St Edward the Confessor

Edward the Confessor was a devout and gentle king whose sanctity showed itself more clearly in character than in forceful political command. That very gentleness left him vulnerable among harder personalities and rougher politics. Exile in Normandy, accession to the throne, marriage to Edith, tensions with Earl Godwin, and the strain of Norman influence all belong to the setting of his reign. Within it Edward tried to govern with mildness, justice, and generosity.

He relieved burdens on the people, gave alms freely, and above all rebuilt and endowed Westminster when the Roman pilgrimage he had vowed could not be made. The life is honest about his limits and about uncertainties in later tradition, especially the question of continence in marriage. What remains is a saintly king who was real, pious, and not perfectly fitted for the hard age in which he had to rule.