Prince Edgar ENGLAND

   Other names for Edgar were ENGLAND Prince, "The Exile", Eadgar and "The Aetheling".

   Ancestral File Number: 9G85-BH.

   General Notes:

"The Aetheling", "The Atheling", Prince of ENGLAND, Heir to King of ENGLAND at Edward the Confessor's Death.

Heir at Edward The Confessor's death KQGB.

BOOKS
Battle 1066, Brigadier C.N.Barclay, D Van Nostrand Co Inc, Princeton, NJ, 1966
p17: ..."The only possible rival was Edward, the son of Edmund Ironside; but this was an illegitimate line, as Ironside was only a natural son of their common father Ethelred. Although illegitimacy was not a fatal bar to succession in those days it did have some bearing on the matter. Moreover the rival Edward was far away in Hungary...
p20: ..."Edgar Atheling, son of Edward Atheling and Agatha (related to Henry II emperor). A minor in 1066, Claim discarded by the Witan in favour of Harold; but chosen king by the Witan on the death of Harold in October 1066."

Kings and Queens of Great Britain, Genealogical Chart, Anne Taute and Romilly Squire, Taute, 1990: "Edgar Atheling Son of Edward The Exile Heir at Edward The Confessor's death, Died c1125."

The Political History of England, Vol II, George Burton Adams Longmans Green and Co, 1905, Ch I, p4:
[1066] "The need of haste seems an element in the situation, and under the combined pressure of the rapid approach of the enemy and of the public opinion of the city-citizens and shipmen are both mentioned- the leaders of Church and State finally came to an agreement that Edgar atheling should be king. It was the only possible step except that of immediate submission. Grandson of Edmund Ironside, the king who had offered stubborn and most skilful resistance to an earlier foreign invader, heir of a house that had been royal since the race had had a history, all men could unite upon him, an upon him alone, if there must be a king.But there was no other argument in his favour. Neither the blood of his grandfather nor the school of adversity had made him the man to deal with such a situation. In later life he impressed people as a well-mannered, agreeable, and frank man,but no one ever detected in him the stuff of which heroes are made. He was never consecrated king, though the act would have strengthened his position, and one wonders if the fact is evidence that the leaders had yielded only to a popular pressure in agreeing upon him against their own preference, or merely of the haste and confusion of events. One act of sovereignty only is attributed to him, the confirmation of Brand, who had been chosen by the monks Abbot of Peterborough, in succession to Leofric, of the house of Edwin and Morcar, who had been present at the battle of Hastings and had died soon after. William interpreted this reference of the election to Edgar for confirmation as an act of hostility to himself, and fined the new abbot heavily, but to us the incident is of value as evidence of the character of the movement, which tried to find a national king in this last male of Cerdic's line."
p6: "...The generally accepted opinion, on the authority ofEnglish chroniclers, is that the embassy from London went to meet William at Berkhampsted, thirty miles away...Wherever the act of submission occurred, it was in form com;lete and final of the city and for the chief men of England. Edgar cameto offer his useless and imperfect crown...and chief men of the state among whom Edwin and Morcar are mentioned by one of the chroniclers who had earlier sent them home to the north. Possibly he is right in both statements, and the earls had returned to make their peace when they saw that resistance was hopeless. These men William received most kingly and with good promises, and Edgar in particular he embraced and treated like a son..."
p31: "...Early in the summer of 1068 thearmy began its march upon York, advancing along a line somewhat to the west of the centre of England, as the situation would naturally demand. As in William's earlier marches, so here again he encountered no resistance. Whatever may have been the extent of the conspiracy or the plans of the leaders, the entire movement collapsed before the Norman's firm dietermination to be master of the kingdom. Edwin and Morcar had collected an army and wre in the field somewhere between Warwick and Northampton, but when the time came when the fight could no longer be postponed, they thought better of it, besought the king's favour again, and obtained at least the show of it...
"The present expedition went no further north, but itsinfluence extended further. Ethelwin, the Bishop of Durham, came in and made his submission. He bore inquires also from Malcolm, the king of Scots, who had been listening to the appeals for aid from the enemies of William, and preparing himselfto advance to their assistance. The Bishop of Durham was sent back to let him know what assurances would be acceptable to William, and he undoubtedly also informed him of the actual state of affairs south of his borders, of the progress whichthe invader had made, and of the hopelessness of resistance. The Normans at any rate believed that as a result of the bishop's mission Malcolmwas gald to send down an embassy of his own which tendered to William an oath of obedience. It is notlikely that William attached much weight to any profession of the Scottish king's. Already, probably as soon as the failure of this northern undertaking was apparent, some of the most prominent of the English, who seem to have taken part in it,had abandoned England and gone to the Scottish court. It is very possible that Edgar and his two sisters, Margaret and Christina, sought the protection of Malcolm at this time...These men had earlier submitted to William...and had been received with favour. Under what circumstances they turned against him we do not know, but they had very likely attracted by the promise of strength in this effort at resistance, and were now less inclined than the unstable Edwin to profess so early a repentance..."
p110: "...In 1097 William had sent Edgar the atheling to Scotland with an army, King Donald had been overthrown, and Edgar's nephew, hemself named Edgar, with the support of the English king, had been made king..."
p144: [1106] "The battle upon which Henry [I] embarked in August ended by the close of September in a success greater than he could have anticipated. He first attacked the castle of Tinchebrai, belonging to William of Mortain, and left a fortified post there to hold it in check. As soon as the king had retired, William came to the relief of his castle, reprovisioned it, and shut up the king's men in their defences. Then Henry advanced in turn with his own forces and his allies, and began a regular siege of the castle...
"The battle was fought on September 28, and it was fiercely fought, the hardest fight and with the largest forces of any in which Normans or Englishmen had been engaged for forty years. The main body ofboth armies fought on foot. The Count of Mortain, in command of Robert's first division, charged Henry's front, but was met with a resistance which he could not overcome. In the midst of this struggle Robert's flank was charged by Henry's mounted allies, under Count Elias of Maine, and his position was cut in two. Robert of Belleme, who commanded the rear division, seeing the battle going against the duke, took to flight and left the rest of the army to its fate. This was apparentlyto surrender in a body. Henry reports the number of common soldiers whom he had taken as ten thousand, too large a figure, no doubt, but implying the capture of Robert's whole force. His prisoners of name comprised all the leaders of his brother's side except Robert of Belleme, including the duke himself, Edgar the English atheling, who was soon released, and William of Mortain. The victory at once made Henry master of Normandy. There could be no further question of this..."

