Where are the mediaeval Kings of England buried?

when we discuss medieval English kings I find that we talk about what events occurred during their kingship or what they accomplished during their lifetime good or bad but once they've died their story has ended and something that I feel is rarely talked about is what happened to their Earthly remains and tombs from the time of their deaths to our modern period the Middle Ages is fascinating specifically medieval kingship in this video we will look over each medieval king of England's burial site and what happened to them starting with the only King in England to be granted the title of great Alfred the Great while not a king of England he did get the ball rolling on creating the kingdom of England and it's always good to start strong we will end on the worst King of England Henry VII as we can't really agree on when the Middle Ages ended however if you want to know why we end at Henry VII watch this video first let's begin Alfred the Great died 899 ad he belonged to the house of wessix and Winchester was the main city of King Alfred's Reign King Alfred is the only English king to have the title of great which was bestowed to him in the 16th century alri vitales a 12th century English chronicler states that King Alfred was the first king to hold sway over the whole of England Alfred's Earthly remains were not left in peace over the centuries since his death Al was originally interred at the old Minster in Winchester but he was moved to the new Minster by his son and successor Edward the Elder remaining there for some time before being moved again by the monks of Winchester to hide Abby this is where tracking King Alfred goes a bit pear-shaped because of the worst King of England Henry VII and his dissolution of the monasteries Hyde Abbey was suppressed and All That Remains is the gate house Alfred's tomb was lost until the 18th century when it was found during construction work for a prison The Remains were either crushed up or reburied by the late 1990s excavation work began on a burial site at St Bartholomew's Church yet the bones that were Unearthed were not Alfred's a palis bone was found during the excavation of Hyde Abbey which has been subsequently tested and dated around the time period of Alfred's death but the bone could also be of another Anglo-Saxon King of England the main problem is finding a DNA match for the bone sadly it's most likely that Alfred the Great's remains are lost to time Edward the AL son of King Alfred Edward died in 924 and like his fathers his remains are now lost being buried first at the new Minster in Winchester and then moved to hide Abbey before suffering the same fate as his fathers lost to time now we move on to the first king of the English who established the kingdom of England King athlan who is an interest in case because he's the only English king to be buried at Marbury Abbey athlan was not only a Victorious King on the battlefield but also a Pious King who founded many churches and abies while also promoting various Saints athlan struggled initially to gain the Throne of wessix due to his brother but he died and the Witten did consider another can candidate for the throne of wessix but eventually athlan gained the wesix throne but due to various reasons athlan would not be buried in Winchester next to his father and grandfather rather athlan was in tuned at Marbury Abbey as for Ethel Stan's remains there isn't much information William of Marbury a 12th century historian mentions that his Bon were still visible but after that I couldn't find any more information on Ethan's bones other than his tomb disappears by the 15th century there is an empty sarcophagus to commemorate him King Edmund I first brother of Ethan died 946 ad buried at Glastonbury Abbey remaining there until the dissolution of the monasteries his bones are now lost and spoilers The dissolution of the monasteries as the reason for the loss of the remains is going to come up quite a bit King edred brother of Edmund died 955 his wishes according to his will implies he may have wanted to be inomed at glastenbury Abbey instead he was buried in Winchester his remains may be in a more arery chest at Winchester Cathedral but again the main issue is DNA testing however there is work in motion to test and reconstruct several of the skeletons to finally figure out who is who or at least try to King edwig son of Edmund I died 959 a debaucherous king who clashed with his Archbishop of Canterbury his Reign was so poor that the kingdom of England was split in two and shared with his younger brother Edgar edwig is intuned at Winchester King Edgar son of Edmund I died 975 the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles state that in 959 here king edwig passed away and Edgar his brother succeeded to the kingdom both in West essic and Mercia and in North Umbria and he was 16 years old known as peaceful during his Reign he was in