General Notes

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[Carelton-Stickney.FTW]
HAROLD II
(1066 AD)
King of England for a short time in the memorable year,1066. He had
become the Earl of East Anglia in 1044. Upon his father's death in
April, 1053, he succeeded to the Earldom of Wessex and from then on,
was at the right hand of the king. In 1063, supported by his
brother, Tostig, Earl of Northumbria, he commanded a brilliantly
conducted campaign against the Welsh. He was successful in bringing
them into submission, and by doing so, solidified his reputation as
an able general.
Harold acted as an emissary from Edward the Confessor to the court
of William of Normandy in 1064, during which time he allegedly swore
an oath of fealty to William, relinquishing any personal claim to
the throne. This oath, which may have been given lightly, or
possibly under duress, would figure directly in William's own claim,
two years later. He would claim that the promise Harold made to him
had been broken, giving William the right to challenge Harold in the
battle for the crown.
While on his deathbed, the Confessor named Harold as his successor,
overlooking his grandson, the rightful heir, Edgar the Ætheling, and
ignoring a promise that he allegedly made (according to French
sources) to William of Normandy. Upon Edward's death, Harold wasted
no time securing ecclesiastical blessing on his claim by having
himself crowned immediately.
Harold's brother, Tostig, had been exiled since the autumn of 1065
and had joined together with Harald Hardrada of Norway. A combined
force landed in Yorkshire in September of 1066. Until this time,
Harold's attention had been directed toward the south and the
invasion that he knew would come from Normandy. But, now, Harold had
to break away and march north to meet the new threat that had come.
He defeated the forces of his traitorous brother and the King of
Norway decisively at the battle of Stamford Bridge on the 25th of
September.
Meanwhile, the favorable winds that the Normans had been waiting for
had come and they had set sail across the channel, landing at
Pevensey on the 28th. As soon as Harold heard this distressing news,
he marched his force at top speed to the south. He reached London on
October 5, and stopped to give his weary troops a rest and to gather
reinforcements for the battle which lay ahead.
The story of these events and the decisive Battle of Hastings has
been presented exquisitely in the Bayeux Tapestry and it need not be
repeated, here. Suffice it to say that William won the day, and with
it, the kingdom. The English fought fiercely and well, since they
understood that not only their lives were at stake, but their
country, also. Perhaps, if the English had been fresh and at full
strength, they might have won easily, but they were tired and
depleted after Stamford Bridge and the subsequent march south.
During his brief reign, the government continued to function as
before, but there is no reliable way to judge what Harold might have
been like as a king. He was certainly a capable field commander and
a leader who inspired loyalty and confidence. His death has been
recorded as coming in the midst of the final battle by way of a
Norman arrow that penetrated his eye. Whether or not that is true,
his memory lingers on as the last of the Anglo-Saxon kings, and the
last monarch of England to suffer defeat at the hands of a foreign
invader.
The Battle and Death of King Harold II on the 14th October
1066.[:BOLD]
Travelling South
Harold's men had been arriving all day in small groups on the 13th
October 1066. These men had fought a battle on the 25th September,
260 miles to the north and were now expected to fight another only a
few days later. Despite the hardship of it all, the troops morale
must have been quite high. Having defeated Hardrada would have
boosted their confidence, But not their numbers. Edwin and Morcar
declined to help on this occasion, preferring to mind their busi