Edward the Confessor

The life and cult of Edward the Confessor are here fully reappraised.

The life and cult of Edward the Confessor are here fully reappraised.

The millennium of Edward the Confessor's birth presents an appropriate occasion for a full-scale, up-to-date reassessment of his life, reign and cult, a reappraisal which is provided in the essays here. After an introduction to the many views of Edward's life, and a reinterpretation of the development of his cult, the volume considers his childhood in England and its influence upon his later life; the time he spent in Normandy and the relationships that developed there; and his later life, including an examination of the role played by Edith, his queen. There is also a particular focus upon Westminster Abbey, and the major new discoveries which have recently been made there. Incorporating both broad surveys and the fruits of detailed new work, this book is essential reading for all those interested in late Saxon and Norman England.

CONTRIBUTORS: RICHARD MORTIMER, SIMON KEYNES, ELISABETH VAN HOUTS,STEPHEN BAXTER, PAULINE STAFFORD, ERIC FERNIE, WARWICK RODWELL, RICHARD GEM, EDINA BOZOKY

Preface
Introduction: Edward the Confessor: the Man and the Legend - Richard Mortimer
Edward the Ætheling [c.1005-16] - Simon D Keynes
Edward and Normandy - Elisabeth M C van Houts
Edward the Confessor and the Succession Question - Stephen Baxter
Edith, Edward's Wife and Queen - Pauline Stafford
Edward the Confessor's Westminster Abbey
New Glimpses of Edward the Confessor's Abbey at Westminster - Warwick Rodwell
Craftsmen and Administrators in the Building of the Confessor's Abbey - Richard Gem
The Sanctity and Canonization of Edward the Confessor - Edina Bozoky
Bibliography