Saint Éadgár of England
Looking at the Orthodox lists of Western pre-Schismatic saints, I confess I was somewhat surprised to see the name of Éadgár the Frithsome, king of England, mentioned on our calendar. That said, it does somewhat make sense. Among the recalcitrant and greedy noble families of southern England at the time, Éadgár was particularly notable for his patronage of both the reform of the Benedictine monasteries and the actual monasteries themselves. He also brought a much-needed peace in England by pursuing what may be termed a policy of armed neutrality: he politically united England, built up a navy of thirty-six hundred ships, and refused either to pay the Danegeld or to engage in punitive raids against the Danes. And, much to the Church’s delight, he recalled Saint Dúnstán from his exile; thereafter the saint resumed his political prominence.
Éadgár was the younger son of Éadmund Æðeling, by Ælfgifu of Shaftesbury. His elder brother was the same Éadwig whose turbulent coronation and subsequent exile of Saint Dúnstán have both been commented upon before. Éadwig’s short reign was punctuated by political turmoil. Éadgár set himself up as a rival king in Mercia and Northumbria during this time, and his enthronement in Wessex at the age of fifteen upon Éadwig’s untimely death was broadly welcomed. As said before, one of Éadgár’s first acts as king was to recall Saint Dúnstán, who later performed the coronation Liturgy for both Éadgár and his then-consort Ælfþrýð.
Éadgár’s love life was not particularly saintly. His first wife was Æþelflæd, who bore him Éadweard, who succeeded his father as king but was martyred young. Éadgár took Saint Wulfþrýð, a nun or novice at Wilton Abbey, as his mistress; she bore to him a daughter, Éadgýð, who also became a nun – the two of them both later became saints. (Éadgár himself had to do seven years’ fasting penance at the Church’s insistence for seducing and fathering a child with a nun.) Éadgár later heard of Ælfþrýð, whose beauty was renowned. As a popular but probably ahistorical story goes, he sent an ealdorman named Æþelwold to evaluate Ælfþrýð’s beauty, but the ealdorman, smitten with the woman, took her for his own wife – telling Éadgár that she was not as beautiful as reported. When Éadgár visited Æþelwold later, Ælfþrýð showed her beauty to him, and a wroth and lovesick Éadgár shot Æþelwold dead during a hunt to take Ælfþrýð for himself, just as David killed Uriah over Bathsheba. What is historically known is that the beautiful Ælfþrýð bore Éadgár two sons: Éadmund, who died as an infant; and Æþelræd II unrǽd, King of England. Ælfþrýð’s character did not match up to her looks, though: it was she who ordered Éadweard to be killed and his body hidden.
As with King David, Éadgár’s political accomplishments were much more noteworthy. Éadgár possessed a strong mix of personal charisma and political and administrative savvy. He had already built up a strong base of support in Mercia and Northumbria prior to his enthronement in Wessex. In 973, Éadgár had Saint Dúnstán hold a state coronation at Bath for himself and Ælfþrýð, which had distinct ‘propaganda’ value for the state in terms of solidifying noble and churchly support for his rule, and also earned him a certain degree of political goodwill. Éadgár used this goodwill to implement a significant political reform which has lasted in England and the United Kingdom all the way down to this day: the formal reorganisation of England from kingdoms into shires and hundreds. This move centralised power in the office of the king and diminished the power of noblemen to raise armies in rebellion or private wars. As a result, there was a period of unprecedented internal peace in England, as well as the external peace wrought by Éadgár’s defensive use of his navies against Danish and Norwegian raiders.
Éadgár’s support for Benedictine monasteries and the late Old English ‘reformers’ – in particular, his advancements of not only Saint Dúnstán but also Saint Ósweald of Worcester and Saint Æþelwold of Winchester – also deeply strengthened the Faith in England. Indeed, it could fairly be said that the Faith was restored in England under Éadgár, as many of the monasteries – the great schools of the Christian faith in that island – had been utterly demolished and spoilt by a mixture of laxity, neglect and heathen Danish rapine. Thus, despite Éadgár’s proclivities to lust, through repentance and goodwill and an active love for his people that brought them a period of peace, he managed to earn a place among the saints. Holy and right-believing Éadgár, prodigal son of the West Saxon house who was given an æternal crown, pray unto Christ our God to save us sinners!
Look down from heaven upon us, thy children,
O right-believing Éadgár, thou king who reignest no longer over England,
But dwellest in the mansions of heaven;
And accepting our prayerful entreaties,
Establish the Holy Orthodox Faith throughout thy land,
And protect it by thine intercession on high,
That it may triumph at last over the manifold errors of this age!
Saint Sunngifu of Selja
The eighth of July also happens to be the feast of Sunngifu, an Anglo-Hibernian princess who is an almost exact contemporary of Éadgár King, whose memory is cherished in particular among the people of Norway – for it was the Norwegian isle of Selja which she made for herself and her family a holy eremitical refuge.
According to the legend, Sunngifu was the English daughter of a king in the west of Ireland, who took possession of his kingdom after his death. During the few years of her reign, she ruled wisely and brought wealth to the kingdom. Because she ruled a wealthy kingdom and because of her personal beauty, a heathen Danish raider invaded her land: to take her as wife and her possessions for himself. Understanding that she had put her kingdom in danger, she took to a ship and set sail – many of the folk of her kingdom desired to come with her, and she took with her as many as she was able: but they had with them little equipment, no clothing, no weapons and no armour. Praying to God, Sunniva asked that their ship be led to safety by the winds and tides. They washed ashore at Selja.
Sunniva and the survivors from her kingdom – which included a brother and two sisters – built houses on Selja and lived there a quiet life well-pleasing to God. However, Norwegians from the mainland soon discovered their enclave. Because they were outsiders, any thefts or losses of cattle and sheep among the local farmers came to be blamed on them. The farmers complained to Hákon Sigurðarson, jarl of Hlaðir, who raised a great host with weapons and byrnies to drive out the bandits. Sunniva and those with her saw this here coming from a distance, and fled into the caves. Fearing ravishment, Sunniva prayed to God to preserve them from such a fate. Rocks fell across the entrance, trapping the Christians inside and thwarting the heathens without.
Two decades later, after the death of Hákon, Óláfr Tryggvason came to Selja after hearing reports of a wondrous light rising from the isle. He found and uncovered the caves, where the Christians had been sealed. To his astonishment, he found buried there the incorrupt body of Saint Sunngifu, her flesh untouched by age or decay, her every hair intact and her every joint limp – as if she had not died but merely fallen asleep. A Benedictine cloister, Selje Abbey, was built on the wreckage of the caves, and Saint Sunngifu’s body was placed in a state of honour there. (An Orthodox monastery today exists near the same site.) Around 1170, Saint Sunngifu was translated to Bergen, where her relics wondrously stopped a fire from destroying the entire city. Saint Sunngifu, pray to Christ our God that our souls may be saved!
Most blessed were the chaste royal virgin Sunngifu
And those who died with her,
For the King of kings, showing them His grace and favour,
In His compassion and loving-kindness
Delivered them from the hand of the infidel,
And made them to dwell with the saints and angels in paradise.
Glory to Him Who hath saved them!
Glory to Him Who hath crowned them!
Glory to Him Who worketh all-glorious wonders
Through His faithful martyrs!
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