The Saxon Line.
CERDIC, the Saxon, crowned at Winchester in 532, as third monarch of the Englishmen, is styled by Gibbon “one of the bravest of the children of Woden.” He was father of the renowned CENRIC, from whom derived in direct descent, EGBERT, who, previously to his advent to the throne, held a command in the army of Charlemagne. In 800, at the decease of King Brithric, Egbert was called by the voice of his country men to assume the government of Wessex, and he subsequently succeeded in reducing all the kingdoms of the heptarchy under his sway. His reign, a long and a glorious one, is memorable for the great victories he achieved over the Danes. Egbert d. in 836, leaving by Redburga, his wife, two sons and one dau., viz. ETHELWULF, his successor. Athelstan, who had Kent and Essex. Editha, Abbess of Pellesworth, in Warwickshire. The eldest son, ETHELWULF, succeeded his father in the throne of Wessex, and though fitter to wear the cowl than wield the sceptre, evinced much courage and activity when the moment of action called his energies out. In his time the Danes renewed their incursions, but suffered defeat and great slaughter, and at length disheartened by their loses, retired from the shores of Britain. Ethelwulf, d. in 858, and was buried at Winchester, leaving by Osburgha, his first wife, dau. of Oslac, the Thane, Grand Butler of England, i. ETHELBALD, King of Wessex, who m. his father’s widow, Judith, dau. of Charles the Bald, King of France, but the union scandalizing the people, Ethelbald consented to a separation. He d. in 860. ii. ETHELBERT, King of Wessex, d. in 866, and was buried at Sherborne. iii. ETHELRED, King of Wessex, whose reign was disturbed by the invasions of the Danes, in a conflict with whom at Basing, he received a death wound, in 871. His son Ethelwald, who opposed the right of his cousin, Edward the Elder to the throne, was slain in battle, in 905. iv, ALFRED, of whom presently. i. Elswitha, who m. Burrhed, King of Mercia, and d. a Nun, in 889. The youngest son, ALFRED, surnamed the Great, the guardian arid benefactor of his country, was born at Wantage, in 849, and by his ever memorable achievements as a warrior, patriot, and legislator, proved the brightest ornament of the race of CERDIC. This illustrious monarch, who ascended the throne at the death of his brother ETHELRED, rescued his country from slavery, enacted admirable laws, restored learning, and laid the foundation of the English constitution. The general historian dwells with delight on his reign, as the fairest page in the worlds annals, and all writers combine, in awarding to Alfred every great and good quality that could dignify or adorn a prince. The classical Keightley compares him to Marcus Aurelius, Mirabeau esteems Charlemagne inferior, and Voltaire maintains that there never existed on the earth a man more worthy of posterity’s respect. According to Matthew of Westminster, and Ingulphus, Alfred died in 900, but Robert of Gloucester fixes the date a year earlier. The will of Alfred is deserving of notice, from the interesting information it affords as to the transmission of property among the Saxons. A Latin but very faulty translation is given in Wise’s Asser, p. 74. A more accurate version has been made by Manning, from the original in the Register of Nowminster, and is deposited in the library of Mr. Astle. By Elswitba, his wife, dau. of Ethelred the Great, Ealdorman of Mercia, Alfred left two surviving sons, and three daughters, viz.: I. EDWARD, his successor. ii. Ethelwald. 6. in 880, who received from his father a learned education, and d. in 922. His sons, were Turketel, Chancellor to King Edred, and Abbot of Croyland, d. in 975, and Ethelwin and Edwin, who both perished at the celebrated battle of Brunanburg. i, Ethelfleda, m. to Ethelred, Duke of Mercia. This princess, whose masculine virtues and martial exploits, are celebrated in the highest strains of panegyric by our ancient historians, administered the government of Mercia, after the death of her husband, with great ability, and cordially supported her brother Edward, in his operations against the common enemy, the Dane. “The Lady of Mercia,” as this illustrious princess was called, d. in 920, leaving an only child, ELFWINA, who was dispossessed of her territories, and sent an honourable captive into Wessex, by her uncle, Edward. She m. a West Saxon nobleman. ii. Ethelgiva, Abbess of Shaftesbury. iii. Alfritha, to whose accomplishments and estimable qualities, Asser bears honourable testimony. Alfred bequeathed to her a hundred pounds and three manors. This princess m. Baldwin II., Count of Flanders, and was great-great-great-grandmother of BALDWIN V., Count of Flanders, whose