1 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:04,640 Speaker 1: Welcome to Noble Blood, a production of iHeartRadio and Grimm 2 00:00:04,640 --> 00:00:11,240 Speaker 1: and Mild from Aaron Mankie Listener discretion advised. In the 3 00:00:11,320 --> 00:00:14,680 Speaker 1: year nine hundred and fifty five, there was a new 4 00:00:14,760 --> 00:00:19,239 Speaker 1: monarch on the throne of Wessex. Edwig, the fourteen year 5 00:00:19,239 --> 00:00:23,119 Speaker 1: old son of the previous king, was the new king. 6 00:00:24,280 --> 00:00:28,520 Speaker 1: After young Edwig went through his official anointing and installation 7 00:00:28,760 --> 00:00:33,280 Speaker 1: as King of the Anglo Saxons, the Wessex nobility celebrated 8 00:00:33,400 --> 00:00:37,159 Speaker 1: their new ruler with a feast, But as the guests 9 00:00:37,400 --> 00:00:42,400 Speaker 1: gathered around the table, they noticed an important person missing, 10 00:00:43,000 --> 00:00:47,960 Speaker 1: the teenage King Edwig himself, with the guest of honor 11 00:00:48,159 --> 00:00:52,519 Speaker 1: nowhere to be found, the archbishop sent two high up 12 00:00:52,640 --> 00:00:58,640 Speaker 1: clergy members, Abbot Dunstan and Bishop Quinnessier to the king's 13 00:00:58,800 --> 00:01:02,400 Speaker 1: royal apartments to see if he might be there. The 14 00:01:02,440 --> 00:01:06,640 Speaker 1: two men barged in to find a shocking sight. The 15 00:01:06,760 --> 00:01:10,479 Speaker 1: royal crown tossed to the side on the floor and 16 00:01:10,600 --> 00:01:14,680 Speaker 1: the young king himself in the middle of a threesome. 17 00:01:15,640 --> 00:01:20,200 Speaker 1: As one account put it, quote, he was disporting himself 18 00:01:20,319 --> 00:01:23,880 Speaker 1: between two women as though they were wallowing in some 19 00:01:24,240 --> 00:01:31,520 Speaker 1: revolting pigsty end quote horrified, Abbott Dunstan quote told off 20 00:01:31,680 --> 00:01:35,560 Speaker 1: the two women and tried to convince Edwig to come 21 00:01:35,600 --> 00:01:40,399 Speaker 1: to his feast, but the king refused. Dunstan had to 22 00:01:40,640 --> 00:01:45,160 Speaker 1: quote put out his hand and physically quote remove him 23 00:01:45,280 --> 00:01:49,200 Speaker 1: from the couch where he had been laying, quote parted 24 00:01:49,360 --> 00:01:53,400 Speaker 1: from his women only by force. One of the women 25 00:01:53,840 --> 00:01:59,520 Speaker 1: was the young king's fiance, Alphabou, but scandalously, the other 26 00:01:59,600 --> 00:02:05,720 Speaker 1: woman was Alphabou's mother. The discovery of the threesome would 27 00:02:05,720 --> 00:02:10,080 Speaker 1: be humiliating for Edwig. He had been caught and exposed 28 00:02:10,160 --> 00:02:15,600 Speaker 1: for abandoning his royal duties for an incestuous affair, but 29 00:02:16,600 --> 00:02:21,440 Speaker 1: did it actually happen. Given the outrageousness of the tale, 30 00:02:21,919 --> 00:02:25,200 Speaker 1: many historians suggest that it might have been an attempt 31 00:02:25,280 --> 00:02:30,800 Speaker 1: to slander Edwig's reputation. After all, accounts of Edwigs's threesome 32 00:02:31,320 --> 00:02:35,120 Speaker 1: only appear in narratives of the life of Abbot Dunstan, 33 00:02:35,639 --> 00:02:39,240 Speaker 1: the man who heroically stepped in to stop the debauchery 34 00:02:39,639 --> 00:02:44,400 Speaker 1: and returned the king to his officially sanctioned activities. These 35 00:02:44,440 --> 00:02:49,720 Speaker 1: biographies have a notably pro Dunstan slant and a tendency 36 00:02:49,800 --> 00:02:55,040 Speaker 1: to exaggerate. Alongside the story of Edwigs's alleged threesome is 37 00:02:55,080 --> 00:02:59,960 Speaker 1: a tale of Dunstan slaying the devil twice and reorienting 38 00:03:00,080 --> 00:03:05,239 Speaker 1: an entire church with only his shoulder, and Dunstan had 39 00:03:05,280 --> 00:03:09,400 Speaker 1: a good motive to lie about the new king. Edwig 40 00:03:09,480 --> 00:03:14,720 Speaker 1: and Dunstan were bitter enemies, and the threesome incident was 41 00:03:14,919 --> 00:03:20,000 Speaker 1: just one event in a decades long rivalry which spanned 42 00:03:20,160 --> 00:03:26,000 Speaker 1: multiple kings, sent Dunstan into exile and ultimately destroyed a marriage. 43 00:03:26,760 --> 00:03:30,920 Speaker 1: Turns out, salacious gossip about the sex lives of people 44 00:03:31,000 --> 00:03:36,320 Speaker 1: in power is not a modern invention. I'm Dana Schwartz 45 00:03:36,560 --> 00:03:44,240 Speaker 1: and this is Noble Blood Abbott. Dunstan's beef with Edwig 46 00:03:44,400 --> 00:03:49,000 Speaker 1: started long before young Edwig took the throne. Dunstan was 47 00:03:49,040 --> 00:03:53,120 Speaker 1: born in nine hundred and nine from humble origins. He 48 00:03:53,120 --> 00:03:56,840 Speaker 1: would eventually rise through the religious ranks to become the 49 00:03:56,880 --> 00:04:01,720 Speaker 1: advisor to seven kings and eventually the abbot of Glastonbury, 50 00:04:02,280 --> 00:04:07,320 Speaker 1: but it was a politically tumultuous time. Most kings spent 51 00:04:07,680 --> 00:04:10,840 Speaker 1: three or four years on the throne, with the threat 52 00:04:10,960 --> 00:04:16,599 Speaker 1: of assassination or replacement always lurking. Politically savvy operators like 53 00:04:16,680 --> 00:04:22,159 Speaker 1: Dunstan often had targets on their backs. Dunstan's drama with 54 00:04:22,279 --> 00:04:27,320 Speaker 1: the royal family started two kings before Edwig with Athelston 55 00:04:27,800 --> 00:04:32,400 Speaker 1: Edwiggs Dad's half brother, who I suppose as edwigs half uncle. 