EDMUND I

born 921 died May 26, 946, Pucklechurch, Eng. Edmund I byname Edmund The Deed-doer, Latin Edmundus Magnificus king of the English (939946), who recaptured areas of northern England that had been occupied by the Vikings. He was the son of the West Saxon king Edward the Elder (reigned 899924) and the half brother of King Athelstan (reigned 924939), under whom the political unification of England had been accomplished. On Athelstan's death (939), Olaf Guthfrithson, the Norse king of Dublin, occupied Northumbria and raided the Midlands. Edmund recovered the Midlands after Olaf died in 942, and in 944 he regained Northumbria, driving out the Norse kings Olaf Sihtricson and Raegnald. He captured Strathclyde in 945 and entrusted it to Malcolm I, king of Scots, in return for a promise of military support. Thus, Edmund inaugurated a policy of establishing a secure frontier and peaceful relations with Scotland. In addition, his reign marks the beginning of the 10th-century monastic revival in England. The king was killed in his palace by an exiled robber and was succeeded by his brother, Eadred (reigned 946955); Edmund's sons eventually acceded to power as kings Eadwig (reigned 957959) and Edgar (reigned 959975).