⭐ Who Was Harold Godwinson?
Harold Godwinson (c. 1022–1066) was the last crowned Anglo-Saxon king of England, ruling for only nine turbulent months before his death at the Battle of Hastings, which changed English history forever.
🛡️ Early Life & Rise to Power
Harold was born into one of the most powerful noble families in England. His father, Godwin, Earl of Wessex, was virtually the most influential man in the kingdom after the king himself.
Harold inherited:
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Enormous wealth
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Massive landholdings
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Political influence
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Military experience
By the 1050s, he became the Earl of Wessex, effectively second-in-command to King Edward the Confessor.
👑 Becoming King of England
When Edward the Confessor died on January 5, 1066, Harold was chosen by the Witan—England’s council of nobles and clergy—to be king. He was crowned the next day at Westminster Abbey.
But his claim was immediately contested by two powerful rivals:
1. William, Duke of Normandy
Claimed Harold had sworn an oath to support him as king.
2. Harald Hardrada of Norway
Claimed the English throne through a previous Viking agreement.
These competing claims created the Year of Three Kings—one of the most intense succession crises in medieval Europe.
⚔️ Harold’s Two Major Battles
1. Battle of Stamford Bridge (25 September 1066)
Harold marched north in lightning speed and defeated Harald Hardrada and Tostig (Harold’s own brother).
This victory ended the Viking Age.
But the triumph came at a cost:
Harold’s army was exhausted.
2. Battle of Hastings (14 October 1066)
Just three days after defeating the Vikings, Harold rushed south to confront William of Normandy.
At Hastings:
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Harold’s shield wall held strong for hours
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The battle turned after a rumored fatal arrow struck Harold
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His army collapsed
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William became known as William the Conqueror
This battle ended the Anglo-Saxon era and began the Norman Conquest.
🏰 Harold’s Legacy
Even though his reign was short, Harold Godwinson is remembered as:
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A skilled warrior-king
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A strong leader under pressure
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The last native English monarch before the Normans took over
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A symbol of resistance and national identity
Later English legends often portray him as a tragic hero—the last great defender of Anglo-Saxon England.
📌 In simple terms…
Harold Godwinson was the last Anglo-Saxon king of England, a brave warrior who fought two major invasions in one month and died defending his kingdom at the Battle of Hastings.
⭐ What Was the Battle of Hastings?
The Battle of Hastings was a major conflict between:
1. Harold Godwinson
The newly crowned Anglo-Saxon king of England
2. William, Duke of Normandy
A powerful Norman noble who claimed Harold had stolen the throne
The battle took place near Hastings in southern England and lasted all day.
⚔️ Why Did the Battle Happen?
When King Edward the Confessor died in January 1066, Harold Godwinson became king.
But William of Normandy said:
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Harold had promised to support William’s claim to the throne
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Harold broke his oath
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William had the “right” to rule England
So William invaded England with a large army and fleet.
🛡️ The Battle Itself
Harold’s army formed a massive shield wall on a hill.
For hours, the Anglo-Saxons held their ground against:
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Norman cavalry
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Archers
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Foot soldiers
But eventually:
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The Normans used feigned retreats (pretending to run away, then turning to attack)
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The English shield wall weakened
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Harold was killed—traditionally said to be struck in the eye by an arrow
With the king dead, the English army collapsed.
👑 What Was the Result?
William won, and became known as:
William the Conqueror
His victory:
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Ended the Anglo-Saxon era
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Began Norman rule in England
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Transformed English culture, language, government, and architecture forever
The Battle of Hastings is often called the battle that changed England.
Harold Godwinson – Early Life, Rise to Power, 1066, and Legacy
Early Years
Harold Godwinson was born into the powerful Godwin family of Wessex. His father, Godwin, Earl of Wessex, was the son of Wulfnoth Cild, a prominent thegn of Sussex. Godwin married twice. His first wife, Thyra Sveinsdóttir (994–1018), was the daughter of Sweyn Forkbeard, king of Denmark, Norway, and England. His second wife, Gytha Thorkelsdóttir, descended from Styrbjörn Starke, a legendary Swedish Viking, and was the great-granddaughter of King Harold Bluetooth of Denmark.
From this second marriage came Harold, his brother Tostig, and their sister Edith of Wessex (1020–1075), who later became queen consort to King Edward the Confessor.
In 1045, Harold was appointed Earl of East Anglia. When the Godwin family was exiled in 1051, Harold shared his father’s forced departure but helped restore the family’s power the following year. When Godwin died in 1053, Harold succeeded him as Earl of Wessex, which effectively made him the second most powerful man in England after the king.
