Editing Edgar, King of England (section)

== Early life ==
Edgar was the younger son of Edmund and his first wife, [[Ælfgifu of Shaftesbury|Ælfgifu]], and he was born in 943 or 944, the year his mother died. She was a benefactor of [[Shaftesbury Abbey]], an establishment for nuns, and was buried and venerated as a [[saint]] there. Her mother [[Wynflæd]], who died around 950, was a vowess (religious woman), who was also a benefactor of the nunnery.{{sfnm|1a1=Williams|1y=2014|2a1=Kelly|2y=1996|2p=56}} Edgar was brought up by [[Ælfwynn, wife of Æthelstan Half-King|Ælfwynn]], the wife of Æthelstan Half-King,{{sfn|Williams|2014}} and in about 958 Edgar gave her a ten-[[Hide (unit)|hide]] ({{convert|400|ha|adj=on|disp=sqbr|-2}}) estate at [[Old Weston]] in Huntingdonshire in gratitude.{{sfn|Hart|1966|pp=231–232}} Æthelstan was a strong supporter of the Benedictine reform movement, which became dominant during Edgar's reign, and the historian [[Robin Fleming]] comments that Edgar {{lang|ang|[[ætheling]]}} (prince eligible for the throne) was profoundly influenced by his upbringing:
:Thus, the {{lang|ang|ætheling}} was reared in the household of one of his father's closest allies and raised among Half-King's own brothers and sons, five of whom at one time or another were ealdormen. Since Half-King was an intimate of the reform circle, and St Dunstan in particular, Edgar came of age in an atmosphere dominated by the ideals of monastic reform. Some of Edgar's affection for monks and his determination to revive Benedictine monasticism must have been acquired in this household of his youth.{{sfn|Fleming|1991|p=31}}

Eadwig and Edgar are not recorded in contemporary sources until 955, when they first attested charters, suggesting that they did not regularly attend court when they were young.{{sfn|Keynes|2004}} Shortly before his death Eadred granted the [[Secular clergy|secular]] (non-monastic) [[Minster (church)|minster]] at [[Abingdon-on-Thames|Abingdon]] to [[Æthelwold of Winchester|Æthelwold]], the future Bishop of Winchester, who converted it into a monastic establishment, [[Abingdon Abbey]], with himself as its abbot.{{sfn|Thacker|1988|pp=43, 51–52}} Edgar was educated there by Æthelwold, who was another leader of the monastic reform movement, and who was thus able to reinforce the young prince's belief in its virtues.{{sfnm|1a1=Lapidge|1y=1988|1p=98|2a1=Gretsch|2y=1999|2p=239}} As Eadwig succeeded shortly after Æthelwold's appointment, it is likely that Edgar's education at Abingdon was approved by his elder brother as king, and that Æthelwold and Eadwig were on good terms.{{sfnm|1a1=Yorke|1y=1988b|1p=80|2a1=John|2y=1966|2pp=159–160}}