dau. MATILDA, was consort of WILLIAM the CONQUEROR. The elder son and successor of Alfred the Great was, EDWARD, surnamed the ELDER, whose right to the throne was opposed by his cousin Ethelwald, who claimed as representative of Ethelred, the brother of the late monarch. Edward, who, aided by his heroic sister, the Lady of Mercia, defeated the Danes, and acquired more real power than had ever been possessed by his predecessors, d. in 925, having been thrice married. His first wife was the dau. of a neatherd, and was called Egwina. Of her, Malmesbury, on the faith of an ancient ballad, gives a romantic narrative. Her superior beauty, even in childhood, had attracted admiration: and a fortunate dream was said to portend that she would prove the mother of a powerful monarch. This report excited the curiosity of the lady who had nursed the children of Alfred, She took Egwina to her house, and educated her as one of her own family. When the etheling Edward casually visited his former nurse, he saw the daughter of the neatherd, and was captivated with her beauty. A son, Athelstan, and a daughter, Editha, were the fruit of their mutual affection. From this very doubtful story, it has been inferred that these children were illegitimate; but the force of the inference is weakened by the testimony of a contemporary poetess, who, in mentioning the birth of Athelstan, alludes to the inferior descent of his mother, but at the same time calls her the partner of Edward’s throne.* The son, Athelstan, succeeded to the crown at the decease of his father: the dau. Editha, m. Sightric, Danish Duke of Northumbria, and had two sons, Godfrid, and Anlaff. Edward the Elder’s second wife, was Elfreda, dau. of Earl Ethelheim, and by her he had EDWARD, who d.v.p. EDWIN, who perished at sea. The traditionary ballads, consulted by Malmesbury, attribute his death to the jealousy of the king, but Athelstan appears rather to have deplored his death as a calamity, than to have regretted it as a crime. Elsfeda, Abbess of Ramsay. Egvina, who m. first, Charles the Simple, King of France, and was by him mother of a son Louis, and a dau. Giselle, first wife of the Norman Rollo. Egvina m. secondly, the Count of Meaux, son of Herbert, Count of Vermandois. Ethelheld, a Nun at Wilton. Ethelda, in. to Hugh the Great, Count of Paris. Editha, who wedded the Emperor Otto I. Egiva, m. to a prince whose name is not recorded, but whose dominions lay among the Alps. Edburga, a Nun at Winchester. Elgiva, m. to Louis, Prince of Aquitaine. Edward the Elder’s third wife, was Edgiva, dau. of the Earl Sigelline, Lord of Meapham, Culings, and Lenham, in Kent, and the issue of this marriage were three sons: EDMUND, who succeeded his brother Athelstan. EDRED, successor to Edmund. Elfred, who was the especial favourite of his father, by whom he was made co-partner in the kingdom. He d. young, and was buried at Winchester. Edward d. in 925, and was succeeded by his eldest son, ATHELSTAN, first monarch of England, then about thirty years of age. This renowned prince, who, by the splendid victory of Brunanburgh, crushed his enemies, and achieved the sovereignty of the whole island, had the glory of establishing what has ever since been called the kingdom of England. He d. in 941, and was succeeded by his brother, EDMUND the Elder, who was crowned at Kingston; but his reign, a vigorous one, endured only six years. In 946, at a banquet given in celebration of the feast of St. Augustine, he was stabbed by a noted outlaw, Leolf. Edmund had married Elgiva, a princess of exemplary piety, and left two sons, EDWY and EDGAR, of whom presently, as kings of England. At the decease of Edmund, the childhood of his sons rendered them incapable of directing the government, and in an assembly of the prelates, thanes, and vassal princes, their uncle EDRED, was chosen king, and rendered his reign remarkable, for the final subjugation of Northumbria. He d. iii 955, and was buried at Winchester. His nephew and successor, EDWY the Fair, ascended the throne by the unanimous voice of the witan. This prince, who by his tyrannical proceedings, the immorality of his private life, his connexion with Elgiva, and the hostility he bore to the famous St. Dunstan, abbot of Glastonbury, alienated the affections of his subjects, d. in 959, and was succeeded by his brother EDGAR the Peaceful, one of the most distinguished monarchs in the early annals of England, and perhaps, the most powerful. The Saxon Chronicles relate, that in 973, he received at Chester, the homage of eight princes: Kenneth, of Scotland ; Malcolm, of Cumberland; Mac Orric, of Anglesey, and the Isles; Iukil, of Westmoreland; Jago, of Galloway; and Howel, Dyfuwal, and Griffith of