Harold Godwinson
Harold reigned from 6 January 1066 until his death at the Battle of Hastings. His death marked the end of Anglo-Saxon rule over England. He was a powerful earl and member of a prominent Anglo- Saxon family. He had six sons: Sweyn,. Harold, Tostig, Gyrth, Leofwine and Wulf noth. He also had a daughter, Gunhilda, who married Edward the confessor in 1042.
About Harold Godwinson in brief
Harold reigned from 6 January 1066 until his death at the Battle of Hastings. His death marked the end of Anglo-Saxon rule over England. Harold was a son of Godwin, the powerful Earl of Wessex, and of Gytha Thorkelsdóttir, whose brother Ulf the Earl was married to Estrid Svendsdatter, sister of King Cnut the Great of England and Denmark. Godwin was the son of Wulfnoth, probably a thegn and a native of Sussex. Harold’s elder brother, Sweyn, was exiled in 1047 and Harold returned to England in 1049 to secure a pardon from the king. In 1049, Harold and a cousin, Beorn, were in command of a ship or ships that were sent with a fleet to aid Henry III of England against Baldwin V of Flanders, who was in revolt against Henry. Harold and Beorn refused to return to England and refused to pay a fine to Baldwin, who refused to give up the abbess of Leominster to Harold’s cousin. Harold died at Hastings in 1066, fighting the Norman invaders led by William the Conqueror during the Norman conquest of England. The Witenagemot convened and chose Harold to succeed; he was the first English monarch to be crowned in Westminster Abbey. He was a powerful earl and member of a prominent Anglo- Saxon family with ties to C nut the Great. Harold is called ‘earl’ when he appears as a witness in a will that may date to 1044; but, by 1045, Harold regularly appears as an earl in documents.
Harold’s son Sweyn was the eldest of six children; Harold was aged about 25 in 1045. Edith married Edward on 23 January 1045 and, around that time, Harold became Earl of East Anglia. The relationship was a form of marriage that was not or sanctioned by the Church of England at the time. Any children of such union were considered legitimate in England at that time. Harold probably entered into the relationship in part to secure support in his new earldom from his brother-in-law King Edward the Confessor. The birthdates of the children are unknown, but Harold was the second son of Sweyn being the eldest. He had six sons: Sweyn,. Harold, Tostig, Gyrth, Leofwine and Wulf noth; and three daughters: Gunhild and Ælfgifu. He also had a daughter, Gunhilda, who married Edward the confessor in 1042. Harold had a son, Githa, who appears to have been the heiress to lands in Cambridgeshire, Suffolk and Essex, lands in Harold’s new earls. Harold may have been sent to defend against the threat from King Magnus the Good of Norway. He may have led some of the ships from his earldom that were send to Sandwich in1045 against Magnus.
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This page is based on the article Harold Godwinson published in Wikipedia (as of Nov. 29, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
