Editing Godwin, Earl of Wessex

{{short description|11th-century Anglo-Norse nobleman}}
{{redirect|Earl Godwin|text= See also [[Earl Godwin (radio newsman)]]}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox royalty
|name= Godwin
|reign = 1020–1053
|birth_date = 
|birth_place = 
|death_date = 15 April 1053 
|death_place     = [[Winchester]], [[Hampshire]], [[Kingdom of England|England]]
|spouse= [[Gytha Thorkelsdóttir]]
|issue= {{plainlist|
*[[Sweyn Godwinson|Sweyn, Earl of Herefordshire]]
*[[Harold II, King of England]]
*[[Tostig, Earl of Northumbria]]
*[[Edith of Wessex|Edith, Queen of England]]
*[[Gyrth Godwinson|Gyrth, Earl of East Anglia]]
*[[Leofwine Godwinson|Leofwine, Earl of Kent]]
*[[Wulfnoth Godwinson|Wulfnoth]]}}
|issue-link = #Children
|issue-pipe = more...
|house= [[House of Godwin|Godwin]] (founder)
| father  = [[Wulfnoth Cild]]
}}

'''Godwin of Wessex''' ({{langx|ang|Godwine}}; died 15 April 1053) was an  [[Anglo-Saxon]] nobleman who became one of the most powerful [[earl]]s in [[Kingdom of England|England]] under the [[Denmark|Danish]] king [[Cnut the Great]] (King of England from 1016 to 1035) and his successors. Cnut made Godwin the first [[Earl of Wessex]] ({{circa |1020}}). Godwin was the father of King [[Harold Godwinson|Harold II]] ({{reign | January | October 1066}}) and of [[Edith of Wessex]], who in 1045 married King [[Edward the Confessor]] ({{reign | 1042 | 1066}}).

==Rise to power==
Godwin's father was probably [[Wulfnoth Cild]], who was a [[thegn]] of [[Kingdom of Sussex|Sussex]]. His origin is unknown but 'Child' (also written Cild) is cognate with 'the Younger' or 'Junior' and is today associated with some form of inheritance.  In 1009 Wulfnoth was accused of unknown crimes at a muster of [[Æthelred the Unready]]'s fleet and fled with twenty ships; the ships sent to pursue him were destroyed in a storm. Godwin was probably an adherent of Æthelred's eldest son, [[Æthelstan Ætheling|Æthelstan]], who left him an estate when he died in 1014.<ref name=DNB/> This estate in [[Compton, West Sussex|Compton]], Sussex, had once belonged to Godwin's father.<ref name="RiseOfGodwine">{{cite web|url=http://www.medievalhistory.net/page0008.htm|title=The Rise of Godwine Earl of Wessex|first=Hugh|last=Bibbs|year=1999|access-date=17 January 2013}}</ref>  

After Cnut seized the throne in 1016, Godwin's rise was rapid. By 1018 he was an earl, probably of eastern Wessex, and then by around 1020 of all Wessex.<ref name = DNB>{{Cite ODNB|url=https://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-10887|title=Godwine [Godwin], earl of Wessex (d. 1053), magnate|year=2004 |doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/10887 |isbn=978-0-19-861412-8 }}</ref> Between 1019 and 1023 he accompanied Cnut on an expedition to Denmark, where he distinguished himself, and shortly afterwards married [[Gytha Thorkelsdóttir|Gytha]], the sister of the Danish earl, [[Ulf the Earl|Ulf]], who was married to Cnut's sister, [[Estrid Svendsdatter|Estrid]].<ref>Pauline Stafford, 'Edith, Edward's Wife and Queen', in Richard Mortimer ed., ''Edward the Confessor: The Man and the Legend'', The Boydell Press, 2009, p. 121</ref>