56 00:04:32,960 --> 00:04:38,520 Speaker 1: According to one of Dunstan's biographies, Athelston's courtiers were jealous 57 00:04:38,560 --> 00:04:42,320 Speaker 1: that Dunstan was the king's favorite, so they spread a 58 00:04:42,440 --> 00:04:45,800 Speaker 1: rumor about Dunstan that he was a heathen who took 59 00:04:45,880 --> 00:04:52,000 Speaker 1: part in magic rights. Believing the gossip, Ethelstan banished Dunstan 60 00:04:52,400 --> 00:04:54,919 Speaker 1: and his courtiers beat him up and left him for 61 00:04:55,000 --> 00:05:01,400 Speaker 1: dead in a duck pond, which is an adorable detail. Somehow, 62 00:05:01,520 --> 00:05:06,600 Speaker 1: Dunstan survived, and Ethelstan eventually welcomed him back into his 63 00:05:06,720 --> 00:05:12,840 Speaker 1: court and apologized for the misunderstanding. When Athelston died, he 64 00:05:12,960 --> 00:05:17,400 Speaker 1: was replaced with his half brother Edmund, Edwig's dad, who 65 00:05:17,480 --> 00:05:22,200 Speaker 1: sent Dunstan into exile yet again after his courtiers spread 66 00:05:22,320 --> 00:05:27,880 Speaker 1: yet another vicious rumor, but Edmund allegedly re admitted Dunstan. 67 00:05:28,320 --> 00:05:33,600 Speaker 1: After he was hunting near Cheddar Gorge. While chasing a stag, 68 00:05:34,200 --> 00:05:38,080 Speaker 1: Edmund came dangerously close to falling off the side of 69 00:05:38,120 --> 00:05:42,800 Speaker 1: the cliff before Dunstan saved him. If you couldn't tell 70 00:05:42,880 --> 00:05:46,720 Speaker 1: from Dunstan's heroic role in that story, it comes from 71 00:05:46,800 --> 00:05:53,000 Speaker 1: one of Dunstan's hagiographic biographies. But anyway, after Edmund's death, 72 00:05:53,200 --> 00:05:57,880 Speaker 1: he was succeeded by his brother Edred, and I genuinely 73 00:05:57,920 --> 00:06:03,159 Speaker 1: apologized for these names. Dunstan had a relatively drama free 74 00:06:03,160 --> 00:06:07,479 Speaker 1: stint in Edridge Court, with a plumb political position as 75 00:06:07,520 --> 00:06:11,960 Speaker 1: one of the king's most trusted advisers. Edred even put 76 00:06:12,120 --> 00:06:14,680 Speaker 1: Dunstan in charge of a good amount of his royal 77 00:06:14,839 --> 00:06:18,760 Speaker 1: treasure and authorized him to make royal charters, which was 78 00:06:18,800 --> 00:06:23,760 Speaker 1: a rare honor for a clergyman. But Dunstan's secure spot 79 00:06:23,880 --> 00:06:28,479 Speaker 1: in the royal court wouldn't last loan. Edred died in 80 00:06:28,600 --> 00:06:32,400 Speaker 1: nine hundred and fifty five at just thirty years old. 81 00:06:34,440 --> 00:06:39,680 Speaker 1: Now Edwig, Edmund's son and Edred's nephew, arrived on the 82 00:06:39,720 --> 00:06:43,640 Speaker 1: scene and immediately began to shake things up, much to 83 00:06:43,960 --> 00:06:49,480 Speaker 1: Dunstan's chagrin. At Edred's deathbed, Dunstan was the only royal 84 00:06:49,560 --> 00:06:53,640 Speaker 1: counselor that didn't render an account of the royal treasure 85 00:06:53,680 --> 00:06:58,239 Speaker 1: he was put in charge of, which raised young Edwigs's suspicions. 86 00:06:59,480 --> 00:07:03,720 Speaker 1: Edwig was incensed that his uncle's will left him nothing, 87 00:07:04,440 --> 00:07:08,600 Speaker 1: instead passing along most of the fortune to Edwig's mother. 88 00:07:09,720 --> 00:07:14,480 Speaker 1: Edwig and his followers suspected that Dunstan was laundering Edwigs's 89 00:07:14,760 --> 00:07:19,360 Speaker 1: rightful fortune through his mother to then give to Edwigs's 90 00:07:19,400 --> 00:07:23,520 Speaker 1: brother Edgar, so that Edgar could take over the throne instead. 91 00:07:24,240 --> 00:07:28,040 Speaker 1: It's a little bit complicated, but the point is Edwig 92 00:07:28,240 --> 00:07:34,040 Speaker 1: was convinced that Dunstan was screwing him over. Edwig rejected 93 00:07:34,080 --> 00:07:37,000 Speaker 1: the stipulations of the will and took most of the 94 00:07:37,040 --> 00:07:41,640 Speaker 1: money that was allocated to his mother for himself. Edwig 95 00:07:41,800 --> 00:07:45,960 Speaker 1: defied his late uncle's will yet again by burying him 96 00:07:46,080 --> 00:07:50,120 Speaker 1: in the Old Minister in Winchester instead of a reformed 97 00:07:50,240 --> 00:07:54,760 Speaker 1: Benedictine monastery such as Glastonbury, like his uncle had wanted. 