tuned at glastenbury Abbey until its suppression again remains are now lost Edward the Martyr died 978 son of King Edgar his short Reign is characterized by his death he was murdered and quickly buried at where Abbey where Miracles were attributed to him Edward was later moved to Shaftsbury Abbey a year after his death I'll give you three guesses as to what happened to Shaftsbury Abbey it got shafted and torn down during the suppression yet there is some controversy with Edward's bones apparently they're now on display at an orthodox church but there's l evidence to support this the bones are most likely lost to time Ethel R the unready died 10:16 son of King Edgar known as the ill-advised King due to paying off the Vikings during their raiding of England instead of attacking them as His predecessors had done Ethel red lost his throne once to Sven forkbeard in 1013 but Sven died not long after and Ethel red ruled until his death in 1016 he was in tuned at Old St Paul's Cathedral until 1666 when the Great Fire of London destroyed his and many other tombs Sven forkbeard King by right of Conquest the first Norse King of England who died in 1014 before any any kind of Coronation could occur as for sven's Remains the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles only mentions the happy event of sven's death occurred the eulogy of Queen Emma and 11th century manuscript mentions that sven's body was prepared by an English matron who had a ship ready to take sven's embed body to Denmark it mentions that Sven was buried initially in her country perhaps York before being laid to rest at roskill Cathedral Denmark Edmund Ironsides son of Ethel red the unready died 30th of November 10:16 all the councilors of the English race chose Edmund for King and he resolutely defended his kingdom in his time Edmund fought F's son and successor Cano fighting him in various battles afterwards an agreement was made to divide the kingdom of England between the two men Edmund died shortly after and Cano took over the rest of England in 1016 Edmund was buried at Glastonbury Abbey near his grandfather King Edgar his bones are now lost due to the suppression of the ab Cano son of Sven forkbeard and King by the right of Conquest died 1035 Cano established the North Sea Empire despite such an impressive Empire there were a few sources for Cano's Reign Cano may have suffered from an illness that eventually killed him later on in life dying at Shaftsbury Abbey near the shrine of Edward the Martyr one of our sources mentions Cano's heart being buried in Shaftsbury and the rest of his remains were inomed at the Minster in Winchester perhaps Cano chose to be buried with Kings of the old regime to attest his legitimacy his bones were moved after the Norman Conquest into the new Winchester to Cathedral and placed in a Mory chest by the 17th century the bones of Cano and others were scattered by the round heads before being recovered and placed with other bones but as mentioned before the bones in the chest are still being DNA tested Harold harfoot son of Cano died 1040 at Oxford he knit the Throne of England from his brother half Cano and was in tuned at Old Abbey Church of St Peter's Westminster London before being dug up mutilated and then thrown into a marsh on the orders of his brother hath Cano Harold's remains may have been retrieved and reburied at St Clement stain's Church London hathur canut son of Cano died 1042 and the last Danish King of England a complete wanker because he burnt my hometown of Worcester in tuned at the Minster in Winchester bones were placed in a Mory chest when moved to Winchester Cathedral Edward the Confessor the last king of the House of wessix and later canonized as a saint son of King Ethel red died the 5th of January 1066 King Edward ordered the construction of Westminster Abbey but by the time of the aby's consecration on December the 28th 1065 Edward was already deafly ill as he was consumed by the fire of his illness Edward was in tuned on the 6th of January 1066 Edward the Confessor is the first king we've covered that is still resting at his original Buri site Westminster Abbey while his remains have been moved around the Abbey once in 1163 and again in 1269 during Henry III's Renovations King Edward's remains even survived the suppression of the monasteries unlike some of his predecessors and successors Edward's coffin was moved during Henry VII's Reign before being moved back during Mary the's reign in 1685 Edward's coffin was damaged by a rafter that had fallen onto the tomb since then Edward's coffin has remained in place within his Shrine Harold godwinson or Harold II died 14th of October 1066 the last Anglo-Saxon King of England elected by the Witten and possibly named successor by his brother in- law Edward the Confessor on his deathbed Harold while only king for a short time left his mark on history with his victory at Stanford bridge but then only to lose his life