Editing Tostig Godwinson

{{short description|11th-century Anglo-Saxon earl}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2020}}
{{Use British English|date=March 2012}}
{{Infobox royalty
| name = Tostig Godwinson
| image = File:Cambridgemsee359f44haroldandtostig.jpg
| caption = Tostig with his brother, Harold with Edward the Confessor
| succession = [[Earl of Northumbria]]
| reign = 1055–1065
| predecessor = [[Siward of Northumbria|Siward]]
| successor = [[Morcar]]
| house = [[House of Godwin|Godwin]]
| spouse = [[Judith of Flanders, Countess of Northumbria|Judith of Flanders]]
| issue = {{plainlist|
*Skuli Tostisson Kongsfostre
*Ketil Tostisson}}
| father = [[Godwin, Earl of Wessex]]
| mother = [[Gytha Thorkelsdóttir|Gytha]]
|birth_date=c.&nbsp;1029
| death_date = 25 September 1066 (aged about 37)
| death_place =  [[Stamford Bridge, East Riding of Yorkshire|Stamford Bridge]], [[England]]
| burial_place = [[York Minster]]
}}

'''Tostig Godwinson''' ({{circa}} 1029{{snd}}25 September 1066)<ref>{{Cite ODNB|doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/27571|title=Tostig, earl of Northumbria}}</ref> was an [[Anglo-Saxons|Anglo-Saxon]] [[Earl of Northumbria]] and brother of King [[Harold Godwinson]].<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.englishmonarchs.co.uk/saxon_31.html|title= Tostig Godwinson|publisher= englishmonarchs.co|access-date= 30 March 2016}}</ref> After being exiled by his brother, Tostig supported the Norwegian king [[Harald Hardrada]]'s invasion of England, and was killed alongside Hardrada at the [[Battle of Stamford Bridge]] in 1066.

== Background ==

Tostig was the third son of the Anglo-Saxon nobleman [[Godwin, Earl of Wessex]] and [[Gytha Thorkelsdóttir]], the daughter of Danish chieftain [[Thorgils Sprakelegg|Thorgil Sprakling]]. In 1051, he married [[Judith of Flanders (died 1095)|Judith of Flanders]], the only child of [[Baldwin IV, Count of Flanders]] by his second wife, [[Eleanor of Normandy]]. In 1086, the [[Craven in the Domesday Book#The Land of Roger de Poitou in Yorkshire, Domesday Book folio 332|Domesday Book recorded]] twenty-six vills or townships as being held by Earl Tostig, forming the [[Manor of Hougun]] which now forms part of the county of [[Cumbria]] in north-west England.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.medievalhistory.net/page0008.htm|title=The Rise of Godwine, Earl of Wessex|publisher=   Northwest & Pacific Publishing|author=Bibbs, Hugh |date=1999|access-date= 30 March 2016}}</ref><ref>[http://www.domesdaybook.co.uk/cumberland1.html''Cumberland: Hougun''] (The Domesday Book On-Line)</ref>

== Earl of Northumbria ==

[[File:Kirkdale Sundial.jpg|right|thumb|400px|Drawing of the [[Kirkdale sundial]] in [[Kirkdale, North Yorkshire]], with Earl Tostig's name in the dedication ''IN TOSTI DAGVM EORL+'' ('in Earl Tostig's day', at bottom right)]]

In the 19th century, the antiquarian [[Edward Augustus Freeman]] posited a hypothesis claiming that [[Edward the Confessor]], King of England, was pursuing a policy of "[[Normans#England|Normanisation]]" of England and, by doing so, was reducing the influence of the [[House of Godwin]].<ref name=freeman125>
{{Cite book|last=Freeman|first=Edward Augustus
  |title =The history of the Norman conquest of England, its causes and its results
  |volume= II|publisher=Clarendon|location=London|year=1868
  |pages=125–129}}
</ref> In 1051, Earl Godwin's opposition to Edward's policies had brought England to the brink of civil war.<ref>Campbell, Miles W. "Earl Godwin of Wessex and Edward the Confessor's Promise of the throne to William of Normandy." ''Traditio'' 28 (1972): 141–158. {{JSTOR|27830940}}.</ref> Eventually, the Godwins' opposition convinced Edward to banish them in 1051.<ref name=freeman125 /><ref name=devries91>DeVries. ''The Norwegian Invasion of England in 1066''. pp. 91–104</ref> Freeman's explanation of the banishment has many critics,{{efn|name=devries91|For more discussion on this see DeVries. ''The Norwegian Invasion of England in 1066''. pp. 91–104}} as it does not explain fully the relationship between the Godwins and the king.{{efn|name=devries91}}