98 00:07:55,720 --> 00:07:59,120 Speaker 1: Edwig was not as strict of a Benedictine as his 99 00:07:59,280 --> 00:08:03,360 Speaker 1: uncle Edward Rid had been, and it's likely Edwig didn't 100 00:08:03,360 --> 00:08:08,440 Speaker 1: want his late uncle's tomb to galvanize his Benedictine supporters, 101 00:08:08,920 --> 00:08:13,600 Speaker 1: a number which included Dunstan. To add insult to injury, 102 00:08:14,160 --> 00:08:17,760 Speaker 1: Edwig promoted his friends to high up positions in court 103 00:08:18,240 --> 00:08:22,440 Speaker 1: and completely neglected the Old Guard, the Old Guard which 104 00:08:22,440 --> 00:08:29,120 Speaker 1: included men like Dunstan. But the most flagrantly controversial aspect 105 00:08:29,160 --> 00:08:36,280 Speaker 1: of Edwig's rule, according to Dunstan, was Edwig's marriage. In 106 00:08:36,360 --> 00:08:41,199 Speaker 1: nine hundred and fifty six, Edwig married a woman named Alfievu, 107 00:08:41,640 --> 00:08:46,040 Speaker 1: who was a member of the highest Wessex nobility. Dunstan 108 00:08:46,280 --> 00:08:50,640 Speaker 1: had a long standing history himself with Alfhivu. Her family's 109 00:08:50,720 --> 00:08:53,800 Speaker 1: land was held in the same area of Wessex as 110 00:08:54,000 --> 00:08:59,160 Speaker 1: Dunstan's estate, and it's possible and likely that Dunstan had 111 00:08:59,200 --> 00:09:05,800 Speaker 1: an establish rivalry with Alfivu's family. More pertinently, that marriage 112 00:09:05,840 --> 00:09:08,920 Speaker 1: could have angered Dunstan because it put Edwig at a 113 00:09:08,960 --> 00:09:14,560 Speaker 1: political advantage. Teaming up with Alphievu's powerful family shored up 114 00:09:14,760 --> 00:09:19,400 Speaker 1: Edwig's rule against his mother, the archbishop, and Dunstan, who 115 00:09:19,400 --> 00:09:23,840 Speaker 1: were all still jocking to put Edwig's brother Edgar in power. 116 00:09:24,400 --> 00:09:28,840 Speaker 1: If Edwig and Alfivu had a son, that son could 117 00:09:28,840 --> 00:09:33,360 Speaker 1: prevent Edgar from ever ascending the throne. The warding Dunstan 118 00:09:33,520 --> 00:09:39,680 Speaker 1: and his Cohort's plans, Edwig had just one problem. He 119 00:09:39,920 --> 00:09:44,199 Speaker 1: might have been related to Alfivou, which flouted the laws 120 00:09:44,240 --> 00:09:50,880 Speaker 1: of consanguinity. In the tenth century, consanguinity happened if you 121 00:09:51,040 --> 00:09:55,320 Speaker 1: married someone within the fourth degree of kinship, meaning you 122 00:09:55,440 --> 00:10:01,040 Speaker 1: shared a common great great grandparent. It's unclear exactly how 123 00:10:01,080 --> 00:10:04,559 Speaker 1: the two might have been related, since Alfievu's ancestry has 124 00:10:04,600 --> 00:10:08,160 Speaker 1: not been perfectly recorded, or if it ever was, that 125 00:10:08,200 --> 00:10:12,640 Speaker 1: record is long since gone, but historians have located two 126 00:10:12,679 --> 00:10:17,120 Speaker 1: different great great grandfathers that they might have shared. Even 127 00:10:17,160 --> 00:10:21,320 Speaker 1: though Edwig and Alfaevu knew they might be related, the 128 00:10:21,440 --> 00:10:26,040 Speaker 1: political opportunity was too good to pass up. Besides, it 129 00:10:26,200 --> 00:10:31,280 Speaker 1: was fairly common for couples, particularly noble or royal couples 130 00:10:31,320 --> 00:10:35,640 Speaker 1: at this time, to break consanguinity laws, and the Church 131 00:10:35,800 --> 00:10:40,000 Speaker 1: had a precedent for happily looking the other way, and 132 00:10:40,280 --> 00:10:43,360 Speaker 1: lo and behold, the Church allowed the couple to wed 133 00:10:43,720 --> 00:10:47,160 Speaker 1: in nine hundred and fifty six, around the time Edwig 134 00:10:47,320 --> 00:10:51,199 Speaker 1: rose to power. At the start of his rule, Edwig 135 00:10:51,280 --> 00:10:54,200 Speaker 1: had it all. He had the girl, and he had 136 00:10:54,240 --> 00:10:59,080 Speaker 1: the throne, and he immediately set about exercising his new powers, 137 00:10:59,640 --> 00:11:04,160 Speaker 1: is having an unprecedented ninety charters in his first year 138 00:11:04,200 --> 00:11:10,280 Speaker 1: as king. But with enemies like Dunstan nearby, Edwig couldn't 139 00:11:10,400 --> 00:11:13,640 Speaker 1: rest on his laurels. It was only a matter of 140 00:11:13,760 --> 00:11:20,280 Speaker 1: time before Dunstan would want the power to shift. Before 141 00:11:20,400 --> 00:11:25,440 Speaker 1: Dunstan could take any political revenge against him, Edwig sent 142 00:11:25,520 --> 00:11:29,880 Speaker 1: him into exile, keeping Dunstan from meddling in his activities. 