275 – King Edward the Almost First King of England

The story of Edward is undeniably odd. There are events that are at best, unexplained and at worst look potentially horrible. But he’s also a man of contradiction, because the one thing we haven’t talked about is the one thing you’re probably not expecting. He was an effective king. In fact, historians like Stenton argue that he waged “one of the best-sustained and most decisive campaigns in the whole of the Dark Ages.” And I think he might be right, even though I would add that large parts of Edward’s successes are owed, at least in part, to AEthelflaed. Because many of these wars, as well as the expansion of Alfred’s plan for Fortress Wessex, were successful because Edward and AEthelflaed worked on the projects together.