King

Edgar the Peaceful Edgar (or Eadgar; 8 July 975), known sometimes as Edgar the Peacemaker or the Peaceable, was King of the English from 959 until his death in 975. He became king of all England on his brother Eadwig's death. He was the younger son of King Edm ...

's council at

Chester Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...

took place in AD 973 shortly after Edgar's coronation at Bath. What happened at Chester has been heavily obscured by the embellishments and political environment of later, twelfth century chroniclers, however, it is claimed that several kings came and pledged their allegiance to Edgar, including

Kenneth II of Scotland Cináed mac Maíl Coluim (, anglicised Kenneth II, and nicknamed , "The Fratricidal"; 932–995) was King of Alba (Scotland) from 971 to 995. The son of Malcolm I (Máel Coluim mac Domnaill), he succeeded King Cuilén (Cuilén mac Iduilb) o ...

and Máel Coluim I of Strathclyde and five from Wales. The chroniclers wrote that these kings pledged their faith that they would be Edgar's liege-men on sea and land. Later chroniclers made the kings into eight, all plying the oars of Edgar's state barge on the River Dee. Such embellishments may not be factual, and what actually happened is unclear. Eadwulf Evil-child, the earl of Bamburgh, Oslac, the earl of York, and Bishop Ælfsige of Lindisfarne escorted Kenneth to the council at Chester. Chroniclers wrote that after Kenneth had reportedly done homage, Edgar rewarded Kenneth by granting him ''Laudian'' (thought to be

Lothian Lothian (; ; ) is a region of the Scottish Lowlands, lying between the southern shore of the Firth of Forth and the Lammermuir Hills and the Moorfoot Hills. The principal settlement is the Scottish capital, Edinburgh, while other signific ...

), thereby changing the frontier between Northumbria and Alba (this was the nascent

Anglo-Scottish border The Anglo-Scottish border runs for between Marshall Meadows Bay on the east coast and the Solway Firth in the west, separating Scotland and England. The Firth of Forth was the border between the Picto- Gaelic Kingdom of Alba and the Angli ...

) in Alba's favour.

Location

The traditional location of Edgar's royal residence in Chester is known as Edgar's Field, a park in Handbridge, a district of Chester. The barge is thought to have been rowed from Edgar's residence up the Dee to St John's Church on the opposite bank.

Location

Notes

Further reading