Harold (41 page)

Read Harold Online

Authors: Ian W. Walker

Tags: #Harold: The Last Anglo-Saxon King

BOOK: Harold
10.66Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub

7.
JW
1008 for Brihtric’s accusations as unjust and Keynes,
Diplomas
, Table 8 for Brihtric’s disappearance from among the witnesses of Aethelred’s diplomas in 1009. A. Williams, A.P. Smyth and D.P. Kirby,
A Biographical Dictionary of Dark Age Britain
(London, 1991), p. 65 for a late source suggesting Brihtric may have been murdered in Kent.

8.
EHD I
, No. 129, pp. 593–6 and Keynes,
Diplomas
, p. 267 for the date, and the latter for Godwine as Wulfnoth’s son. M.K. Lawson,
Cnut
(London, 1993), pp. 77–8 considers Athelstan died on 25 June 1016. This fails to consider his brother Edmund’s prominence in the accounts of 1015 and 1016, and the fact that he and not Athelstan succeeded Aethelred on 23 April 1016. This latter would have been impossible if Athelstan, the elder of his sons, had still been alive then.

9.
DB Sussex
, 11: 36. The other Sussex Compton was held in 1066 by Harold himself from King Edward.
DB Sussex
, 10: 23, this makes it less likely as the Compton concerned here.

10.
EHD I
, No. 129, pp. 595–6 This sword may be the same as that sent to Offa by Charlemagne in 796 and recorded in
EHD I
, No. 197, p. 849, and therefore a great heirloom.

11. Keynes,
Diplomas
, Table 1 where Edward began to witness his father’s diplomas from 1011,
ASC
C/D/E 1014 for Edward acting as ambassador for his father and
VER
p. 13 for this supposed oath.

12.
EHD I
, No. 129, pp. 594–5, Williams
et al.
,
Dark Age Britain
, pp. 181, 214, 227 provides summaries of the careers of these men and with P. Stafford,
The East Midlands in the Early Middle Ages
(Leicester, 1985), pp. 126–7 indicates Sigeferth and Morcar’s links to Aelfhelm.

13.
ASC
C/D/E 1015. Stafford,
Unification
, pp. 67–8 and Stafford,
East Midlands
, pp. 126–7.

14.
ASC
C/D/E 1015,
JW
1015, Stafford,
Unification
, p. 68 and Williams
et al.
,
Dark Age Britain
, pp. 126–7 for all this.

15.
ASC
C/D/E 1015 and 1016. Stafford,
Unification
, p. 68 and Lawson,
Cnut
, p. 19.

16.
ASC
C/D/E 1016 and
VER
, p. 9 for Godwine active in war.

17.
ASC
C/D/E 1017 for the submission of all England to Cnut and K. Mack, ‘Changing Thegns: Knut’s Conquest and the English Aristocracy’,
Albion
, 16 (1984), pp. 375–80, Lawson,
Cnut
, pp. 83–6 and Fleming,
Kings and Lords
, pp. 42–6 for the purge.

18.
VER
, p. 9 for Godwine,
EHD I
, No. 131, pp. 597–99 for this diploma in favour of Bishop Burhwold.
EER
, pp. 30–1 and Mack, ‘Changing Thegns’, p. 380 for this quote on loyalty. Loyalty is also among the qualities for which Godwine is praised in
VER
, p. 7,
ASC
C/D/E 1017,
JW
1017 and
EER
, pp. 30–3 for Eadric’s execution.

19.
ASC
C/D/E 1017 states that Cnut took ‘Wessex for himself’ but this probably represents an interim military government as in A. Williams, ‘“Cockles Among the Wheat”: Danes and English in the Western Midlands in the First Half of the Eleventh Century’,
Midland History
, 11 (1986), pp. 1–11 and Lawson,
Cnut
, p. 83. By 1018 he had appointed Godwine to control the central portion of Wessex. At this point Aethelweard still held the Western Shires of Wessex and possibly an Earl Sired ruled in Kent. Lawson,
Cnut
, p. 186 for the latter.
EHD I
, No. 131, pp. 597–9 for this diploma to Burhwold.