143 00:11:30,640 --> 00:11:34,240 Speaker 1: But that wasn't just a preventative measure for Edwig. It 144 00:11:34,320 --> 00:11:39,520 Speaker 1: also allowed him to reallocate Dunstan's confiscated lands to his 145 00:11:39,600 --> 00:11:44,320 Speaker 1: own allies. The move was so controversial and damaging to 146 00:11:44,440 --> 00:11:50,120 Speaker 1: Dunstan's position in court that historian Nicholas Brooks calls Dunstan's 147 00:11:50,120 --> 00:11:55,280 Speaker 1: exile a coup. Dunstan left England at once for Ghent 148 00:11:55,840 --> 00:12:00,760 Speaker 1: sometime around February nine hundred and fifty six. Dune spent 149 00:12:00,840 --> 00:12:04,280 Speaker 1: his exile hanging out at the monastery of Saint Peter 150 00:12:04,480 --> 00:12:07,800 Speaker 1: in Ghent, where he was offered the protection of the 151 00:12:07,880 --> 00:12:12,160 Speaker 1: Count of Flanders. He spent most of his time there placidly, 152 00:12:12,280 --> 00:12:18,599 Speaker 1: studying against monastic customs and admiring the recently remodeled monastery, 153 00:12:19,160 --> 00:12:23,400 Speaker 1: not altogether a bad vacation. While Dunstan was bidding his 154 00:12:23,480 --> 00:12:27,800 Speaker 1: time in Ghent, Edwig was struggling to maintain his hard 155 00:12:27,960 --> 00:12:32,600 Speaker 1: won political power, even when his main Archnemesies was far 156 00:12:32,640 --> 00:12:37,120 Speaker 1: away from court. By autumn nine hundred and fifty seven, 157 00:12:37,480 --> 00:12:40,920 Speaker 1: just a year after he rose to the throne, Edwig's 158 00:12:40,920 --> 00:12:45,840 Speaker 1: political power began to crumble. That summer, the kingdom was 159 00:12:45,880 --> 00:12:49,839 Speaker 1: divided up between Edwig in the south and his brother 160 00:12:50,040 --> 00:12:54,760 Speaker 1: Edgar in the north, with the River Thames forming the boundary. 161 00:12:55,480 --> 00:13:00,480 Speaker 1: It's unclear exactly why this happened. Some think was in 162 00:13:00,559 --> 00:13:04,440 Speaker 1: response to the vast number of charters Edwig was issuing 163 00:13:04,520 --> 00:13:07,200 Speaker 1: during the first year of his reign, most of which 164 00:13:07,280 --> 00:13:11,680 Speaker 1: reallocated land between lay people, but there's no clear reason 165 00:13:11,760 --> 00:13:14,720 Speaker 1: why that would have upset the court or the church. 166 00:13:15,600 --> 00:13:19,480 Speaker 1: Others think that the division was because Edwig ruled incompetently, 167 00:13:19,920 --> 00:13:25,560 Speaker 1: alienating his northern territory. Dunstan certainly thought so. According to 168 00:13:25,760 --> 00:13:30,800 Speaker 1: pro Dunstan sources, Edwig's ruling territory was cut in half 169 00:13:30,880 --> 00:13:35,400 Speaker 1: because quote King Edwig totally abandoned by the people north. 170 00:13:35,840 --> 00:13:39,360 Speaker 1: They despised him for his imprudent discharge of the power 171 00:13:39,600 --> 00:13:43,240 Speaker 1: entrusted to him. The wise and sensible he destroyed in 172 00:13:43,280 --> 00:13:48,199 Speaker 1: a spirit of idle hatred, replacing them with ignoramuses like himself, 173 00:13:48,440 --> 00:13:52,839 Speaker 1: to whom he took a liking end quote. In any case, 174 00:13:52,920 --> 00:13:57,320 Speaker 1: the split of the kingdom represented a substantial decrease in 175 00:13:57,520 --> 00:14:01,000 Speaker 1: Edwig's power, and the election of him his brother Edgar 176 00:14:01,160 --> 00:14:04,880 Speaker 1: to rule over a substantial portion of his former territory 177 00:14:05,480 --> 00:14:09,920 Speaker 1: was a boon to Dunstan's plan to install Edgar on 178 00:14:10,000 --> 00:14:14,760 Speaker 1: the entire throne. Even better, for Dunstan, his allies got 179 00:14:14,840 --> 00:14:20,720 Speaker 1: him readmitted to court, and he returned to England. The 180 00:14:20,760 --> 00:14:25,160 Speaker 1: next step to destroying Edwigs's political power would be to 181 00:14:25,280 --> 00:14:30,520 Speaker 1: break up his marriage, which was still a powerful political alliance. 182 00:14:31,320 --> 00:14:35,160 Speaker 1: In nine hundred and fifty eight, the archbishop annulled their 183 00:14:35,200 --> 00:14:41,400 Speaker 1: marriage on grounds of consanguinity. There was some spiritual motive 184 00:14:41,480 --> 00:14:46,320 Speaker 1: for that decision. The archbishop took care to explicitly condemn 185 00:14:46,360 --> 00:14:51,320 Speaker 1: incest in his constitutions, an adaptation and compilation of older 186 00:14:51,360 --> 00:14:56,040 Speaker 1: papal texts, and as one historian put it, the Archbishop's 187 00:14:56,160 --> 00:15:01,600 Speaker 1: quote consideration of appropriate marriages, written perhaps a decade before 188 00:15:01,600 --> 00:15:05,920 Speaker 1: ethel Veu and Edwig's marriage, would bear a considerable amount 189 00:15:05,960 --> 00:15:09,680 Speaker 1: of weight against the young king and his royal authority 190 00:15:10,160 --> 00:15:14,880 Speaker 1: end quote. But the archbishop's separation of the married couple 191 00:15:15,080 --> 00:15:19,440 Speaker 1: now also had a political motive. The archbishop was a 192 00:15:19,600 --> 00:15:24,280 Speaker 1: key ally of Dunstan's, and with Edgar ruling all of 193 00:15:24,320 --> 00:15:28,560 Speaker 1: England north of the Thames, Dunstan and his allies felt 194 00:15:28,600 --> 00:15:33,600 Speaker 1: strong enough to move for Edwig's divorce. We know almost 195 00:15:33,800 --> 00:15:37,240 Speaker 1: nothing about what Edwig was up to after the