1.2 The Last Years of Edward the Confessor and the succession crisis

When did the house of Godwin begin?

1018, during King Cnut’s reign, when he mad his favourite adviser, Godwin, Earl of Wessex

What was political power like in Anglo-Saxon England?

it had strong family connections

Why was the Godwin link to the throne significant?

• Godwin had helped Edward become king and in return he married his daughter

• brothers in laws of kings had succeeded to the throne in the past

What happened when Godwin died in 1053?

his family’s influence was reduced as rival earls jostled for position. However by the mid - 1060s the Godwin’s had control of almost all England

Who succeeded Godwin as earl of wessex?

Harold Godwinson

How did the Godwin’s control almost all of england?

• Harold Godwinson - succeeded his father, giving him riches, influence over hundreds of thegns and a powerful position as adviser to the king

• Tostig Godwinson - 1055, new Earl of Northumbria gave the Godwins a powerbase in the far north of England

• Gyrth Godwinson - 1057, the earldom of East Anglia was given to him

• Leofwine Godwinson - 1057, smaller earldom in the south-west Midlands

Why did Edward allow the Godwins to increase their power so extensively?

Edward marriage to Edith made him kin to the Godwin’s

England was under threat from Norway, meaning that Edward need his earls to be strong military leaders

harold’s marriage to Edith the fair may have influenced the godwin’s gaining east anglia as she is thought to have inherited large estates in that region

Why were the Godwins so powerful?

extensive landholdings made them almost equal to the king in wealth

the godwin’s were lords to many hundreds of thegns, making them powerful war-leaders

influential in the church

made political marriages

Wessex was Englands defence zone against attacks across the channel

What did Edward do in 1042?

he appointed some Normans to influential positions, causing conflict with aristocrats like Godwin

who did Edward allegedly promise the throne to?

William of Normandy in return for Williams support against Godwin

What happened during Harolds embassy to Normandy?

he was taken prisoner but William insisted he was handed over to him

Harold spent time with William in Normandy and helped him in two military campaigns, which resulted in William giving Harold gifts of weapon and armour

after relating Edwards message to William Harold made a solemn oath on two holy relics. this would have been an oath of allegiance: Harold swearing to support Williams claim to the throne of England

What is the Norman interpretation of why Harold went on the embassy?

to talk to William about plans for Williams succession, and that the visit involved Harold swearing allegiance to him as his future king

What is the Anglo-Saxon interpretation of why Harold went on the embassy?

Harold went to recover tow hostages from William - harold’s brother and his nephew

Why is harolds embassy to normandy significant?

it shows Harold was king Edwards trusted adviser, as it was a very important embassy

it was used by the Normans to boost Williams claim to the throne

it was used by the Normans to portray Harold as an oath breaker after Harold became king instead of helping William to the throne of England

When did tostig become earl of northumbria?

in 1055 after the death of earl siward

Why was Northumbria important earldom?

very large

guarded the border with Scotland and had a long history of Viking attacks and settlements

Why was Northumbria an obvious spot for Viking attacks

it had a long association with the Vikings

a long way away from the powerbase of the king in the south

How was Northumbria different to the other earlsoms?

much of it was part of the Danelaw

Tostig wold have found it difficult to understand them because they used words borrowed from Scandinavian languages of the Vikings

When was the uprising against tostig?

october 1065

What were the reasons of the uprising against tostig?

tostig’s friendship with Malcolm III (scot) meant that he didn’t defend Northumbria from attacks. whilst Tostig was away in 1061, Malcolm invaded and caused destruction, Tostig did not retaliate and agreed peace terms

Tostig was unjust - imposing new laws and using his power to get rid of rivals

he taxed them too heavily, they were not used to this and resented him

Northumbria had always been governed by northerners and Tostig was a southerner

he had ordered the assassination of high born Northumbrian rivals while they were his guests

What happened during the uprising?

rebels marching on York

they killed as many of tostig’s housecarls and servants and declared Tostig as an outlaw

they invited morcar, the brother of earl of Mercia, to be their earl

What was the response to the uprising?

Harold met with them and passed on king Edwards agreement to their terms

Harold married morcars sister and was given large landholding in Mercia

When was Tostig exiled?

1 nov 1065

What does the evidence seem to suggest what happened?

Harold agreed that Tostig pushed Northumbria too far Tostig was to blame for the uprising

Tostig accused Harold of having conspired against him, saying that the rising was a plot to replace him

Edward commanded an army be raised but was not obeyed

Edward had no other choice but to listen to the rebels

Why would Harold have acted to weaken the house of Godwin and betray his brother?

Edward was old and ill

Harold needed a united kingdom to hold off threats from Normandy and Scandinavia, a war would weaken defences

Tostig was a rival to the throne

When did Edward die?

5 Jan 1066

Why was there a succession crisis?

because Edward had no children