20.
ASC
C/D/E 1019,
ASC
C 1023,
VER
, pp. 5–6, 11, and Lawson,
Cnut
, pp. 89–91, and p. 94 for these expeditions and Godwine’s promotion. S. Keynes, ‘Cnut’s Earls’ in A. Rumble (ed.),
The Reign of Cnut
(Leicester, 1994), pp. 70–4, and pp. 84–7 for Godwine’s promotion linked to the 1023 visit to Denmark. Williams
et al.
,
Dark Age Britain
, p. 144 for Godwine’s brothers-in-law.

21.
Walter Map – De Nugis Curialium
, tr. M.R. James, Cymmrodorion Record Series 9 (1923), pp. 228–32, and
Knytlinga Saga
, tr. H. Palsson and P. Edwards (Odense, 1986), pp. 32–4 respectively for these apparently unrelated English and Danish legends.

22. Lawson,
Cnut
, p. 188 considers that Godwine was ‘not the colossus of later years’ under Cnut but his prominent position in the witness lists of Cnut’s diplomas and his position as one of the three great earls on Cnut’s death suggest otherwise. Williams
et al.
,
Dark Age Britain
, pp. 170–1 for Leofwine.

23.
ASC
C/D/E 1021, Stafford,
Unification
, p. 73, L.M. Larson,
Canute the Great, 995–1035
(London, 1912), pp. 146–7, Lawson,
Cnut
, pp. 174–5 for Thorkell’s fall.
Anglo-Saxon Charters
, ed. P.H. Sawyer (London, 1968), p. 285–97 and Keynes, ‘Cnut’s Earls’, p. 53, Table 4.1 for the charter or diploma evidence. Stafford,
Unification
, p. 74 reflects on the gaps in this evidence and suggests Cnut’s absence as the explanation. Keynes, ‘Cnut’s Earls’, pp. 54–8 and 82–4 for the other two earls. Lawson,
Cnut
, p. 186 and Keynes, ‘Cnut’s Earls’, p. 76 for Earl Sired while the 1051 crisis shows Godwine governing Kent.

24.
ASC
E/F 1026. Stafford,
Unification
, pp. 74–5 and Keynes, ‘Cnut’s Earls’, pp. 58–60, 62–4 for this rebellion, Lawson,
Cnut
, pp. 96–100 offers an alternative identification for the Ulf and Eilaf at Holy River. This relies on rather later sources and in any case does not invalidate the case for Godwine supporting Cnut, since Godwine did so even when the king subsequently had his brother-in-law,
Jarl
Ulf, killed at Roskilde.
William of Malmesbury – The Kings Before the Norman Conquest
, tr. J. Stevenson (Lampeter, 1989), p. 171 records Godwine’s presence with Cnut on this occasion but on what authority is unclear and it may simply be a confusion with earlier expeditions.

25.
EHD I
, No. 53, pp. 476–8 for Cnut’s letter.
Snorri Sturluson-Heimskringla, The Olaf Sagas
, tr. S. Laing, rev. edn (London, 1964), for Ulf.
JW
1027.
EHD I
, No. 18, pp. 339–40.
ASC
F 1028 for Olaf. Larson,
Canute
, p. 237 for a runic inscription said to record Godwine’s actions in Norway, which is however rejected by N. Lund, ‘The Armies of Swein Forkbeard and Cnut’,
Anglo-Saxon England
, 15 (1986), p. 118.

26.
EHD I
, No. 48, pp. 452–4 for Thorkell as regent.
EHD I
, No. 53, pp. 476–8 for the 1027 letter.
VER
, p. 11 and Stafford,
Unification
, p. 75 for Godwine’s prominence.