==Reigns of Cnut's sons==
Cnut died in 1035 and England was disputed between [[Harold Harefoot]], Cnut's son with [[Ælfgifu of Northampton]], and [[Harthacnut]], his son by [[Emma of Normandy]]. Godwin supported Harthacnut, crowned king of Denmark, and as the latter was beset with a Norwegian invasion of Denmark, it was agreed that Harold should act as English regent for these two half-brothers. In 1036 [[Alfred Ætheling]], younger son of [[Emma of Normandy]] and Æthelred the Unready, attempted an invasion of England, but he was intercepted by Godwin, who handed him to Harold Harefoot. Alfred was blinded and died soon afterwards. Godwin's responsibility for the crime was disputed, but whatever the truth it left a stain which affected his future. In 1037, with Harthacnut still in war-stricken Denmark, Harold was recognised as king, almost certainly with Godwin's support.<ref name=DNB/>

In 1040, Harold Harefoot died and Godwin backed the successful accession of Harthacnut to the throne of England. Following Harthacnut's death in 1042 Godwin supported the claim of Æthelred's last surviving son [[Edward the Confessor]] to the throne. Edward, who was crowned the following year, had spent most of the previous thirty years in [[Normandy]]. His reign restored to the throne of England the "native" royal house of Wessex, a branch now in blood intertwined with the Danish-Norman dynasty of [[Emma of Normandy]].<ref name=ONDBed>{{cite ODNB| last = Barlow | first = Frank | title= Edward (St Edward; known as Edward the Confessor) | | id=8516 | date = 25 May 2006|author-link=Frank Barlow (historian)}}</ref>

==Later conflicts, decline, and death==
[[File:Public_Schools_Historical_Atlas_-_England_1065.jpg|thumb|England in 1065; Earldoms in Godwin's immediate house are those east of Dehaubarth and Gwent shaded white]]

Soon after Edward became king, he extended Godwin's jurisdiction to include Kent.<ref>Baxter, p. 1191 and n. 14; Licence, pp. 101-102</ref> Then in January 1045, Godwin secured the marriage of his daughter [[Edith of Wessex|Edith]] (Eadgyth) to the king.<ref>Weir, p. 33</ref>

As Edward drew advisors, nobles and priests from his – and his mother's – Normano-French circle to develop his own power base, Godwin led opposition to the influx of the nascent European [[Normans|Norman]] dominion. After a violent clash between people of [[Dover, England|Dover]] and the visiting [[Eustace II]], [[Count of Boulogne]], Godwin was ordered to punish the people of Dover (as he and [[Leofric, Earl of Mercia]] had done in [[Worcester, England|Worcester]], in that earldom). This time, however, Godwin refused, choosing to champion his own countrymen against a visiting foreign power and defying his own king. Edward saw this as a test of power, negotiating the backing of [[Siward, Earl of Northumbria]] and Leofric, Earl of Mercia, to [[attainder|attaint]] and exile Godwin. Godwin and his sons were exiled from England in September 1051. He along with his wife Gytha and sons Sweyn, Tostig and Gyrth sought refuge in [[Flanders]]; sons Leofwine and Harold fled to [[Dublin]], where they gained the shelter and help of [[Diarmait mac Máel na mBó]], [[List of kings of Leinster|King of Leinster]]. They all returned to England the next year with armed forces, gaining the support of the navy, burghers, and peasants, so compelling Edward to restore the earldom. This set a precedent: followed by a rival earl before 1066; then by Godwin's own son, Tostig, in 1066.

The year after his restoration to earldom, on 15 April, Godwin died suddenly, days after collapsing at a royal banquet at [[Winchester]]. Contemporary accounts indicating that he just had a sudden illness, possibly a [[stroke]]. According to the Abingdon version of the ''[[Anglo-Saxon Chronicle]]'', under the year 1053: "On Easter Monday, as he was sitting with the king at a meal he suddenly sank towards the footstool bereft of speech, and deprived of all his strength. Then he was carried to the king's private room and they thought it was about to pass off. But it was not so. On the contrary, he continued like this without speech or strength right on to the Thursday, and then departed this life."<ref>[[David C. Douglas|Douglas, David C.]] (1990) ''William the Conqueror: The Norman Impact Upon England'' London: Methuen.  {{ISBN|0-413-24320-6}}, p. 412.</ref> But according to one colourful account by the 12th-century writer [[Aelred of Rievaulx]], which appears to be no more than [[Normans|Norman]] propaganda, Godwin tried to disclaim responsibility for Alfred Ætheling's death with the words "May this crust which I hold in my hand pass through my throat and leave me unharmed to show that I was guiltless of treason towards you, and that I was innocent of your brother's death!".  The work says he then swallowed the crust, but it stuck in his throat and killed him.<ref>[[David C. Douglas|Douglas, David C.]] (1990) ''William the Conqueror: The Norman Impact Upon England'' London: Methuen.  {{ISBN|0-413-24320-6}}, pp. 412–413.</ref> 

