Promo: Searching for the Last Anglo-Saxon King: Harold Godwinson, England's Golden Warrior by Paula Lofting
Searching for the Last Anglo-Saxon King:
Harold Godwinson, England's Golden Warrior
Paula Lofting
The Promise that never was
September 1066 and Harold, King of England has been in the job for only 9 months. In that time, he has known little peace. William, Duke of Normandy had been preparing for some months to invade from across the channel after getting it into his head that somehow, he had a right to the English throne. Harold’s brothers-in-law, Edwin and Morcar, were about to fight the king’s own brother, Tostig, who had been exiled from his earldom in Northumbria after ten years’ service. Tostig was out for revenge, blaming Harold for his downfall - and he’d brought Harald Hardrada with him just for good measure. Hardrada was, as his name suggests, a hard man, and king of Norway, looking to expand his empire. Harold, having heard of Tostig’s landing on the Northeast coast was getting ready to march north to come to the aid of his young brothers-in-law. It had been a tough time.
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Enthroned Harold Bayeux Tapestry - Public domain |
Harold had been elected king by the witan, which was how they did things in Anglo-Saxon England, directly after, or perhaps before, the demise of Edward the Confessor. It was a choice of either the experienced, powerful Earl of Wessex, or the adolescent Edgar, an ætheling of royal blood, who was about as powerful as a fish out of water, with little following other than his own household perhaps. So just what was a kingdom to do? They elected the man who had the power to protect England the best. Harold Godwinson
This was going to shake things up a bit over in Normandy, and rightly so, after all William had waited fifteen years for his cousin to up and die and leave his throne to him and what does that pesky son of Godwin do? He steals it right out from under him! The fact that Harold had sworn an oath to William on a casket of holy relics, surely meant something. After all, this Harold had done willingly whilst on a trip in 1064 to the Norman court, sent by Duke William’s cousin, Edward, the king of England. Harold was Edward’s dux Anglorum, and you couldn’t get much higher in status than that apart from the king. That was why Edward had chosen Harold to journey to Normandy and confirm the promise made to William in 1051. The promise was that Edward would consider him his heir should he not be brought to fatherhood by his wife, the virtuous Queen Edith, Harold’s sister. And as the years went by, it became obvious that no such heir of Edward’s own loins, was going to materialise before Edward’s demise.
Harold discusses Normandy - Bayeux Tapestry - Public domain
But why would a supposedly intelligent chap like Harold, swear fealty to the Norman duke having been sent by King Edward to purposely confer the promise of his throne to him, and then once home conspire to take the throne himself? Seems like asking for trouble if you ask me… but, there is another story which came to light some years later, which can also be seen within the threads of the Bayeux Tapestry. The story, written by Eadmer, is that Harold was not sent to Normandy by King Edward but rather, he took himself off to Normandy, against the advice of the king that nothing good would come of it, to negotiate the release of his brother Wulfnoth and nephew Hakon. What?! I hear you exclaim. How can this be so? This is not the story we have all been led to believe!
Most of the early contemporary sources are of Norman origin and speak of Harold’s visit to Normandy, suggesting that Edward sent Harold to confirm Edward’s intention of making him king of England on his death. This was said to have occurred somewhere between the autumn of 1064 and Summer of 1065. We know that Harold was in England in the late Summer of 1065 and considering what was happening at that time I would plump for his travel to Normandy in the autumn of 1064. It is strange that the Anglo-Saxon chronicles do not mention this trip, which if it had been a state visit, arranged by Edward, I’m sure it would have been. Contemporary English sources do not mention it at all suggesting it was a private endeavour, corroborating Eadmer’s story written somewhere in the late 11th century when both William and Harold were dead, and it was safer to do so. Was this something that English did not wish to be widely known? And why?
Harold swears oath on holy relics - Bayeux Tapestry - Public domain
So, who was Eadmer and where was he likely to have got the story from?