division 196 00:15:37,400 --> 00:15:41,160 Speaker 1: of his kingdom and the breakup of his marriage, but 197 00:15:41,320 --> 00:15:45,520 Speaker 1: given the comparative dearth of charters he issued during that time, 198 00:15:46,000 --> 00:15:51,280 Speaker 1: he was likely languishing on his smaller throne. On October one, 199 00:15:51,760 --> 00:15:57,000 Speaker 1: nine hundred and fifty nine, Edwig died, just nineteen years old. 200 00:15:57,680 --> 00:16:01,880 Speaker 1: He was buried at the New Minster Winchester, a church 201 00:16:02,120 --> 00:16:06,360 Speaker 1: founded by his grandfather. In nine hundred and one, Edgar 202 00:16:06,720 --> 00:16:11,600 Speaker 1: was made king and England was consolidated once again under 203 00:16:11,760 --> 00:16:16,640 Speaker 1: Edgar's rule. As a close ally of Edgar's, Dunstan was 204 00:16:16,680 --> 00:16:21,480 Speaker 1: brought even further into the fold. The archbishop consecrated him 205 00:16:21,520 --> 00:16:25,400 Speaker 1: a bishop, and eventually Dunstan was appointed to the Sea. 206 00:16:25,960 --> 00:16:30,080 Speaker 1: He even officiated the coronation of King Edgar in nine 207 00:16:30,160 --> 00:16:34,440 Speaker 1: hundred and seventy three, a huge honour, but even that 208 00:16:34,760 --> 00:16:39,840 Speaker 1: resounding victory was not enough for Dunstan and his allies. 209 00:16:40,520 --> 00:16:45,240 Speaker 1: Even though Edwig was dead, Dunstan's ally's final act of 210 00:16:45,320 --> 00:16:49,600 Speaker 1: retribution was to destroy what was left of the teenage 211 00:16:49,680 --> 00:16:56,840 Speaker 1: king his reputation. Over the rest of the tenth century, 212 00:16:57,360 --> 00:17:00,960 Speaker 1: Edwig's reign was seen as a four year blip of 213 00:17:01,120 --> 00:17:06,360 Speaker 1: chaos and misrule. In contrast to the longer, more harmonious 214 00:17:06,400 --> 00:17:09,240 Speaker 1: reigns of his brother Edgar and his half uncle who 215 00:17:09,280 --> 00:17:14,280 Speaker 1: came before him, Edwig's time as king was brief and tumultuous. 216 00:17:14,920 --> 00:17:18,959 Speaker 1: As a young king, unprepared for the demands of the throne, 217 00:17:19,520 --> 00:17:24,040 Speaker 1: Edwig jockeyed for power against Dunstan, resulting in Dunstan's exile, 218 00:17:24,400 --> 00:17:27,560 Speaker 1: the annulment of Edwigs's marriage, and the splitting up of 219 00:17:27,600 --> 00:17:33,320 Speaker 1: the entire kingdom. While Edwigs's reputation had tarnished after his death, 220 00:17:33,800 --> 00:17:39,520 Speaker 1: Dunstan's star continued to rise. Dunstan acted as a kind 221 00:17:39,560 --> 00:17:43,560 Speaker 1: of proto prime minister of the kingdom, remaining a key 222 00:17:43,640 --> 00:17:47,280 Speaker 1: member of the court and an archbishop until his death 223 00:17:47,359 --> 00:17:51,240 Speaker 1: in nine hundred eighty eight. He was even more celebrated 224 00:17:51,359 --> 00:17:55,800 Speaker 1: after his death. Immediately after he died, Dunstan's name was 225 00:17:55,960 --> 00:18:00,560 Speaker 1: entered into liturgical calendars and litanies of the saints. A 226 00:18:00,600 --> 00:18:04,800 Speaker 1: series of hymns, mass sets, and benedictions were composed in 227 00:18:04,880 --> 00:18:08,960 Speaker 1: his name, so he was publicly commemorated in churches across 228 00:18:08,960 --> 00:18:12,639 Speaker 1: the country. It wasn't until this period, in the late 229 00:18:12,800 --> 00:18:17,960 Speaker 1: tenth century, after both Edwig and Dunstan had died, that 230 00:18:18,080 --> 00:18:24,560 Speaker 1: the story of Edwigs's notorious coronation threesome first appears in writing. 231 00:18:25,440 --> 00:18:29,320 Speaker 1: The author of this first account of the threesome, under 232 00:18:29,359 --> 00:18:33,480 Speaker 1: the pseudonym B, had been hanging out with Dunstan during 233 00:18:33,560 --> 00:18:38,080 Speaker 1: his Ghent exile from edwigs court. It's possible that he 234 00:18:38,160 --> 00:18:42,080 Speaker 1: had heard the story back then as court gossip about 235 00:18:42,080 --> 00:18:45,240 Speaker 1: this controversial new king, and had kept it in his 236 00:18:45,400 --> 00:18:49,399 Speaker 1: back pocket for the rest of the tenth century. After 237 00:18:49,440 --> 00:18:53,400 Speaker 1: he wrote his version of the story, it spread, appearing 238 00:18:53,440 --> 00:18:57,640 Speaker 1: in other narratives of Dunstan's life throughout the eleventh century. 239 00:18:59,000 --> 00:19:04,800 Speaker 1: The story certainly helped these pro Dunstan sources prove Dunstan's 240 00:19:04,920 --> 00:19:11,080 Speaker 1: moral worth. Unlike the licentious, scandalous young King Edwig, Dunstan 241 00:19:11,280 --> 00:19:14,359 Speaker 1: was a monk, and so he was assumed to be chased, 242 00:19:14,840 --> 00:19:19,840 Speaker 1: and his biographers highlighted his commitment to abstaining from sex 243 00:19:19,920 --> 00:19:24,120 Speaker 1: throughout their texts. Medieval writers considered this to be one 244 00:19:24,160 --> 00:19:30,080 Speaker 1: of Dunstan's greatest sacrifices, which only strengthened his spiritual worthiness. 