His son Harold (Godwinson) succeeded him as Earl of Wessex, that is, overlord of roughly the southernmost third of England. On the deaths of Earl Siward of Northumbria (1055) and later Ælfgar, Earl of Mercia (1062), the children of Godwin were poised to take near-total overlordship of England, under the king. Tostig was helped into the earldom of Northumbria, approximating to England's northern third. The Mercian earl for the central third of England was then sidelined, especially after Harold and Tostig broke the Welsh-Mercian alliance in 1063. Harold later succeeded Edward the Confessor and became King of England in his own right in 1066. At this point, both Harold's remaining brothers in England were among his nominally loyal earls, Wessex vested in the King directly, and he had married the sister of Earl E(a)dwin(e) of Mercia and of [[Morcar, Earl of Northumbria]] (who had replaced Tostig). Thus this "[[House of Godwin]]" looked set to found a multi-generational royal dynasty, but instead Harold was overthrown and killed in the [[Norman conquest of England|Norman Conquest]].

==Family==
===Children===
* [[Sweyn Godwinson]], Earl of Herefordshire (c. 1020 – 29 September 1052)
* [[Harold Godwinson|Harold II of England]] (c. 1022 – 14 October 1066)
* [[Edith of Wessex]], (c. 1025 – 18 December 1075), queen consort of [[Edward the Confessor]]
* [[Tostig Godwinson]], [[Earl of Northumbria]] (c. 1026 – 25 September 1066)
* [[Gyrth Godwinson]], [[Earl of East Anglia]] (c. 1032 – 14 October 1066)
* [[Leofwine Godwinson]], [[Earl of Kent]] (c. 1035 – 14 October 1066)
* [[Wulfnoth Godwinson]] (c. 1040 – died after 1087)
* Alfgar, possibly a monk in [[Rheims]]
* Edgiva
* Elgiva (died c. 1066)
* Gunhilda, a nun (died 24 August 1087)<ref>Weir, pp. 34–36</ref>

===Family tree===
{{chart top|Family of Harold Godwinson}}
{{chart/start|align=center}}
{{chart|border=0| | | | | | | | | | | |,|-|-|-|-|.| | | |,|-|-|-|.|}}
{{chart|border=0| | | | | | | GOD |v| GYT | | | ULF |-| EST | | CNU | GOD=[[Godwin of Wessex|Godwin<br />of Wessex]]|GYT=[[Gytha Thorkelsdóttir|Gytha<br />Thorkelsdóttir]]|ULF=[[Ulf the Earl|Earl Ulf]]|EST=[[Estrid Svendsdatter|Estrid]]|CNU=[[Cnut the Great|Cnut<br />the Great]]}}
{{chart|border=0| |,|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|+|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|v|-|-|-|v|-|-|-|v|-|-|-|v|-|-|-|.| | | |}}
{{chart|border=0| SWE | | ED1 |v| HAR |v| EAL |-| GRU | | TOS | | GYR | | LEO | | WUL | | ED2 |-| EDW | SWE=[[Sweyn Godwinson|Sweyn]]|ED1=[[Edyth Swannesha|Edyth<br />Swannesha]]|HAR='''Harold<br />Godwinson'''|EAL=[[Ealdgyth, daughter of Earl Ælfgar|Ealdgyth<br />of Mercia]]|GRU=[[Gruffydd ap Llywelyn|Gruffydd<br />ap Llywelyn]]|TOS=[[Tostig Godwinson|Tostig]]|GYR=[[Gyrth Godwinson|Gyrth]]|LEO=[[Leofwine Godwinson|Leofwine]]|WUL=[[Wulfnoth Godwinson|Wulfnoth]]|ED2=[[Edith of Wessex|Edith]]|EDW=[[Edward the Confessor|Edward<br /> the Confessor]]}}
{{chart|border=0| | | | | | | |!| | | |`|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|.| }}
{{chart|border=0| | | |,|-|-|-|+|-|-|-|v|-|-|-|v|-|-|-|v|-|-|-|.| | | |!|| }}
{{chart|border=0| | | GOD | | EDM | | MAG | | GYT | | GUN | | ULF | | HAR | GOD=[[Godwin, son of Harold Godwinson|Godwin]]|EDM=[[Edmund, son of Harold Godwinson|Edmund]]|MAG=[[Magnus, son of Harold Godwinson|Magnus]]|GUN=[[Gunhild of Wessex|Gunhild]]|GYT = [[Gytha of Wessex|Gytha]]|HAR=[[Harold, son of Harold Godwinson|Harold]]|ULF = [[Ulf, son of Harold Godwinson|Ulf]] }}
{{chart/end}}
{{chart bottom}}

