Edgar the Atheling, Part 2: Enemy of William the Conqueror

With the death of Harold Godwinson following the Battle of Hastings, the Witan assembled in London and nominated Edgar king. Both Stigand, Archbishop of Canterbury and Ealdred of York, as well as the two brother earls, Edwin and Morcar (of Mercia and Northumberland, respectively) were there in London  However, as William approached London, Edgar's support started to disappear, with Stigand, Archbishop of Canterbury submitting at Wallingford. With the Conqueror getting ever closer to London, the members of the Witan still in London began negotiations with William, resulting in Edgar being handed over to William at Berkhamsted. Edgar and other English leaders went to William's court in Normandy in 1067. However, when they returned to England, he fled and his mother and sisters fled to the court of Malcolm Canmore III in Scotland. Margaret, a sister of Edgar, (who would become St Margaret) was married to the Scottish King. Malcolm promised to help Edgar gain the English throne. Edgar may have been involved in the failed rebellion of Edwin and Morcar in 1068, but with the Northern Rebellion in early 1069, William's reign over England was indeed threatened.

                                              Victorian depiction of Malcolm and Margaret

When rebellion broke out in Northumberland, Edgar along with other exile rebels, headed back to England from Scotland. Edgar was became the leader or at least the figurehead of the revolt. The rebellion was initially successful, but it was eventually defeated by William at York, causing Edgar once more to return to Scotland (the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle suggests these events happened in 1068, others 1069). In late summer ( most likely, in 1069) a Danish fleet set by Sweyn Estridsson arrived and some more rebellions were sparked. Edgar and some other exiles sailed to the Humber, where they met up with some Northumbrian  rebels and the Danes. They defeated the Normans at York and for a short time took control of Northumbria. However, a small seaborne raid led by Edgar into Lindsey ended in a disaster and he only escaped to with a few followers to rejoin the main army. William then marched into Northumbria and seized York, he bought off the Danes and then devastated the surrounding countryside and also eventually as far as north as the Tees (the notorious Harrying of the North). William, in 1070, took action against and defeated Edgar and some of his followers in a marshy region (perhaps, Holderness) forcing the Atheling once more to flee to Scotland. Edgar remained in Scotland until 1072, however when William invaded Scotland, Edgar was forced to leave, perhaps as part of an agreement. Edgar then took up residence in Flanders, whose count Robert the Frisian was hostile to the Normans. By 1074, Edgar was able to return to Scotland, but he eventually received an offer from Philip I of France, who was at odds with William. He offered him lands and a castle near Normandy, so he could raid the Duchy. He left for France, by ship, but a storm caused his ship to be shipwrecked. Many of Edgar's followers were hunted down by the Normans, however Edgar once more escaped to Scotland with the remainder of his followers. As a result, Malcolm persuaded Edgar to make peace with William and to return to England as William's subject, therefore ending any hope of him gaining the throne. However, this is  certainly not the ending of the Atheling's story.

Bibliography:

"The Ayling Story | Edgar Atheling." The Ayling Story. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 May 2014

.Binns, Stewart. "Stewart Binns on Edgar the Atheling." Historical Novel Society RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 May 2014.

"Britannia: The AngloSaxon Chronicle." Britannia: The AngloSaxon Chronicle. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 May 2014.

Image credit goes to Wikipedia

Edgar the Atheling, Part 1: Before the Norman Conquest

When people think of the succession crisis in England in 1066, many only recall three of the claimants to the English throne: Harold Godwinson, Harald Hardrada and William of Normandy. Yet, one often forgotten was the closest blood relative to Edward the Confessor, his name being Edgar the Atheling (Atheling meaning belonging to a noble family). Edgar was even proclaimed, though never crowned King of England. Although this article will mainly be focused on Edgar, it would be ignorant  not to acknowledge another often forgotten, claimant to the English throne, Sweyn Estidsson of Denmark, who also had a relatively strong claim.