The banished Godwin family, including Gytha and Tostig, together with [[Sweyn Godwinson|Sweyn]] and [[Gyrth Godwinson|Gyrth]], sought refuge with his brother-in-law the [[Count of Flanders]]. They returned to England the following year with armed forces, gaining support and demanding that Edward restore Tostig's earldom. Three years later in 1055, Tostig became the [[Earl of Northumbria]] upon the death of Earl [[Siward, Earl of Northumbria|Siward]].<ref>
{{cite web
  |url= http://users.hunterlink.net.au/~mbemdm/chapter1.html
  |title=History of Ireleth and Askam-in-Furness
  |publisher=Bruderlin MacLean Publishing Services
  |author=MacLean, Mark
  |date=1999|access-date= 30 March 2016}}</ref>{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}} He was on intimate terms with his brother-in-law, Edward the Confessor, and in 1061 he [[English embassy to Rome (1061)|visited]] [[Pope Nicholas II]] at Rome in the company of [[Ealdred (archbishop of York)|Ealdred, archbishop of York]].{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}}

Tostig appears to have governed in [[Northumbria]] with some difficulty. He was never popular with the Northumbrian ruling class, a mix of Danish invaders and [[Anglo-Saxons|Anglo-Saxon]] survivors of the last Norse invasion. Tostig was said to have been heavy-handed with those who resisted his rule, including murdering several members of leading Northumbrian families. In late 1063 or early 1064, Tostig had Gamal son of Orm and Ulf son of Dolfin assassinated when Gamal visited him under safe conduct.<ref>Walker, Ian W. (1997) ''Harold: The Last Anglo-Saxon King'' (Alan Sutton Publishing, Ltd.) {{ISBN|0-7509-1388-6}}</ref> The ''Vita Edwardi'', otherwise sympathetic to Tostig, states that he had 'repressed [the Northumbrians] with the heavy yoke of his rule'.

He was frequently absent from the court of King Edward in the south, and, possibly, showed a lack of leadership against the raiding Scots. Their king was a personal friend of Tostig, and Tostig's unpopularity made it difficult to raise local levies to combat them. He resorted to using a strong force of Danish mercenaries ([[housecarl]]s) as his main force, an expensive and resented policy (the housecarls' leaders were later slaughtered by rebels).

In addition, it is likely that local biases played a part in his unpopularity. Tostig was from the south of England, a distinctly different culture from the north, which had not had a southern earl in generations. In 1063, still immersed in the confused local politics of Northumbria, his popularity apparently plummeted. Many of the inhabitants of Northumbria were [[Danes]], who had enjoyed lesser taxation than in other parts of England. Yet, the wars in [[Wales]], of which Tostig's constituents were principal beneficiaries, needed to be paid for. Tostig had been a major commander in these wars attacking in the north while his brother [[Harold Godwinson]] marched up from the south.

==Deposition by his brother Harold and the thegns of Northumbria==

{{Main|Northumbrian Revolt of 1065}}
On 3 October 1065, the [[thegn]]s of York and the rest of Yorkshire descended on York and occupied the city. They killed Tostig's officials and supporters, then declared Tostig outlawed for his unlawful actions and sent for [[Morcar]], younger brother of [[Edwin, Earl of Mercia|Edwin]], Earl of [[Mercia]]. The northern rebels marched south to press their case with King Edward. They were joined at Northampton by Earl Edwin and his forces. There, they were met by Earl [[Harold Godwinson|Harold]], who had been sent by King Edward to negotiate with them and thus did not bring his forces. After Harold, by then the king's right-hand man, had spoken with the rebels at Northampton, he likely realized that Tostig would not be able to retain Northumbria. When he returned to Oxford, where the royal council was to meet on 28 October, he had probably already made up his mind.{{Citation needed|date=September 2019}}

==Exile and rebellion==
Harold Godwinson persuaded [[Edward the Confessor|King Edward the Confessor]] to agree to the demands of the rebels. Tostig was outlawed a short time later, possibly early in November, because he refused to accept his deposition as commanded by Edward. This led to the fateful confrontation and enmity between the two Godwinsons. At a meeting of the king and his council, Tostig publicly accused Harold of fomenting the rebellion. Harold was keen to unify England in the face of the grave threat from [[William the Conqueror|William of Normandy]], who had openly declared his intention to take the English throne. It was likely that Harold had exiled his brother to ensure peace and loyalty in the north. Tostig, however, plotted vengeance.

