Edgar’s Peace
Edgar, King of England from 959 to 975, was surnamed ‘The Peaceful’ by a grateful public because of the care he took to defend person and property.
959-975
King Edgar 959-975
Edgar, King of England from 959 to 975, was surnamed ‘The Peaceful’ by a grateful public because of the care he took to defend person and property.
959-975
King Edgar 959-975
King Edgar ruled England from 959-975, following his uncle Edred and his brother Edwy. Edgar styled himself ‘Sovereign of all Albion, and of the Sea or Island kings dwelling around the same’; from his people he earned the nickname ‘the Peaceful’ for securing the borders of his kingdom, striking terror into evildoers, and bringing harmony between Englishman and Dane.
IN order to preserve his kingdom from external enemies, Edgar assembled every summer his fleets on each coast of the island. His force consisted of 360 sail, forming three divisions.* With the eastern squadron he moved along the southern coasts to the west: then, dismissing that armament, he proceeded with the western squadron up the Irish channel to the north, where a third division awaited him, with which he coasted the eastern side of the island. The sea-kings were careful to avoid an encounter with this formidable force, and during the reign of Edgar, England remained entirely free from their depredations.
In the winter and spring the king was continually traversing the various provinces of his realm, watching and controlling his great officers, and endeavouring, by punishments of terrible severity, to eradicate crime from the land. “Let this ordinance,” said Edgar to the Danish Witan at York,* “be common to all my people, English, Danes, and Britons, on every side of my dominions, — that both rich and poor possess in peace whatever they lawfully acquire; and that no thief shall know where to secure the property which he has stolen.”
* Doyle’s account follows the testimony of Florence of Worcester (?-1118), though Florence gave ten times the number of ships.
* These ordinances were laid down in the Laws of Edgar, which were taken up by subsequent English law codes. Edgar delivered them to the Danish council (Witan) in person at York (Doyle’s text unexpectedly gives ‘Edwin’ at this point, evidently a misprint). The punishments handed out to wrongdoers were utterly inhumane, and it is perhaps not surprising that once the heavy hand of the the King was taken away at his death in 975, the superficial ‘peace’ of his realm relapsed into chaos. See John Adams on A Moral and Religious People.
1. What is the author aiming to achieve in writing this?
2. Note any words, devices or turns of phrase that strike you. How do they help the author communicate his ideas more effectively?
3. What impression does this passage make on you? How might you put that impression into words?
Based on The English Critic (1939) by NL Clay, drawing on The New Criticism: A Lecture Delivered at Columbia University, March 9, 1910, by J. E. Spingarn, Professor of Comparative Literature in Columbia University, USA.
Express the ideas below in a single sentence, using different words as much as possible. Do not be satisfied with the first answer you think of; think of several, and choose the best.
Edgar sailed all around the coast of Britain. He did this every year. No one invaded England in his reign.