Study Section 2 the (Very) Basic Points

Study Section 2 – The (Very) Basic Points

NOTE: Use these notes TOGETHER with all your other work. You must not rely on these solely for revision, unless you want to get no more than a D!

This Study Section focuses on Edward and his relationship with the Godwins, so firstly you need to know who they are and the key events in the history of the Godwins, as well as their relationship with Edward.

Who was Earl Godwin of Wessex?

·  Earl Godwin of Wessex's origins remain a mystery to this day, but what we do know is that his rise to power was very swift.

·  King Cnut (King of England from 1016-1035) had made Godwin an earl by the year 1018, and we know that by 1020, Godwin was earl of Wessex.

·  Wessex was arguably the most significant of the English earldoms, due to its economic and strategic importance.

·  Therefore, Godwin was one of the most powerful men in England after the king.

·  Godwin was married to Gytha, the daughter of an important Dane (Thorgil Sprakling). Godwin therefore had links to the nobility of both England and Denmark, which gave him international influence as well as influence in England.

Earl Godwin's relationship with the kings of England

·  Godwin managed to maintain good relationships with four kings of England -m Cnut, Harold Harefoot, Harthacnut and Edward the Confessor.

·  After Cnut's death, Godwin supported the claim of Harthacnut along with Emma of Normandy, but when it became apparent that Harthacnut would not be able to take the throne, Godwin gave support to Harefoot in a bid to maintain his power.

·  During the reign of Harefoot, Godwin had been complicit in the capture and death of Alfred the Aetheling (Edward the Confessor's brother). Godwin would later claim he was carrying out Harefoot's orders. Whether or not Godwin did this willingly is debateable, but it certainly shows that Godwin was a loyal servant to Harefoot.

·  His relationship with Harthacnut was also strong, helped undoubtedly by the fact that upon Harthacnut's accession to the throne, Godwin provided the new king with a large warship as a sign of loyalty.

·  Godwin repeated this show of loyalty with Edward, giving him a ship twice the size than that of the one he had given to Harthacnut.

Earl Godwin and Edward the Confessor

·  Godwin's support was crucial in Edward taking the throne. It was also crucial during his reign, as Edward had been exiled in Normandy and needed the guidance of his most powerful earls in order to effectively run the country.

·  Though Godwin had undoubtedly played a role in the death of Alfred, Edward maintained a relationship with Godwin that ultimately benefitted both parties. Edward received a warship at the start of his reign from Godwin, and also received much guidance and support early on in his reign. Godwin played a major role in Edward's journey to Winchester to remove the contents of the treasury from the hands of his mother, Emma of Normandy.

·  Edward was also married to Godwin's daughter Edith (from 1045), which was a huge coup for Godwin, who now had the potential to be the grandfather of a future king of England, though no heir was ever produced.

·  Godwin also accompanied Edward on military excursions, such as in 1044 and 1045 when Edward took command of the English navy in preparation for a potential invasion from King Magnus of Norway.

·  He died in 1053.

Godwin's sons

From 1055 onwards, Edward was able to use the sons of Godwin (namely Harold and Tostig) to virtually control the kingdom for him which allowed him to tend to his own personal interests which included hunting and the building of Westminster Abbey. Edith was also used to witness royal charters, which was usually the job of a king.

Though Edward did try to get rid of the family in 1051, he was able to use them to keep the country in a stable position. From 1057 onwards, the Godwin family controlled virtually the entirety of England, with the exception of Mercia, which was controlled by Earl Aelfgar.

REMEMBER: Aelfgar was the son of Leofric of Mercia, and was Earl of Mercia for just 2 years (1057-59). After this, Edwin (his son) was Earl of Mercia.

Swegen

·  Swegen was a controversial figure and often seen as the 'black sheep' of the Godwin family.

·  Godwin's eldest son, he claimed that his mother Gytha had had an affair with Cnut and it was Cnut who was his true father. He also allied with the Welsh King Gruffyd ap Llewellyn in 1046 in a war with another Welsh king, Gruffydd ap Rhydderch, which was seen as controversial.

·  One of the most shocking episodes in Swegen's life was when he kidnapped the abbess of Leominster and lived with her as a 'wife' for over a year before being forced to release her by Eadsige, the Archbishop of Canterbury.

·  Soon after the episode with the abbess, Swegen went on a rampage, raiding English churches, before feeling to Flanders after Edward had outlawed him and removed his earldom.

·  Swegen returned to England in 1049 and begged the king for forgiveness. He received no support from his brother Harold (Godwin's position is unknown) and initially no support from his cousin Beorn, who was an earl. Beorn eventually changed his mind and agreed to support Swegen, but on their way to see Edward, Swegen killed Beorn and had him buried on the shore of England. The true explanation for Beorn's murder remains a mystery.

·  Edward declared Swegen nithing - 'a man of no honour'.

·  Swegen returned to Flanders, though he came back to England in 1050 and was forgiven for his crimes by Edward. He was given most of his land back as well as his title, though the following year Swegen was forced into exile with the rest of the Godwin family. Of all the Godwins, Swegen received the harshest punishment - exile for life. He never returned to England.

·  Swegen died in 1052 returning from a barefoot pilgrimage to Jerusalem, most likely driven by his desire for forgiveness from God for his sins.

Harold

·  A figure of great importance.

·  Harold was referred to as subregulus (second to the king). REMEMBER: this is only a nickname, NOT an official title.

·  Earl Godwin died in 1053, and Harold was immediately promoted to his father's seat of power - the earldom of Wessex.

·  Harold's old earldom of East Anglia was given to Aelfgar, son of Leofric of Mercia.

