Saint Edward the Confessor

On the other hand, the virtues of Edward had won over the enemies of his family, and everyone agreed on wanting to restore to him the crown of his fathers. Leofric, Earl of Mercia, Siward, Earl of Northumberland, and Godwin, Earl of Kent, who was at the same time governor of the kingdom of Wessex, the three most powerful men of the nation, were the principal authors of the revolution that brought England back under the rule of its true masters.

Edward had been formed in the school of virtue, and he had made good use of it. He knew how to appreciate at their true value the goods of this visible world. He had never sought consolation except in virtue and in religion. Raised in the palace of the Duke of Normandy, he had known how to preserve himself from the corruption of the vices that reigned at the court of that prince; he applied himself even to acquiring the contrary virtues from his childhood; he was faithful to the practices prescribed by Christianity, and he loved to converse with pious people. All his outward actions bore the imprint of modesty. He spoke little, but it was neither through ignorance nor lack of talent; all historians agree, in fact, that he was of a wisdom and gravity beyond his age. His love for silence came, therefore, from a depth of humility, and from the fear of losing recollection or falling into the faults that the itch to speak ordinarily entails. His character was composed of the happy assembly of all Christian and moral virtues. One distinguished, however, in him an admirable gentleness, which had its source in a profound humility and in a tender charity that embraced all men. It was easy to perceive that he was entirely dead to himself: hence this horror for ambition and for all that could flatter other passions.

If he ascended the throne of his ancestors, it is because he was called to it by the will of God; thus, he proposed no other goal for himself than to make religion loved and to come to the aid of an unhappy people. He was so far removed from any sentiment of ambition that he declared he would refuse the most powerful monarchy if, to obtain it, it were necessary to shed the blood of a single man. Even the enemies of the royal family rejoiced to see him on the throne. All congratulated themselves on having a Saint for a king, especially after so many misfortunes under the weight of which the nation had groaned; they hoped that public and private evils were going to be repaired by his piety, his justice, and his beneficence. Edward was crowned on Easter Day of the year 1042, at the age of about forty years.

Despite the critical circumstances in which he ascended the throne, his reign was one of the happiest that had ever been seen. Even the Danes established in England feared, loved, and respected him. Although they considered themselves masters of the country by virtue of a supposed right of conquest, having been masters for forty years, and having filled the kingdoms of Northumberland, Mercia, and East Anglia with their colonies, they were nevertheless seen to be agitated nowhere, and from the time of which we speak, there was no more talk of them in England. Pontan, one of their historians, slanders the English when he accuses them of having massacred all the foreigners during the reign of Edward. Such an undertaking would have been as dangerous as it was unjust and barbaric; its execution would undoubtedly have caused more of a stir than a massacre that occurred under Ethelred II, at a time when the Danes were less powerful and less numerous. If one asks what became of those in question, we will answer that, having mingled with the English, they subsequently formed but one body of people with them, with the exception of a few who, from time to time, returned to their homeland.

Sweyn, son of Canute, who reigned in Norway, equipped a fleet to come and attack England. Edward put his kingdom in a state of defense and sent Gulinde, niece of Canute, to Denmark, for fear that if she remained in England she might secretly favor the projected invasion. In the meantime, the King of Denmark, also called Sweyn, made an incursion into Norway, which caused the expedition against the English to fail. Shortly after, Sweyn was dethroned by Magnus, son of Olaf the Martyr, whom Canute the Great had stripped of Norway. In 1046, Danish pirates appeared at Sandwich, then on the coasts of Essex; but the vigilance of Edward's principal officers forced them to withdraw before they could ravage the country, and they dared not reappear thereafter.

