Edward The Confessor: Who Was He And How Did He Set The Stage?
Edward the Confessor was born around 1003 ad. He was the second to last Anglo-Saxon king of England, reigning from 1042 until his death in 1066. He is known as “the Confessor” because, though canonized in 1161, he was not martyred. Edward was the son of King Æthelred the Unready and Emma of Normandy, making him a member of the house of Wessex. His early life was plagued by political unrest. The Danish invasion forced him and his family into exile in Normandy. Due to the years spent there, he formed strong ties with the Norman nobility, including his cousin William Duke of Normandy later known as the Conqueror.
After Æthelred’s death, Edward’s mother agreed to marry Cnut the Great, the Danish conqueror of England. She wanted to regain her place as the English Queen. It was because of this political move that Edward and his brother Alfred later came back to England. They brought a battalion, to help her retain the throne after Cnut’s death. Alfred was captured by the Earl Godwin and later murdered by Cnut’s eldest son, Harold Harefoot. Harefoot, regent at the time, was trying to usurp the English throne from the rightful heir, Emma and Cnut’s son Harthacnut. Harthacnut was busy retaining his authority as King of Denmark. Edward’s efforts to help her protect the English crown from Harold Harefoot were largely unsuccessful, but these tensions did keep his focus on England. After his half brother Harthacnut’s death in 1042, Edward ascended to the throne.
Edward The Confessor's Reign
Edward’s reign is characterized by a focus on religion. He rebuilt the Abbey of St. Paul’s, later known as Westminster Abbey. He was known for his extraordinary generosity to the church and especially to the poor. This good instinct was not enough to stabilize the monarchy. Edward’s rule faced challenges from powerful nobles, notably the Godwin family led by Earl Godwin, Alfred’s captor.
The Godwins & Harold Godwinson
Edward would never forgive Godwin for his involvement in his brother’s demise. This was made all the more tedious because Edward needed Godwin. The king had been brought up in Normandy, so he needed Godwin’s support to succeed amongst Saxon and Danish nobles. In the eleventh century, the nobles had almost as much power as the king. They could pose a considerable threat if they deemed a king unfit. In a political move, Edward chose Godwin’s daughter, Edith, as his queen. Edward and Edith, however, failed to produce an heir. Seemingly out of options and according to the Bayeux Tapestry, Edward sent Harold, his brother in law, to Normandy.
Apparently, Harold was to solidify Edward’s thirteen year old promise of the crown to his cousin, William. These tensions continued to escalate, setting the stage for the Norman Conquest. Despite this arrangement, some sources suggest that Edward verbally designated Harold as his heir on his deathbed in January 1066. We’re not sure whether this was under Harold’s coercion or out of Edward’s genuine concern for England. It ultimately triggered a succession crisis that led to the Battle of Hastings later that year. Despite his own lack of military success, Edward’s legacy endured. He was later canonized a saint by Pope Alexander III for his piety and devotion. His reign served as a transitional period in English history, bridging the gap between Anglo-Saxon and Norman rule.
Harold, Earl of Wessex: Rightful Heir Or Usurper?
Harold Godwinson, Earl of Wessex, emerged as a central figure in the tumultuous events leading up to the Norman Conquest. Born around 1022, Harold became one of the most influential nobles in the kingdom. He was son of the powerful Earl Godwin and a Danish noblewoman, Gytha Thorkelsdóttir, making him half viking. He would later need all the grit such a heritage could provide.
Tensions Between The King And The Godwins
One problem for the Godwins was Queen Edith’s lack of pregnancy. In the middle ages, a lack of children was always seen as the woman’s fault. Another point of contention was her older brother Sweyn’s erratic behavior and immoral crimes. His actions garnered considerable negative attention. The other nobles resented the injustice of his father’s successful advocacy which always managed to save him from punishment.
