Editing Kingdom of Sussex (section)

===Ealdormanry and shire (860–1066)===
From 895 Sussex suffered from constant raids by the [[Vikings|Danes]], until the accession of [[Canute]], after which arose the two great forces of the house of [[Godwin, Earl of Wessex|Godwine]] and of the [[Normans]]. Godwine was probably a native of Sussex, and by the end of [[Edward the Confessor]]'s reign a third part of the county was in the hands of his family.<ref>{{EB1911 |wstitle=Sussex |volume=26 |page=166|inline=1}}</ref>

The death of [[eadwine of Sussex|Eadwine]], Ealdorman of Sussex, is recorded in 982, because he was buried at [[Abingdon Abbey]] in Berkshire, where one version of the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' was compiled. According to the abbey's records, in which he was called {{lang|la|princeps Australium Saxonum, Eadwinus nomine}} (Eadwine leader of the South Saxons), he bequeathed estates to them in his will, although the document itself has not survived.<ref>Kelly.Charters of Abingdon Abbey, Volume 2. p.581.</ref> Earlier in the same year he witnessed a charter of King [[Ethelred the Unready]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.anglo-saxons.net/hwaet/?do=seek&query=S+839 |title=S 839 |publisher=Anglo-Saxons.net |access-date=13 May 2010}}</ref> as {{lang|ang|Eaduuine dux}}. His name was also added to a forged charter dated 956 (possibly an error for 976).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.anglo-saxons.net/hwaet/?do=seek&query=S+828 |title=S 828 |publisher=Anglo-Saxons.net |access-date=13 May 2010}}</ref>

[[File:BayeuxTapestryScene02-03.jpg|right|thumb|600px|[[Harold Godwinson]], the future king of England, shown on the [[Bayeux Tapestry]] riding with his knights to [[Bosham]] from where he set sail in 1064.]]

In the next generation, [[Wulfnoth Cild]], a Sussex [[thegn]], played a prominent part in English politics. In 1009 his actions resulted in the destruction of the English fleet, and by 1011 Sussex, together with most of South East England, was in the hands of the Danes. In an early example of local government reform, the Anglo-Saxon ealdormanries were abolished by the Danish kings and replaced with a smaller number of larger earldoms. Wulfnoth Cild was the father of [[Godwin, Earl of Wessex|Godwin]], who was made Earl of Wessex in 1020. His earldom included Sussex. When he died in 1053, Godwin was succeeded as Earl of Wessex (including Sussex) by his son [[Harold Godwinson|Harold]], who had previously been Earl of East Anglia.

[[Edward the Confessor]], who had spent much of his early life in exile in Normandy, was pro-Norman and in Sussex gave to the abbot of [[Fécamp Abbey]] the minster church at Steyning, as well as confirming land existing land grants at Hastings, Rye and Winchelsea.<ref>{{harvnb|Lowerson|1980| p=44}}</ref> To his chaplain, [[Osbern FitzOsbern|Osborn]], later William's Bishop of Exeter, Edward gave the harbour and other land at [[Bosham]].<ref>{{harvnb|Armstrong|1971|p=44}}</ref> Many of the Saxon nobles grew jealous and from 1049 there was conflict between the disgruntled Saxon nobility, the king and the incoming Normans.<ref name="Armstrong 1971 44">{{harvnb|Armstrong|1971| p=44}}</ref> Godwine and his second son Harold kept the peace off the Sussex coast by using Bosham and Pevensey to drive away pirates.<ref name="Armstrong 1971 44"/> In 1049 the murder by [[Sweyn Godwinson]] of his cousin Beorn after Beorn has been tricked in going to Bosham resulted in the entire [[House of Godwin|Godwine family]] being banished.<ref name="Armstrong 1971 44"/> It was from Bosham in 1051 that Godwin, Sweyn and [[Tostig Godwinson|Tostig]] fled to [[Bruges]] and the court of [[Baldwin V, Count of Flanders]], a relative of Tostig's wife, [[Judith of Flanders, Countess of Northumbria|Judith of Flanders]].<ref name="harvnb|Phillips|Smith|2014"/> When they returned in 1052 to an enthusiastic welcome in the Sussex ports, Edward had to reinstate the Godwine family.<ref name="Armstrong 1971 44"/>

In 1064 Harold sailed from Bosham, from where a storm cast him up in Normandy. Here he was apparently tricked into pledging his support for William of Normandy as the next king of England.<ref>{{harvnb|Armstrong|1971| p=45}}</ref> On 14 October 1066, Harold II, the last Saxon king of England was killed at the [[Battle of Hastings]] and the English army defeated, by [[William the Conqueror]] and his army.<ref name="seward5">Seward. Sussex. pp. 5-7.</ref> It is likely that all the fighting men of Sussex were at the battle, as the county's thegns were decimated and any that survived had their lands confiscated.<ref name="seward5"/> At least 353 of the 387 manors, in the county, were taken from their Saxon owners and given to the victorious Normans by the Conqueror, and Saxon power in Sussex was at an end.<ref name=horsfield77>Horsfield. Sussex. Volume 1. pp. 77-78</ref>