Edward undertook only one war, which had as its object the restoration of Malcolm, King of Scotland, and it was ended by a glorious victory. There were some movements within the interior of the kingdom, but they were appeased with as much promptness as ease. One saw then what a king who is truly the father of his subjects can do. All those who approached his person tried to regulate their conduct by his examples. Neither ambition, nor the love of riches, nor any of those passions which, unfortunately, are so common among courtiers and which gradually prepare the ruin of States, were known at his court. Edward appeared solely occupied with the care of making his people happy; he diminished the burden of taxes and sought every means to leave no one in suffering. As he had no passions to satisfy, all his revenues were employed to reward those who served him with fidelity, to relieve the poor, and to endow churches and monasteries. He made a great number of foundations whose goal was to have the praises of God sung in perpetuity; the various establishments he made were never a burden to the people. The revenues of his domain sufficed for all the good works he undertook. Taxes were not yet known, or they were only resorted to in times of war and in very pressing necessities. The holy king abolished the Danegelt that had been paid to the Danes in his father's time, and which had subsequently been brought into the sovereign's coffers. The great men of the kingdom, imagining that he had exhausted his finances through his alms, levied a considerable sum on their vassals without informing him, and brought it to him as a gift that his people were making to him for the maintenance of his troops and for other expenses occasioned by public expenditures. Edward, having learned what had happened, thanked his subjects for their goodwill and ordered that the money be returned to all those who had contributed to forming the sum. His entire conduct announced that he was perfectly master of himself. He had an equanimity that was not belied in any circumstance. His conversation was pleasant, but accompanied by a certain majesty that inspired respect; he loved above all to speak of God and spiritual things.

Edward had always held purity in singular esteem, and he preserved this virtue on the throne through the love of prayer, the avoidance of occasions of sin, and the practice of humility and mortification. He watched carefully over all his senses and took the wisest precautions to protect himself from the slightest stain. However, it was desired that he be married, and he could not resist the entreaties that the nobility and the people made to him in this regard. Godwin did everything in his power to ensure that the prince's choice would fall upon Edith, his daughter, who joined eminent virtue to all the qualities of body, heart, and mind. One thing held the king back: he had made a vow to keep perpetual chastity. He commended himself to God, then he revealed to the one proposed to him as a wife the commitment he had made. Edith entered into his views, and they both agreed that they would live in the state of marriage as brother and sister. It is through the effect of slander that some writers have attributed Saint Edward's resolution to the hatred he bore toward Godwin. Such sentiments are incompatible with the high virtue he professed; moreover, he was incapable of treating, with the injustice attributed to him, an accomplished princess to whom he had been united by the most sacred bonds. Godwin was the richest and most powerful s ubject Godwin Powerful earl and father-in-law of Edward, frequently in conflict with him. in the kingdom. Canute had made him general of his army, created him Earl of Kent, and had him marry his sister-in-law. He was subsequently Grand Treasurer and Duke of Wessex, that is to say, general of the army in all the provinces situated to the south of Mercia. Devoured by ambition, he often violated divine and human laws. Swein, the youngest of his sons, followed in his footsteps, even carrying libertinage to the most guilty excesses. Edward punished him with exile, but he later forgave him. Godwin himself, having become guilty of several crimes, was threatened with proscription if he did not appear before the king, who was then at Gloucester. He refused at first and took flight; but he soon returned with an army to attack the king. Some of his friends asked for his pardon, and although Edward was the victor, he forgave him and restored him to his former state. During Godwin's rebellion, it was thought necessary to confine Edith in a monastery, for fear that her dignity might be used to incite the vassals and friends of her father. Despite this precaution, Edward was no less attached to the queen, who for her part loved him tenderly, and they both always lived in the most intimate and perfect union.

