EDMUND II., King of the Angle-Saxons, surnamed Ironside, either front his great strength, or the armour which he wore, was the son of King Ethelred II., and was born in 989. According to the account that has commonly been received, his mother was Elgiva, or Ethelgiva, the daughter of Earl Thored, or Toreth, who was Ethelred's first wife. Other authorities however assert that the mother of Edmund, and also of several of his brothers, was a foreign lady, who was only Ethelred's concubine. On the whole, the point of his legitimacy must be considered doubtful Edmund appears, in the history of the latter years of his father's calamitous reign, as tho chief champion of the English cause against Canute and his Danes, who had by this time nearly overrun the king dom. On the death of Ethelred in 1016, Edmund was proclaimed king by tho burgesses of London, and soon after, at leftist all the kingdom of Wessex, the hereditary dominion of his family, and which was now cousideied as comprehending tho whole territory to the south of the Thames, appears to have submitted to his authority. Ho had the year before, by a marriage with Elgiva, the widow of Sigeferth, a thane of Danish descent, who bad been put to death by Ethelred, made himself muter, In defiance of the despised and dying king, of estates of great extent ; and the power he thus acquired is supposed to have materially assisted him in securing the throne.
The short reign of Edmund was nearly all spent in a continuation of the sanguinary struggle in which he had already so greatly distin guished blmselL His exploits are dwelt upou by the old national chroniclers with fond amplification, but it is not very easy to separate what Is of historical value in their narratives from the romantic deco ration's Immediately on Edmund's accession the Danish forces appear to have besieged London. The English king remained in the capital till it was considered secure; after which we find him engaging Canute, first at Pon, in Dorsetshlre (or, according to another account, near Gillingham, in Somerset/shire); and then at a place called Sceorstan, which is supposed to be the spot still marked by a atone at the meeting of the four counties of Oxford, Oloticenter, Worcester, Bud Warwick.
In both these fights Edmond appears to have been victorious; that of Sceorstan lasted two days. A third engagement took place at Brent ford, tho Jamie of which is disputed. Soon after, the two armies met again Ottenford, or Oxford, in Kent, when the Danes were defeated with great slaughter. Finally however Edmund sustained decisive discomfiture at the great battle of Assandun, supposed to be Asaing ton, in Essex. After Oda, according to one account, which however has been generally discredited by modern historians, Cauuto and Edmund agreed to decide their quarrel by single combat, and the encounter accordingly took place on an islet called Alney, or Olney, in the Severn, which some place near Doerburst, others near Glouces ter, between Overbridge and Maysemore. The result was, that Canute was obliged to yield and cue for hie life. Whether the ;Ingle combat took place or not, it is certain that an arrangement between the parties was now made, by which Mercia and Northumbria were made over to Canute, while Edmund was allowed to retain possession of the rest of the kingdom, with the nominal sovereignty of the whole. it is also said to have been stipulated that when either should die the Aber should be his successor. Edmund died a few weeks after this pacification, having worn the crown only about seven months; and although there is considerable variation and obeourity in the accounts of his death, there are strong reasons for believing that he was made away with by the contrivance of Canute. The northern historians state this in distinct terms. Canute immediately mounted the vacant throne, 1016. Edmund Ironside left by his wife Algitha two sous, Edward, called the Outlaw, and another, whom eemo call Edmund, others Edwin, and of whom it is not known whether lie was older or younger than Edward. [Ewan Edwy, the brother of Edmund, was put to death by command of Canute.