at the Battle of Hastings arguably one of the most famous battles in world history as for his remains it's a bit of a mystery the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles don't mention anything about where Harold remains are only that there was a great Slaughter on either side the Bayer tapestry a Norman Source depicts Harold being chopped up or being hit in the eye by an arrow whatever was left of Harold in some sources was in tuned at walam Abbey or was buried by the seaside at Hastings or bared where battle Abbey is and then move to walam Abbey or bared at his birthplace at bosom at the Holy Trinity Church and the final theory is that by some miracle Harold survived the Battle of Hastings that tale comes from a manuscript titled the life of Harold one of our sources States the manuscript appears to be an early 14th century copy of an original work from the late 12th century the bottom line is that Harold survived and lived till the ripe old age as a Hermit at Chester the tale of where Harold godwinson remains could be is an open book without excavation and DNA testing it's a mystery William the bastard or William the Conqueror the first Norman King and King by Conquest died 1087 the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles State about William's death death and burial the sharp death which spares neither powerful men nor lonely it seized him he died in Normandy on the day immediately after the Nativity of St Mary and was buried in K at St Steven's Minster sounds simple enough unless you were one of the mourners at the funeral instead of crying tears of grief youd be shouting good grief what a smell as William's obese swollen corpse had burst whilst being placed into his tomb the service was promptly rushed and afterwards nobody touched the egg and Crest sandwiches William's remains have been Disturbed a few times with the majority of his remains lost in 1562 during the war of religion in France leaving only his thigh bone left what was left of William was again Disturbed during the French Revolution in 1793 there is only a slab dedicated to William now William Rufus or William II King by succession third son of William the Conqueror died 1100 in the New Forest Hampshire a rather forgettable King whose death by an arrow shot in the New Forest is arguably more famous than his rule after his death William's body was left while the Nobles that were with him rushed back to secure their own lands William's body was eventually moved and placed onto a cart he was then quickly buried in Winchester near or under one of the towers which collapsed not long afterwards the collapse of the tower is used by contemporary Chron as a sign of displeasure by God as with other remains in Winchester Cathedral William's remains may have been scattered and then placed into one of the boxes or placed into another coffin Henry I son of William the Conqueror King by quick succession died December 1135 a powerful King who conquered Normandy by beating and imprisoning his elder brother Robert Certo Robert died in 1134 and has a magnificent Tomb at Gloucester Cathedral as for King Henry's tomb well it's kind of lost but maybe one day it might be found King Henry was inent tuned at reading Abbey which he founded and is the only King buried there I've said it enough times but but you can guess what happened to reading Abbey however there has been a substantial amount of work made into finding Henry's tomb or bones but nothing yet King Steven nephew of King Henry Died 1154 King by proclamation or a usurper depending on your interpretation King Henry's male Hees had died in the white ship disaster and only his daughter the empress Matilda was the last heir of King Henry's direct line yet Steven took the throne What followed was a civil war known as the Anarchy peace was restored when King Steven came to an agreement with Empress Matilda's son Henry to adopt him as Heir King Steven died not long afterwards and was in tuned with his wife Queen Matilda at faam Abbey there is nothing left of faam Abbey no visible ruins whatsoever and King Steven's remains are lost to time in one of the last pages of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles it states about King Steven's death 1154 in this year King Steven died and was buried where his wife and son were buried at faam the Minster that they had made King Henry II grandson of Henry the King by succession died 1189 one of if not the most powerful medieval kings of England King Henry inherited large swats of land his marriage to elanar of aquatan granted even more land to him which in turn created an Empire known as the Anin Empire Roger of Howden gives an account of King Henry's burial his son and successor Richard had traveled to front for Abbey where Henry's body was being prepared for burial Henry's body had been stripped of valuables shortly after he died and when Richard weeping heavily approached the body blood flowed out