We cannot refrain from reporting at some length the famous ordeal through which the mother of the holy king passed. Here is how the event is recounted by several historians. Some courtiers, jealous of being the only ones to have the king's confidence, undertook to ruin the queen mother in his mind. Knowing Edward's piety, they covered themselves with the mask of hypocrisy and feigned a zeal for religion that they were far from possessing. Emma often saw the pious Al win, Emme Mother of Saint Edward, Queen of England through her two marriages. Bishop of Winchester, and she found in hi s advice w Winchester Royal city and site of the ordeal of Queen Emma. ise rules of conduct for the affairs of her conscience. This connection was represented in the colors of crime. Robert, whom the king had brought from Normandy with him, and who from Abbot of Jumièges had become Archbishop of Canterbury, allowed himself to be imposed upon by the slander. The princess's enemies did not stop there; they recalled her marriage to Cnut, whose hatred for the family of her first husband was well known. They added that she had favored Harthacnut to the prejudice of the children she had had by her first husband and of the entire Saxon league; that she had consented, by the articles of her second marriage, to the exclusion of the legitimate heirs; that she had agreed to the plan to pass all of England to the posterity of Cnut, a plan to which Cnut nevertheless later derogated by giving Denmark to Harthacnut and England to Harold, whom he had had by a first wife; that the right of this prince to England was founded only on an unjust conquest, etc. It was not possible for the queen to clear herself of these latter imputations, and only her repentance could have erased them; but Edward was not sensitive to them, because he willingly forgot everything that was personal to him. It was not the same with the accusation that fell upon her morals. The king found himself in a cruel perplexity: on one hand, the crime seemed too atrocious to him to believe; on the other, he feared becoming guilty of connivance in such a scandal. He charged the bishops to take cognizance of this affair, and he wished them to assemble at Winchester. Alwin was forbidden to leave the city, and at the same time the queen was locked up in the monastery of Wherwell, in Hampshire. The first assembly having decided nothing, a second was held where several bishops were of the opinion that the matter should not be pursued. This is what the king ardently desired; but the Archbishop of Canterbury insisted so strongly on the enormity of the scandal and on the necessity of providing an effective remedy that the most rigorous course was taken. Emma, like another Susanna, was about to be the victim of her accusers, and seeing no way to prove her innocence, she had recourse to God, and full of confidence in Him, she offered to suffer the trial called ordeal. The day having been marked, she spent the night that preceded it in prayer. When the moment arrived, she walked barefoot and blindfolded over nine red-hot plowshares that had been placed in the church of Saint Swithun at Winchester. Having done herself no harm, she expressed her gratitude to Heaven, which had protected her in such a visible manner. The king, struck by the miracle, threw himself at his mother's feet and asked her forgiveness for his excessive credulity. In thanksgiving for the miracle, he gave considerable property to the church of Saint Swithun. The queen and Bishop Alwin also enriched it with their goods for the same reason. The Archbishop of Canterbury returned to Normandy and retired to the monastery of Jumièges, after having made a pilgrimage to Rome in expiation of his fault. Emma was restored to her former state and died at Winchester in 1052.

Saint Edward became especially famous for his laws. He adopted what was useful in those that were followed at the time and made the changes and additions he deemed necessary. Since then, his code became common to all of England under the name of the Laws of Edward th e Confessor, the titl Édouard le Confesseur King of England of the Saxon dynasty, famous for his piety and his laws. e by which they are distinguished from those given by the Norman kings. They are still part of British law, except for a few points that have since undergone changes. The penalties inflicted on the guilty by these laws are not severe; they recognize few crimes punishable by death; the fines are determined in a fixed manner and do not depend on the will of the judges. They provide for public safety and ensure to each individual the property of what he possesses. It was rarely necessary to be severe, because the observance of the laws was watched over and justice was well administered. "The wise administration of the pious king," says Gurdon, "had as much and even more power over the people than the text of the laws." — "Edward the Confessor," the same writer also says, "that great and wise legislator, reigned in the hearts of his subjects. The love, harmony, and intelligence that existed between him and the general assembly of the nation produced a happiness that became the measure of that which the people desired under the following reigns. The English and Norman barons appealed to the law and government of Edward.

The following incident is reported of the holy king. One day, while he was dozing in his palace, he saw a servant come twice to take money that had been left exposed. The servant having come a third time, the prince warned him to take care, and contented himself with making him feel the danger to which he would be exposed if he were discovered. Edward's private treasurer, having arrived some time later, became very angry about what had happened. Edward tried to appease him by telling him that this unfortunate man needed money more than they did. This action has been blamed by some moderns; but it can be justified by saying that the king made the culprit understand the full enormity of his crime; that he believed, based on the warnings he had given him, that he would correct himself in the future; that he regarded the wrong done to him as a personal wrong, and that he was persuaded that he could forgive this fault all the more easily as nothing contrary to the administration of public justice would result from it.