Edgar the Atheling was born in 1051 in Hungary, his father was Edward the Exile and his mother was Agatha, who was described as a relative to the Holy Roman Emperor. Edward the Exile, was the son of King Edmund II Ironside. Edmund had succeeded Ethelred the Unready as King of England when he died on the 23rd April 1016. However, Edmund was eventually defeated by King Cnut of Denmark and he died on the 30th November 1016 (the circumstances being unknown). John of Worcester suggests that Cnut sent Edmund's sons, Edward and Edmund, to Sweden, where his brother reigned, with the hope of them being murdered. However, the two children were spared and eventually ended up in Hungary. Edward eventually gave birth to Edgar, who he would return to England with in 1057 after being summoned to England in 1057 by Edward the Confessor. It is possible that Edward may have going to be name Edmund his heir, after all he had only recently gained knowledge of his nephew still being alive. However, soon after Edmund arrived in England with his son, he died under unknown circumstances. This left Edgar, Edmund's son as the closest living heir to Edward the Confessor, as Edmund (the son of Edmund Ironside) had died by 1054.Little is known of what happened to Edgar from this point until 1066.

                                              Edgar in an illuminated family tree of Edmund Ironside

When the  Edward the Confessor died in January 1066, Edgar did not succeed him, despite being his closest blood relative (Edward did not have any sons). Instead, the Witenagemot ( an assembly of the ruling class) had elected Harold Godwinson as king. Harold Godwinson was the most powerful noble in England and had considerable military experience, while Edgar was only in his early teens when Edward died and therefore too young to be an effective military ruler. Previous, monarchs had became king at a similar age, such as Eadwig, Edward the Peaceful and Edward the Martyr and Ethelred the Unready had succeeded even at an age significantly younger to Edgar. But, the situation in 1066 was not normal, England faced possible invasions from Norway, Denmark and Normandy and therefore England needed a strong military leader. It then was no surprise that the Witan elected Harold Godwinson as King instead of the young Edgar (who one may assume was most likely considered at the least). However, with the death of Harold Godwinson at the Battle of Hastings in October 1066, Edgar the Atheling was once again a prime candidate for becoming King of England.

Bibliography:

"The Ayling Story | Edgar Atheling." The Ayling Story. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 May 2014

.Binns, Stewart. "Stewart Binns on Edgar the Atheling." Historical Novel Society RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 May 2014.

"Edgar the Aetheling Claim." Edgar the Aetheling Claim. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 May 2014.

Image Credit goes to Wikipedia

Cola di Rienzo: An Extraordinary Medieval Leader

Cola di Rienzo was born in Rome in 1313. He claimed to be the son of the Holy Roman Emperor, Henry VII. However, his origins were more humble, his father a tavern-keeper and his mother a washer-woman. His early years were spent at Anagni an he devoted his time to the study of the ancient Rome, in the ancient writers of Livy, Valerius Maximus, Cicero, Seneca, Boethius and the poets. This filled him with determination to restore Rome to its former greatness and power, this was only fuelled by his desire to avenge his brother who had been killed by a noble. He returned to Rome as a student at the age of 20 and in 1343 he was sent on an errand to Pope Clement VI at Avignon (it was the time of the Avignon Papacy/ the Babylonian captivity), where he fulfilled his duties with ability and success. He was eventually appointed notary of the Roman civic treasury by the Pope and returned to Rome in 1344. He then began to plot a revolution that would return the city of Rome to its former glory. After, three years of working towards his goal, including by gaining supporters, on the 19th May 1347, heralds invited the people to the Capitol (Capitoline Hill) and on May 20th, Whit-Sunday, the meeting was held, where he was given unlimited power and authority, a few days later Rienzo took the title of tribune.

                                       Rienzo vowing to avenge the death of his younger brother

His authority was quickly accepted among most in Rome, his reign was immediately was marked with order and justice, compared to the previous disorder. In July, he proclaimed the sovereignty of the Roman people over the Empire and at first set himself with the task of restoring Rome's authority over the other Italian cities.  On August 1st 1347 he conferred Roman citizenship on all the cities of Italy and and proceeded to prepare for an election of a Roman Emperor of Italy the following year. On the following day the festival of the unity of Italy was celebrated. However, none of this had any political result. However, he was recognised by Joan of Naples, who and her bitter foe the King of Hungary asked for protection and aid. On August 15th he was crowned tribune.

