I do not understand the last part of the prophecy. What do you make of it?

I always assumed that he declared Harold as his successor (instead of the rightful heir, his grandson, Edgar the AEthling) on his deathbed.

Originally posted by helen670

When Queen Emma was pregnant with him, “all of the men of the country,” as his earliest, anonymous biographer records, “took an oath that if a man child should come forth as the fruit of her labours, they would await in him their lord and king who would rule over the whole race of the English.”......

At the time the "English" tended to refer to the Danes who had essentially invaded the country after the collapse of the Roman Empire, so when referring to the "men of the country taking an oath" who does this imply? The Danes, the Celts, what was left of the Picts, or the Romano Britons? Just curious really.

Also interesting are the chronicles suggesting that he was a weak, but violent man and that his reputation for saintliness was overstated, possibly a sham perpetrated by the monks of Westminster in the twelfth century.


[edit on 13-6-2005 by DenyAllKnowledge]

Just looking at the supposed text from the Confessor himself...

It looks like it's saying that the church that was existing in england at the time of his death was corrupt and that God was sending the Normans to knock England back into shape. Since it drw England closer to Rome, that would seem to be an endorsement of the Catholic Church. The Norman soldiers, in that vision, almost seem like the vengeful agents of god.

Again, just looking at the text you gave, the chutch in england that was in existence before the norman invasion is the one that looks bad.