Few princes have been seen who showed themselves as zealous as Edward for the happiness of their people. He especially took the unfortunate under his protection, ensured the observance of the laws, and wanted justice to be rendered with as much integrity as promptness. He took King Alfred as his model, who regarded it as one of his principal duties to constantly enlighten the conduct of his judges. William the Bastard, Duke of Normandy, was himself a witness to the virtues and wisdom of his kinsman when he came to se Guillaume le Bâtard Duke of Normandy and successor to Edward on the English throne. e him in England in 1052.

Edward, during his exile in Normandy, had made a vow to visit the tomb of Saint Peter in Rome, if God would put an end to the misfortunes of his family. When he was firmly established on the throne, he prepared rich offerings for the altar of the Prince of the Apostles, and arranged everything to be ready to travel to Italy. Having then convened the general assembly of the nation, he declared the commitment he had made, and expressed the obligation he felt to show his gratitude to God. He then proposed the means that seemed to him most appropriate to make commerce flourish and to maintain peace; he finished by placing his subjects under the protection of heaven. The leaders of the assembly alleged the strongest reasons to dissuade him from executing his design. After praising his piety, they represented to him with tears the dangers to which the State would be exposed; that one would have to fear both internal and external enemies; that they already imagined seeing all calamities falling upon the kingdom. Edward was so touched by their reasons and their prayers that he promised, before undertaking anything, to consult Leo IX, who then occupied the chair of Saint Peter. He sent to Rome, for this purpose, Aelred, Archbishop of York, Herman, Bishop of Winchester, and two abbots. The Pope, persuaded that the king could not leave his States without exposing his people to great dangers, dispensed him from the fulfillment of his vow; but it was on condition that he would distribute to the poor the money he would have spent in coming to Rome, and that he would build or endow a monastery in honor of Saint Peter.

Sebert, King of the East Angles, had founded the cathedral of Saint Paul in London. Some authors have also attributed to him the foundation of a monastery in honor of Saint Peter, which was outside the walls and to the west of the city. It is said that this monastery occupied the site of an ancient temple of Apollo, which an earthquake had overturned: but the silence of Bede suggests that it was built later by some individual and that it was of little importance in its origin. It was called Thorney. After the Danes had destroyed it, King Edgar had it rebuilt. Edward, after having repaired it, made considerable donations to it; he also wished it to be honored with exemptions and privileges, which he obtained from Pope Nicholas II in 1059. It was given the name Westminster, because of its lo cation. It Westminster Monastery founded or restored by Edward, site of his burial. has since become very famous for the coronation of kings and for the burial of the great men of the kingdom. It was the richest abbey in all of England when the monasteries were destroyed there.

Several ancient historians report various miracles performed by the holy king. A leper urged him to carry him on his royal back into the church of Saint Peter, saying that this Saint had promised that he would be healed by this means. This good and holy prince lent himself to this repulsive ceremony and obtained the healing of the leper. By the sign of the cross, he healed a woman of a cancerous tumor recognized as incurable. Three blind men recovered their sight by applying to their eyes the water that had been used to wash his hands. He merited to see Our Lord Jesus Christ during the holy sacrifice of the Mass and to visibly receive his blessing.

Edward resided in Winchester, Windsor, and London, but most commonly in Islip, in the province of Oxford, where he was born. Formerly, the lords of the kingdom lived in the countryside and lived among their vassals; they only went to court for great feasts and on some extraordinary occasions. The feast of Christmas was one of the main ones where the nobility went to the king. Edward chose it for the dedication of the new church of Westminster, so that the ceremony would be performed with more solemnity. The most qualified persons of the kingdom attended. The king signed the act of foundation, and had inserted at the end terrible imprecations against those who would dare to violate the privileges of his monastery.

