EDWY, Eadwig, or Edwin, surnamed the Fair, an Anglo-Saxon king, was the son of Edmund I., and succeeded his uncle, Edred, on the throne in 955, being then from 16 to 18 years of age. His immediate rule was limited to Wessex, his younger brother Edgar reigning over Mercia with the title of sub-king. On account of the relation in which Edwy stood to Dunstan, abbot of Glastonbury, it is impossible, from the narratives that have been transmitted to us, to arrive at any certainty as to the interpretation to be given to his character, and to the main facts of his reign. It is said that on the day of his coronation he retired early from the banquet to the apartment of Elgiva, whom he undoubtedly recognized as his wife, but who, according to the monks, was related to him within the prohibited degrees; and that Dunstan, abbot of Glastonbury, enraged at the affront thus put upon the church, followed him, and not without violence dragged him back to the banqueting hall. Either for this particular manifestation of authority, or because the king was opposed to his policy of substituting monks for secular canons and was unable to restrain his domineering spirit, Dunstan was deprived of his offices and banished from the kingdom. The Mercians, however, revolted, and, proclaiming Edgar sole king, recalled Dunstan to their dominions. It is said also that Odo, archbishop of Canterbury, instigated a plot for separating Elgiva from Edwin, that she was sent to Ireland where her face was disfigured with hot searing irons, and that on her escape to England she was again seized and put to death by torture at Gloucester; but the monks affirm that the lady who was subjected to this treatment was not Elgiva, but her mother Ethelgiva, who was also the mistress of the king. Edwy died in 958.