However, his reign was soon to come to an end.. He then  seized and soon released Stefano Colonna and and some other barons. The Pope and the Emperor were both offended by his proposal to set up a new Roman Empire, and in October Clement gave power to a legate to dispose him. The exiled barons soon gathered troops and war began in the neighbourhood of Rome, but with aid from Louis I of Hungary and others, the rebels were defeated on the 20th November 1347. Although, he did not take part directly in the fighting, his most distinguished  foe , Colonna was killed. However, he was eventually declared a criminal, heretic and pagan by the Pope. He fled Rome and abdicated on December 15th 1347, following being terrified by a slight disturbance. He sought refuge in Naples, but quickly left and spent two years in an Italian mountain monastery.

Emerging from solitude, Cola journeyed to Prague in 1350, throwing himself on the protection of the Emperor Charles IV, denouncing the Pope's temporal power. Charles kept him prisoner for a year in the fortress of Raudnitz, then handing him over to Pope Clement. In August 1352, he appeared in Avignon and although he was tried by three cardinals and sentenced to death, the judgement was not carried out. When Clement died in December 1352, he had the chance to gain his freedom, when his successor Innocent VI saw him as a tool to strike at the baronial rulers of Rome. He was appointed the title senator and with a Papal legate he entered Rome in August 1354 and quickly regained his position and power. This term was to be even shorter than his first.

Having besieged the fortress of Palestrina, he returned to Rome where he treacherously seized the mercenary Giovanni Moriale and put him to death. Through this and other cruel and arbitrary acts he quickly lost the favour of the people. On October 8th 1354, Cola addressed some of the aroused people, but the building he was in was set on fire and as he tried to escape he was murdered by the mob.

Bibliography:

The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. "Cola Di Rienzo (Italian Leader)."Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.

"Cola Di Rienzi." CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA:. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.

Image Credit goes to Wikipedia

Anglo-Saxon Kings of England: King Offa

King Offa (born 730) ruled Mercia from 757 until his death in July 796 and was the first known as 'King of the English'. When his cousin Aethelbard was assassinated he seized power during a period of civil war, after defeating Aethelbards' intial successor Beornred. Throughout his reign Mercia became  the most powerful Kingdoms in Anglo-Saxon England, he ruled over  Kent, Sussex, East Anglia and the Midlands. Furthermore, he married his daughters to the Kings of Northumbria and Wessex. He led a successful campaign against the Hestingi. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle state he fought the inhabitants of Kent in 776 at Otford. Although, it does not state who won the battle it is presumably, the Mercians. There is no evidence for Offas's success over the Kentish until 785. Offa also lead a successful campaign against the West Saxons at Besington in Oxfordshire.

 During Offa's reign the English penny (silver) was introduced. Offa also had diplomatic relations with Charlemagne. The great European leader proposed that one of Offa's daughters marry one of Charlemagne's sons, However, diplomatic relations broke down when Offa also suggested that his son Ecgfrith should marry Charlemagne's daughter Bertha. Charlemagne, outraged, ended contact with Britain and forbid any English ships to dock at his ports. Eventually, diplomatic relations were restored, although they had not improved by the end of 790. Relations between Offa and Pope Adrian I were strong, in 792 he visited Rome itself to strengthen links with the Papacy. He granted the Pope more control over the church, while the Pope allowed the creation of the archbishopric of Lichfield, this temporary change freeing the Mercian Church from the authority of the Archbishop of Canterbury.

Offa was frequently in conflict with the various Welsh Kingdoms, a key result of this was the building of Offa's Dyke. It roughly follows the traditional boundary of England and Wales, running, although not continuously, from the Dee estuary in the north to the river Rye in the south. This frontier barrier (a ditch and bank) ran for 149 miles and is a legacy of the King who ruled a large portion of England..

                                                                         Offa's Dyke


Bibliography:

The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. "Offa (Anglo-Saxon King)." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 26 Mar. 2014.

"King Offa." King Offa. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Mar. 2014

"Offa (r. 757-796)." The Official Website of the British Monarchy. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Mar. 2014.

