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The Lost King of England: The East European Adventures of Edward the Exile
When Edward Ironside was murdered in 1016, Canute the Dane seized the crown of Wessex. The following year, conscious of the threat posed to his rule by Edmund's small sons, Edmund and Edward Ætheling, he banished them to Sweden, with a `letter of death'. The Swedish king, however, spared their lives, and the Continental wanderings of the Anglo-Saxon princes began; their uncertain fate greatly exercised the minds of contemporary English chroniclers.
Forty years later the ageing, childless Edward the Confessor learned that his nephew Edward was living in Hungary; he invited him to return home, casting him in a crucial role in the struggle to avert a Norman takeover, but forty-eight hours after his triumphant homecoming he was dead, and the events that were to lead to the Norman conquest of 1066 were set in motion.
Drawing on sources from as far afield as Iceland and Kievan Russia, this account of the extraordinary years of the princes' exile is a story stranger than fiction, unravelled by Gabriel Ronay with all the excitement of a modern-day crime study.
Gabriel Ronay wrote for The Times for many years. He was born in Transylvania, and studied at the universities of Budapest and Edinburgh. He came to Britain after the crushing of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution.
Forty years later the ageing, childless Edward the Confessor learned that his nephew Edward was living in Hungary; he invited him to return home, casting him in a crucial role in the struggle to avert a Norman takeover, but forty-eight hours after his triumphant homecoming he was dead, and the events that were to lead to the Norman conquest of 1066 were set in motion.
Drawing on sources from as far afield as Iceland and Kievan Russia, this account of the extraordinary years of the princes' exile is a story stranger than fiction, unravelled by Gabriel Ronay with all the excitement of a modern-day crime study.
Gabriel Ronay wrote for The Times for many years. He was born in Transylvania, and studied at the universities of Budapest and Edinburgh. He came to Britain after the crushing of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution.
224 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 1989
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
November 15, 2014
Highly engaging book about a king I never knew existed. I never knew that Edmund Ironside had two young sons who were whisked away to safety when those darn Vikings were about. Or that they could possibly have saved England a whole lot of upheaval.
The author certainly has no love for King Harold and all but says he had Edward Aetheling murdered to usurp the crown. All other accounts I've read of Harold's crowning are a bit sketchy about whether Edward the Confessor chose him, or the Witan did, or whatever. None thus far have presented a Harold in quite the way as Ronay, so I'm very conflicted about those aspects.
The same holds true for his characterization of William the Conquerer; he seems to hold him in very high esteem. He concludes William couldn't have murdered Edward Aetheling because he kept Edward's son Edgar Aetheling alive, even forgiving him time and again, rebellion after rebellion. Not necessarily true, but I digress.
Overall, this is an incredibly tragic story of the end of the Anglo-Saxon line. Edmund Ironside's sons are smuggled out of the country and Cnut's reach in the hopes that they will one day return to claim their kingdom. Edmund Aetheling never sees home again, dying in Hungary not long after getting married after years in exile. And then Edward Aetheling, summoned by the Confessor, finally able to fulfill his destiny, it's there within his reach - only to be murdered before even getting the chance to take his rightful place. If only he'd had the opportunity, imagine how different England's history might have turned out.
The author certainly has no love for King Harold and all but says he had Edward Aetheling murdered to usurp the crown. All other accounts I've read of Harold's crowning are a bit sketchy about whether Edward the Confessor chose him, or the Witan did, or whatever. None thus far have presented a Harold in quite the way as Ronay, so I'm very conflicted about those aspects.
The same holds true for his characterization of William the Conquerer; he seems to hold him in very high esteem. He concludes William couldn't have murdered Edward Aetheling because he kept Edward's son Edgar Aetheling alive, even forgiving him time and again, rebellion after rebellion. Not necessarily true, but I digress.
Overall, this is an incredibly tragic story of the end of the Anglo-Saxon line. Edmund Ironside's sons are smuggled out of the country and Cnut's reach in the hopes that they will one day return to claim their kingdom. Edmund Aetheling never sees home again, dying in Hungary not long after getting married after years in exile. And then Edward Aetheling, summoned by the Confessor, finally able to fulfill his destiny, it's there within his reach - only to be murdered before even getting the chance to take his rightful place. If only he'd had the opportunity, imagine how different England's history might have turned out.
February 4, 2014
An interesting and well researched history of one of England's virtually unknown kings. However the author slips into describing how he thinks the historical figures he's writing about "must have been" feeling about such and such when there is no evidence about this at all. Some people might not mind it, but to me it got a bit annoying.
June 11, 2017
I love this book as a readable account of what MAY have happened with Edward the Exile and his brother. It is an odd mix of scholarship (with diligent footnotes in some areas) and some wild leaps of logic that are probably correct, but never quite proven. However, in some chapters pages go by where the sources are not always noted. There are two whole chapters of Hungarian history, which may be drawn from the Chronica Hungarorum with no citations. Even the lengthy quotations of material from King Andrew's reign that are not authoritatively cited to any reference work.
But, having said that, I agree with one scholar's view that the book has some great insights even so.
I can't do better than to quote Norman Ingham: "Ronay was a Hungarian émigré after 1956 and became a journalist with The Times of London. For his colorful and very readable book he did extensive research and came up with valuable insights. He used some creative imagination as well." Ingahm, "Has a Missing Daughter of Iaroslav Murdryi Been Found?", Russian History, Vol. 25, No. 3 (FALL 1998 / AUTOMNE 1998), pp. 231-270.
That's it in a nutshell. Worth a read! (And then some more research on your own!)
But, having said that, I agree with one scholar's view that the book has some great insights even so.
I can't do better than to quote Norman Ingham: "Ronay was a Hungarian émigré after 1956 and became a journalist with The Times of London. For his colorful and very readable book he did extensive research and came up with valuable insights. He used some creative imagination as well." Ingahm, "Has a Missing Daughter of Iaroslav Murdryi Been Found?", Russian History, Vol. 25, No. 3 (FALL 1998 / AUTOMNE 1998), pp. 231-270.
That's it in a nutshell. Worth a read! (And then some more research on your own!)
May 25, 2021
Such an interesting Segway in Anglo-Saxon history. Some sad legacies, but ending with the redemption of the legacy through St. Margaret of Scotland. Thanks to her, and her daughter Matilda, the Anglo-Saxon ancient Wessex line of kings lives on through today.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews