King Harold II ca 1021 - 1066
Canute loathed creepy, insincere people. This is best illustrated on the occasion when he had those sycophants who told him that he was so wonderful that even the waves would obey him, join him on the beach to get soaking wet by the incoming tide. He admired the faithfulness of Godwine and felt that he could be trusted, and promoted him to controlling the region of Wessex.
Later to strengthen the bond between the Dane & the Saxon,
Godwine married Canute's sister-in-law, Gytha Thorgilsson, so Harold was half Danish. Indeed
the name Harold is Danish & so were most of his siblings' names too.
Canute replaced all but two of the Saxon nobles, Godwine & Leofwine with his Scandinavian followers . For example the new Earl of Hereford was a man called Hrani. In fact Hrani & Godwine were the only two of Canute's original appointees to last his reign until the monarch's death in 1035.
Godwine = Gytha
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Swein Harold Edith Tosti Gyrth Leofwine Gunnhild Aelgyva Wulfnoth
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Edward Confessor
Edward the Confessor made his nephew Ralph 'The Timid' of Mantes the new Earl of Hereford.
Ralph was in charge of places in Herefordshire where castles were constructed for the first
time in English history. These were at Ewyas Harold, Richard's Castle &
at Hereford itself. These consisted of what were known as 'motte' and 'bailey'.
Their mottes were 27-feet( 9m) high, man-made mound of earth topped by a
wooden tower that was
fenced in by a palisade. The tower was reached only via a timber flying bridge,
complete with a drawbridge in front of its gate. Lower down was the bailey, a courtyard
containing a hall, stables & a workshop, itself surrounded by a palisade. For added protection,
a moat was dug around the entire complex. Ewyas Harold was deemed to be strategic because
it was on a spur of the Golden Valley, and Richard's castle, as it overlooked Ludlow.
Both of these were on the Welsh border, obviously for protection against the Welsh.
The only other castle in England as early as these was at Clavering in Essex.
French nobles who were Ralph's followers from his native Vexin were appointed as the castellans; Osbern
'Pentecost' at Ewyas Harold
, and Hugh and Richard Fitzscrob in Richard's castle.
When Swein returned in 1050, the Earldom and lands in Herefordshire were disputed
between Ralph & Swein.
There were three main disputes that led to Edward's crisis with Godwine.
Edward's queen
Edith (Godwine's daughter, Harold's sister) was barren. The Confessor wanted an heir
so he might have sought a way out of this childless marriage.
Secondly the newly appointed Archbishop of Canterbury, Robert Jumieges was disputing land with
Godwine.
And thirdly the ongoing dispute between Swein and Ralph over control of lands in Herefordshire.
A conference was scheduled to take place at Gloucester September 8th 1051. However, Godwine turned up a week early at Beverstone, Gloucs with his sons and armed retainers, making demands such as that Frenchmen in Herefordshire should be given over to him. . The Confessor felt outraged by this seeming act of rebellion and so had Godwine, his wife Gytha and his sons exiled.
Tosti, Swein and Gyrth went to Flanders, whilst Harold and Leofine went to Dublin
Edward could now share out the Godwines' estates amongst his supporters. Ralph was re-established in possession of Herefordshire, whilst the Frenchmen of Herefordshire were given the manors of Brinsop and Burghill worth 28 pounds a year
After several months it was obvious that Godwine was planning to force a return.
In response, on June 24th Edward gathered a fleet at Sandwich with Odda and
Ralph. Godwine sailed into Portland whilst Harold came from Dublin to Porlock on
the North Devon coast. A large force of locals gathered to oppose him but he
defeated them, killing more than 30 thegns and others.
This was his first military action.
Harold then sailed round Land's End to join up with his father on the Isle of Wight. Then they sailed up the Thames to London.
Neither side really wanted a fight because both feared a return to the anarchy of civil war that existed before Canute became king.
Those who had opposed the Godwines were now afraid. Archbishop Robert fled taking Harold's brother ,Wulfnoth and his nephew, Hakon with him. the French castellans of Herefordshire fled too, first to the safety of their own castles then to Scotland. They were declared outlaws. Hereford castle was probably then destroyed.
Godwine and his sons were restored to their lands and positions, though Ralph remained Earl of Hereford. Queen Edith returned to the Royal bed.
To settle the problem of Swein, Harold sent him on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem as a penance. However he died near Constantinople on the way back on 29th September 1052. With the troublemaker, Swein gone, Harold became Godwine's eldest son and heir.
The following spring Godwine died. Edward the Confessor chose Harold to succeed his Godwine as Earl of Winchester though Edward replaced Harold as Earl of East Anglia with Aelfgar, son of Leofric.
In 1055 Gruffydd headed a led a raid headed for Hereford. His forces were
stiffened by Irish forces and those of exiled Aelfgar the son of Leofric of
Mercia, who had resented the rise of the Godwines especially as he had been replaced
by Harold as Earl of East Anglia on the Godwines' return in 1052.
First they
attacked Archenfield then on 24th October went for Hereford.
Ralph disastrously
lost the battle against the Welsh.
Ralph wanted his men to fight on horseback, and
they rode out of the City to do battle with the invaders near Dinedor.
the Welsh stormed into the cathedral. They plundered and despoiled it of
relics, vestments and treasures, then they burnt it and sacked Hereford.
The Confessor needed to summon assistance. Obviously he could not ask Leofric, Earl of Mercia as he could not trust him to oppose his own son, so he called Harold.
In response to this disaster Harold gathered men from almost all of England who provided a screen whilst he built an earthwork around the city. However Harold would not secure authority over the Earldom of Herefordshire until Ralph's death. It appears that Harold and Ralph were on good terms, suggested also by the fact that Ralph named his son 'Harold', after whom Ewyas Harold is probably named (the Ewyas part means 'yew trees'). However Leland thought that Ewyas Harold was named after Harold's son Harold, and he wrote 'The fame goeth that Kynge Harold had a son namyd Harold, and of this Harold part of Ewis was named Ewis Harold. The fame is that the castell of Map-Heralt was buildid of Harold, afore he was Kynge, and when he overca mthe Walshe-men, Harold gave this castell to this son'
This is an interactive map of Hereford in 1055. Move the mouse
over it and it tells you about the places you are pointing to.
One of the supporters that Harold relied on in the county was Thurkill White who held lands valued at 68 pounds almost entirely in Herefordshire and largely from Harold himself
Harold may or may not have wrongfully taken lands from the Church. As many as 9 out of 26 cases of Harold's taking such lands concern the bishopric of Hereford, though these are likely to have been for reasons of national defence against the Welsh.
Bishop Athelstan died on February 10th 1056, his death was probably speeded by the trauma of the attack on Hereford.
Harold then advised Edward to promote his own chaplain, Leofgar as the new Bishop because Leofgar was well trained in worldly arts so he could bolster up defences against the Welsh to protect his flock.
However Leofgar rashly campaigned into Wales without support and he fell in battle at Glasbury-on-Wye on June 16th 1056 together with Sheriff Aelfnoth of Hereford as well a substantial number of his men. Ealdred, bishop of Worcester temporarily took over the administration of the diocese of Hereford.
Harold advanced a short way into Welsh territory, but was not prepared to risk a deeper incursion, so he met the enemy for talks which were held at Billingsley. He agreed to restore Aelfgar as Earl of East Anglia though Tosti was to keep his earldom of Northumberland. The English recognised Gruffydd as king of all Wales, whilst Gruffydd accepted Edward as overlord.
On the December 21st 1057 Ralph died leaving an infant son. There needed to be
a new Earl of Hereford. Edward could not choose Leofric of Mercia as he had died that
same year, nor could he opt for Leofric's son, Aelfgar as he was unpopular with
Herefordians because he had helped Gruffydd in his raid on Hereford. So the
Earldom in Herefordshire passed to Harold whilst Aelfgar replaced his deceased father
as Earl of Mercia. When Harold's other brother, Leofwine was appointed Earl of
the East Midlands it meant that Aelfgar was the only Earl in England not a member
of the Godwine family. This shows how big and powerful the Godwines were.
Aelfgar was afraid of being surrounded by so many Godwines, so he looked
for an alliance with another powerful figure. He chose Gruffydd because Aelfgar's daughter,
Alditha was
married to Gruffydd. Edward the Confessor felt
alarmed by this, so he banished Aelfgar again.
On May 26th 1063 Harold attacked Wales in a combined operation with his brother, Tosti.
Tosti invaded North Wales with a cavalry strike whilst Harold's fleet
sailed round the Welsh coast
from Bristol, laying waste and taking hostages. Harold occupied and devasted Anglesey, the
granary of North Wales. This tactic was to be revived centuries later when Edward
I finally subjugated the Welsh. Gruffydd retreated into the mountains of Snowdonia where he adopted guerrilla tactics.