Eadmer, a monk of Christ Church, Canterbury, was a historian and theologian. He was born in 1060. It is thought that he had known of or possibly trained under the tutelage of Æthelric who later became Bishop of Selsey. A kinsman of Earl Godwin’s, Æthelric had been elected Archbishop of Canterbury by his fellow monks. Edward however refused to endorse him and instead installed his best-friend Robert Champart, causing the start of the rift between Archbishop Robert and Godwin. It is possible that Eadmer learned of what really happened to Harold in Normandy and why he went, from someone who had known Harold’s uncle, Æthelric.
The Bayeux Tapesty shows Harold speaking with Edward as soon as he arrived home, but it may be that upon his return to England, he went first to visit Uncle Æthelric, whose bishopric in Selsey was not far from Harold’s family home of Bosham. Who better to absolve him from his oath than a holy man and a relative to boot. In canon law, if one was forced into an oath under duress, that oath could be rescinded later. One can imagine the distress Harold felt having made the monumental mistake of going there in the first place. Edward, as Eadmer would have us know, had warned him nothing good would come of it, and apparently said to him, “I told you so” perhaps not in these exact words but something similar. And this is most likely why, Harold’s trip to Normandy is not mentioned in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles. Harold had boobed, and they wanted it kept quiet.
Harold faces Edward – Bayeux Tapestry, public domain
And later, that oath was rescinded, and Harold was crowned despite it. One can understand William’s anger. But did he pluck the notion that Edward had offered him the crown out of thin air? To understand where this notion might have come from, we must go back to 1051.
The aforementioned year was when tensions between the king, his friend Robert Champart of de Jumièges and Harold’s father, Earl Godwin, had reached boiling point. The king’s favourite was doing his best to undermine the king’s father-in-law, by reporting to the king seditious tales of Godwin’s plotting to kill the king like he had killed the king’s brother, Alfred, an old accusation that Earl Godwin had cleared himself of. It all kicked off by September when Edward’s brother-in-law, Count Eustace, was returning home to Boulogne from a visit. He and his retinue put on their mail coats before entering the town and caused trouble which erupted into a violent dispute in which a good number on both sides were killed. It is very telling that the Frenchmen were said to have put on their coats of mail before they entered to the town. Were they expecting trouble from the townsfolk, or were they out to cause trouble themselves?
William of Normandy - Bayeux Tapestry, Public Domain
Edward ordered Earl Godwin to punish the town, but the earl, who had been given the side of the townsfolk, refused. The Godwinsons were sent into exile and were gone for almost a year while between them, they gathered support in Ireland and St Omer in Flanders. During this time, it is thought that William visited Edward and ‘spoke about what they wanted to talk about, and when they were finished, he (Edward) let him (William) go again’. It was at this meeting, so the Norman chronicles imply, that Edward promised his crown to William. Only one of the AS chronicles mentions this event, strange for a state visit where a discussion around such an important thing like the succession of the English crown supposedly took place. It is thought to be a late entry into the chronicle, written after the conquest. Some historians believe he was tied up with rebellions at home, but it is possible that he found time for the shortest of visits. It could have had something to do with those French and Norman advisers Edward was so fond of, and Count Eustace of Boulogne may well have had a hand in the plot that caused the exile of the Godwinsons. Whatever the circumstance, William had the idea in his head, and it was to stay there for another 15 years or so. When the Godwins fought their way back home months later and were re-established in their lands and offices once more, some of Edward’s foreigners were exiled for treasonous counselling of the king, including the archbishop of Canterbury.
