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| Harold II of England | |
|---|---|
| Name | Harold II |
| Title | King of England |
| Reign | 6 January – 14 October 1066 |
| Predecessor | Edward the Confessor |
| Successor | William the Conqueror |
| Birth date | c. 1022 |
| Death date | 14 October 1066 |
| Death place | Battle of Hastings |
| Spouse | Edith Swan-neck |
| Father | Godwin, Earl of Wessex |
| Mother | Gytha Thorkelsdóttir |
Harold II of England was the last crowned Anglo-Saxon king of England before the Norman conquest of England. A son of Godwin, Earl of Wessex and Gytha Thorkelsdóttir, he rose through the ranks of Anglo-Saxon aristocracy, served as Earl of Wessex, and was chosen by the Witenagemot to succeed Edward the Confessor in 1066. His brief reign culminated in the decisive Battle of Hastings, where he was killed, leading to the ascendancy of William, Duke of Normandy.
Harold was born circa 1022 into the powerful Godwin family of Wessex, son of Godwin, Earl of Wessex and Gytha Thorkelsdóttir; his siblings included Tostig Godwinson, Leofwine Godwinson, Gyrth Godwinson, and Edith of Wessex. He came of age during the reigns of Cnut the Great, Harold Harefoot, and Harthacnut, witnessing the shifting alliances among English Earldoms, the influence of Danish rulers, and the restoration of the House of Wessex under Edward the Confessor. Harold's family held estates across Wessex, Mercia, East Anglia, and Northumbria, linking him to the aristocratic networks of Winchester, London, Canterbury, York, and Rochester. His upbringing involved ties with ecclesiastical centers such as Christ Church, Canterbury, Bishop Odo of Bayeux's later sphere, and continental contacts including Flanders, Brittany, Normandy, and Scandinavia.
Harold's early career included service as a hostage to Earl of Normandy during the reign of Edward the Confessor, interaction with figures like Hugh, Count of the Continent and possible connections with William, Duke of Normandy. He was appointed Earl of Wessex after his father's exile and return, consolidating power through alliances with magnates such as Leofric, Earl of Mercia and clerics including Stigand, Ealdred, and Aelfric. The exile and return of Godwin, Earl of Wessex during 1051–1052 demonstrated Harold's ability to marshal forces across Sussex, Somerset, Dorset, and Oxfordshire. Following Edward the Confessor's death, the Witenagemot at Westminster elected Harold king on 6 January 1066, amid competing claims from William of Normandy, Harald Hardrada, and the exiled contender Edgar the Aetheling.
Harold's reign lasted ten months, during which he faced crises on multiple fronts: administrative continuity in Winchester and London; defense of the Thames Estuary and southern coasts; and responses to uprisings in Northumbria and Herefordshire. He maintained relationships with church leaders including Ealdred, Archbishop of York, Stigand, Archbishop of Canterbury, Wulfstan, Bishop of Worcester, and abbeys like Westminster Abbey and Gloucester Abbey. His policies favored the retention of Godwinson loyalists in earldoms, collaboration with Leofwine and Gyrth as regional commanders, negotiation with Malcolm III of Scotland over borders, and issuing charters from royal centers such as Winchester and London Bridge. Harold upheld existing legal traditions exemplified by the Doom Book and engaged with continental envoys from Flanders, Aquitainians, Anjou, and Brittany while confronting Viking incursions associated with Norway and Danish interests.
Harold's diplomatic and military engagements involved both Harald Hardrada of Norway and William, Duke of Normandy. Prior events included the 1064 shipwreck and detention of Harold in Ponthieu and interactions with Guy I, Count of Ponthieu and Norman retainers. William claimed a promise of succession from Edward the Confessor and alleged oaths made by Harold at Bayeux; Norman chroniclers such as Bayeux Tapestry craftsmen and writers like William of Jumièges, Orderic Vitalis, and William of Poitiers insist on Harold's oath-breaking. Anglo-Saxon and Scandinavian sources, including Anglo-Saxon Chronicle entries and sagas like the Heimskringla, present differing accounts of Harold's contacts with Normandy and negotiations with Harold's rival Harald Hardrada allied with Tostig Godwinson.
In 1066 Harold repelled an invasion by Harald Hardrada and Tostig at the Battle of Stamford Bridge near York, defeating the Norwegians but suffering to move south swiftly. William landed at Pevensey and marched on Hastings; on 14 October 1066 the two armies clashed at the Battle of Hastings on Senlac Hill. Contemporary and near-contemporary sources—Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, Norman accounts by William of Poitiers and Bayeux Tapestry imagery, and later writers like Simeon of Durham—report Harold's death during the battle, traditionally depicted as struck in the eye by an arrow, though historians including Frank Barlow, David Bates, and Ruth Mazo Karras debate the exact circumstance. Harold's body was claimed in accounts by Gytha and by Norman officers including Odo of Bayeux and William FitzOsbern; other narratives involve burial at estates like Waltham Abbey or disposal at sea near Pevensey.
Harold's death precipitated the Norman conquest of England and the reign of William the Conqueror, altering aristocratic composition with figures like Roger de Montgomery, Hugh d'Avranches, William de Warenne, and ecclesiastical reform under Lanfranc. Medieval chroniclers—Orderic Vitalis, William of Malmesbury, Ealdred's correspondents, John of Worcester, and the compilers of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle—offer competing portrayals that influenced later historians such as Edward Augustus Freeman, E. A. Freeman, Frank Barlow, David C. Douglas, Marjorie Chibnall, Brett Whalen, and Graham Loud. Archaeological investigations at Senlac Hill, material culture analyses of the Bayeux Tapestry, and studies of charters in collections like the Domesday Book inform modern assessments. Harold remains a central figure in debates about succession law, royal election by the Witenagemot, the nature of Anglo-Saxon kingship, and interplay between Norman and Anglo-Scandinavian traditions. Cultural memory preserves him in works from medieval saga tradition to modern histories by Peter Rex and representations in literature, film, and public history at sites including Battle, East Sussex and Waltham Abbey.
Category:11th-century monarchs of England Category:House of Godwin