AthelingHarold Godwinson
King of England, Earl of Wessex. c. 1022 to 14 October 1066.
What is known, and how well
| Fact | Value | Certainty |
|---|---|---|
| Birth | c. 1022 | Approximate |
| Death | 14 October 1066 | Exact |
| Parents | Godwin | As recorded |
| House | House Godwin | |
| Realm | England | |
| How sure we are | High | Of this record as a whole |
Events
- Godwin is driven into exile
A quarrel with the king sends England's strongest family across the sea.
With Edward, Godwin, Harold - The Godwins return
The king yields, and the family comes back stronger than before.
With Godwin, Harold, Edward - Earl Godwin dies
Harold inherits the weight of the most powerful family in England.
With Godwin, Harold, Tostig - Harold swears an oath in Normandy
A disputed promise becomes part of William's claim.
With Harold, William - Northumbria rejects Tostig
A northern revolt forces the crown to choose between a brother and a realm.
With Tostig, Harold, Morcar - Edward the Confessor dies
The old king's death leaves the succession to the Witan.
With Edward, Harold - Harold is crowned
Harold takes the crown with the support of the English nobility.
With Harold, Eadwine, Morcar - William lands at Pevensey
The Norman fleet crosses while Harold is in the north, and the army comes ashore unopposed.
With William, Harold
Family
Married to Ealdgyth.
Children Godwin, Edmund, Gytha.
What is uncertain
- Birth is approximate: c. 1022.
Related people
Sources
Where this is recorded
- English Heritage: Medieval Warfare
- The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (Avalon Project)
- Vita Ædwardi Regis, in Lives of Edward the Confessor, ed. H. R. Luard, Rolls Series, 1858
- The Chronicle of Florence of Worcester, trans. Thomas Forester
- William of Poitiers, Gesta Guillelmi, ed. R. H. C. Davis and Marjorie Chibnall, Oxford Medieval Texts, 1998
- William of Jumièges, Gesta Normannorum Ducum, ed. Elisabeth van Houts, Oxford Medieval Texts, 1992 to 1995
- The Bayeux Tapestry (Bayeux Museum)
- Snorri Sturluson, Heimskringla, trans. Samuel Laing
- The Carmen de Hastingae Proelio of Guy, Bishop of Amiens, ed. Frank Barlow, Oxford Medieval Texts, 1999
Named in the record
- Bayeux Tapestry
Reference works
- Prosopography of Anglo-Saxon England
- Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
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