The hardships endured turned many of his erstwhile supporters against Gruffydd. On August 5th 1063 Cynan, son of Iago, killed Gruffydd and presented Harold with his head & furnished a hunting lodge at Portsweket for the Confessor.
Peace was made with the Welsh and Archenfield was returned to Herefordshire.
As for his personality, he had an aptitude for war but sought peace whenever possible. His coins have the word PAX (Latin for peace) stamped on their tails. He preferred talks with his adversarie to open hostilities. He could be merciful, as shown by his treatment of Olaf Haraldson, the son of Harald Hardradi after the battle of Stamford Bridge. He was prudent, though ruthless when necessary. He must have been trustworthy to inspire the trust of others. Edward the Confessor trusted him to fetch Edward the Atheling from Hungary. There is no evidence that he broke any other oaths apart from the famous one when he swore to William to support his claim to the English throne. Anyway, this oath was made under considerable duress, so Harold had little other choice.
As for his faults, his main one was possibly that he was too secretive, and did not reveal his plans to others.
Harold was said to be fairly pious. He paid for the building of the collegiate church at Waltham Abbey, dedicated on May 3rd 1060, which is why his name lives on in some places in Essex, eg Harold Wood. Harold stopped off to pray during his campaigning in 1066 at Waltham Abbey, and his body was taken there after the batlle of Hastings.
Harold appears to have displayed devotion & reverence to the saintly bishop Wulfstan of Worcester, an early anti-slavery campaigner. He supported Wulfstan's election to the bishopric in 1062, and often went to him for advice. Furthermore, Harold once journeyed to Rome as a pilgrim.
Harold enjoyed hunting and falconry, indeed the Bayeux tapestry shows such animals being brought aboard Harold's ship. He had a large wood at Ailey in Herefordshire for hunting. He has several books, so was probably literate.
Harold's brother Tosti could be very unruly like Swein. For example in 1063 Harold & Tosti had a row. Later Harold held a feast in Hereford and Tosti was invited. However, instead of behaving like a proper, civilized and dignified guest, he had the servants of Harold killed and their bodies put in the drink.
The most famous date in English history is, of course, 1066, the outcome of the dispute between Harold and William of Normandy as to who was the rightful successor to Edward the Confessor.
Some people believe that Edward wanted William to succeed him and that Harold was an opportunistic usurper. However, there are reasons why it was very unlikely that Edward had William in mind as his future sucessor.
There had been no contact between William and Edward for over ten years
Edward strove to bring Atheling Edward the Exile back from Hungary
William had no blood relatives amongst the English nobility
William had no supporters in England
The Confessor was not really Normanized.
William had Edward's nephew put to death.
It is possible but doubtful that William, Duke of Normandy visited the Confessor in 1051, because there is no record of any visits or correspondence between them, which strongly suggests that Edward did regard William as future king of England.
Edmund Ironside who had been king of England in 1016, left a son, Edward who went into exile in Hungary.(The term Atheling was applied to someone deemed most suitable as a future monarch). There had been a dispute between Hungary and its overlord , Henry III, Emperor of Germany which made it hard to fetch Edward out of exile. However, when Henry died on October 5th 1056, Edward the Confessor tried again to bring Edward the Exile back to England. He trusted Harold to be his emissary who journeyed to Regensburg where he escorted Edward home. If Edward the Confessor had really chosen William as his heir, then why did he go to so much trouble over Edward the Exile?
It is true that William of Normandy was Edward the Confessor's second-cousin via his mother Emma of Normandy who was the sister of William's grandfather, but he still did not have any English blood in him, so he did not have a strong claim to our throne.
William did not have any supporters in England. Whoever was king could not really rule without the co-operation of English aristocracy who held the earldoms which they regarded as rightfully theirs. There were not enough privileges to go round, so they wouldn't have wanted newcomers muscling in.
William had recently conquered Maine, leading to the captivity & death of Edward the Confessors's nephew, Count Walter of the Vexin. This would hardly have endeared William to the Confessor.
The most likely reason for his trip was to try and secure the release of his brother, Wulfnoth & nephew, Hakon who had been taken hostage there by Robert of Jumieges.
When he disembarked, Harold was captured by Count Guy of Ponthieu but released by William of Normandy, who appeared to act hospitably. William invited Harold to accompany him on a military expedition in Brittany, though this was probably just to assess Harold's martial skills. Harold proved his bravery there by rescuing two men from quicksand.
