. 206〕 But the fact that York continued to produce its own coinage suggests that Edward's authority was not accepted in Viking-ruled Northumbria.〔Higham (2001), pp. 73, 206.〕 Edward's eponym "the Elder" was first used in Wulfstan's ''Life of St Æthelwold'' (c. 996) to distinguish him from the later King Edward the Martyr. ==Ætheling== Edward was the second surviving child and elder son born to Alfred the Great and his Mercian queen, Ealhswith. Edward's birth cannot be dated with certainty. His parents married in 868 and his elder sister Æthelflæd was born soon afterwards as she was herself married in 883. Edward was probably born rather later, in the 870s, and probably between 874 and 877.〔Oxford Dictionary of National Biography; Yorke.〕 The chronicle of Peter of Langtoft (died c.1308, and hence writing several centuries later) called him, "()ery strong and handsome, and of great intelligence." Asser's ''Life of King Alfred'' reports that Edward was educated at court together with his youngest sister Ælfthryth. His second sister, Æthelgifu, was intended for a life in religion from an early age (it was customary during much of the Middle Ages for noble families to "give" one child to the Church) and was later abbess of Shaftesbury. The youngest sibling, Æthelweard, was educated at a court school where he learned Latin, which suggests that he too was intended for a religious life. Edward and Ælfthryth, however, while they learned the English of the day, received a courtly education, and Asser refers to their taking part in the "pursuits of this present life which are appropriate to the nobility".〔Oxford Dictionary of National Biography; Yorke; Asser, c. 75.〕 The first appearance of Edward in the sources is in 892, in a charter granting land at North Newnton, near Pewsey in Wiltshire, to ealdorman Æthelhelm, where he is called ''filius regis'', the king's son.〔Oxford Dictionary of National Biography; PASE; S 348; Yorke.〕 Although he was the reigning king's elder son, Edward was not certain to succeed his father. Until the 890s, the obvious heirs to the throne were Edward's cousins Æthelwold and Æthelhelm, sons of Æthelred, Alfred's older brother and predecessor as king. Æthelwold and Æthelhelm were around ten years older than Edward. Æthelhelm disappears from view in the 890s, seemingly dead, but a charter probably from that decade shows Æthelwold witnessing before Edward, and the order of witnesses is generally believed to relate to their status.〔Oxford Dictionary of National Biography; S 356; Yorke.〕 As well as his greater age and experience, Æthelwold may have had another advantage over Edward where the succession was concerned. While Alfred's wife Ealhswith is never described as queen and was never crowned, Æthelwold and Æthelhelm's mother Wulfthryth was called queen.〔Asser, c. 13; S 340; Yorke. Check Stafford, "King's wife".〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Edward the Elder」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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