Edward the Elder Edward the Elder Edward the Elder (c. 874 – 17 July 924) was King of the Anglo-Saxons from 899 until his death. He was the elder son of Alfred the Great and his wife Ealhswith. When Edward succeeded to the throne, he had to defeat a challenge from his cousin Æthelwold, who had a strong claim to the throne as the son of Alfred's elder brother and predecessor, Æthelred. Alfred had succeeded Æthelred as king of Wessex in 871, and almost faced defeat against the Danish Vikings until his decisive victory at the Battle of Edington in 878. After the
The Lictors Bring to Brutus the Bodies of His Sons caution, "The Lictors Bring to Brutus the Bodies of His Sons" was almost not shown because of concerns about inflaming pro-revolutionary passions. The public's insistence was too great, however, and the authorities were forced to give in. After its first exhibition, David's friend, the actor François-Joseph Talma, played the title role in Voltaire's "Brutus" and added in a scene in which the stage direction exactly replicated the composition of the already famous painting. Contemporaneously with David, the painter Angelica Kauffmann (1741–1807) was commissioned by Polish royalty to create a work she entitled "Brutus Condemning His Sons to Death for Treason".