A Chronicle of England - Page 069 - The Barge of Edgar Manned by Eight Kings on the Dee

King Edgar's council at

Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

took place in AD 973 shortly after Edgar's coronation at

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

. 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 ( gd, Coinneach mac Mhaoil Chaluim, label= Modern Scottish Gaelic, anglicised Kenneth II, and nicknamed , "The Fratricidal"; died 995) was King of Scots (''Alba'') from 971 to 995. The son of Malcolm I (Máel Coluim mac Do ...

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 Eadwulf II (alternatively Eadulf, or occasionally Adulf), nicknamed Evil-child ( ang, Yfelcild), (fl. AD 968–970) was ruler of Bamburgh in the late tenth century. Although Eadwulf is sometimes described as the Earl of Northumbria, he ruled onl ...

, the Earl of Bamburgh,

Oslac Óslác is a theophoric Anglo-Saxon given name, cognate to Old Norse ''Ásleikr''/''Áslákr'' (Latinised ''Ansleicus'', modern Scandinavian ''Aslak'') and to Old High German ''Ansleh'' (''Anslech'', ''Ansleccus''). It is composed of '' ós'' "god" ...

, the Earl of York, and Bishop Ælfsige of Lindisfarne escorted Kenneth II 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 (; sco, Lowden, Loudan, -en, -o(u)n; gd, Lodainn ) 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 Scott ...

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

Anglo-Scottish border The Anglo-Scottish border () is a border separating Scotland and England which runs for between Marshall Meadows Bay on the east coast and the Solway Firth in the west. The surrounding area is sometimes referred to as "the Borderlands". The ...

) in Alba's favour.

Location

Edgar, King of the English, rowed on the River Dee

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