Reign of King Edward the Confessor

Historical Context Essay

Steve Flanders (Queen's University Belfast)

Ed. by Hugh Magennis, Queen's University Belfast
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.01: English Writing and Culture: Old English, 500-1066.
Vol. editors: Richard William Dance (University of Cambridge), Hugh Magennis (Queen's University Belfast)

Domains

Changes of government, elections and reigns

Dates

Date of occurrence 1042-1066

Places

England (Location)

Resources

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Modern perceptions of King Edward, known as “the Confessor”, are coloured by his depiction in the Bayeux Tapestry as a white-beared venerable monarch, advising or discussing events with his right-hand man, Harold, Earl of Wessex, and, later in the work, by his deathbed and funeral procession. This benevolent and sympathetic appearance is enhanced by the twelfth-century hagiographies written to facilitate his 1161 canonisation by Pope Alexander III and by the

Vita Edwardi regis

which, perhaps, contains more propaganda than fact and was, in any case, probably commissioned soon after 1066 to aid the rehabilitation of his wife’s family, the Godwins, rather than accurately portray the future saint.

Edward was born soon after the millennium, sometime between 1003 and 1005, and died very

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2519 words

Citation: Flanders, Steve. "Reign of King Edward the Confessor". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 31 May 2006 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=620, accessed 25 April 2024.]

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