Eadwig Ætheling (sometimes also known as Eadwy or Edwy) (died 1017) was the fifth of the six sons of King

Æthelred the Unready Æthelred II (,Different spellings of this king's name most commonly found in modern texts are "Ethelred" and "Æthelred" (or "Aethelred"), the latter being closer to the original Old English form . Compare the modern dialect word . ; ; 966 � ...

and his first wife,

Ælfgifu Ælfgifu (also ''Ælfgyfu''; ''Elfgifa, Elfgiva, Elgiva'') is an Anglo-Saxon name, Anglo-Saxon feminine personal name, from ''ælf'' "elf" and ''gifu'' "gift". When Emma of Normandy, the later mother of Edward the Confessor, became queen of Engla ...

. Eadwig is recorded as a witness to charters from 993. When

Sweyn Forkbeard Sweyn Forkbeard ( ; ; 17 April 963 – 3 February 1014) was King of Denmark from 986 until his death, King of England for five weeks from December 1013 until his death, and King of Norway from 999/1000 until 1014. He was the father of King Ha ...

conquered England in 1013, Æthelred fled to

Normandy Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy. Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...

, but Eadwig, who had previously rarely been associated with his elder brothers,

Æthelstan Ætheling Æthelstan Ætheling (; early or mid 980s – 25 June 1014) was the eldest son of King Æthelred the Unready by his first wife Ælfgifu of York, Ælfgifu, and was the heir apparent to the kingdom until his death. He is first mentioned as a wi ...

and

Edmund Ironside Edmund Ironside (30 November 1016; , , ; sometimes also known as Edmund II) was King of the English from 23 April to 30 November 1016. He was the son of King Æthelred the Unready and his first wife, Ælfgifu of York. Edmund's reign was marre ...

, remained behind with them in England. Sweyn died in February 1014, and Æthelred was restored to the throne. Æthelstan died in June 1014 and Æthelred in April 1016, leaving Edmund and Sweyn's son

Cnut Cnut ( ; ; – 12 November 1035), also known as Canute and with the epithet the Great, was King of England from 1016, King of Denmark from 1018, and King of Norway from 1028 until his death in 1035. The three kingdoms united under Cnut's rul ...

to dispute the throne. In October 1016 Cnut and Edmund agreed to divide England between them, but Edmund died a month later, leaving Cnut as undisputed king. Eadwig, who was now the last surviving son by his father's first marriage, was banished in 1016 and then outlawed in 1017 by Cnut, however he was reconciled with Cnut the same year and allowed to live in England, but was murdered soon after at the instigation of Cnut, possibly after attempting to rally resistance in the south west.Stafford, op. cit., pp. 225-26 The Anglo-Saxon claim to the throne then passed to the elder son of Æthelred's second marriage, the future

Edward the Confessor Edward the Confessor ( 1003 – 5 January 1066) was King of England from 1042 until his death in 1066. He was the last reigning monarch of the House of Wessex. Edward was the son of Æthelred the Unready and Emma of Normandy. He succeede ...

. Eadwig was buried at

Tavistock Abbey Tavistock Abbey, also known as the Abbey of Mary, the mother of Jesus, Saint Mary and Saint Rumon, is a ruined Order of Saint Benedict, Benedictine abbey in Tavistock, Devon. The Abbey was surrendered in 1539 during the Dissolution of the Monaste ...

in Devon, a place built by his uncle Ordwulf.

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* {{PASE, 11810, Eadwig 11 10th-century births 1017 deaths 10th-century English nobility 11th-century English people Anglo-Saxon royalty Year of birth unknown House of Wessex English princes

See also

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