King of England, Harold II Godwineson

Birth Name King of England, Harold II Godwineson 1 2a 3a 4a 5a
Also Known As Earl of East Anglia, Harold Godwinsson
Gramps ID I30804
Gender male
Age at Death about 44 years, 9 months, 13 days

Events

Event Date Place Description Notes Sources
Birth [E41653] about 1022 of Wessex, England  
1 2b 3b 4b
Birth [E41654] 1022 England  
5b
Death [E41655] 1066-10-14 Battle of Hastings, Sussex  
2c 3c 4c
Death [E41656] 1066-10-00 Battle of Hastings, England  
5c
_FA1 [E41657]   Last restored Saxon King of England. Reigned 1066.  
2d 3d 4d
_FA2 [E41658]   Reputedly named heir by Edward (his brother-in-law).  
3e 4e
_FA3 [E41659] 1066-09-00 Crushed the forces of his brother Tostig & Harold III Hardraade of Norway.  
3f 4f
_FA4 [E41660] 1066 Killed in Battle of Hastings by the army of William the Conqueror of Normandy.  
3g 4g
_FA5 [E41661] 1066-09-00 His victory at Stamford Bridge over Tostig & Norwegians was brilliant.  
3h 4h
_FA6 [E41662] 1066-09-00 Stamford Bridge was last time Scandinavians ever seriously threatened England.  
3i 4i
_FA7 [E41663]   Ealdorman of East Anglia, succeeded his father as Ealdorman of Wessex in 1053.  
2e 3j 4j

Parents

Relation to main person Name Birth date Death date Relation within this family (if not by birth)
Father Earl of Wessex & Kent, Godwin of Wessex [I30802]BET. 987 - 9921053-04-15
Mother Thorkilsdottir, Gytha [I30803]about 1001
    Sister     of Wessex, Eadgyth (Edith) [I16871]
         King of England, Harold II Godwineson [I30804] about 1022 1066-10-14
    Brother     of Wessex, Tosig [I25907] 1066

Families

    Family of King of England, Harold II Godwineson and (of England), Ealdgyth “Swan-neck” [F10949]
Unknown Partner (of England), Ealdgyth “Swan-neck” [I31029] ( * about 1025 + ... )
   
Event Date Place Description Notes Sources
Other-Begin (Primary) [E58210] about 1045 Wessex, England  
2f 3k
_FA1 [E58211]   She was his “handfast wife”, or a non Christian marriage.  
2g 3l
  Children
Name Birth Date Death Date
Haroldsdottir, Gytha of England [I31027]about 10531107
of Wessex, Ulf [I17697]1065
of Wessex, Harold [I17696]1066
    Family of King of England, Harold II Godwineson and of Mercia, Ealdgyth [F14759]
Married Wife of Mercia, Ealdgyth [I28780] ( * 1034 + 1086 )
   
Event Date Place Description Notes Sources
Marriage [E59960] about 1064    
6a 4k

Narrative

[large-G675.FTW]

Last Anglo-Saxon King of England, reputedly named heir by the during Edward (his brother-in-law). After becoming King, he crushed the forces of his brother Tostig & Harold III Hardraade of Norway, who claimed the throne, at Stamford Bridge. He was killed in the Battle of Hastings by the army of a successful claimant to the throne, William the Conqueror of Normandy.

REF: British Monarchy Official Website: On Edward's death in 1066, the king's council elected his brother-in-law, Harold Godwinson (Jan-Oct 1066), king. In September, Harald of Norway invaded England and was defeated by Harold at the Battle of Stamford Bridge near York. Meanwhile, William, Duke of Normandy (whom Harold had acknowledged in 1065 as Edward III's successor and who was also related to Edward by marriage) had landed in Sussex. Harold rushed south and on 14 October 1066 his army was defeated near Hastings and Harold was killed.

David Humiston Kelley's explication of a possible descent of Harold II from Aethelred II appears in the Festchrift for Charles Evans edited by Neil Thompson. Kelley's paper, which is an enlargement of evidence presented by Lundie W. Barlow in the New Eng. Hist. & Gen. Register in the 1950s, shows the descent of land from a son of Aethelred to Earl Godwin, Harold's father. The argument is strong, especially since it is a group of manors that descended together. Bierbrier, however, in the Genealogists' Magazine, denies the lineage and indicates that Godwin received this land as a unit from the Danish conquerors. I have not seen any contemporary evidence that would take settle this question either way. The key article on the proposed descent of Harold II from Aethelred I is David H. Kelley, "The House of Aethelred," in Lindsay S. Brooke, ed., Studies in Genealogy and Family History in Tribute to Charles Evans on the Occasion of His Eightieth Birthday_ (Association for the Promotion of Scholarship in Genealogy, Ltd., Occasional Publication No. Two, 1989). As I posted earlier, the descent of land provides strong evidence for the descent of Harold II's father, Earl Godwine, from Aethelred I (not II), but it is also possible that the land was expropriated and presented to Godwine and his possession of it does not indicate genealogical descent.
Acceded Jan 1066-Oct 1066.Acceded Jan 1066 - Oct 1066.

Harold II
On Edward's death, the King's Council (the Witenagemot) confirmed Edward's brother-in-law Harold, Earl of Wessex, as King. With no royal blood, and fearing rival claims from William Duke of Normandy and the King of Norway, Harold had himself crowned in Westminster Abbey on 6 January 1066, the day after Edward's death. During his brief reign, Harold showed he was an outstanding commander.

In September, Harald Hardrada of Norway (aided by Harold's alienated brother Tostig, Earl of Northumbria) invaded England and was defeated by Harold at the Battle of Stamford Bridge near York. Hardrada's army had invaded using over 300 ships; so many were killed that only 25 ships were needed to transport the survivors home.

Meanwhile, William Duke of Normandy (who claimed Harold had acknowledged him in 1064 as Edward's successor) had landed in Sussex. Harold rushed south and, on 14 October 1066, his army of some 7,000 infantry was defeated on the field of Senlac near Hastings. Harold was hit in the eye by an arrow and cut down by Norman swords.

An abbey was later built, in 1070, to fulfil a vow made by William I, and its high altar was placed on the spot where Harold fell. The ruins of Battle Abbey still remain with a stone slab marking where Harold died.

Pedigree

  1. Earl of Wessex & Kent, Godwin of Wessex [I30802]
    1. Thorkilsdottir, Gytha [I30803]
      1. of Wessex, Eadgyth (Edith) [I16871]
      2. King of England, Harold II Godwineson
        1. (of England), Ealdgyth “Swan-neck” [I31029]
          1. Haroldsdottir, Gytha of England [I31027]
          2. of Wessex, Ulf [I17697]
          3. of Wessex, Harold [I17696]
        2. of Mercia, Ealdgyth [I28780]
      3. of Wessex, Tosig [I25907]

Ancestors

Source References

  1. Brian Tompsett, Dept of Computer Science: University of Hull Royal Database (England) [S283806]
  2. Frederick Lewis Weis: Ancestral Roots of Certain American Colonists Who Came to America bef 1760 [S286879]
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        no place

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        she was his "handfast wife" or a non-Christian marriage, no date

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  3. large-G675.FTW [S286834]
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  4. large-G675.FTW [S468232]
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  5. 11615-2.ftw [S7587]
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  6. Frederick Lewis Weis: Ancestral Roots of Certain American Colonists Who Came to America bef 1760 [S421642]
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        her 2nd m