of Henry's nostrils after Henry's in tement his remains were left undisturbed until the French Revolution where they were most likely scattered and lost Richard the lionhart or Richard I son of King Henry II King by succession died 1199 buried at front of for Abbey and like his fathers remains lost to time only his heart remains at ruong but it's rotted into a brown powder although the heart has been an analyzed the scientific journal is in the top comment tab if you'd like to read it King John or John Lackland died 1216 son of King Henry II and King by succession I'm not spending too much time talking about John as I made a 3-hour video about him his remains are in tuned at Worcester Cathedral and remain as such the country was in a civil war so Worcester was the only suitable place for him at the time of his death the only thing I'll say is that his tomb's Effigy was scrubbed of color by the bloody victorians King Henry III or Henry of Winchester died 1272 son of King John and King by a close succession one of the longest reigning Kings of England and known for remodeling Westminster Abbey in devotion to his patron saint Edward the Confessor many contemporary chroniclers write differing accounts of his life and death my favorite is Thomas wix's account Henry III's body was fittingly decked out with the richest clothes and the Royal Crown all believe that when it was being carried by specially chosen Nobles of the realm on a beer for burial it sh on with greater Splendor than it had in life Henry's remains are still in place at Westminster Abbey only being moved a few times his heart was moved to front oford ABY Edward I or Edward Longshanks died 1307 son of Henry III King by succession in tuned not far from his father's at Westminster Abbey considered another great medieval King eduardus Magnus and the last crusading king participating in the ninth Crusade his tomb compared to his father's is more simplistic and lacks an effigy what is interesting is the journey Edward's remains took shortly after death to preface this Edward is an old Anglo-Saxon name after all Edward's father Henry had a great fondness towards Edward the Confessor so after the Norman Conquest King Edward was the first king to be named with an Anglo-Saxon name now back to King Edward's journey to burial the location the body first rested at was none other than walam Abbey one of the alleged locations of Harold godwinson resting place the first Anglo-Saxon named King since the conquest was first rested at the alleged burial site of the last Anglo-Saxon King quite a coincidence Edward II or Edward of canavan died 1327 son of Edward I King by succession Edward is the first and only King to be intuned at Gloucester Cathedral Edward II was pretty bad at being King so much so he was made to abdicate for his young son the leaders of this group that forced Edward II out was led by his wife Isabella of France and her lover Roger Mortimer Edward II died under mysterious circumstances in 1327 most likely he was murdered and there's a few theories on how he died but that's for another video and I won't poke at that subject today as for the reason for Edward's in tun at gler Cathedral one reason could be it was easier having a quick burial so the new regime could focus on stability and legitimacy and gler Cathedral wasn't far from where Edward died Gloucester is an old city and not far from the Cathedral is St Oswald's prior which did contain the tomb of eeled Lady of the mercians again another Anglo-Saxon connection coincidence Edward's remains are still at Gloucester and his tomb is still in fine condition Edward III or Edward of Windsor died 1377 son of Edward II King from for abdication of his predecessor a far better King than his father Edward started the6 years war with France over the French throne some of the money made from the war went to remodeling Windsor Castle yet Edward is in tuned at Westminster Abbey and after researching over 20 different Kings Westminster Abbey is the safest place for their remains his body was buried at Westminster with all reverence Richard II died 1400 grandson of Edward III and Son Of Edward the black prince King by succession and King at the age of 10 despite showing promise during the peasant's Revolt Richard was a disappointing medieval King of England and he was deposed by his cousin Henry Bolingbrook and imprisoned at pronr Castle where he died at the age of 33 most likely he was starved to death his body was displayed to the public to show he had died and no foul play was involved Richard was first intuned at King's Langley prior before being moved to Westminster Abbey in 1413 into the tomb he had ordered to be constructed for himself a few years after his first wife an of bohemia died in 1394 where they both remain Henry IV or Henry Bolingbrook died 1413 grandson of Edward III and Son of John of GA King by userion inomed at Canterbury Cathedral and the only English king buried