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The House of Godwin (Old English: Godƿine) was an Anglo-Saxon family who were one of the leading noble families in England during the last fifty years before the Norman Conquest. Its most famous member was Harold Godwinson, King of England for nine months in 1066.
- Godwin and Cnut
- Godwin and The Anglo-Danish Succession
- Godwin and Edward The Confessor
- Swegn Godwinson
- The Exile and Return of The Godwinsons
- Harold Godwinson’S Trip to Normandy
- Harold and Tostig
- Battle of Stamford Bridge
- Battle of Hastings
- Harold’s Death and The End of The Dynasty
Godwin is believed to have fought for King Edmund Ironside during Cnut’s invasion of 1016. Cnut, impressed by Godwin’s loyalty and honesty in contrast to his peers, later promoted him into his Anglo-Danish court. Further impressed by his courage in battle, Cnutpromoted Godwin to Earl. Godwin’s marriage to Gytha, the sister of Cnut’s brother-in-law,...
Upon Cnut’s death, Godwin had to choose between Cnut’s two sons, Harthacnut and Harold Harefoot, to succeed to the throne. This was further compounded by the arrival in England of the two sons, Edward (later ‘the Confessor’) and Alfred, from Cnut’s second wife Emma’s earlier marriage to Æthelred II(‘the Unready’). Godwin initially choose Harthacnut...
As seen in the Anglo-Danish succession, Godwin possessed political skills that were unmatched during the 11th century. He brokered a marriage of his daughter Edith to King Edward and aided the promotion of his sons Swegn and Harold to earldoms of their own. The relationship between Godwin and Edward is much debated. Was Godwin able to easily persua...
Godwin’s eldest son Swegn was unlike any of his siblings. After being promoted to earl he abducted an abbess, was exiled, but then pardoned. He then killed his cousin Beorn in cold blood and was exiled again. Incredibly, Edward pardoned Swegn a second time. Whilst the Godwinsons were in exile, Swegn went on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem to repent his a...
King Edward may have grown to resent Godwin. With the aid of his cousin, Eustace of Boulogne, Edward appears to have engineered an encounter at Godwin’s estate at Dover which forced Godwin to either punish his own vassals without a trial or to refuse to obey a royal command. Godwin considered Edward’s ultimatum unfair and refused to comply, likely ...
After Godwin’s death, Harold Godwinsonreplaced his father as Edward’s right-hand man. In 1064, Harold journeyed to Normandy to negotiate the release of his brother Wulfnoth, used as a hostage during the crisis of 1051 and passed on to Duke William by Edward. William detained Harold in Normandy and refused to release Wulfnoth, and only released Haro...
Tostig Godwinson would also become a favourite of the king, who seems to have delegated most royal responsibilities to the family during his final years. Following a rebellion in Tostig’s earldom of Northumbria in 1065, the king, with Harold’s support, negotiated peace with the rebels. However, the agreed terms deprived Tostig of his earldom and he...
Tostig joined the Norse invasion of Harald Hardrada the following year, but both he and Hardrada were killed at the Battle of Stamford Bridgenear York against Harold’s army. Harold had famously gathered an army to march north in record time to surprise the Norse.
William of Normandy’s fleet landed in Sussex while Harold was dealing with Hardrada and Tostig in the north. It is likely that word had reached William of the Norse invasion and he had timed his own invasion knowing that Harold was not able to defend the south coast at that moment. Recent research has opened up renewed debate over the landing site ...
A fascinating aspect is Harold’s demise as shown in the Bayeux Tapestry. The image of the arrow in the eye is a familiar story but the next image in the tapestry – both jointly have the name ‘Harold’ above them – shows a Saxonwarrior being cut to pieces by a Norman knight. This may be the image of Harold instead: research has identified that the ne...
25 mag 2024 · The House of Godwin was the most powerful noble family in England during the tumultuous 11th century. In just fifty years, they rose from relative obscurity to command unrivaled influence, only to see it all come crashing down in 1066.
Kingmakers - The Story of the House of Godwin. King Cnut and his wife Ælfgyfu (Emma) depicted presenting an altar cross to New Minster cathederal, Winchester. It's called the 'Liber Vitæ', and was written in about 1031AD. We can only wonder if Cnut thought that this image was a good likeness.
The Godwins' power. The Godwin family, or 'House of Godwin' as it was also called, was the dominant force in Anglo-Saxon politics by the year 1060. Wessex was their home county. But they grew so that members of their family had influence across most of England's earldoms.
Descrizione. Godwin and his family dominated English politics for almost half a century, establishing themselves as the most influential and powerful dynasty in Anglo-Saxon England. At the height of its power, it took a matter of weeks for the dynasty to fall.
Godwin was a powerful Anglo-Saxon who was made Earl of Wessex in 1018 by King Cnut. Until his death in 1053 he built up the House of Godwin to become a powerful family. His power in England rivalled even that of Edward the Confessor.