The Godwins also had large swaths of land in southern England, making them the most powerful family in the kingdom. This created a political rivalry between them and the Norman nobles King Edward brought with him from Normandy. Edward had appointed Robert of Jumièges, a Norman, as Archbishop of Canterbury. Jumièges saw the Godwin family as a threat to the Norman influence Edward was fostering in England. It was on Jumièges’s advice that the king eventually moved against the Godwins.
Edward ended up exiling the Earl Godwin and all of his sons over a staged riot in Dover. Earl Godwin’s rival nobles had got what they wanted, but this decisive move against the most powerful earl in the country made them nervous for the stability of their own holdings. Ironically, support for the Godwins’ safe return started growing. Because of this, within a year they returned with a show of force, compelling Edward to reconcile with them. Though this prompted the king to strengthen alliances with other noble houses, this turn of events endangered Jumièges’s life. He fled back to Normandy, but not before taking political prisoners. He kidnapped Harold’s youngest brother, Tostig, and a nephew and turned them over to William the Duke of Normandy. Shortly after this tenuous reinstatement, both Sweyn and Earl Godwin died, leaving Harold as the new Earl of Wessex.
Harold Godwinson's Rise To Power
It was at this point that Harold began to succeed politically. As the king’s brother in law, he became a trusted advisor. He played a crucial role in maintaining stability within the kingdom, diplomatically navigating through the intricate web of Anglo-Saxon politics. He defeated the invading Welsh and eventually was named “Subregulus” (Deputy King). These diplomatic qualities, his strong military leadership, his general management of almost all kingly duties, and his familial ties to the Danish royal line in England, solidified his standing among the English nobility, making him a formidable candidate for a throne without a direct heir. In Anglo-Saxon culture of the day, a king did not automatically pass his crown to his eldest living relative. He could nominate an heir, usually his eldest son, who then had to be elected by the Witan, a group of elder wise men.
Harold's Perceived Intentions
It could be speculated that Harold was placing himself in this advantageous position for the express purpose of being nominated and elected king, were it not for his cooperation in Edward’s attempt at nominating someone else. On Edward’s orders, Harold went on a diplomatic mission to Hungry in 1056 to bring the king’s Anglo-Saxon nephew, Edward the Ætheling, and his family out of exile. Apparently, Edward was preparing to nominate his remaining Saxon descendant as his heir. This fact has some historians believing its possible Harold traveled to Normandy in 1164 to rescue his still imprisoned younger brother, Tostig, from William the Duke of Normandy – rather than to offer the English crown to him.
The Bayeux Tapestry depicts Harold journeying to Normandy, becoming a guest at William’s court, fighting in battle with William against the Britans on the continent, and then swearing an oath of loyalty to him. It does not specify the cause of the oath. Many theorists point out the fact that William knighted Harold during his stay in Normandy, an act that might naturally follow being distinguished in battle. Being knighted would also automatically demand loyalty from the recipient. This would have been a masterful political move on William’s part, since Harold was obviously a strong Saxon contender for the English throne from the Witan’s perspective. By extracting an oath of loyalty from his rival, an oath that would have been considered religiously sacred, he was possibly eliminating the competition.
King Harold II
In fact, the Witan did elect Harold king of England. By the time Edward the Confessor died, Edward the Ætheling was dead and his teenage son, Edgar the Ætheling, was far too inexperienced to be king. Given a scenario where Edward the Confessor didn’t officially offer the English throne to William, Edward truly could have designated Harold, his trusted “Deputy King”, as king. This may have been his dying wish to protect his people from several invading forces, including the Normans. It somewhat changes the narrative that William was righting a wrong by killing the usurping Harold and conquering England. In this scenario, Harold is a loyal administrator to Edward and defender of the realm. This point is hotly debated to this day. Was Harold Godwinson the last Saxon King of England and a Hero? Or was he a conspiring Usurper? You, dear reader, be the judge.
William The Conqueror: Rightful Heir Or Usurper?
