Overview

This book examines and unravels the varied strands of sometimes flimsy evidence about Harold Godwinson's life, death, family, mythologies, and legacy. Born into a powerful Anglo-Danish family in about 1022, Harold's father Godwin Wulfnothson became the premier earl of England. His mother was closely related to the Danish Royal family. He became Earl of East Anglia at an early age and supported his father during his rebellion in 1051 against King Edward the Confessor, when the Godwins were exiled. After their reinstatement in 1052 the Godwins became even more powerful.When his father died Edward made Harold Earl of Wessex and 'Dux Anglorum', his right-hand man. Harold sailed against potential Danish invaders, led sea and land forces against the Welsh and undertook diplomatic missions to Flanders and beyond on behalf of Edward. His trip to Normandy via Ponthieu in 1064/5 remains incompletely understood, but it led to a fateful oath to Duke William of Normandy. In late 1065 there was a revolt in Northumbria which led to his brother Tostig's fall, then in January 1066 King Edward died and Harold became King of England. Later that year, an unexpected Viking invasion led to the Battles of Fulford Gate and Stamford Bridge in Yorkshire (with the death of Tostig), just before Duke William of Normandy invaded Sussex.Harold and his brothers Gyrth and Leofwine fell at the Battle of Hastings and a mythology was created. His remaining wives, children and wider family then experienced very varying fortunes and adventures at home and abroad. England inevitably changed under the Norman yoke after Harold's defeat and the subsequent Norman Conquest. The way in which the change was perceived varied considerably during the following millennium and this is also explored, with many ideas for further reading.

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9781903099117

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Reviews

'Beginning with the rise of his father Godwin, the book provides a vivid and thought-provoking narrative. It brings together a lot of the evidence for Harold's life and does justice to modern scholarship. The final chapter on Harold's family after his death contains much rich material. The appendix goes beyond historiography to show how alive Harold's legacy is today, a point that is also made with many superb illustrations.' Professor David Bates 'Congratulations on the amount of knowledge you bring to this book, which is fascinating and very complete.' Sylvette Lemagnen, former curator of the Bayeux Tapestry 'Foord uses prose that grips the reader from the start and never explores unnecessary aspects, nor simply shows off the depth of his research...the blending of national and local history is skilful.' From reviews of the 'Battle Trilogy' by the British Association for Local History

Author Information

Keith Foord was born in Hastings and educated at the former Hastings Grammar School, Sheffield University and Medical School, has degrees in both materials science and medicine and is a Fellow of the Royal College of Radiologists. Now retired he and his family live in Battle on the path of Duke William's route to the Battle of Hastings. Keith always had an interest in the early history of England, but as a busy doctor with a young family he only had time for it to be an amateur interest.He did not start writing history books until after his retirement when in 2011 he was asked to write a history of all the churches of Battle, including the destroyed Battle Abbey church. This was a local success and after this his historical writing expanded its width. In 2015, together with Neil Clephane-Cameron, with advice from Professor John Gillingham, he co-authored a book about the Norman Conquest as part of the commemoration of the 950th anniversary of the Battle of Hastings, '1066 and the Battle of Hastings - Preludes, Events and Postscripts'. This book goes into rather more detail about prior events and historical geographic elements than is usual, seeking the deep-seated reasons for the conflict and why it took place on their doorstep. Keith and Neil prepared a second edition of this book with additional assistance from Professor David Bates published during 2021.Keith has produced two other intriguing books placing the wider histories of eastern Sussex into a national and even international context: 'Conquest to Dissolution' (published 2019), and 'BC to 1066' (published 2020) between them covering the years from the beginning of time until 1538. Most recently published in November 2021 is a new history, advised by Professor David Bates, 'Harold Godwinson' - which has a vivid and thought-provoking narrative covering Harold's life, death, mythologies, family and legacy.

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