27. Sawyer,
A-S Charters
, No. 970 for Polhampton. Lawson,
Cnut
, p. 188 for another view.

28. S.B.F. Jansson,
Runes in Sweden
(Varnamo, 1987), p. 77–9 for the likely origin of the name Tosti.

29. Grammaticus-Danorum Regum Heroumque istoria, Williams
et al.
,
Dark Age Britain
, pp. 132, 150–1, 170–1, Keynes, ‘Cnut’s Earls’, pp. 76, 84–7. Lawson,
Cnut
, p. 185 suggests Eilaf survived later than this.

30. Williams
et al.
,
Dark Age Britain
, pp. 169–70, 217. Stafford,
East Midlands
, pp. 74–5, G.N. Garmonsway,
Canute and his Empire
(London, 1964), pp. 18–25 and Lawson,
Cnut
, pp. 95–102 for Cnut’s absences abroad.

31.
ASC
C/D/E/F 1035,
JW
1035. Stafford,
East Midlands
, p. 127 for Harold’s Midland connections through his mother, Aelfgifu of Northampton, perhaps already including Earl Leofric himself. Cnut’s other son by Aelfgifu, Swein, had died probably in 1034.

32.
ASC
E/F 1036 and
JW
1035. The Chronicle account refers to Harold’s regency but
JW
1035 and
EER
, pp. 38–9 make it clear this was an attempt on the throne. The rumours about Harold’s birth were part of the propaganda put out by his opponents to discredit him.
EER
, p. 41 and F. Barlow,
The English Church 1000–1066
(London, 1979), pp. 43–4 for Archbishop Aethelnoth.

33. T. Talvio, ‘Harold I and Harthacnut’s Jewel Cross Type Reconsidered’ in M.A.S. Blackburn (ed.),
Anglo-Saxon Monetary History
(Leicester, 1986), pp. 288–9 for the division of the coinage between Harold and Hardecnut reflecting the Chronicle’s division at the Thames.
AB,
p. 108,
Saxo Grammaticus-Danorum Regum Heroumque Historia
, ed. E. Christiansen (Oxford, 1980), Volume 1, Books X–XVI, p. 46 and G. Jones,
A History of the Vikings
(Oxford, 1984), p. 398 for Magnus of Norway.
ASC
C/D 1035 for the seizure of Emma’s treasure, which occurred sometime between Cnut’s death and March 1036 but whether before or after the Oxford council is unclear. I have placed it after as this appears to coincide with the period when the power of Hardecnut’s supporters began to wane.

34. Stafford,
Unification
, p. 79 and Talvio, ‘Harold I and Hardecnut’, pp. 283–9 for the change in control of the coinage south of the Thames.

35.
EER
, pp. 40–3 for the trap.
JW
1036 attempts to reconcile the two versions. Barlow,
Edward
, p. 44 and Stafford,
Unification
, p. 79.

36.
WJ
, pp. 105–7 and
WP
, pp. 5–7 for Edward’s invasion.

37.
ASC
C/D 1036,
VER
, p. 20,
EER
, p. 42–7,
WJ
, pp. 105–7 and
WP
, pp. 5–7 for Alfred. The lack of any mention of Edward’s role in the English sources may reflect the wish to draw a veil over his failure. The Norman sources would wish to demonstrate the powerful support they provided and which later supposedly prompted Edward to bequeath his kingdom to William.

38.
ASC
C/D 1036,
JW
1036,
EER
, pp. 42–7,
WJ
, pp. 105–7 and
WP
, pp. 5–11 for this.

39.
ASC
C/D 1036,
JW
1036,
EER
, pp. 44–7,
WJ
, pp. 105–7, and
WP
, pp. 9–11 for the murder.

40.
ASC
C/D/E/F 1037,
JW
1037 and
EER
, pp. 46–9.

41.
ASC
C 1039,
JW
1039,
ASC
C/D/E/F 1040,
JW
1040 and
EER
, pp. 48–53.

42.
ASC
C/D 1040 and
JW
1040, J.M. Cooper,
The Last Four Anglo-Saxon Archbishops of York
(York, 1970), p. 15 and V. King, ‘Ealdred, Archbishop of York: the Worcester Years’,
Anglo-Norman Studies
, XVIII (1995), pp. 125–6 for Aelfric and Lyfing.