there Henry was a big fan of Thomas Beckett the martyred Archbishop of Canterbury and wished to be in tuned near his favorite Saint much like Henry III and Edward the Confessor saints were like the action heroes of the Middle Ages people had their favorite ones Henry is still there to this day Henry V or Henry of Monmouth died 1422 son of Henry ivth King by succession Henry V was the Medieval embodiment of kick ass and chew gum a warrior king who battered the French yet died at the young age of 35 if Henry had lived a bit longer he would have been both King of England and France Henry died in France and his body was taken back to England and intuned at Westminster Abbey Henry V 6 died 1471 son of Henry V King by succession Henry VII was King of England and France for a time yet despite these prestigious titles Henry V 6 was a poor King plagued by mental health issues his energetic wife Margaret of onju tried to keep his Reign going but eventually Henry was deposed and killed at the Tower of London buried at an obscure location chury Abbey Henry's remains were later moved to St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle by Richard III Henry iith tried to have Henry the six venerated and even built a shrine for him at Westminster Abbey but the plans never came to fruition and Henry V 6 is still in tuned at Windsor Castle Edward Edward ivth died 1483 King by Conquest Edward was the son of Richard Duke of York and had a claim to the English Throne thanks to being a descendant of Edward 3 taking the throne from the enfeebled Henry V 6 Edward was another warrior king who while in his youth cut a powerful figure but as he aged his diet and illnesses weakened him leading to his death at the age of just 40 his body was laid in state at St sten's Chapel until 16th of April before internment at Windsor yet his tomb was destroyed by the parliamentarians during the English Civil War and a simple black marble slab now marks his grave Edward V died some time after April 1486 three King but uncrowned son of Edward ivth perhaps the most controversial burial and death Edward V and his brother Richard are known as the famous princes in the tower as they disappeared while they were confined at the Tower of London we cannot say for certain where the boys are in tuned and to explain their deaths and burial is an enormous task which need its own video Richard III died 1485 Uncle of Edward I 5th and brother of Edward ivth King by proclamation or a usurper depending on your interpretation now is the winter of our discontent made glorious Summer by this son of York Richard III's story of his burial is incredibly famous in the UK with Richard skeleton being excavated under a car park at leester in 2012 and the rediscovery of his remains led to a boom in trying to find other kings which still carries on today as after his bloody death at Bosworth he was simply in tuned at gry Fryer's Abbey after his corpse had suffered mocking and stripped bear Richard's remains were lost during the dissolution of the abies and as mentioned found again Richard's remains now lie in a lovely modern Tomb at leester Cathedral Henry iith or Henry chuda Died 1509 King by conquest or a usurper depending on your interpretation the head of a new Dynasty the chudah Henry's Reign was a stress ful one winning the throne at the Battle of Bosworth field and marrying Edward IV's daughter Elizabeth which secured the throne as Henry himself had such a weak claim to it but despite this Henry still faced uprisings and his dynasty was secured thanks to his son Prince Arthur yet sadly Arthur died and Elizabeth died shortly after child birth combined with the stressful of kingship Henry died in 1509 and was in tuned at Westminster Abbey Henry viith or Henry the Heritage Destroyer now we come to the king who is mainly responsible for the loss of many of his predecessors burial sites despite starting off as a darling Prince of Europe Henry's later Reign is filled with cruelty fear and destruction when his Reign came to an end in 1547 he was in tuned at St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle where he has remained since I hope you all enjoyed exploring the burial sites of the medieval kings of England if you would like to support the channel you can on patreon or YouTube 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Channel: Embrace historia

Views: 11,742

Keywords: English history, King of England, Alfred the Great, Edward the Elder, Æthelstan, Edmund I, Eadred, Eadwig, Edgar, Edward the Martyr, Æthelred the Unready, Sweyn Forkbeard, Edmund Ironside, Cnut, Harold Harefoot, Harthacnut, Edward the Confessor, Harold Godwinson, William the Conqueror, William II of England, Henry I, Stephen, Henry II, Richard I, John, Henry III, Edward I, Edward II, Edward III, Richard II, Henry IV, Henry V, Henry VI, Edward IV, Edward V, Richard III, Kings

Id: vvmM9dPDbQ8

Length: 36min 0sec (2160 seconds)

Published: Fri May 03 2024