remains is unclear. Reputation In the view of M. K. Lawson, the intensity of Edmund's struggle against the Danes in 1016 is only matched by Alfred the Great's in 871, and contrasts with Æthelred's failure. Edmund's success in raising one army after another suggests that there was little wrong with the organs of government under competent leadership. He was "probably a highly determined, skilled and indeed inspiring leader of men". Cnut visited his tomb on the anniversary of his death and laid a cloak decorated with peacocks on it to assist in his salvation, peacocks symbolising resurrection. Descendants Edmund had two children by Ealdgyth: Edward the Exile and Edmund Ætheling. According to John of Worcester, Cnut sent them to Sweden where he probably hoped they would be murdered and forgotten, but King Olof of Sweden instead forwarded them on to Kiev, where his daughter Ingegerd was the grand princess. The boys eventually ended up in Hungary where Edmund died but Edward prospered. Edward returned from exile to England in 1057 only to die within a few days of his arrival. His son Edgar Ætheling was briefly proclaimed king after the Battle of Hastings in 1066, but later submitted to William the Conqueror. Edgar lived a long and eventful life: fighting in rebellion against William the Conqueror from 1067 to 1075; fighting alongside the Conqueror's son Robert Curthose in campaigns in Sicily (1085–1087); and accompanying Robert on the First Crusade (1099–1103). He was still alive in 1125. In 1070 Edward the Exile's daughter, Margaret, became queen of Scotland. Through her and her descendants, Edmund is the ancestor of subsequent British monarchs. In culture Edmund Ironside is an Elizabethan play about him, which some critics believe to be a very early work by William Shakespeare. Edmund is played by John Horn in the 1970 television movie The Ceremony of Innocence. Edmund is one of the main characters in Justin Hill's novel Shieldwall (2011), first in the Conquest Trilogy. Edmund is a recurring character in the 2022 Netflix historical drama series Vikings: Valhalla, played by Louis Davison. See also House of Wessex family tree References Notes Citations Sources Anglo-Saxon Chronicle Clemoes, Peter. The Anglo-Saxons: Studies Presented to Bruce Dickins, 1959 External links Monarchs of England before 1066 10th-century births 1016 deaths Burials at Glastonbury Abbey Anglo-Saxon warriors 10th-century English people 11th-century English monarchs Christian monarchs House of Wessex