Abstract
The following two reigns after Eadgar would show that there were many limitations to West Saxon kingship of England. Edward ‘the Martyr’ lasted just a short while before being replaced after his murder by his brother, Æthelred ‘the Unready’. ‘Æthelred the Cnut: The Decline of the English Monarchy’ shows how the monarchy struggled to deal with the new Viking raiders of the end of the tenth century. If it hadn't been for the strength of the Viking invaders, the English state might have been able to hold things together.