The Oxford Book of Royal Anecdotes, Elizabeth Longford, 1991, Oxford Univ Press, pxviii: "Saxons and Danes Genealogy: Edgar (The Atheling) died 1125.

A History of the English Speaking People Winston S Churchill Vol I The Birth ofBritain Dodd Mead &Co 1956 p133 "House of Wessex...Edgar the Atheling Son of Edward the Exile sister of Margaret Queen of Scots Died 1125..."

The Lives of the Kings and Queens of England, Antonia Fraser, 1975, Alfred Knopf, p25: "Edgar Athling..."

Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1981, Micropaedia, Vol III, p788, Edgar the Aetheling: "(Eadgar) Died Abt 1125, Anglo-Saxon prince, was proposed as king of England after the death of Harold II in the Battle of Hastings (14 Oct 1066), but instead served the firsttwo Norman Kings, William I, Harold's conqueror, and William II. His title of Aetheling (an Anglo-Saxon prince, especially the heir apparent) indicates he was a prince of the royal family; he was a grandson of King Edmund II Ironside."
"After the Norman Conquest, Edgar submitted to William I, although the new king was occupied until 1069 in crushing rebellions in favour of the Aetheling. Edgar lived in Scotland (1068-1072) with his brother-in-law, King Malcolm III Canmore, and then went into exile when William and Malcolm came to terms. In 1074 he submitted to William again, and in 1086 he led a Norman force sent by William to conquer Apulia, in southern Italy.
"Under William II Rufus, Edgar was deprived of his Norman lands in 1091, giving Malcolm an excuse for raiding the north of England. Edgar then mediated between the two kings. In 1097, acting on William's orders, he overthrew Malcolm's brother and successor, Donaldbane, a foe of the Normans, and installed Malcolm's son Edgar on the throne of Scotland. About 1102 he went on a crusade to the Holy Land. He sided with Robert Curthose, Duke of Normandy, against Henry I in the struggle for the English crown. Edgar was captured by Henry in the Battle of Tinchebrai (28 Sep 1106) was released, and spent the rest of his life in obscurity."

The New Columbia Encyclopedia, 1975, p832, Edgar Atheling: "Old English `Aetheling' = son of the king, Born Abt 1060, Died Abt 1125, English Prince, grandson of Edmund Ironside. After the death of King Harold at the battle of Hastings in 1066, Edgar was chosen king, but he submitted to William I in the same year. In 1068 he fled to the Scottish King Malcolm III, who soon married Edgar'ssister St Margaret of Scotland. Edgar took part in the unsuccessful Northumbrian uprising (1069) in which the Danes also joined. After Malcom made his peace with William in 1072, the Atheling probably lived in Flanders until he himself came toterms with William in 1074 and settled in France. After William's death Edgar joined Malcolm in raiding England in 1091, but after that he seems to have been at peace with William II of England. He led the English expedition that in 1097 dethroned Donald III and seated the Atheling's nephew Edgar (Died 1107) on the throne of Scotland. The Atheling went on the crusade of 1099 with Robert II, Duke of Normandy, and later fought for Robert against Henry I of England. He was taken prisoner at the battle of Tinchebrai (1106) but was released."

The Story of Civilization, Will Durant, Vol IV, The Age of Faith, Bk IV, The Dark Ages, Ch XX, The Rise of the North, Sec I, England, p492: "Cnut's early reign was tarnished with cruelty:he banished the children of Edmund Ironsides, and had Edmund's brother murdered to forestall an Anglo-Saxon restoration."

Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1981, Micropaedia, Vol VI, p613, Margaret of Scotland, Saint: "She was brought up at the Hungarian court, where her father, Edward, was in exile. After the Battle of Hastings, Edward's widow and children fled for safety to Scotland."

From Alfred to Henry III 871-1272, Christopher Brooke, 1961, Norton Library History of England, p82: "...[Edward Confessor] never succeeded in mastering the earls. This did not mean that his throne was insecure. He never consummated his marriage, and had no close heirs or rivals- his one nephew [Edward Atheling] died well before him, and his great-nephew [Edgar Atheling] was never seriously considered for the throne..."
p89: "The death of Harold and his two brothers in the battle was a vital stroke of fortune for William. If Harold had still been at large after the battle, William would have had many difficulties to face. Even so, the English Witan did not immediately take William as seriously as he had hoped. The legitimate adults of the large house of Godwin were now virtually extinct, and the only native heir was Edward the Confessor's great-nephew, Edgar the Aetheling, whom no-one had seriously considered hitherto. The Archbishop of York, the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Earls of Mercia and Northumbria, and the citizens of London all declared for Edgar. At this stage they seem to have regarded William as little more than a lucky adventurer..."

ANCESTRY.COM
World Ancestral Chart No.31759 Ancestors of Warren Cash 1760:

ANCESTRAL FILE
Ancestral File Ver 4.11 Also Eadgar, 9G85-BH "The Aetheling" Born Abt 1042, son of 8HS0-HC "The Exile", NCE Born Abt 1060.