Edgar, or EADGAR, king of the English from 959 to 975, was born in 944, the younger son of
Edmund the Magnificent. After his elder brother's accession to the throne, Edgar in 957 was made ruler over Northumbria and Mercia, and two years later, on his brother Eadwig's death, became king of Wessex in addition. His reign, the policy of which was largely shaped by Dnnstan (q.v.), was one of almost unbroken peace and prosperity; the Danes were conciliated, the monastic system was reformed, and the laws were strictly administered. Thus the epoch of Edgar the Peaceful was one which greatly favoured the work of national consolidation, the fusing together of the Danish, Saxon, and Mercian elements existent in the country.