William the Conqueror, also known as William I of England, also known as William the Bastard, was a formidable and ambitious ruler who played a pivotal role in shaping medieval England. Born around 1028 in Falaise, Normandy, he had a tumultuous early life plagued by political intrigue and familial challenges. His father, Duke Robert I of Normandy, passed away when William was just a child, leaving him in a vulnerable position as the heir to the dukedom. William’s illegitimacy made his claim tenuous at best, held only by his father’s insistence before his death that William should inherit the dukedom. Societal norms of the day often marginalized those born outside of wedlock.
Despite these challenges, William’s strong and assertive character emerged early on. At the tender age of eight, he faced a rebellion led by his own vassals who sought to challenge his right to the ducal throne. The young William, however, demonstrated remarkable resilience and determination, successfully navigating through the turbulent political landscape. This early experience of conflict and power struggles would shape his formidable leadership skills and prepare him for the challenges that lay ahead in his quest for the English throne.
William's Claim
He asserted his claim to the English throne by citing his blood relation to King Edward the Confessor, through Emma of Normandy, and alleging that Edward had promised him the throne in 1051. Because of Harold Godwinson’s sworn oath of loyalty to the Duke of Normandy, depicted on the Bayeux Tapestry, it is the official consensus that Edward the Confessor sent Harold to Normandy to offer the future English crown to his cousin, William. Soon after Edward brought his Saxon nephew, Edward the Ætheling, out of exile, his nephew died under suspicious circumstances. Observers of the Norman narrative speculate that Harold Godwinson, conspiring for the throne, had him assassinated. In the absence of a competent English heir, it wouldn’t stretch the imagination that Edward would choose a trusted Norman relative, given that he’d been favoring Normans with earldoms his entire reign.
The Trigger Of The Battle Of Hastings
Upon Edward’s death, instead of messengers bringing petitions to ascend the English throne, William received word that Harold Godwinson was crowned the very day of his predecessor’s funeral. This was a disrespectfully speedy ascension, and, given that Harold had sworn loyalty to him, William was enraged. He immediately sent a written protest to the English court, a formality of what was yet to come. He began rallying support from prominent Norman nobility, such as William fitz Osborn and William of Malmesbury, and whipping up public opinion in his favor.
William gave large tracks of Norman land to the church to appeal to God, and his representatives on earth. After lavishing the church with these grants, he sent Gilbert, Archdeacon of Lisieux, on a mission to ask for judgement on the matter from Pope Alexander II himself. likely because of the heavy donations, Williams’s legitimate blood relation to Edward the Confessor, and his claim that Harold broke a sacred oath of loyalty to him, the Pope sided with William. This was instrumental in gaining the public and military support William needed to embark on the dangerous and costly venture of challenging the English monarchy.
William took heart from the appearance of Halley’s comet in the skies over Western Europe as an omen that he would win the fight ahead. with the pope’s backing, he successfully garnered support at assemblies like the one in June of 1066 at Caen for the dedication of the abbey of the Holy Trinity.
What With Normandy?
William took steps to leave the duchy of Normandy in the safe hands of his wife, Duchess Matilda, and his fourteen year old son Robert. He ensured that those he conferred with at these assemblies saw his son as the rightful heir to his duchy and obtained oaths of loyalty from them to his son. The boy was already entrusted with important political duties, such as extending gifts to foreign monks in his father’s stead. This was all in preparation for the possibility that William may never come back from his campaign in England. His preparation and subsequent sail to England is the stuff of legend.
While William’s claim may not have been strictly hereditary, his successful conquest and establishment of Norman rule laid the foundation for the Plantagenet dynasty and left an indelible mark on England’s development.
Note: This article precedes a followup article. If you’re interested in the conclusion, please read Part Two.
Further Reading And Streaming...
“Changing Times, 1066-1500. [Pupil Book] : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming” by Collier, Martin et al.
“Edward the Confessor illustrations.” The Abbreviatio, National Archives.
“King Harold: The Rise and Fall of the Last Anglo Saxon King | Fact of Fiction | Absolute History.” YouTube, History Hit.
“William the Conqueror; the Norman Impact Upon England” by Douglas, David Charles.
Very interesting and detailed, and informative! Thanks for posting!
Thanks for reading!