Eadgar the Ætheling was the son of Eadweard the Exile and the grandson of King Eadmund Ironside. He was born in Hungary, where he lived with his parents after his father fled to the continent because of the Danish invasion. Eadgar was taken to England when his father was recalled by King Eadweard the Confessor (1057). The sudden death of Eadweard the Exile left Eadgar a possible heir to the Anglo-Saxon throne, but his rights were ignored when Harold Godwinesson was chosen king and successor of Eadweard the Confessor in early 1066. Harold was killed on 14 Oct 1066 in the Battle of Hastings and when the news reached London the archbishops of Canterbury and York, the northern earls, Eadwine and Morkere, and other great men, together with the citizens and seamen of the city, chose Eadgar as king, 'as was his proper due'. Eadgar and his councilors did not make any serious attempt to put up a defense against the Norman invaders. Before William the Conqueror took London, Eadgar and a delegation of nobles and prelates met with him at Berkhamsted and offered the crown, which he accepted. Eadgar spent several years in Scotland and then returned to England serving under kings William the Conqueror and William Rufus. About 1102 Eadgar went on a crusade and sided with Robert Curthose, Duke of Normandy, against King Henry I. He was captured by Henry in the Battle of Tinchebray (28 Sep 1106), was released, and spent the rest of his life in obscurity. Orderic Vitalis mentioned that Eadgar was still alive in 1120. Biography sources: [1][2][3] |
