AthelingThe words used in the game and on the history pages, in plain language, with the spellings you will meet elsewhere.
Old English names were written many ways then and are written many ways now. Where a person or a word has more than one common spelling, the entry lists them, so a search for Eadwine and a search for Edwin both land here.
Also spelt atheling, aetheling, æþeling.
A prince of the royal house, one who could be chosen as king.
An Old English word for a man of royal blood with a claim to the throne. It is the game's name, and in 1066 it is Edgar's title: the grandson of Edmund Ironside, the last of the old West Saxon line, and about fourteen. The Witan passed him over for Harold in January and London chose him in October after Hastings.
The year-by-year record of English history kept in several monasteries from the ninth century to the twelfth.
The main English source for 1066. It survives in several versions that do not always agree, which is one reason dates on the history pages are sometimes approximate. Where a page cites it, the link goes to an open translation.
The game's own record of what has happened in your campaign, next to what happened in history.
Every decision, death, marriage and battle in your game is written into the Chronicle as it happens. The historical events are there too, so you can see where your England parted from the real one. It is the Chronicle tab in the game.
The three offices you fill in the game: War leadership, Earl counsel and Royal household.
Each office has a holder and a focus, the work they do every week until you change it. Some people are gifted at an office and some merely capable. Appointing and dismissing people changes how they feel about you. In 1066 the holders are Harold's brothers and the Earl of Mercia.
See FAQ.
Also spelt Aldgyth, Edith of Mercia, Aldith.
Edwin and Morcar's sister, widow of the Welsh king Gruffudd ap Llywelyn, and Harold's queen.
Her marriage to Harold bound Mercia and Northumbria to the new king. The date is not recorded; late 1065 or early 1066 is the usual guess. Her name is one of several Old English Ediths, which is why the spellings vary so much.
Also spelt eorl, jarl.
The greatest rank below the king, governing a province for him.
By 1066 England had a handful of earldoms: Wessex, Mercia, Northumbria and East Anglia among them. Harold held Wessex, his brothers Tostig, Gyrth and Leofwine held Northumbria, East Anglia and the shires round London, and Edwin and Morcar held Mercia and, after the rising of 1065, Northumbria. The word came in with the Danes, from jarl.
Also spelt Eadgar, Edgar the Ætheling, Edgar Atheling.
The last male of the old royal house, chosen king in October 1066 and never crowned.
Born in Hungary about 1052 to Edward the Exile, brought to England as a child, passed over by the Witan in January 1066 as too young. Chosen by London after Hastings, he submitted to William at Berkhamsted in December. His long later life runs through Scotland, Normandy and the First Crusade.
See Edgar Ætheling.
Also spelt Edith Swan-neck, Edith the Fair, Eadgifu the Fair.
Harold's partner of twenty years and the mother of his children, married to him by custom and not by the church.
Usually identified with Eadgifu the Fair, the richest woman in East Anglia in Domesday Book. Harold's marriage to Ealdgyth of Mercia set her aside in the church's eyes. Tradition has her identifying Harold's body after Hastings.
See Edith Swanneck.
Also spelt Eadwine, Ædwine.
Earl of Mercia, Morcar's elder brother, and brother of Harold's queen.
The game spells him Eadwine, the Old English form. He backed his brother against Tostig in 1065, was Harold's brother-in-law by 1066, fought the Norwegians at Fulford, submitted to William and rose against him. He was killed by his own men in 1071.
See Edwin of Mercia, Morcar.
The English levy: the men each shire owed the king for war.
Not a standing army. The fyrd was called out for a campaign and went home for the harvest, which is why Harold had to stand it down in September 1066 and call it again. In the game, mustering the fyrd raises readiness and costs the shires their patience.
See Stamford Bridge.
Also spelt Godwine, Godwinson, Godwineson.
The family of Earl Godwin of Wessex, the most powerful house in England under Edward the Confessor.
Godwin rose under Cnut, survived exile in 1051 and died in 1053. His children were Harold, Tostig, Gyrth, Leofwine and Queen Edith. The patronymic Godwinson means son of Godwin; the Old English form is Godwine.
Also spelt Harald Sigurdsson, Harald Hardråde, Harald III of Norway.
King of Norway, the first of the two invaders of 1066, killed at Stamford Bridge.
Hardrada means hard ruler. He claimed England through an agreement between earlier Norwegian and Danish kings, landed in Yorkshire with Tostig in September 1066, won at Fulford and died at Stamford Bridge five days later.
Also spelt huscarl, húskarl.
A professional warrior of a king's or earl's household.
A Danish institution that Cnut brought to England. Housecarls were paid, trained and always with their lord, unlike the fyrd. Harold's housecarls fought at Stamford Bridge and at Hastings, where most of them died around him.
A promise or bond between two named people in the game, recorded so that it can be kept or broken.
A marriage, an oath, a recognition at the Witan or a bargain creates an obligation. It appears on both people under What binds us. Breaking one has consequences the other side remembers.
Also spelt scir, county.
The county, the unit through which the king governed, taxed and raised the fyrd.
Each shire had a court and a shire-reeve, the sheriff, who was the king's officer there. In the game, orders travel to the shires at a rider's pace and news comes back the same way.
Also spelt thane, þegn.
A landholding noble below an earl, who owed the king service.
Thegns held the land that made up the shires and led their men in the fyrd. The Northumbrian thegns were the ones who rose against Tostig in 1065 and chose Morcar in his place.
Also spelt Tosti, Tostig of Northumbria.
Harold's younger brother, Earl of Northumbria until the rising of 1065, killed at Stamford Bridge.
Driven out by the Northumbrians and outlawed with Harold's agreement, he went to Flanders, raided the coast in 1066 and joined Harald Hardrada. He died fighting his brother. The sources differ on how far he blamed Harold for his exile.
See Tostig Godwinson.
Also spelt Witenagemot, witenagemōt.
The council of the kingdom's leading men, which advised the king and recognised a new one.
Earls, bishops, abbots and the greater thegns, meeting when the king called them. A king was made by the Witan's recognition and by coronation, not by birth alone, which is how Harold could follow Edward in January 1066 and Edgar could be passed over. In the game, the Witan is the first thing Harold must secure.
See Harold is crowned, FAQ.
Missing a word? The FAQ covers the game itself, and the historical record has a page for every person and event named here.