·  After Godwin's death and Harold's appointment as Earl of Wessex, the power of the Godwins increased even further, to the point where by Edward's death in 1066, Harold was able to seize the crown of England with little opposition (from the people of England at least).

·  Harold was an exceptional military leader (unlike his father), and Edward used this to his advantage, most notably when both Harold and Tostig were sent to Wales to deal with the belligerent (aggressive) King Gruffyd of Wales in 1062-3.

·  In 1064, Harold was shipwrecked on the coast of Ponthieu in France. It is unclear why Harold was travelling across the Channel. It is argued by many historians that he had been sent by Edward to visit William of Normandy to promise him that he would be the next king of England.

·  Upon his shipwreck, Harold was captured by Count Guy of Ponthieu. William arrived soon after and ordered Guy to hand Harold over to him.

·  Harold joined William in a battle against the Duke of Brittany and was later knighted by William.

·  During this visit, according to Norman sources (including the Bayeux Tapestry), Harold swore on holy relics an oath of fealty to William, agreeing to support him taking the throne of England after the death of Edward.

Tostig

·  Of all of Godwin's sons, Edward arguably had the healthiest relationship with Tostig. Tostig made generous donations to the church, which naturally pleased the overtly pious Edward the Confessor and Tostig was also very close to Edith, Edward's wife.

·  He was made Earl of Northumbria in 1055.

·  Used by Edward to deal with King Gruffyd of Wales (with Harold) in 1062-3.

·  Unfortunately for Tostig, Northumbria was a lawless area, and during his 10 year reign as earl, he had to deal with threats from Scotland and numerous feuds against his harsh taxation.

·  Tostig also imposed harsh laws on Northumbria in an attempt to control the lawless area.

·  The fact that he spent a lot of time in London, away from Northumbria, removed any real opportunity for him to build a healthy relationship with the Northumbrian population.

·  In 1065, the major thegns of Northumbria rebelled against Tostig.

·  Tostig was given no support by Edward or Harold, who believed that Tostig had brought the rebellion on himself and/or to support Tostig in this issue would be a bad move.

·  Tostig fled the country in 1065, but returned a year later with King Harald Hardrada of Norway in an attempt to overthrow Harold, who had just taken the throne of England after the death of Edward.

Gyrth and Leofwine

·  Whilst not as significant (course-wise) as the other Godwin sons, they played a key role from 1057 onwards after the death of Leofric of Mercia.

·  Gyrth and Leofwine Godwin's roles as Earl of East Anglia and earl of a significant area of South East England (respectively) allowed the Godwin family to rule over virtually all of England, with the exception of Mercia, which was given to Leofric's son, Aelfgar.

The Crisis of 1051/52

·  The biggest test of Edward's relationship with the Godwins.

·  There are several causes of the crisis.

·  One of these causes is Edward's appointment of Robert of Jumieges as Archbishop of Canterbury.

·  Archbishop Eadsige died in 1050 and the church elected Aethelric, a relation of Godwin, to the position as new archbishop.

·  However, Edward intervened and appointed Robert of Jumieges, a Norman and close friend of Edward.

·  Robert was unpopular with the English nobility, but he was cunning enough to realise that he could counter this by stirring up trouble between Edward and Godwin.

·  Robert told Edward that Godwin had taken over church land in Wessex and reminded Edward of Godwin's role in the death of Alfred in 1036.

·  Another cause was the visit of Eustace of Boulogne to England.

·  Eustace had been married to Edward's sister Godgifu (who had died in 1047).

·  As Eustace was making his return to Boulogne, he passed through Dover with his men, in full military gear.

·  The people over Dover saw this as an insult and a melee broke out between the local population and Eustace's men.

·  Eustace went back to Edward, who then ordered Godwin to punish Dover (which was in his earldom).

·  Godwin refused, probably due to the fact that Dover was a wealthy port and therefore of importance to Godwin as Earl of Wessex.

·  Upon his refusal, the king ordered a council to meet on the 21st September whereby Godwin would be charged.

·  Godwin and Edward met in London, with Bishop Stigand acting as intermediary.

·  Edward stated that Godwin would only receive a pardon if he could produce his brother (Alfred) alive and well, which was obviously a pretty cutting statement!

·  Realising that Edward had the support of all the major powerhouses in England (including earls Leofric and Siward), Godwin decided his only option was to flee England.

·  The entire family fled to Flanders, with the exception of Harold and Leofwine who fled to Ireland; Edith remained in England but was sent to a convent and, like the rest of her family, was stripped of all her power and possessions.

·  However, the Godwins were able to return a year later.

·  The reasons for their return are largely down to Edward.

·  Edward's close relationship with Normans, who were unpopular with the established English nobility, was looked on with great concern from the two most important earls in the country - Leofric of Mercia and Siward of Northumbria.

·  During this time, Edward also invited William Duke of Normandy to England and is very likely to have made him his heir, which would also have aroused concern among the English nobles.

·  On the 14th September 1052, Godwin returned to England.

·  Edward ordered all of the thegns in England to support him, but they were too slow to mobilise. Leofric and Siward were reluctant to fight against Godwin, so when Godwin pleaded with Edwrd for forgiveness and reinstatement as earl of Wessex, Edward was forced to concede.

·  Godwin, along with the rest of his family (including Edith) were returned to their previous positions of power and influence.

·  Following this, Edward's Norman allies fled England, including Robert of Jumieges. Bishop Stigand was made Archbishop of Canterbury, though controversially he also retained the title of Bishop of Winchester.

REMEMBER - use the website. Each section has detailed notes and podcasts that cover things in a lot more detail. If you don't use this, you're seriously damaging your chances of coming away with a good grade.