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Edward the Confessor (; (ラテン語:Eduardus Confessor)) (between 1003 and 1005 – 5 January 1066) was among the last Anglo-Saxon kings of England, and usually considered the last king of the House of Wessex, ruling from 1042 to 1066. The son of Æthelred the Unready and Emma of Normandy, Edward succeeded Cnut the Great's son - and his half brother - Harthacnut, restoring the rule of the House of Wessex after the period of Danish rule since Cnut conquered England in 1016. When Edward died in 1066, he was succeeded by Harold Godwinson, who was defeated and killed in the same year by the Normans under William the Conqueror at the Battle of Hastings. Edgar the Ætheling, who was of the House of Wessex, was proclaimed king after the Battle of Hastings in 1066, but never ruled and was deposed after about eight weeks. As discussed below, historians disagree about Edward's fairly long (24 year) reign. His nickname reflects the traditional image of him as unworldly and pious. Confessor reflects his reputation as a saint who did not suffer martyrdom, as opposed to King Edward the Martyr. Some portray this king's reign as leading to the disintegration of royal power in England and the advance in power of the House of Godwin, because of the infighting after his heirless death. Biographers Frank Barlow and Peter Rex instead portray Edward as a successful king, who was energetic, resourceful and sometimes ruthless, arguing that the Norman conquest shortly after his death tarnished his image.〔〔Rex, Peter (2008). ''King and Saint: The Life of Edward the Confessor'', The History Press, p. 224.〕 However, Richard Mortimer argues that the return of the Godwins from exile in 1052 "meant the effective end of his exercise of power", citing Edward's reduced activity as implying a withdrawal from affairs".〔Mortimer, ''Edward the Confessor'', p. 29.〕 About a century later, in 1161, Pope Alexander III canonised the late king. Saint Edward was one of England's national saints until King Edward III adopted Saint George as the national patron saint c. 1350. His feast day is 13 October, celebrated by both the Church of England and the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales. ==Early years and exile== Edward was the seventh son of Æthelred the Unready, and the first by his second wife, Emma of Normandy. Edward was born between 1003 and 1005 in Islip, Oxfordshire,〔 and is first recorded as a 'witness' to two charters in 1005. He had one full brother, Alfred, and a sister, Godgifu. In charters he was always listed behind his older half-brothers, showing that he ranked behind them.〔Simon Keynes, 'Edward the Ætheling', in Mortimer ed., ''Edward the Confessor'', p. 49.〕 During his childhood England was the target of Viking raids and invasions under Sweyn Forkbeard and his son, Cnut. Following Sweyn's seizure of the throne in 1013, Emma fled to Normandy, followed by Edward and Alfred, and then by Æthelred. Sweyn died in February 1014, and leading Englishmen invited Æthelred back on condition that he promised to rule 'more justly' than before. Æthelred agreed, sending Edward back with his ambassadors.〔Rex, pp. 13, 19〕 Æthelred died in April 1016, and he was succeeded by Edward's older half brother Edmund Ironside, who carried on the fight against Sweyn's son, Cnut. According to Scandinavian tradition, Edward fought alongside Edmund; as Edward was at most thirteen years old at the time, the story is disputed.〔Keynes, op. cit., p. 56 n.〕 Edmund died in November 1016, and Cnut became undisputed king. Edward then again went into exile with his brother and sister; his mother had no taste for the sidelines, and in 1017 she married Cnut.〔 In the same year Cnut had Edward's last surviving elder half-brother, Eadwig, executed, leaving Edward as the leading Anglo-Saxon claimant to the throne. Edward spent a quarter of a century in exile, probably mainly in Normandy, although there is no evidence of his location until the early 1030s. He probably received support from his sister Godgifu, who married Drogo of Mantes, count of Vexin in about 1024. In the early 1030s Edward witnessed four charters in Normandy, signing two of them as king of England. According to the Norman chronicler, William of Jumièges, Robert I, Duke of Normandy attempted an invasion of England to place Edward on the throne in about 1034, but it was blown off course to Jersey. He also received support for his claim to the throne from a number of continental abbots, particularly Robert, abbot of the Norman abbey of Jumièges, who was later to become Edward's Archbishop of Canterbury.〔Elisabeth van Houts, 'Edward and Normandy', in Mortimer ed., pp. 63–75.〕 Edward was said to have developed an intense personal piety during this period, but modern historians regard this as a product of the later medieval campaign for his canonisation. In Frank Barlow's view "in his lifestyle would seem to have been that of a typical member of the rustic nobility". He appeared to have a slim prospect of acceding to the English throne during this period, and his ambitious mother was more interested in supporting Harthacnut, her son by Cnut.〔〔Rex, p. 28〕 Cnut died in 1035, and Harthacnut succeeded him as king of Denmark. It is unclear whether he was intended to have England as well, but he was too much occupied in defending his position in Denmark to come to England to make good any claim. It was therefore decided that his elder half-brother, Harold Harefoot should act as regent, while Emma held Wessex on Harthacnut's behalf.〔Lawson, M. K. ("Harthcnut" ) ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', 2004.〕 In 1036 Edward and his brother Alfred separately came to England. Emma later claimed that they came in response to a letter inviting them to visit her that was forged by Harold, but historians believe that she probably did invite them in an effort to counter Harold's growing popularity.〔〔Rex, pp. 34–35〕 Alfred was captured by Godwin, Earl of Wessex who turned him over to Harold Harefoot. He had Alfred blinded by forcing red-hot pokers into his eyes to make him unsuitable for kingship, and Alfred died soon after as a result of his wounds. The murder is thought to be the source of much of Edward's later hatred for the Earl and one of the primary reasons for Godwin's banishment in autumn 1051.〔 Edward is said to have fought a successful skirmish near Southampton, and then retreated back to Normandy.〔Barlow, op. cit., pp. 44–45〕 He thus showed his prudence, but he had some reputation as a soldier in Normandy and Scandinavia.〔Rex, p. 33〕 In 1037 Harold was accepted as king, and the following year he expelled Emma, who retreated to Bruges. She then summoned Edward and demanded his help for Harthacnut, but he refused as he had no resources to launch an invasion, and disclaimed any interest for himself in the throne.〔〔 Harthacnut, his position in Denmark now secure, did plan an invasion, but Harold died in 1040, and Harthacnut was able to cross unopposed with his mother to take the English throne. In 1041, Harthacnut invited Edward back to England, probably as heir because he knew he had not long to live.〔 The 12th century Quadripartitus, in an account regarded as convincing by historian John Maddicott, states that he was recalled by the intervention of Bishop Ælfwine of Winchester and Earl Godwin. Edward met "the thegns of all England" at Hursteshever, probably Hurst Head, a shingle spit opposite the Isle of Wight which was the site of the later Hurst Castle. There he was received as king in return for his oath that he would continue the laws of Cnut.〔Maddicott, pp. 650–666〕 According to the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' Edward was sworn in as king alongside Harthacnut, but a diploma issued by Harthacnut in 1042 describes him as the king's brother.〔Mortimer, p. 7, Stephen Baxter, 'Edward the Confessor and the Succession Question'', p. 101, in Mortimer ed., ''Edward the Confessor''〕 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 Confessor」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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