Edward the Confessor Edward the Confessor Edward the Confessor ( , ; 1003 – 5 January 1066), also known as Saint Edward the Confessor, was among the last Anglo-Saxon kings of England. Usually considered the last king of the House of Wessex, he ruled from 1042 to 1066. The son of Æthelred the Unready and Emma of Normandy, Edward succeeded Cnut the Great's son – and his own half brother – Harthacnut, restoring the rule of the House of Wessex after the period of Danish rule since Cnut (better known as Canute) conquered England in 1016. When Edward died in 1066, he was
Iste confessor To Him be health, honor and virtue // who always shining on the heavenly throne </poem> Iste confessor Domini sacratus <poem> 1 Iste confessor Domini sacratus, // Festa plebs cuius celebrat per orbem, 2 Qui pius, prudens, humilis, pudicus, // Sobrius, castus fuit, et quietus, 3 Ad sacrum cuius tumulum frequenter, // Membra languentum modo sanitati, 4 Unde nunc noster chorus in honorem // Ipsius, hymnum canit hunc libenter, 5 Sit salus illi, decus, atque virtus, // Qui supra cæli residens cacumen, </poem> This holy confessor of the Lord <poem> 1 This holy confessor of the Lord // the feast