edward the confessor's last years

godwin family, harold's embassy, rising against tostig, edward's death

when was earl godwin made earl of wessex?

1018

what was earl godwin’s relationship to edward?

his daughter, edith, was married to edward and he helped edward become king

who were the “main” children of godwin?

harold

tostig

leofwine

gyrth

wulfnoth

edith

which godwin was earl of wessex after godwin?

harold

which godwin was the earl of northumbria in 1055?

tostig

which godwin was earl of kent in 1057?

leofwine

which godwin was earl of anglia in 1057?

gyrth

which godwin was given as hostage to edward in 1051?

wulfnoth

which godwin was married to edward the confessor in 1045?

edith

what was the impact of the godwins?

help against an invasion but weakened the king’s power

why were the godwins so powerful? - land

the godwins had a lot of land, making them almost as rich as the king

why were the godwins so powerful? - leadership

the godwins were lords to hundreds of thegns

why were the godwins so powerful? - church influence

the godwins had convinced edward to appoint bishops who were loyal to them

why were the godwins so powerful? - defensive importance

wessex was the attack zone from across the channel, harold also controlled the area around hereford, often attacked by wales

why were the godwins so powerful? - military success

their only main rival was aelfgar who teamed up with the llywelyn (a welsh king) at aelfgar’s death, they killed llywelyn.

why were the godwins so powerful? - political links

political marriages gave the godwins power

when did harold go on an embassy to normandy?

1064

what happened in the embassy? (1)

harold landed in porthieu where count guy took him prisoner

what happened in the embassy? (2)

william rescued harold

what happened in the embassy? (3)

harold spent time in normandy helping william in 2 military campaigns

what happened in the embassy? (4)

harold made an oath (possibly swearing support to his claim to the throne)

why is harold’s embassy significant?

shows that harold is edward’s trusted advisor

normans used it to boost william’s claim to throne

when harold became king, it was used to portray him as an oath-breaker

when was there an uprising against tostig?

1065

who was the tostig uprising lead by?

northumbrian thegns

who was invited to replace tostig in the uprising?

morcar

by when was tostig exiled?

1065

reasons for tostig uprising

tosig was from the south (northumbria had viking links)

people believed he abused his power

he taxed people heavily

didn’t defend from attack

response to tostig uprising

harold agreed that he had pushed it too far

edward ordered an army, but earls didn’t showing weakness in king’s power

edward was forced to accept the demands

what would happen if tostig was exiled?

it would remove one of harold’s potential rivals for the throne

when did edward the confessor die?

5th january 1066

what did edward the confessor’s death cause?

a succession crisis

how did harold become king?

the witan met quickly and crowned harold the day of edward’s burial

what day did harold become king?

6th january 1066