Edgar or Eadgar [key], 943?–975, king of the English (959–75), son of Edmund, king of Wessex. In 957 the Mercians and Northumbrians rebelled against Edgar's brother Edwy and chose Edgar as their king. In 959 he succeeded his brother as king of Wessex. His reign was one of orderly prosperity. He recalled (958) Saint Dunstan from Flanders and with him initiated widespread monastic reforms. In 973 the king was crowned at Bath in an elaborate ceremony, the first of its kind in England, that stressed the analogy between kingship and priesthood. Shortly afterward he received homage from the other kings in Britain at Chester. He gave Lothian to the king of Scotland in return for his homage and granted practical autonomy to the Danes in England (see Danelaw) in return for their loyalty. Edgar was succeeded by his son by his first wife, Edward the Martyr. His son by his second wife was Æthelred the Unready, who succeeded Edward.
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