King Magnus reflected a while, and answered thus: “I think it wisest, and that it will succeed best, to let King Edward have his kingdom in peace, so far as I am concerned, and that I keep the kingdoms that God hath put into my hands.” This was the last time that a King of Denmark laid formal claim to the throne of England. Chapter XXVII Edward the Confessor (1042–1066) We need not linger over the reign of Edward the Confessor, the weak and womanish king who came to the throne of England on the death of Hardacanute; in fact, the country can hardly be said to have been governed by Edward, for he placed himself almost entirely in the hands of Earl Godwin, who now with rapid strides advanced to be the first man in the kingdom and the real ruler of England. Edward was more fitted to be a monk than a king. The mournful circumstances of his life had no doubt helped to make him timid and retiring, and he seems to have inherited the weak character of his father, Ethelred the Unready. Yet he was beloved by his people, who regarded him as a saint and admired his devotion to the Church and to religion. He was simple and abstemious in his dress and habits, sparing in imposing taxes, and kind to the poor; it is said that he never uttered a word of reproach to the humblest person. Moreover, though the sons of Godwin stirred up strife at home, the King made no foreign wars, and the nation was thankful for peace. The only person toward whom he seems to have acted harshly was his mother, Emma, whom, as we have said, he deprived of all her wealth and lands, because she had never assisted him when he was in distress. Edward must have been nearly forty years of age when he came to England from Normandy, just before Hardacanute’s death; all these years he had passed in exile. It is a matter of wonder, when we consider the miserable fate that overtook his brother Alfred on venturing to England, that Edward came at all; but he was received with kindness, and lived quietly till the death of his half-brother. When he heard that Hardacanute had died he was lost in uncertainty whether to fly the kingdom or what to do. His weak mind was unable to form any plan, and in his perplexity he betook himself to Earl Godwin, throwing himself at his feet and praying him to assist him in escaping back to Normandy. At first Godwin was perplexed what course to take, but he no doubt reflected on the power which the King’s weakness would throw into his own hands, and he determined on a bold course. Raising the King up, he reminded him that it was better to live worthily in a position of power than to die ingloriously in exile; that he was the son of a King of England, and the kingdom was his by right. If he thought fit to rely on him, whose authority was already so great in the country, he was sure that the nation would follow his lead. He proposed that Edward should marry his daughter, and thus cement the friendship with himself;