General Notes

REFN: 12818AN
Killed at the Battle of Hastings.
Ascended to the throne at St. Paul's Cathedral Note 6 JAN 1065/1066 London
,England
Harold II, also called HAROLD GODWINESON or GODWINSON (b. c 1020 - d. 14 O
ct 1066, near Hastings, Sussex, England), last Anglo-Saxon king of Englan
d. A strong ruler and a skilled general, he held the crown for nine mont
hs in 1066 before he was killed at the Battle of Hastings by Norman invade
rs under William the Conqueror.
Harold's father, Godwine, Earl of Wessex and Kent, was the most powerful m
an in the kingdom early in the reign of Edward the Confessor (1042-1066
). About 1044 Godwine, obtained for Harold the earldom of East Angli
a. In 1051 Edward banished Godwine and his sons for defying royal authorit
y, but Harold led the forces that in 1052 invaded England and forced the k
ing to restore the family.
Upon Godwine's death in 1053, Harold succeeded to his father's earldoms a
nd became the chief power in the land. By 1057 he had obtained earldoms f
or his three brothers, Tostig, Gyrth, and Lefowine. His only rival was t
he house of Leofric of Mercia. Leofric's outlawed son, Aelfgar, raided Mer
cia with help from the Welsh, and in retaliation Harold and Tostig subjuga
ted Wales in 1063. In 1065 the Northumbrians revolted against Tostig, the
ir earl. Bowing to rebel demands against Tostig, Harold gave Tostig's earl
dom to Morcar of the house of Mercia, but by doing so he made Tostig his b
itterest enemy. Nevertheless, Harold's postiion remained unshaken.
On his deathbed Edward the Confessor had supposedly designated Harold t
he royal heir. Earlier, Edward had, however, promised the crown to Willia
m, Duke of Normandy. Moreover, Harold himself, when shipwrecked on the coa
st of Normandy, had been forced to promise to support William's claim. Hen
ce, when Harold assumed power on the death of Edward (5 Jan 1066), he w
as immediately threatened with the rivalry of William and another royal cl
aimant, Haral III Hardraade, king of Norway, as well as with the enmi
ty of Tostig. In May, Harold mobilized his fleet and army against an expec
ted invasion by William. Instead, he had to use his forces to repel Tostig
's raids on the south and east coasts of England. He dismissed his m
en in early September because he had run short of supplies. Thus, Willi
am was free to cross the English Channel unopposed. Tostig and Harald I
II Hardraade joined forces and were defeated near York, on 25 Sep 1066. Th
ree days later William landed near Hastings on October 14, and in an all-d
ay battle the king, Gyrth, and Leofwine were killed. The accession of Will
iam to the English throne as King William I ended the Anglo-Saxon pha
se of English history.