Three years later when it was decided to send a mission to Europe to search for an heir with the blood of English kings, Edward’s promise to William seems to have been either pushed aside, swept under the rush mats, or forgotten like whispers in the wind. The focus was now to find the ætheling which eventually became the young Edgar. Edgar was given this title which meant ‘throneworthy’ – a title that was never bestowed upon William – ever. If Edward had meant to leave the throne of England to his younger cousin, why then did he allow the mission to find Edgar’s father, known as Edward the Exile, son of Edward’s older brother, the deceased Edmund Ironside. Why would they go to all the expense of sending an ambassadorial entourage to Europe. As an author and historian, I have license to interpret history as I see fit, but I try to do so with as much integrity as I can and personally, this is what I feel may have happened:
Edward’s plan to be rid of the Godwinsons had gone awry. He knew he had gotten himself into a predicament with William, whom he had only agreed to ‘consider’ as heir, knowing he had no right to do so without the agreement of the Witan. Having lost most of his Norman companions, Edward no longer had the support of his fellow compatriots. Robert had gone and so had two of his bishops and a lot more. And with Robert had gone the Godwinson hostages, Wulfnoth and Hakon. Robert had taken them as he fled from Godwin’s wrath, for the earl of Wessex was hot for vengeance. Edward may have agreed to Robert taking the hostages and knew his friend would be on his way to inform William that the hostages would be surety for Edward’s word. At this time, Edward, still angry with Godwin, may have been following the plan his friend, the archbishop, had engineered. But the plot came to nothing, and as time went on, any intentions of passing on his crown to William was off the agenda. He agreed with the witan that they must find his brother’s son, Edward the Exile, rumoured to be in Hungary, bring him back and make him Ætheling. But there was one issue with the detail, Edward the exile died, and England lost the only heir who was of an age and capability to take the throne should Edward the king die. All was not lost, though, for Edward the Exile had a son called Edgar. The drawback was that Edgar was a child of five, and not the son of a king as his father had been. Still, he was all that England had left of the House of Cerdic, and the problem was easily fixed. So Edward the Confessor adopted Edgar as his son and heir and was given the title of ætheling.
Edward's Funeral - Bayeux Tapestry, Public
domain
When 1065 came, no one in England, it seemed, imagined that Edward, even at his great age (he was around 61 at the time of his death) would die. He was still robust, well enough to go hunting that autumn with Harold, and showing no signs of illness. But when illness did come, it was not long before he was so ill, he could not even attend the consecration of his church. That Harold was already elected before Edward’s dying breath, I am sure. The deathbed decree where a sick King Edward apparently gave his kingdom to Harold, was simply a rubber stamp.
So we had a promise that was never confirmed, an unwittingly foolish mistake made by an earl, and a king who refused to take full responsibility for his own shortcomings in securing the succession. England was beset by enemies from three sides and needed an experienced, warlike king, and not a boy who would be open to manipulation. The choice made by the nobles ended badly for the Anglo-Saxon regime, but I still think the right man was chosen, and it ended as God willed it. Fate is inexorable, as they say, and William won by Conquest and not by righteousness.
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About the Author:
Paula Lofting
Paula was born in the ancient Saxon county of Middlesex in 1961. She grew up in Australia hearing stories from her dad of her homeland and its history. As a youngster she read books by Rosemary Sutcliff and Leon Garfield and her love of English history grew. At 16 her family decided to travel back to England and resettle. She was able to visit the places she'd dreamt about as a child, bringing the stories of her childhood to life. It wasn't until later in life that Paula realised her dream to write and publish her own books. Her debut historical novel Sons of the Wolf was first published in 2012 and then revised and republished in 2016 along with the sequel, The Wolf Banner, in 2017. The third in the series, Wolf's Bane, will be ready for publishing later this year.
In this midst of all this, Paula acquired contracts for nonfiction books with the prestigious Pen & Sword publishers. Searching for the Last Anglo-Saxon King, Harold Godwinson, England’s golden Warrior is now available to buy in all good book outlets, and she is now working on the next non-fiction book about King Edmund Ironside. She has also written a short essay about Edmund for Iain Dale's Kings and Queens, articles for historical magazines. When she is not writing, she is a psychiatric nurse, mother of three grown up kids and grandmother of two and also re-enacts the Anglo-Saxon/Viking period with the awesome Regia Anglorum.
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