Wales; and they farther narrate how the ceremony was opened by a splendid procession by water on the Dee, wherein the royal barge was rowed by the vassal kings. Edgar m. first, Elfleda, dau. of Ordmer, a nobleman of East Anglia, by whom he had a son EDWARD, his successor; and secondly, Elfrida, the beautiful dau. of Ordgar, Earl of Devon, by whom he had another son, ETHELRED. This great and good king, d. in 975. His eldest son, EDWARD the Martyr, whose virtues promised a prosperous reign, fell a victim to the ambition of his step-mother, Elfrida, who caused him to be stabbed by an assassin, when in the act of drinking a cup of mead at her door. This sad event occurred in 978, and the prelates and thanes, in the absence of any other claimants, were compelled to bestow the crown on the son of the murderess, ETHELRED II., surnamed the Unready, whose coronation was per formed at Kingston, on the 14th April. This monarch, who possessed neither the spirit nor the ability of his predecessors, endeavoured by large sums of money to purchase the departure of the Danes. This expedient only increased the depredations of that marauding people, and in 1013, unable to resist their continued hostility, Ethelred fled to Normandy. He returned, however, shortly after, and d. in 1016. He m. 1st, in 984, Elgiva, dau. of Thored, an English Earl, and by her (who d. in 1003), was father with other issue, of EDMUND, his heir, and Edwy, slain by the orders of Canute. Ethelred m. 2ndly, in 1003, Emma, called for her beauty, “the Pearl of Normandy,” dau. of Richard I., Duke of that province, and by her (who wedded 2ndly, King Canute), had two Sons: Alfred, slain by Earl Godwin. EDWARD, who ascended the throne at the death of Hardy Canute, in 1041, and is known in history as "the Confessor" This prince, educated at the Court of his kinsman, the Duke of Normandy, imbibed a strong regard for that country, and thus, by the encouragement he extended to the Normans, prepared the kingdom for the advent of those enterprising soldiers. He m. Editha, the lovely daughter of Earl Godwin, and sister of Harold II. King of England, but d. without issue, 5 Jan. 1066, being the last Saxon King of the ancient blood royal of Cerdic. At his demise, the crown was usurped by his brother-in .law Harold, who fell at the battle of Hastings, the 14th of the October following; when WILLIAM OF NORMANDY, by right of conquest, ascended the throne. Ethelred's eldest son, EDMUND II., called "Ironside," from his hardy valour, made a bold and successful effort to sustain the falling fortunes of his House, but his reign endured for too brief a period. In 1017, he was murdered at the instigation of his brother-in-law Edric, styled by Speed, “a very compound of treasons.” Edmund Ironside m. Algita, widow of Segeferth, a Danish Thane, and left two sons, EDWIN or EDMUND, who ‘with his brother, fled from England, and was protected and educated by Solomon, King of Hungary. He subsequently married that monarch’s daughter Agatha, but died s.p. EDWARD, surnamed "the Outlaw," who resided at the Court of Hungary, until recalled by the Confessor to his native country. He survived his coming but one month, and d. at London in 1057, leaving by Agatha, his wife, dau, of Henry II., Emperor of Germany, one son and two daughters, EDGAR ATHELING, who m. Margaret, sister of Malcolm III., King of Scotland, but died s.p. CHRISTIANA, a Nun. MARGARET, who m. Malcolm III., King of Scotland, and d. in 1093, leaving with other issue (for which see Royal Descent of Scotland), a son and two daughters, viz.: DAVID, King of Scotland. MATILDA, Queen of HENRY I., King of England. MARY, who m. Eustace, Earl of Boulogne, and was mother of Matilda, consort of Stephen, King of England. Of Margaret, Queen of Scotland, the heiress of our Saxon Royal Line, Sir Walter Scott gives the following description. "She did all in her power, and influenced as far as possible the mind of her husband to relieve the distresses of her Saxon countrymen, of high or low degree, assuaged their afflictions, and was zealous in protecting those who had been involved in the ruin which the battle of Hastings brought on the Royal House of Edward the Confessor. The gentleness and mildness of temper proper to this amiable woman, probably also the experience of her prudence and good sense, bad great weight with Malcolm, who, though preserving a portion of the ire and ferocity belonging to the king of a wild people, was far from being insensible to the suggestions of his amiable consort. He stooped his mind to hers on religious matters, adorned her favourite books of devotion with rich bindings, and was often seen to kiss and pay respect to the volumes which he was unable to read."