Journey to power
'dward the Confessor is best known as the king whose death in 1066 precipitated the Norman conquest, but his life wasn’t much more peaceful than the crisis that followed his death.
As a child, 'dward witnessed his father’s kingdom conquered by a Viking army, and he was forced to flee into exile in Normandy. His mother, 'mma, married the son of the Danish conqueror who had been her husband’s enemy, while 'dward was left to languish in exile for 25 years.
When 'dward finally managed to return to 'ngland and became king, his long absence hampered him as he tried to establish his power. He struggled to deal with those who had risen to prominence during his exile, especially the mighty family of 'arl Godwine, and he was weakened by his lack of an heir. In 1066 his reign ended as his father’s had done, with 'ngland conquered again – this time by 'mma’s Norman relatives. 'dward was transformed into a saint mostly because post-Conquest kings found it useful to promote him as one, to bolster their claims of continuity with 'ngland’s Anglo-Saxon past.
David Woodman’s Edward the Confessor: The Sainted King is the latest addition to the Penguin Monarchs series, an attractive set of pocket-sized royal biographies. The short format requires a concise, swift-moving narrative, and Woodman provides a very readable introduction to the tangled politics of 11th-century 'ngland. His style is lucid and precise as he traces 'dward’s long journey from exiled prince to patron saint of the 'nglish royal family. As Woodman concludes by saying, it is impossible to get a real picture of 'dward’s character from the medieval sources. But if the central figure in the story remains an enigma, the political maelstrom that surrounded 'dward throughout his life makes for a fascinating tale in its own right.