Most famously Harold is said to have sworn an oath on saints' bones, promising to
support William's claim to the English throne. But did Harold have any other choice
when William still held his relatives captive and could have done the same to him too?
At least now Harold knew of William's intentions which he probably did not suspect before. After all, William had had his hands full with struggles in France. Harold would most likely have discussed this oath with Edward the Confessor on his return, and the Confessor still named Harold as his successor on his deathbed.
At a parley at Northampton Harold attempted to mediate between the unsurgents and his
brother, Tosti. Although it was painful for him, Harold decided that Tosti could not
be restored. He did not want to risk civil war, especially with the possibility that William might
invade. Tosti refused to accept this, so he had to be exiled, and left to stay
with his in-laws in Flanders.
Leofric = Godiva
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Aelfgar
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Gruffydd(1) = Alditha Morca Edwin
Harold II (2)
Some historians have argued that what Harold should have helped make Edgar the monarch
, with himself acting as a regent.
However, this would have still left opportunity
for rival voices to advice young Edgar. Edgar held no lands in England hence
was without dependants or supporters, so he could be easily influenced by outsiders.
At that time there was
a sort of rudimentary
council consisting of aristocrats & leading churchmen which was called the Witan or
Witenagemot. This helped guide the monarch on various matters including
choosing a successor. The Witan decided that the best man to replace
Edward the Confessor would be Harold, though Harold was active in persuading them.
On his deathbed, the Confessor beqeathed his kingdom to Harold, who was crowned
a week later as Harold II. There was no overt oppostion to Harold as king,
and throughout the conflicts of that year the English people were always behind him.
Meanwhile, Tosti was resenting his exile, and wished to be restored to his former postion.
The two men met, and agreed to join forces to invade England. Tosti, the subordinate
in the alliance was to be Earl of Northumberland whilst Harald Hardradi sought
the English crown.
Harald Hardradi & Tosti crossed the North Sea with a fleet of some 300 ships. They navigated inland along the river Ouse, disembarking at Riccall. Earl Morcar had been alerted, and gathered forces to do battle, strengthened by his brother, Edwin, Earl of Mercia's men.
To protect York from the advancing Norsemen, Morcar & Edwin drew they men up at Fulford Gate on the Ouse where, on September 20th 1066, they fought Tosti and Harald Hardradi. This was a long and bloody battle, but in the end the invaders triumphed. York surrender, and hostages were taken.
Meanwhile Harold Godwineson had caught wind of the Nordic invasion,
gathered forces and had left London for the north on September 16th.
Although his housecarls did not use horses in battle they rode to Yorkshire
, two horses to a man, much quicker than Harald Hardradi imagined.
On September 25th Harold Godwineson caught the enemy who had left their chain-mail in their boats several miles away completely by surprise because they did not even bother to have scouts or pickets. The battle was at a place called Stamford Bridge on the river Derwent. The fighting was fierce, but in the end the lack of bodily protection meant eventual defeat for the invaders, whose two leaders were slain.
This victory by Harold Godwineson marked the end of the Viking age, and would have been far more celebrated if it had not been eclipsed by events in October.
Williams fleet came ashore at Pevensey on September 28th, then they sailed close to the coast until they came to the Hastings peninsula where they built some defences and stayed.
With the news of yet another invasion Harold's forces hurried south again, resting in London for a day or so before advancing to Sussex.
Much criticism has been levelled at Harold for this move when his troops were tired and militias from other parts of England had not had time yet to swell their ranks. However, Harold's experiences with William's army in Brittany had taught him the speed of William's cavalry, and was afraid that mobility would count in the Normans favour once they had cleared the Hastings peninsula. If William had lost the battle, he would probably have been deemed to have sluggishly confined himself to the Hastings peninsula for too long.
Many members of Harold's family died in 1066, were imprisoned or exiled.
However Harold's daughter Gytha went on to marry the Russian Prince of
Smolensk, Vladimir Monomakh.
Harold = Edith
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Gytha = Vladimir Monomakh (b.1053)
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Mstislav (b.1076) = Princess Christina of Sweden
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Ingeborg of Kiev = Canute Lavard (b.1090)
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Valdemar I of Denmark (b.1131)
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Ingeborg = Phillip II (b.1165) Rixa = Eric X of Sweden (b.1180)