245 00:19:30,840 --> 00:19:36,160 Speaker 1: In the story of Edwigs's threesome, Dunstan's comparative chastity makes 246 00:19:36,240 --> 00:19:40,119 Speaker 1: him the moral authority of the situation, even above the 247 00:19:40,200 --> 00:19:44,119 Speaker 1: king himself. After all, Dunstan had to physically break up 248 00:19:44,160 --> 00:19:47,919 Speaker 1: the threesome, put the crown back on Edwig's head, and 249 00:19:48,080 --> 00:19:53,120 Speaker 1: admonish the women involved the threesome. Also let these pro 250 00:19:53,280 --> 00:19:57,800 Speaker 1: Dunstan writers absolve him for his exile during Edwigs's reign. 251 00:19:58,440 --> 00:20:02,800 Speaker 1: One writer explicitly makes that connection by having Edwig's mother 252 00:20:02,880 --> 00:20:07,119 Speaker 1: in law tell Dunstan in the middle of the discovered threesome, quote, 253 00:20:07,480 --> 00:20:09,920 Speaker 1: if you are so bold as to drag the king 254 00:20:10,040 --> 00:20:13,040 Speaker 1: willy nilly from the room, I shall make sure you 255 00:20:13,200 --> 00:20:18,280 Speaker 1: always remember this day and me. In this context, Dunstan's 256 00:20:18,320 --> 00:20:24,119 Speaker 1: exile seems like petty revenge rather than canny political maneuvering. 257 00:20:24,920 --> 00:20:28,520 Speaker 1: Having his mother in law threatened Dunstan instead of Edwig 258 00:20:28,960 --> 00:20:32,560 Speaker 1: also has the added benefit of making Edwig seem like 259 00:20:32,600 --> 00:20:35,960 Speaker 1: a weak puppet under the thumb of the women in 260 00:20:36,040 --> 00:20:41,600 Speaker 1: his life, even further discrediting his rule. But it's strange 261 00:20:41,760 --> 00:20:46,040 Speaker 1: that such a salacious bombshell of a story only came 262 00:20:46,080 --> 00:20:50,760 Speaker 1: out after Edwig was long dead and his political threat 263 00:20:50,760 --> 00:20:56,240 Speaker 1: to Dunstan had already well been neutralized. Dunstan had already 264 00:20:56,359 --> 00:21:00,959 Speaker 1: decisively won the feud. He died a Venora raed saint. 265 00:21:01,520 --> 00:21:04,879 Speaker 1: There was no need to introduce a fictional story about 266 00:21:05,000 --> 00:21:08,560 Speaker 1: Edwig lest we forget skipping his own coronation to have 267 00:21:08,680 --> 00:21:12,560 Speaker 1: a threesome with his fiance and her mom, even if 268 00:21:12,560 --> 00:21:17,040 Speaker 1: it was just as a victory lap. His historian Katharine 269 00:21:17,160 --> 00:21:21,600 Speaker 1: Weygert suggests that the story also served a moral and 270 00:21:21,840 --> 00:21:27,439 Speaker 1: political purpose, not just the purpose of petty revenge. She 271 00:21:27,760 --> 00:21:32,520 Speaker 1: argues that the story functioned as a cautionary tale. Edwig 272 00:21:32,560 --> 00:21:35,520 Speaker 1: had thought it would be a good political strategy to 273 00:21:35,720 --> 00:21:41,400 Speaker 1: marry Alfelviu, a distant relative with key territory in the region. Certainly, 274 00:21:41,440 --> 00:21:44,120 Speaker 1: if the marriage had flown under the radar, they could 275 00:21:44,200 --> 00:21:48,040 Speaker 1: have had sons who would have ruled over England after 276 00:21:48,200 --> 00:21:52,639 Speaker 1: Edwig died. Even though this marriage was long over, it 277 00:21:52,760 --> 00:21:57,960 Speaker 1: still represented the biggest threat to the current regime, since, 278 00:21:58,200 --> 00:22:03,080 Speaker 1: given that the Church often ignored consanguinity, other rulers could 279 00:22:03,119 --> 00:22:08,280 Speaker 1: easily follow suit b The anonymous chronicler who introduced the 280 00:22:08,320 --> 00:22:12,600 Speaker 1: threesome story did so during the reign of Afelred the Second, 281 00:22:13,000 --> 00:22:16,040 Speaker 1: the son of Edgar, who would never have been able 282 00:22:16,080 --> 00:22:19,840 Speaker 1: to come to power if Edwigs's marriage had stood unchallenged 283 00:22:19,840 --> 00:22:22,800 Speaker 1: and he had had sons of his own. Afelred the 284 00:22:22,840 --> 00:22:27,240 Speaker 1: Second's rule was already under threat from constant norse raiding 285 00:22:27,560 --> 00:22:32,720 Speaker 1: from competing political factions, and a political rival could easily 286 00:22:32,920 --> 00:22:37,840 Speaker 1: follow Edwigs's playbook to challenge him. Because of those potential 287 00:22:38,000 --> 00:22:42,520 Speaker 1: challenges to the status quo, Weygart says, marriages like Edwiggs 288 00:22:42,600 --> 00:22:48,679 Speaker 1: quote had to be undermined on every possible level. Wyckart 289 00:22:48,680 --> 00:22:53,160 Speaker 1: emphasizes that the most effective strategy to scare potential rulers 290 00:22:53,240 --> 00:22:56,560 Speaker 1: from that kind of marriage that would consolidate their power 291 00:22:57,160 --> 00:23:02,119 Speaker 1: was to use sexual humiliation. This is most clearly true 292 00:23:02,160 --> 00:23:06,880 Speaker 1: for Edwig. This story made his