King Edred ENGLAND

   Other names for Edred were Eldred, ENGLAND King and Eadred.

   Ancestral File Number: FLGQ-3N.

   General Notes:

King of ENGLAND Reigned 946-955.

BOOKS
Kings and Queens of Great Britain, Genealogical Chart, Anne Taute and Romilly Squire, Taute, 1990: "Edred King of England 946-955, Died 955."

A History of the English Speaking People Winston S Churchill Vol I The Birth of Britain Dodd Mead & Co 1956 p132: "...When Athelstan died, two years after Brunanburh, and was succeeded by his half-brother, a youth of eighteen,the beaten forces welled up once more against him. Edmund, in the spirit of his race, held his own. He reigned only six years, but when he died in 946 he had not ceded an inch or an ell. Edmund was succeeded by his brother Edred, the youngest son of Alred's son Edward the Elder. He too maintained the realm against all comers, and, beating them down by force of arms, seemed to have quenched forever the rebellious firs of Northumbria.
"Historians select the year 954 as the end ofthe first great episode in the Viking history of England. A hundred and twenty years had passed since the impact of the Vikings had smitten the Island. For forty years English Christian society had struggled for life. For eighty years five warrior kings- Alfred, Edward, Athelstan, Edmund, and Edred- defeated the invaders. The English rule was now restored, though in a form changed by the passage of time, over the whole country..."

Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1981, Micropaedia, Vol III, p743, Eadred: "also spelled Edred, Died 23 Nov 955 Frome Somersetshire, King of the English from 946 to 955, who brought Northumbria permanently under English rule. He was the son of the West Saxon King Edward the Elder (ruled 899-924), the half brother of King Athelstan (ruled 924-939), and the brother of Kind Edmund I (ruled 939-946). Upon Eadred's accession to power, the Northumbrians acknowledged his overlordship, but they soom proclaimed as their King EricBloodaxe, sone of the Norwegian ruler Harald I Harfager. In revenge Eadred ravaged all of Northumbria (948). The Northumbrians submitted to Eadred, but in 949 they accepted another Norse King, Olaf Sihtricson, as their ruler. They overthrew Sihtricson in 952 in favour of Eric Bloodaxe, [again], who in turn was expelled and killed in 954. The Northumbrians then resumed their allegiance to Eadred. Eadred was a close friend of Dunstan, Abbot of Glastonbury (later Archbishop of Canterbury), and a supporter of the monastic revival inspired by Dunstan."
p792, Edmund I: "...The King [Edmund I] was killed in his palace by an exiled robber and was succeeded by his brother, Eadred (ruled 946-955); Edmund's sons eventually acceded to power as Kings Eadwig (ruled 957-959) and Edgar (ruled 959-975)."

Macropaedia, Vol III, p203, Britain and Ireland History of: "...Immediately after Athelstan's death in 939, Olaf seized not only Northumbria but also the Five Boroughs. By 944 Athelstan's successor, his younger brother Edmund, had retrieved the situation, and in 945 Edmund conquered Strathclyde and gave it to Malcolm of Scotland. But Edmund's successor, Eadred, lost control of Northumbria for part of his reign to the Norse kings Eric Bloodaxe (son of Harald Haarfager) and Loaf Sihtricson. When Eric was killed in 954 Northumbria became a permanent part of the kingdom of England."

The New Columbia Encyclopedia, 1975, p833, Edmund: "...In 945 he invaded Strathclyde, which he then turned over to the Scottish King Malcolm I. Edmund was killed in a brawl and was succeeded by his brother Edred."
p833, Edred or Eadred: "Died 955, King of the English (946-955), son of Edward the Elder. He succeeded his brother Edmund andwas faced with invasions of Danish Northumbria by Norsemen from Ireland and by Eric Bloodaxe of Norway. He finally reestablished control over Northumbria in 954, thus bringing to an end the last independent Scandinavian kingdom in England . Edred, being sickly, left affairs to his friend Saint Dunstan, who allowed the Danes of England to live under their own laws."

The Story of Civilization, Will Durant, Vol III, The Age of Faith, Bk IV, The Dark Ages, Chap XX, The Rise of the North, Sec 2, Anglo-Saxon Civilization, p486: "...St Dunstan, Abbot of Glastonbury, became chief counselor under kings Edmund (940-946), and Edred (946-955). He defended the middle and lower classes against the nobles, boldly criticized monarchs andprinces, was exiled by King Edwig (955-959), was recalled by Edgar (959-975), and secured the crown for Edward the Martyr (975-978)..."

Alfred to Henry III 871-1272, Christopher Brooke, 1961, Norton Library History of England, p53:
"...With Athelstan's death in 939 English rule over the Norse kingdom of York became extremely precarious; and a great part of the reigns of his brothers Edmund (939-946) and Eadred (946-955) was spent in the attempt to re-establish Athelstan's supremacy in the north...Late in Edmund's reign and early in Eadred's, the English kings were successful for brief periods in mastering the north. But in the middle years of Eadred's reign two distinguished Vikings, one from Ireland and one from Norway, held sway at York. Eric Bloodaxe indeed had been King of Norway for a time, and had made a considerable name for himself for violence and adventure. After his expulsion he twice succeeded in winning the kingdom of York (948-949, 952-954)...In 954 the Northumbrians expelled him, and Eadred ruled over the whole of England. In the following year he died."

The Wall Chart of World History, Edward Hull, 1988, Studio Editions, England 946: "Eldred, brother of Edmund, King of England946-955..."

ANCESTRAL FILE
FLGQ-3N Edred King of ENGLAND Born Abt 924 Wessex England Son of Edgiva (AFN: 8HS0-6S)> Elfreda (AFN:9GB3-DR) Died 23 Nov 955.