Edward the Confessor of Edward's lands exceeded that of the greatest earls, but they were scattered among the southern earldoms. He had no personal powerbase, and he does not seem to have attempted to build one. In 1050–51 he even paid off the fourteen foreign ships which constituted his standing navy and abolished the tax raised to pay for it. However, in ecclesiastical and foreign affairs he was able to follow his own policy. King Magnus I of Norway aspired to the English throne, and in 1045 and 1046, fearing an invasion, Edward took command of the fleet at Sandwich. Beorn's elder brother,
Justin the Confessor Justin the Confessor Justin the Confessor (died 269 in Rome) was a Christian martyr in the Roman Empire. He is honoured as a saint by the Roman Catholic Church. Justin the Confessor lived in the city of Rome at the time of the persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire. It is believed that Justin was martyred, either under Emperor Claudius II or under Emperor Valerian, the latter being more likely. Justin was ordained as a priest by Pope Sixtus II. As a presbyter he led the Christian community of Rome, coming to know personally many important early Christians who