43.
ASC
C/D/E/F 1041,
JW
1041,
EER
, pp. 52–3. Also Stafford, ‘Unification’, p. 81 and Barlow,
Edward
, pp. 48–52 for possible reasons. William of Poitiers’ account of Norman support being responsible for Edward’s return appears unlikely given the chaotic state of Normandy at this time, for which see Douglas,
William
, pp. 39–50. In contrast,
WJ
, p. 107 clearly attributes Edward’s return to Hardecnut.

44.
ASC
C/D/E/F 1042,
JW
1042.
VER
, p. 9. D. Hill,
An Atlas of Anglo-Saxon England
(Oxford, 1981), maps 154–163 and 167–169 for royal itineraries, and map 179 for royal lands.

45.
ASC
C/D/E 1043,
JW
1043, K.E. Cutler, ‘Edith, Queen of England 1045–1066’
Medieval Studies
, 35 (1973), p. 224.

46.
ASC
C/E 1044. Barlow,
English Church
, pp. 108–9. Fleming,
Kings and Lords
, p. 81 for these grants.

47.
ASC
C/E 1045.
ASW
, pp. 557, 563 for Beorn and Harold, and Barlow
Edward
, p. 74 for Swein.

C
HAPTER
T
WO

1.
VER
, pp. 47–9. (By permission of Oxford University Press)

2.
ASW
, p. 563 for Harold as earl in diplomas.
EHD II
, No. 184, pp. 901–2 and
Anglo-Saxon Wills
, ed. D. Whitelock (Cambridge, 1930), pp. 80–4 for Thurstan’s will.

3.
ASC
D 1045.

4.
EHD II
, No. 184, pp. 901–2 and No. 187, pp. 903–4 for these wills.

5.
ASW
, Nos 13 and 14, pp. 157–8 for Harold, and Fleming,
Kings and Lords
, p. 97 for Colne.

6.
ASC
D 1044 and
JW
1044 for Gunnhild and her sons, and
ASC
C/D/E 1046 for Osgod
Clapa
. Also Williams
et al.
,
Dark Age Britain
, p. 193 and Barlow,
Edward
, pp. 88–9. Fleming,
Kings and Lords
, p. 89 for Wroxall on the Isle of Wight.

7. Brown,
Normans
, pp. 113–20, Douglas,
William
, pp. 166–70 and M.W. Campbell, ‘A Pre-Conquest Norman Occupation of England’,
Speculum
, 46 (1971) for the theory of Norman infiltration but Stenton,
A-S England
, pp. 425–6 and H.R. Loyn,
The Norman Conquest
, 3rd edn (London, 1982), pp. 54–5 for a cautionary note.

8. Campbell, ‘Norman Occupation’, pp. 21–31 for this fifth column. Barlow,
English Church
, pp. 81–4 for foreigners as only seven out of twenty-nine appointees to bishoprics and Barlow,
Edward
, pp. 164–5 for only some four or five foreign nobles in total.
ASC
D 1051 and 1052 refer to the castle men only as Frenchmen. In contrast,
JW
1051 and 1052 do refer to these men as Normans, but this may simply be analogous with the use of the generic term Norman to refer to William’s followers in 1066 whether Breton, French or Norman. Clarke,
English Nobility
, pp. 224–6, 332–6 for the lands of Earl Ralph, Ralph the Staller and Robert fitzWimarch.

Other books

Loved by a Devil by James Martins
Owned by the Vikings by Isabel Dare
Riding Danger by Candice Owen
People in Season by Simon Fay
Champagne Rules by Susan Lyons
Conviction: Devine by Sidebottom, D H
The Presence by T. Davis Bunn
In the Light of Madness by Madness, In The Light Of