"Offa's Dyke." Offa's Dyke. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Mar. 2014

Image credit goes to Wikipedia

The Shortest War in History: The Anglo-Zanzibar War

The Shortest War in History

The Anglo-Zanzibar, fought on the 27 August 1896, is thought to be the shortest war in history lasting around only 40 minutes. The war was a result of the death of the pro-British Sultan Hamad bin Thuwaini on the 25th of August. The sultans nephew Khalid bin Bargash seized power in a coup following his death. Bargash assembled 2,800 men to protect his position. The British however favoured Hamud bin Muhammad, who was more pro-British. On August 26th Bargash fortified the palace and. The HHS Glasgow, the Sultan's yacht, was anchored in the harbour nearby. The British quickly assembled five cruisers in the harbour. At 8.00 am on the 27th August an ultimatum was issued to the sultan, to leave the palace in one hour or hostilities would commence. With the situation unresolved, the British led by General Lloyd Matthews, began firing on the palace.

The British ships quickly sank the Glasgow. The sultan's artillery consisted of several Maxim machine guns, a Gatling gun, a 17th-century bronze cannons and 2 twelve-pounder field guns. However, the palace was pounded enough to force Bargash to flee. Bargash sought asylum in the German consulate. The British demanded that the Germans handed over Bargash. However, any international incident was avoided when Bargash escaped to sea on October 2nd 1896. With Bargash removed Hammud bin Muhammad was put into position as ruler, he was mainly a British puppet, who ruled until 1902 and ended slavery in Zanzibar. Bargash was finally captured by the British in 1916.

Image Credit:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/8a/Zanzibar_palace_after_low.JPG
Sources:
http://militaryhistory.about.com/od/battleswars1800s/p/anglozanzibar.htm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/dna/place-lancashire/plain/A19142282

Beowulf and the Battle of the Ice of Lake Vänern

The Battle of the Ice of Lake Vänern

Beowulf was a legendary Geatish hero, who had a Norse epic poem named after, he participated in this battle, which was not only referred to in the poem, but also in the Norse Sagas. The battle was the result of Eanmund and Eadgils, fleeing to Geatland to seek refuge after their father King Ohthere had died and his brother Onela had seized the Swedish throne. Ohthere is thought to have  been the first historical King of Sweden. As, Ohthere's sons had fled to Geatland, Onela attacked the Geats. Beowulf, decided to help Eadgils gain the Swedish throne after the Geatish King Heardred was killed. Originally, Beowulf had been offered kingship over Geatland by Queen Hygd, after King Higlac's death, but he had declined in favour of Heardred. However, now Heardred was dead Beowulf was named King. During the battle, Onela was killed and therefore Eadgils became King of Sweden.

                                                      The first folio of the poem Beowulf
The battle is most likely a historical event, as it is not only mentioned by the 3,000 line long poem, but it is also mentioned in several other Scandinavian sources, such as those of Snorri Sturluson. Beowulf itself is the longest poem in Old English.  During the battle, the combatants have been described as being mounted, however later Anglo-Saxon and Viking told that the legend was fought on foot. Finally, Beowulf is said to have ruled the Geats for 51 years in total.

Image Credit:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Beowulf_Cotton_MS_Vitellius_A_XV_f._132r.jpg
Sources:
http://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/onlineex/englit/beowulf/

Greatest Naval Battles

Greatest Naval Battles

Throughout, history there have been many times when man has took their conflicts onto the sea. Many of these battles have certainly had some influence on history and war, whether decisive or not. Below a brief overview of some of the greatest naval battles of all of history shall be given.

The Battle of the Delta                                                                         

Ramesses III and Egypt were in danger from the mysterious Sea Peoples. The Sea Peoples had plundered and destroyed the Hittite Empire's Capital Hattusha and their endeavours were leading to the collapse of the Bronze Age. After defeating them in a land battle in Syria, Ramesses returned to Egypt ready for the Sea People's attack. Ramesses lined the shores of the Nile Delta with archers and lured the Sea Peoples into the Delta, where ships also lay in wait to ambush. Archers from the ships and shore attacked the Sea Peoples, leading to their defeat. The battle (1178 BC or 1175 BC) secured Egypts future from the Sea People.

