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Edgar of England (7 August 943-8 July 975) was the king of England from 959 to 975, succeeding Eadwig of England and preceding Edward the Martyr.

Biography[]

Edgar was born on 7 August 943 to King Edmund I of England (he was later adopted by Aethelstan Half-King), and he was a member of the House of Wessex, a dynasty of Christian Anglo-Saxons. He was made the ruler of Northumbria and East Anglia in 957 by the thanes after his brother King Eadwig of England displeased them with his rivalry with Archbishop Oda the Good of Canterbury, and he ruled northern England while his brother ruled Wessex and Kent. In 959 England was reunited when Edgar succeeded his brother on his premature death, and Edgar was nicknamed "the Peaceful" because he did not fight during his tenure as king of England for 26 years. Edgar was crowned at Bath Abbey, which features a statue of him atop its main entrance. His older son Edward the Martyr succeeded him on his death in 975.

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