After the Prince of the Apostles, the one among the Saints to whom he had the most devotion was Saint John the Evangel ist, that perfect model saint Jean l'Évangéliste Appears with the Virgin to instruct Gregory. of purity and charity. Here is a charming story on this subject. Edward never refused the alms asked of him in the name of Saint John the Evangelist. One day, having nothing else, he gave his ring to a stranger who begged him in the name of Saint John. Some time later, two Englishmen who were going to Jerusalem to visit the Holy Sepulchre lost their way one evening and were surprised by the night. As they no longer knew what to do, a venerable old man put them back on their path, led them to the city, and told them that he was the beloved disciple of Jesus Christ; that he singularly cherished their prince, Edward, because of his chastity, and that he would also assist them throughout their journey out of regard for him. Then he placed in their hands the ring that this prince had given to the poor pilgrim for the love of him, assuring them that it was he himself, disguised as a poor man, who had received it; and he charged them to bring it back to him and to warn him on his behalf that at the end of six months he would come to seek him to lead him with him in the following of the Lamb without stain. These two men, having returned to England, reported to the king everything the holy Evangelist had told them, and presented his ring to him. The king received it while bursting into tears, and gave thanks to God for such a great favor. The historians of his life report that this Saint, in reward for his piety, made him know in a supernatural way that the moment of his death was approaching.

In making the foundation of which we have just spoken, Edward hoped to erect a monument that would attest to future centuries his zeal for the glory of God and his devotion to the Prince of the Apostles. He wanted to give God true servants, who would perform the function of angels on earth, who would compensate for the imperfection of his good works, and who would replace him when he no longer lived. He renewed at the same time the offering he had already made, and which he made every day to the Lord, of himself and of everything he possessed.

Having fallen ill before the dedication ceremony of Westminster Abbey, he nonetheless attended until the end; but he was forced to take to his bed. He thought only of preparing for death through fervent acts of piety and the reception of the sacraments. All the lords of his court showed the deepest sorrow. Seeing the queen dissolved in tears, he said to her: "Do not weep anymore; I shall not die, but I shall live; I hope, in leaving this land of death, to enter the land of the living to enjoy there the happiness of the Saints." He then commended her to Harold and other lords, and declared to them that she had remained a virgin. He expired peacefully on January 5, 1066, in the sixty-fourth year of his age, after a reign of more than twenty-three years.

Saint Edward is represented sometimes giving alms to a leper or healing him; sometimes carrying a poor sick man on his shoulders.

[APPENDIX: CULT AND RELICS.]

After his death, the miracles that occurred at his tomb contributed greatly to the establishment of his cult. The blind recovered their sight there, some paralytics were healed there, and the sick were delivered from the quartan fever by which they were tormented. William the Conqueror, who ascended the throne of England in 1066, had his body enclosed in a magnificent coffin which, in turn, was placed in a shrine of gold and silver. Thirty-six years after the Saint's death, in 1102, his body was raised from the earth by the Bishop of Rochester, who found it whole, flexible, and without corruption, along with his clothes, which still appeared brand new.

The blessed Edward was canonized in 1161 by Alexander III, and his feast was marked on January 5. Tw Alexandre III Pope who proceeded with the canonization of Bertrand in Toulouse. o years later, Saint Thomas, Archbishop of Canterbury, performed a more solemn translation, at which King Henry II was present, accompanied by fourteen bishops, five abbots, and all his nobility. This prince carried this holy deposit on his own shoulders throughout the cloister of Westminster Abbey. This translation took place on October 13, the day on which his principal feast has since been celebrated. The national council of Oxford, held in 1222, ordered that it be of obligation in England.

The kings of England, out of respect for the memory of the Saint, received his crown at their coronation, and used his dalmatic and his maniple. The crown having been changed since, the one that was substituted for it retained the name of Saint Edward.

We have drawn this account from the *Lives of the Saints* by Alban Butler, which we have reviewed and completed.