union with Alfelvoux seem 293 00:23:07,000 --> 00:23:11,360 Speaker 1: like a perverse abandonment of his role as king, quite literally, 294 00:23:11,440 --> 00:23:15,399 Speaker 1: since he was abandoning his coronation feast. Not only was 295 00:23:15,520 --> 00:23:19,359 Speaker 1: Edwig engaging in incest by sleeping with his distant relative 296 00:23:19,840 --> 00:23:24,679 Speaker 1: and her mom simultaneously, he was also abandoning his own coronation, 297 00:23:24,880 --> 00:23:30,520 Speaker 1: ignoring kingly duties. The story also slanders his wife, which 298 00:23:30,600 --> 00:23:36,200 Speaker 1: discourages other women from seeking out similar marriages. Wykert points 299 00:23:36,200 --> 00:23:40,600 Speaker 1: out that B refers to Affelvou not as Edwig's wife, 300 00:23:40,960 --> 00:23:44,040 Speaker 1: but just as a woman that the king is sleeping with, 301 00:23:44,720 --> 00:23:49,439 Speaker 1: stripping her of her status. This move dishonors both Edwig 302 00:23:49,600 --> 00:23:54,480 Speaker 1: and Alflavou because quote, without the shield of authority from 303 00:23:54,480 --> 00:23:58,520 Speaker 1: their place in court culture. In these texts, Affelvou can 304 00:23:58,560 --> 00:24:02,439 Speaker 1: become a Jezebel with whom the weak and effeminate Edwig 305 00:24:02,680 --> 00:24:08,800 Speaker 1: feels compelled to fornicate. End quote. The story suggests that 306 00:24:08,960 --> 00:24:13,600 Speaker 1: Edwig and Alflevou's marriage was a moral threat to the 307 00:24:13,640 --> 00:24:18,600 Speaker 1: status quo, and the story destroyed both of their reputations 308 00:24:18,600 --> 00:24:24,280 Speaker 1: in perpetuity. Other tenth century writers would later make up 309 00:24:24,320 --> 00:24:29,399 Speaker 1: additional details about Edwig's love life to further discredit him. 310 00:24:29,840 --> 00:24:33,720 Speaker 1: Burforth of Ramsay accused him of quote leading a wicked 311 00:24:33,800 --> 00:24:37,960 Speaker 1: life and immoderate youth is accustomed to do by loving 312 00:24:38,080 --> 00:24:41,199 Speaker 1: another woman as if she were his own wife and 313 00:24:41,320 --> 00:24:45,080 Speaker 1: eloping with her, ignoring the sacred decrees of Christian law. 314 00:24:45,600 --> 00:24:48,560 Speaker 1: According to him, it wasn't until the archbishop at the 315 00:24:48,600 --> 00:24:51,119 Speaker 1: time Quote seized the woman and took her out of 316 00:24:51,160 --> 00:24:54,280 Speaker 1: the kingdom and warned the king with gentle words and 317 00:24:54,359 --> 00:24:58,560 Speaker 1: actions that he should constrain himself from wicked deeds, that 318 00:24:58,680 --> 00:25:02,680 Speaker 1: the sinful union would broken up. We don't know much 319 00:25:02,840 --> 00:25:07,400 Speaker 1: or anything about this alleged second marriage, but it suggests 320 00:25:07,560 --> 00:25:13,840 Speaker 1: that attacking Edwig's sexuality was a winning and continuous strategy 321 00:25:13,960 --> 00:25:17,840 Speaker 1: when it came to slandering him. We'll never know whether 322 00:25:17,960 --> 00:25:21,879 Speaker 1: those stories were true, and in all likelihood they were not, 323 00:25:22,720 --> 00:25:28,120 Speaker 1: but they represent a medieval pr triumph for Dunstan. While 324 00:25:28,240 --> 00:25:33,639 Speaker 1: Dunstan's biographers presented him as a virtuous hero after his death, 325 00:25:34,040 --> 00:25:38,720 Speaker 1: he was probably a very controversial figure during his life. 326 00:25:38,760 --> 00:25:43,720 Speaker 1: Even these pro Dunstan writers admit that he quote inspired 327 00:25:43,800 --> 00:25:48,320 Speaker 1: hatred and envy on a grand scale, as contemporary historian 328 00:25:48,520 --> 00:25:53,760 Speaker 1: Michael Lappage put it. After all, Dunstan was exiled three 329 00:25:53,880 --> 00:25:57,680 Speaker 1: times and even beaten and thrown into a duck pond 330 00:25:57,960 --> 00:26:02,720 Speaker 1: during Ethelston's reign. Similarly, returning to the story of edwigs 331 00:26:02,800 --> 00:26:07,800 Speaker 1: threesome in a more nuanced light suggests a more complex 332 00:26:08,160 --> 00:26:13,600 Speaker 1: view of Edwigs's rule beyond his youthful indiscretion, short time 333 00:26:13,640 --> 00:26:17,600 Speaker 1: on the throne, and bad reputation after his death. During 334 00:26:17,640 --> 00:26:21,960 Speaker 1: the first year of his reign, he represented a credible 335 00:26:22,240 --> 00:26:27,280 Speaker 1: threat to Dunstan's authority, even if young Edwig didn't have 336 00:26:27,320 --> 00:26:31,600 Speaker 1: the political know how to know how to retain the 337 00:26:31,720 --> 00:26:36,800 Speaker 1: upper hand. The story of edwigs threesome shows that medieval 338 00:26:36,840 --> 00:26:42,159 Speaker 1: politicians and clergy were willing to play dirty, creating a 339 00:26:42,240 --> 00:26:52,600 Speaker 1: salacious story that has stuck around for centuries. That's the 340 00:26:52,720 --> 00:26:56,520 Speaker 1: end of our story about Edwigs alleged threesome, but stick 341 00:26:56,520 --> 00:26:59,919 Speaker 1: around to hear a little bit more about Dunstan's epic 342 00:27:00,200 --> 00:27:13,600 Speaker 1: battles with the Devil. According to Dunstan's biographers, Dunstan was 343 00:27:13,680 --> 00:27:17,600 Speaker 1: not only breaking up threesums and getting thrown in duck ponds, 344 00:27:17,960 --> 00:27:22,960 Speaker 1: but also literally fighting with the devil. According to legend, 345 00:27:23,359 --> 00:27:27,119 Speaker 1: during his exile at Glastonbury back during Ethelston's rule, he 346 00:27:27,240 --> 00:27:30,600 Speaker 1: was sitting in a cell and doing some metalwork when 347 00:27:30,680 --> 00:27:34,480 Speaker 1: suddenly an old man came to his window and asked 348 00:27:34,800 --> 00:27:40,360 Speaker 1: Dunstan to make him a chalice. Dunstan accepted the man's request, 349 00:27:40,800 --> 00:27:43,199 Speaker 1: but as he was working, the old man began to 350 00:27:43,400 --> 00:27:47,639 Speaker 1: morph into a young boy and then a sexy woman. 351 00:27:48,480 --> 00:27:51,919 Speaker 1: Dunstan knew at that moment that this figure was the devil, 352 00:27:52,320 --> 00:27:55,280 Speaker 1: but he bided his time and continued to work on 353 00:27:55,480 --> 00:27:59,080 Speaker 1: his chalice. He laid his tongs in the fire until 354 00:27:59,119 --> 00:28:03,280 Speaker 1: they got scaled hot, then grabbed them, turned around, and 355 00:28:03,359 --> 00:28:05,959 Speaker 1: used them to suddenly grab the devil by the nose. 356 00:28:06,359 --> 00:28:10,480 Speaker 1: The devil squirmed and shrieked and ran out of the cell, screaming, 357 00:28:10,760 --> 00:28:14,080 Speaker 1: woe is me? What hath that bald devil done to me? 358 00:28:14,440 --> 00:28:16,960 Speaker 1: Look at me, a poor wretch, Look how he has 359 00:28:17,040 --> 00:28:21,719 Speaker 1: tortured me. People on the street heard the devil's cries 360 00:28:22,200 --> 00:28:27,040 Speaker 1: and approached Dunstan the following day, asking what happened. He 361 00:28:27,080 --> 00:28:30,360 Speaker 1: told them, quote, these are the tricks of the devils, 362 00:28:30,640 --> 00:28:34,240 Speaker 1: who try to trap us with their snares whenever they can. 363 00:28:34,680 --> 00:28:37,879 Speaker 1: But if we remain firm in the service of Christ, 364 00:28:38,240 --> 00:28:40,840 Speaker 1: we can easily defeat them with his help, and they 365 00:28:40,880 --> 00:28:44,680 Speaker 1: will flee from us in confusion. To be honest, if 366 00:28:44,680 --> 00:28:47,840 Speaker 1: that version of the story actually happened, it kind of 367 00:28:47,960 --> 00:28:52,120 Speaker 1: sounds like Dunstan just grabbed an old man's nose with 368 00:28:52,240 --> 00:28:57,600 Speaker 1: flaming hot tongs. But who knows Dunstan also encountered the 369 00:28:57,640 --> 00:29:01,840 Speaker 1: devil yet again, one time when he was praying alone. 370 00:29:01,920 --> 00:29:06,000 Speaker 1: This time, the devil disguised himself as a wolf, snarling 371 00:29:06,040 --> 00:29:10,280 Speaker 1: and baring his teeth, but Dunstan refused to acknowledge him, 372 00:29:10,680 --> 00:29:15,880 Speaker 1: instead just concentrating on his prayers. The devil then transformed 373 00:29:15,920 --> 00:29:19,560 Speaker 1: into a cute little fox, dancing about to try to 374 00:29:19,560 --> 00:29:24,720 Speaker 1: get Dunstan's attention. Dunstan said in response, quote, you are 375 00:29:24,760 --> 00:29:29,040 Speaker 1: revealing how you usually behave by your tricks. You flatter 376 00:29:29,120 --> 00:29:32,680 Speaker 1: the unwary so that you can devour them. Now get 377 00:29:32,680 --> 00:29:36,040 Speaker 1: out of here, wretch, since Christ, who crushed the lion 378 00:29:36,080 --> 00:29:39,200 Speaker 1: and the dragon with his heel, will overcome you by 379 00:29:39,320 --> 00:29:43,080 Speaker 1: his grace through me, whether you're a wolf or a fox. 380 00:29:44,080 --> 00:29:51,120 Speaker 1: Those stories, true or ahem not, became popular legends, spreading 381 00:29:51,240 --> 00:29:56,680 Speaker 1: throughout the medieval world. Yet another pr victory for our 382 00:29:56,800 --> 00:30:06,520 Speaker 1: friend Dunstan. Noble Blood is a production of iHeartRadio and 383 00:30:06,720 --> 00:30:10,320 Speaker 1: Grim and Mild from Aaron Mankey. Noble Blood is hosted 384 00:30:10,400 --> 00:30:14,440 Speaker 1: by me Dana Schwartz, with additional writing and research by 385 00:30:14,440 --> 00:30:19,200 Speaker 1: Hannah Johnston, Hannahswick, Courtney Sender, Amy Hit and Julia Melaney. 386 00:30:19,840 --> 00:30:23,480 Speaker 1: The show is edited and produced by Jesse Funk, with 387 00:30:23,640 --> 00:30:29,120 Speaker 1: supervising producer rima Il Kaali and executive producers Aaron Manke, 388 00:30:29,480 --> 00:30:34,000 Speaker 1: Trevor Young, and Matt Frederick. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, 389 00:30:34,240 --> 00:30:38,560 Speaker 1: visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen 390 00:30:38,600 --> 00:30:41,640 Speaker 1: to your favorite shows.