For History Geeks Only

So, I managed to return to America without a fake English accent, and I don't call the bathroom the "loo." What I did bring home, however, was a fascination with the history of England embodied in the sovreigns. I can't quite recite them all in order of appearance, but every time you turn around in London and environs, you fall over something that was built by and for them.

And yet...

I have become so comfortable with the different eras and styles of the different monarchs, that it just seems like it's Not That Much History. I mean, sure, there's plenty of history and all, but it really only goes back to about 1066--not even a full thousand years.

Oh, don't get me wrong--the English know their kings back to about 800 A.D., when the kings of Wessex started throwing out the Vikings. But as far as recorded history goes, it goes back to 1066.

(William the Conqueror? Oh, surely I don't have to tell you about William the Conqueror and the Battle of Hastings and the institution of Norman rule! Well, then, your assignment is to look it up, write a brief essay--no longer than 2 pages-- and turn it in. Yes, it will be on the exam.)

There is one great exception--Edward the Confessor, aka St. Edward. This is the Edward who died in January of 1066 without children, leading at least three major contenders to jockey for the throne. Harold got himself crowned at Westminster Abbey (begun by Edward the Confessor--so he would have a place to go for confessions?) before racing north to beat the Norweigans trying to get the throne, and then racing south only to die from an arrow in the eye at Hastings.

This Edward is not to be confused with the later Norman kings who were also named Edward--Edward I (castle builder and conqueror of Wales), Edward II (first Prince of Wales, later deposed and murdered by his wife and her boyfriend) and Edward III. Edward the Confessor comes from the pre-Norman line where people didn't get numbers. This Edward is buried in Westminster Abbey, right in the center of the church, in a where no one is allowed anymore because the tomb is so fragile. In earlier years, however, it was thought that the tomb itself had the power to heal the sick, and so sick people were left overnight in little niches along the base.

Anyway, once you start differentiating among all the Edwards, the rest of the history of England starts to seem like current events.