Editing Edgar, King of England (section)

=== Warfare and foreign relations ===
Peter Rex observes in his biography of Edgar that his reign was remarkable for the lack of opposition to his rule both from within and outside his kingdom.{{sfn|Rex|2007|pp=43–44}} Although no Viking attacks on England are recorded in his reign, there were several battles fought by ealdormen and neighbouring kings. In 966, Thored, son of Gunnar,{{efn|He may have been the [[Thored]] who became ealdorman of York by 979.{{sfn|Whitelock|1959|p=79}} }} ravaged Westmorland, perhaps as part of English resistance to the southward expansion of [[Kingdom of Strathclyde|Strathclyde]], and [[Kenneth II of Scotland|King Kenneth of Scotland]] conducted raids on Northumbria in the early 970s.{{sfnm|1a1=Huscroft|1y=2019|1p=126|2a1=Williams|2y=2014}} In the late 960s, there was dissension between the princes of the north Welsh [[Kingdom of Gwynedd]], and in 967, the English under Ælfhere laid waste to it; in the early 970s, [[Anglesey]] was twice attacked by the Vikings.{{sfnm|2a1=Williams|2y=2014|1a1=Charles-Edwards|1y=2013|1p=539}} The ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' boasted of the strength of Edgar's navy. ''ASC D'' and ''E'', after declaring that many kings honoured Edgar, go on: "Nor was there fleet so proud nor host so strong that it got itself prey in England as long as the noble king held the throne."{{sfnm|1a1=Williams|1y=2014|2a1=Whitelock|2y=1979|2p=228}} Later chroniclers made exaggerated claims, such as John of Worcester, who wrote that Edgar had 3,600 ships, and that he used to circumnavigate the island of Britain each summer, but there is evidence for naval organisation in the reign of his son Æthelred, and Edgar probably had a substantial fleet which laid the foundation for it.{{sfnm|1a1=Williams|1y=2014|2a1=Darlington|2a2=McGurk|2y=1995|2pp=425–427}}

A poem in the northern versions ''ASC D'' and ''E'', which is thought on stylistic grounds to have been written by Wulfstan, praises Edgar, but then goes on "Yet he did one ill-deed too greatly: he loved evil foreign customs and brought too firmly heathen manners within this land, and attracted hither foreigners and enticed harmful people to this country."{{sfn|Whitelock|1979|p=225}} This probably refers to Edgar hiring Viking mercenaries and their ships, an expedient which was employed by Alfred and probably Æthelstan before Edgar, and Æthelred after him.{{sfnm|1a1=Williams|1y=2014|2a1=Jayakumar|2y=2001|2pp=26–27}}

In 972/973, Edgar sent an embassy to the German emperor, [[Otto the Great]]. According to Byrhtferth:
:Edgar sent some wonderful gifts to the emperor, through the agency of [[Æscwig of Dorchester|Abbot Æscwig]] and Wulfmær, his thegn; they brought back to him even more wonderful gifts, which served to establish a treaty of steadfast peace. The king was bountiful in his generosity, as befits a king. As a result of his abundant generosity, the kings of other peoples praised him exceedingly, and because he displayed the rage of a savage lion against his enemies, neighbouring kings and princes feared him.{{sfn|Lapidge|2009|pp=102–103 and n. 39}}