King of England (939–46). He succeeded his brother Athelstan as king. In his brief reign he defended Athelstan’s territorial gains and reconquered (944) Danish-occupied Mercia. He sought to stabilize his north-west border against Danish raids from Ireland by presenting (945) the region of Strathclyde to his ally the King of Scotland, Malcolm I. Edmund appointed Dunstan as abbot of Glastonbury and supported his reform of organized monasticism. He was murdered by a convicted robber in a banquet brawl.