Page "Ealdred (bishop)" Paragraph 10

In 1054 King Edward sent Ealdred to Germany to obtain Emperor Henry III's help in returning Edward the Exile, son of Edmund Ironside, to England.

Edmund ( reigned 1016 ) was an elder half-brother of King Edward the Confessor, and Edmund's son Edward was in Hungary with King Andrew I, having left England as an infant after his father's death and the accession of Cnut as King of England.

In this mission Ealdred was somewhat successful and obtained insight into the working of the German church during a stay of a year with Hermann II, the Archbishop of Cologne.

He also was impressed with the buildings he saw, and later incorporated some of the German styles into his own constructions.

The main objective of the mission, however, was to secure the return of Edward ; but this failed, mainly because Henry III's relations with the Hungarians were strained, and the emperor was unable or unwilling to help Ealdred.

Ealdred was able to discover that Edward was alive, and had a place at the Hungarian court.

Although some sources state that Ealdred attended the coronation of Emperor Henry IV, this is not possible, as on the date that Henry was crowned, Ealdred was in England consecrating an abbot.