==See also==
*[[Ancestry of the Godwins]]
*[[House of Wessex family tree]]
*[[:Template:Cnut the Great family tree|Cnut the Great's family tree]]

==Citations==
{{Reflist}}

==Sources==
*{{cite journal| last= Baxter|first=Stephen | journal=English Historical Review |title=MS C of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle and the Politics of Mid-Eleventh-Century England|volume=122 |number=499  |date=December 2007 |pages=1189–1227 |doi=10.1093/ehr/cem322 |issn=0013-8266 }}
*{{cite book|last= Licence|first=Tom  |title=Edward the Confessor: Last of the Royal Blood |publisher= Yale University Press|location= New Haven, Connecticut |year=2020|isbn=978-0-300-21154-2}}
*Mason, Emma. ''The House of Godwine: The History of Dynasty''. Hambledon Press, 2003.
*Stenton, F.M. ''Anglo-Saxon England (Oxford History of England)'', 2001.
*Thorne, J.O. and Collocott, T.C. ''Chambers Biographical Dictionary'', Revised Edition. (Edinburgh: Chambers, 1984) {{ISBN|0-550-16010-8}}
*Walker, Ian. ''Harold: The Last Anglo-Saxon King'', 1997.
*[[Alison Weir|Weir, Alison]] (1996) ''Britain's Royal Families: The Complete Genealogy''. London: Random House. {{ISBN|0-7126-7448-9}}

==Further reading==
*{{cite journal| last= Williams|first=Ann |author-link=Ann Williams (historian)|journal= Anglo-Saxon|title=Cautionary tales: the daughters of Æthelstan Mannesunu and Earl Godwine|volume=2 |year=2008 |pages=1–16 |issn=1754-372X|url=https://www.academia.edu/462239 }}

==External links==
{{wikiquote}}
* {{PASE|81485|Godwine 51}}
*Regia Anglorum [http://www.regia.org/godwins.htm Kingmakers – the story of the House of Godwin]

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{{S-reg|en}}
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{{S-new|rows=2}}
{{S-ttl|title=[[Earl of Wessex]]|years=c. 1019–1053}}
{{S-aft|after=[[Harold Godwinson]]}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Godwin, Earl of Wessex}}
[[Category:1000s births]]
[[Category:1053 deaths]]
[[Category:Year of birth uncertain]]
[[Category:Anglo-Saxon warriors]]
[[Category:People from Sussex]]
[[Category:House of Godwin]]
[[Category:Anglo-Saxon earls]]
[[Category:Earls of Wessex]]
[[Category:Norman conquest of England]]
[[Category:Burials at Winchester Cathedral]]
[[Category:11th-century English nobility]]

{{House of Godwin}}