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 1053 - 1107 (54 years)
Generation: 1
Generation: 2
| 2. | King of England Harold II Godwineson was born in 1022 (son of Godwin and Gytha Thorgilsdottir); died on 14 Oct 1066 in Battle of Hastings, Sussex, England; was buried in Waltham Abbey, Essex, England. Notes:
Harold Godwineson, II was created Earl of East Anglia in c. 1045, and succeeded his father as Earl of Wessex on the 15th of April, 1053. He was created Earl of Hereford in 1058, and styled 'Duke of the English' from 1064. He succeeded Edward the Confessor as King of England on the 6th of January, 1066, having been chosen by the King as his successor with the support of the Witan. Harold II was crowned on the 6th of January, 1066, probably at St. Paul's Cathedral in London (some authorities state he was crowned at Westminster Abbey, but there is no evidence for this).
He was killed at the Battle of Hastings, Sussex, England. He was felled by an arrow between his eyes - this popular myth has been perpetrated by a misreading of the Bayeus tapestry. He was, in fact, struck down by a blow from a sword wielded by a mounted Norman knight. Harold was buried on the seashore at Hastings, or on the battlefield - the latter is more likely. A stone memorial marks the spot within the grounds of Battle Abbey. Later on, Harold's remains were removed to Waltham Abbey in Essex.
He was succeeded by William, Duke of Normandy, the victor of Hastings.
THE NORMAN KINGS OF ENGLAND
Harold II was the last of the Saxon Kings of England. His successor, William I, based his claim to the English throne upon a promise made to him more than a decade before 1066 by Edward the Confessor, who is said to have told William that he, Edward, would make him his successor.
In 1064, Earl Harold was shipwrecked upon the coast of Normandy. William kept him in honorable captivity until he had sworn upon he had sworn upon holy relics to do all in his power to enforce William's claim to the English throne. William knew very well that at that time it seemed that Harold, the most powerful man in England next to the king, would be designated Edward's successor, which was what in fact happened. When, in the autumn on 1065, Edward was seen to be dying, the Witan considered all claimants and decided that Harold, as the only man with the strength and maturity that befitted him to rule England, was the natural choice. Edward, on his deathbed, accordingly left his crown to Harold, who seized power in defiance of his oath to William.
William thereupon gathered an army, sailed to England, and defeated Harold on the 14th of October, 1066 at the battle of Hastings - it should actually be called the Battle of Senlac Ridge, as that was where it took place. Hastings is 11 miles away.
At that time, there was only one living male representative of the ancient line of the Kings of Wessex, and that was a child known as Edgar the Atheling. He was the grandson of Edmund II. The Witan in London set him up as king as soon as they received the news of William's victory at Hastings, but it quickly became obvious that Edgar's impeccable claim to the throne would be no match for William's determination to wear the crown of England. Edgar submitted to William within 6 weeks, and William was crowned King of England in Westminster Abbey on Christmas Day, 1066.
A new royal dynasty had been founded; the joining of England with Normandy brought England very much into the forefront of European affairs. William's followers received lands and honors, and thus founded aristocratic dynasties of their own in their new realm. A new order prevailed, England was feudalized, its Church overhauled, and its legal system; and all things Saxon were disdained by the conquering Normans.
William's claim to the English throne had very little basis in dynastic terms. His great-aunt Emma had been wife to both Ethelred II and Canute. William's wife Matilda was a descendent of King Alfred. And that was all. William's own ancestor, Rollo, who founded the duchy of Normandy in the 10th century, had been a Viking pirate. It was left to William's son, Henry I, to ally himself in blood to the ancient line of Cerdic; in 1100, he married Edith, the niece of Edgar the atheling, much to the disgust of his Norman barons, who sneeringly referred to the royal couple as 'Godric and Godgifu', old Saxon names now fallen into disrepute. Yet the marriage was popular with the common people, who were, after all, Saxon, and later Kings would acknowledge that it was fitting that the blood of Cerdic flowed in their veins.
Harold married of Mercia Ealdgyth about 1052 in York, England. Ealdgyth (daughter of Earl of Mercia III Ælfgar and Ælgifu) was born about 1034 in Mercia, England; died after 1086 in France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]
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Generation: 3
| 4. | Godwin was born about 987 in of Wessex, England (son of Wulfnoth); died on 15 Apr 1053 in Winchester Castle, Hampshire, England; was buried in Winchester Cathedral, London, England. Notes:
An Anglo-Danish noble, he rose to power under Canute, after whose death Godwin supported the accession of Edward the Confessor and became a dominant figure in royal government. In 1045 his daughter Edith married Edward. He was overthrown in 1051 but regained his position by force in 1052. He was succeeded by his son Harold. Died of apoplexy.
He was first created Earl in 1018, but his earldom is unknown. He was created Earl of Wessex and Kent in 1020.
Godwin married Gytha Thorgilsdottir about 1019/20. Gytha (daughter of Thorgils "Sprakalaeg" Styrjornsson and Sigrid) was born about 1001 in Halland, Sweden; died after Jun 1069 in Flanders. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]
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| 5. | Gytha Thorgilsdottir was born about 1001 in Halland, Sweden (daughter of Thorgils "Sprakalaeg" Styrjornsson and Sigrid); died after Jun 1069 in Flanders. Notes:
She died in exile.
Children:
- 2. King of England Harold II Godwineson was born in 1022; died on 14 Oct 1066 in Battle of Hastings, Sussex, England; was buried in Waltham Abbey, Essex, England.
- of Wessex Edith was born about 1020; died on 18 Dec 1075 in Palace of Westminster, London, England; was buried in Westminster Abbey, London, Middlesex, England.
- of Wessex Elgiva was born about 1025; died about 1066.
- of Wessex Sveyn was born about 1023; died on 29 Sep 1052 in Lycia, Constantinople, Byzantium.
- of Wessex Tostig was born about 1026; died on 25 Sep 1066 in Battle of Stamford Bridge, Northumberland, England; was buried in Yorkminster, England.
- of Wessex Alfgar
- of Wessex Gunnhildre died on 24 Aug 1087 in Bruges, Flanders; was buried in Bruges Cathedral, Bruges, Flanders.
- of Wessex Gyrth died on 16 Oct 1066 in Battle of Hastings, Santlache, England.
- of Wessex Leofwine died on 14 Oct 1066 in Battle of Hastings, Santlache, England.
- of Wessex Wulfnoth died after 1087.
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Generation: 4
| 8. | Wulfnoth (son of Æthelmaer); died in 1015. Children:
- 4. Godwin was born about 987 in of Wessex, England; died on 15 Apr 1053 in Winchester Castle, Hampshire, England; was buried in Winchester Cathedral, London, England.
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| 11. | Sigrid was born about 971 in of Halland, Sweden.
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| 13. | Godiva was born in 980 in Mercia, England (daughter of Sheriff of Lincoln Thorold); died on 10 Sep 1067; was buried in of Coventry, Warwickshire, England. Children:
- 6. Earl of Mercia III Ælfgar was born before 1002 in Mercia, England; was buried in 1059 in Coventry, Warwick, England.
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| 15. | Ælgifu Gunnarson was born in 968 in Wessex, England (daughter of Thored Gunnarson); died in Feb 1002 in Winchester Castle, Hampshire, England. Children:
- King of England Edmund II "Ironside" was born in 989 in Wessex, England; died on 30 Nov 1016 in London, England; was buried in Glastonbury, Somerset, England.
- 7. Ælgifu was born on 16 Apr 990 in Wessex, England; died in 1098 in Alkborough, Lincolnshire, England.
- Edith Ætheling was born in 1000; died in 1042.
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