By 1058, Harold had also become Earl of Hereford and emerged as the central figure resisting Norman influence at Edward the Confessor’s court. Edward had spent over 25 years in exile in Normandy and surrounded himself with Norman advisers, creating tension with the native English nobility.
Harold proved his military skill during campaigns in 1062–1063 against Gruffydd ap Llywelyn, the powerful Welsh ruler who had unified all of Wales. Gruffydd was eventually overthrown and killed by his own men in 1063.
Around 1064, Harold married Edith of Mercia, daughter of the Earl of Mercia and former wife of Gruffydd ap Llywelyn. They had two sons—possibly twins—Harold and Ulf. Harold also fathered several children with his partner (or, under Danish law, wife) Ealdgyth “Swan-Neck.”
1066: Crisis, Crown, and Conquest
In 1065, Harold supported Northumbrian rebels against his brother Tostig, who was deposed and replaced by Morcar. Though this increased Harold’s popularity among the English nobility, it caused a permanent family rift and drove Tostig into alliance with Harald Hardrada, king of Norway.
When Edward the Confessor died on January 5, 1066, Harold claimed that Edward had named him heir on his deathbed. The Witenagemot—the assembly of England’s leading nobles—approved him, and he was crowned king on January 6.
But his claim was immediately challenged by two powerful rivals:
• Harald Hardrada of Norway
who claimed the English throne based on earlier agreements between Viking rulers.
• William, Duke of Normandy
who said Edward had promised him the throne (likely in 1052) and that Harold had sworn an oath in Normandy to support his claim after being shipwrecked in Ponthieu in 1064/65. The Normans later accused Harold of perjury, arguing that his coronation was illegitimate.
The Northern Invasion
In September 1066, Hardrada and Tostig invaded Yorkshire and defeated the northern earls Edwin and Morcar at the Battle of Fulford (September 20).
Five days later, Harold marched north and decisively defeated them at the Battle of Stamford Bridge (September 25), killing both Hardrada and Tostig.
The Norman Invasion
Immediately afterward, Harold was forced to march his exhausted army 240 miles south to confront William of Normandy, who landed around 7,000 men at Pevensey on September 28.
Harold hastily fortified positions near Hastings. On October 14, 1066, the English and Norman armies clashed in one of history’s most famous battles.
Harold fought fiercely but was killed during the battle—traditionally said to have been struck by an arrow in the eye, though this remains uncertain. His body was identified by Edith Swan-Neck through a private mark known only to her. Sources differ on his burial, but he was likely interred at Waltham Holy Cross in Essex.
After the conquest, some members of Harold’s family fled to Kievan Rus’, where his daughter Gytha of Wessex married Vladimir Monomakh, becoming ancestress to several Russian princely lines, including the lineages of Galicia, Smolensk, and Yaroslavl.
Legacy and Medieval Legend
Following his death, legends grew around Harold. By the 12th century, stories claimed he survived Hastings, lived in hiding, wandered as a pilgrim, and eventually returned to England as a hermit who died near Dover. Though romantic, these accounts lack historical evidence.
Harold’s story inspired later writers, including Alfred, Lord Tennyson in Harold (1876), Edward Bulwer-Lytton in The Last of the Saxon Kings (1848), and Rudyard Kipling in The Tree of Justice (1910). Historian E. A. Freeman portrayed Harold as a national hero in The History of the Norman Conquest.
To this day, Harold’s legacy depends largely on one’s perspective on the Norman Conquest:
Was he a tragic defender of English independence, or a doomed king standing in the path of inevitable change?
Harold and Sainthood: A Theological Debate
Some modern writers have explored whether Harold might be considered a saint or passion-bearer. Historically, he lived a moral life and ruled with integrity, but there is little evidence to support official canonization based solely on personal sanctity.
However, a key question concerns the state of the English Church before the Norman Conquest. Many argue that the Church in England remained in continuity with the ancient Orthodox tradition prior to 1066, and that the Norman invasion brought deeper alignment with Rome.
Harold as a Potential Passion-Bearer?
Some see Harold’s death as a spiritual sacrifice—not only political but religious. The Norman invasion was framed by William’s adviser Lanfranc as a papally sanctioned holy war meant to “reform” the English Church. William received a papal banner and ring, and Harold was pronounced excommunicated by a papal court—likely without his knowledge or representation.
This news deeply shook Harold. Before Hastings, he is recorded as saying:
“May the Lord now decide between William and me.”
The rumor of excommunication demoralized the English army, and the previously fierce Anglo-Saxon warriors fought largely defensively until they were overwhelmed.
After the conquest, Harold’s memory and any potential cult of veneration were suppressed under Norman rule. Yet in modern times, some Orthodox Christians—especially those who honor pre-Schism British saints—regard Harold as a defender of the faith and a possible martyr-king.
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