The Battle of Actium

The Battle of Actium was a decisive battle in the Final War of the Roman Republic, which  resulted in the formation of the Roman Empire and Octavius becoming the first Roman Emperor. When the senate declared war on Egypt, Marc Antony pledged his support to Cleopatra. The fleet loyal to Octavius consisted of  250 galleys, whereas the opposition's consisted of around 290 galleys. The battle (31 BC) ended when Cleopatra pulled her forces out (various reasons have been suggested, for example the tension created by the actual battle- as the Admiral Quintus Dellius, had defected to Octavius and revealed Antony's plans to him.). Antony then soon pulled out himslef, leaving 3/4 of his fleet behind. Regardless, this battle meant many of Antony's men deserted him. Ultimately, leading to his demise, the Roman annexation of Egypt and the first Roman Emperor.
The Battle of Lepanto

In 1571, the Christian powers in the Mediterranean had assembled a fleet to confront the powerful Ottoman Empire. The Holy League fleet included ships from Venice, Spain, Genoa, the Papacy and the Knights of Malta, Savoy, Tuscany and Urbino. The Holy League had 212 ships, whereas the Ottomans had 251 ships. The two flag ships soon found themselves in battle with each other and eventually Ali Pasha's ship was took with the Ottoman commander being killed in the process. Ali Pasha's death (against Don Juan's wishes) reduced the Ottoman's morale (his head was decapitated and ton a pike), eventually causing many of them to flee. The battle helped to stop the Ottoman influence in the Mediterranean growing.

The Battle of Tsushima 

During the Russo-Japanese War, The Russian Baltic fleet was sent to help relieve the blockade of Port Arthur , which the Japanese had besieged. However, on the 2nd January 1905 Port Arthur had fell, so the fleet tried to reach Vladivostok instead. The fleets would engage in the straits of Tsushima, The Russian ships were in poor condition, made even worse by the long journey ( the British had refused them access to the Suez Canal). Fouling had made the Russian ships less manoeuvrable, therefore Admiral Togo used this to his advantage. The Japanese won, losing only 3 torpedo boats (they had had 89 ships,  37 being the relatively small, but dangerous torpedo boats. The Russians lost 21 of their 28 ships. The battle was a humiliation, as a Asian nation had defeated a great European great power and along with the Siege of Port Arthur and the Battle of Mukden, it had ruined Russia's reputation. It could be argued all this parlty helped in causing the 1905 revolution, which boiled tension over into the 1917 revolution, which would forever change Russia's history.

Battle of Jutland

Th battle of Jutland is considered the only major naval engagement of WWI and is considered the largest naval battle ever in terms of tonnage.  In 1916 the British had effectively blockaded much of the German coastline, however. the Admiral von Poul was replaced by the more aggressive Admiral von Scheer.  In May, Scheer had had ordered  Adiral von Hipper to move along the Danish coastline,  Admiral Jellicoe in Rosyth saw this as a provocation and put the Grand Fleet to sea. On May the 31st the battle began. The British lost more ships (14 of 151 combat ships, whereas the German had lost less capital ships- however, in total they lost  11 of their 99 ships). Despite, the German successes they were never in a position during WW1 to threaten the North Sea again.

Image Credit:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Seev%C3%B6lker.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Castro_Battle_of_Actium.jpg
http://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%8B%92%E7%8F%AD%E9%99%80%E6%88%B0%E5%BD%B9
http://portsmouthpeacetreaty.org/process/war/images/44-tsushima-battleLg.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:HMS_Lion_(1910).jpg
Sources:
http://riversfromeden.wordpress.com/2011/08/11/the-battle-of-the-nile-delta-1178-b-c/
http://ehistory.osu.edu/world/articles/ArticleView.cfm?AID=16
http://militaryhistory.about.com/od/navalbattles14011600/p/lepanto.htm
http://www.navyhistory.org.au/the-battle-of-tsushima-1905/
http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/battle_of_jutland.htm