From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Harold Godwinson
was
King Harold II of England
(c. 1022 ? 14 October 1066). He ruled England after king
Edward the Confessor
died. He ruled from 5 January 1066 until he was killed at the
Battle of Hastings
. His death marked the
Norman conquest of England
and the end of
Anglo-Saxon England
.
unsourced
Harold was the son of Godwin,
Earl
of Wessex, and Gytha, a Danish noblewoman.
[1]
His sister, Edith, was married to the king he succeeded, Edward the Confessor.
[2]
About that same time Harold became Earl of
East Anglia
.
[3]
When his father died in 1053, Harold inherited his earldom of
Wessex
.
[3]
Elfgar, son of
Leofric of Mercia
was appointed to replace Harold in East Anglia.
Berkshire
and
Somerset
were joined to Wessex again.
[3]
Wessex itself was, in those days, an enormous amount of land that covered about a third of England. Harold ruled over a large portion of England, making him the most powerful man in the whole kingdom, after the King.
Harold Godwinson had three brothers: Tostig,
[4]
Swegen
[5]
and Gryth.
[6]
He claimed to have been made King by Edward the Confessor. Before Harold Godwinson became king, he swore to help
William, Duke of Normandy
to become king.
[7]
In September 1066 Harold Godwinson defeated an invasion from the north by
Harald Hardrada
.
[6]
He returned south to fight Duke William's invasion.
[7]
He was killed, it is generally assumed, by an arrow shot by one of William's archers, but some reports say he was cut down by many soldiers.
[8]
- ↑
Orderic Vitalis,
The Ecclesiastical History of Orderic Vitalis
, Volume II, Books III And IV, ed. Marjorie Chibnall (Oxford: The Clarendon Press, 1993), p. 216
- ↑
The Chronicle of Florence of Worcester; With the Two Continuations
, trans. Thomas Forester (London: Henry G. Bohn; New York: AMS Press, 1854), pp. 150-52
- ↑
3.0
3.1
3.2
Frank Stenton,
Anglo-Saxon England
(Oxford University Press, 1971), p. 561?569
- ↑
"Tostig Godwinson, brother of King Harold II"
.
www.englishmonarchs.co.uk
. Retrieved
2022-01-06
.
- ↑
Medievalists.net (2021-08-01).
"The man who should have lost the Battle of Hastings: The Saga of Swegen Godwinson"
.
Medievalists.net
. Retrieved
2022-01-06
.
- ↑
6.0
6.1
"HAROLD"
.
geoffboxell.tripod.com
. Retrieved
2022-01-06
.
- ↑
7.0
7.1
"Harold Godwinson's succession as King of England - Edward's death and claimants to the throne - Edexcel - GCSE History Revision - Edexcel"
.
BBC Bitesize
. Retrieved
2022-01-06
.
- ↑
"Shot through the eye and who's to blame? | History Today"
.
www.historytoday.com
. Retrieved
2022-01-06
.