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,
Iste confessor of whom people celebrate worldwide 2 Who holy, prudent, humble, modest // sober, pure, was and peaceful 3 At his holy tomb, frequently // the limbs of the sick (were) presently cured 4 Whence now our choir, in honour // of him sing this hymn gladly 5 Health to Him, honour and virtue // who resides above in the peak of heaven </poem> Iste confessor Iste confessor is a Latin hymn used in the Divine Office at Lauds and Vespers on feasts of confessors. It exists in two forms. "Iste confessor Domini sacratus" is the original 8th Century hymn and