Edward the Confessor: The Man and the Legend

The millennium of Edward the Confessor's birth presents an appropriate occasion for a full-scale, up-to-date reassessment of his life, reign and cult, a reappraisal which is provided in the essays here. After an introduction to the many views of Edward's life, and a reinterpretation of the development of his cult, the volume considers his childhood in England and its influence upon his later life; the time he spent in Normandy and the relationships that developed there; and his later life, including an examination of the role played by Edith, his queen. There is also a particular focus upon Westminster Abbey, and the major new discoveries which have recently been made there. Incorporating both broad surveys and the fruits of detailed new work, this book will be essential reading for all those interested in late Saxon and Norman England.