General Notes

REFN: 9278AN
Gytha Torkelsdotter was the daughter of Torkel Styrbjörnsson. Consequent
ly she was the granddaughter of the disinherited Swedish prince Styrbjö
rn Starke, the conqueror of Jomsborg, and Tyra, the daughter of Harold Blu
etooth king of Norway and Denmark. However, this descent from the old Swed
ish and Danish royal houses is believed to be a later invention to give h
er and her numerous sons some claim to royal blood. Gyda or Gytha was cert
ainly the daughter of Torkel or Thorkil, but her father's connections to S
candinavian royalty should be considered not proven.
In 1019, she married the Anglo-Saxon nobleman Godwin of Wessex, apparent
ly as his second wife (his first wife having been a Danish princess). Th
ey had several children together, of whom five sons became earls at one ti
me or another, three remaining earls in 1066. Among their children were Ha
rold II of England and Tostig Godwinson, who later faced each other at t
he Battle of Stamford Bridge; their eldest daughter was Edith of Wessex, Q
ueen consort of Edward the Confessor.
After the Battle of Hastings, Gytha had pleaded unsuccessfully with the Co
nqueror for the return of the body of her slain son Harold II. Four of h
er sons were killed in two successive battles - Tostig at Stamford Bridg
e, and Harold II, Gyrth, and Leofwine at Hastings. Her surviving son (a
nd youngest son) Wulnoth lived nearly all his life in (pleasant) captivi
ty in Normandy until the Conqueror's death 1087. Only her eldest daught
er Queen Edith (d. 1075) still held some power (however nominal) as wid
ow of Edward the Confessor.
According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, Gytha left the Kingdom of Engla
nd after the Norman conquest of England, together with the wives or wido
ws and families of other prominent Anglo-Saxons. Presumably, after all t
he Godwin family estates were confiscated by the Conqueror, there was litt
le hope left. Little else is known of Gytha's life or future, althou
gh it is probable that she went to Scandinavia (like her granddaughter a
nd namesake) where she had relatives