Tostig, along with his family and some loyal thegns, took refuge with his brother-in-law, [[Baldwin V, Count of Flanders]]. He travelled to Normandy and attempted to form an alliance with William, who was related to his wife.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}} Baldwin provided him with a fleet and he landed in the Isle of Wight in May 1066, where he collected money and provisions. He raided the coast as far as [[Sandwich, Kent|Sandwich]] but was forced to retreat when King Harold called out land and naval forces.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle|translator-last=Garmonsway|translator-first=G. N.|publisher=Dent|year=1954|oclc=2922082|edition=Revised|location=London|pages=198–199}}</ref> He moved north and after an unsuccessful attempt to get his brother Gyrth to join him, he raided [[Norfolk]] and [[Lincolnshire]]. The Earls Edwin and Morcar defeated him decisively. Deserted by his men, he fled to his ally, King [[Malcolm III of Scotland]]. Tostig spent the summer of 1066 in Scotland.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle|translator-last=Garmonsway|translator-first=G. N.|publisher=Dent|year=1954|oclc=2922082|edition=Revised|location=London|page=196}}</ref>

He made contact with King [[Harald Hardrada|Harald III Hardrada]] of Norway and persuaded him to invade England. One of the sagas claims that he sailed for Norway, and greatly impressed the Norwegian king and his court, managing to sway a decidedly unenthusiastic Hardrada, who had just concluded a long and inconclusive war with Denmark, into raising a levy to take the throne of England. With Hardrada's aid, Tostig sailed up the [[Humber]] and defeated Morcar and Edwin at the [[Battle of Fulford]].<ref>{{cite web|url= https://nbl.snl.no/Harald_3_Hardr%C3%A5de|title=Harald 3 Hardråde, Konge|publisher=Norsk biografisk leksikon|author=Claus Krag|access-date= 30 March 2016}}</ref>{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}}

==Battle of Stamford Bridge==
{{main|Battle of Stamford Bridge}}
Hardrada's army and Tostig invaded [[York]], taking hostages after a peaceful surrender and while acquiring provisions. King [[Harold Godwinson]] raced northward with an English army from London and, on 25 September 1066, surprised his brother Tostig at [[Stamford Bridge, East Riding of Yorkshire|Stamford Bridge]]. Hardrada, Tostig, and many of their men were killed.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}}<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle|translator-last=Garmonsway|translator-first=G. N.|publisher=Dent|year=1954|oclc=2922082|edition=Revised|location=London|pages=197–199}}</ref> The Norwegians and the Flemish mercenaries hired by Tostig were largely without [[armour]] and carried only personal weapons. The day was very hot and they had not expected resistance. Moreover, Hardrada's 11,000-man force had been split, with many guarding the Norse ships beached miles away at [[Riccall]].{{Citation needed|date=September 2019}}

==Aftermath==
After his death at Stamford Bridge, Tostig's body was buried at [[York Minster]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=William of Malmesbury|title=Gesta Regum Anglorum|year=1815|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wNZEAQAAMAAJ&pg=PR3|access-date=18 Oct 2021|page=326}}</ref> Tostig's two sons fled to Norway, while his wife Judith married Duke [[Welf I, Duke of Bavaria|Welf]] of [[Bavaria]].{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}}<ref>[[Francis Drake (antiquary)|Francis Drake]] (1790) ''An Accurate Description of the Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of St. Peter''; 3rd ed. York: printed by G. Peacock, sold by W. Tesseyman [et al.]</ref> The victorious Harold, at the head of troops still exhausted by their previous fight with Tostig and Hardrada, would go to confront and suffer defeat at the hands of the [[Normans]] at the [[Battle of Hastings]] nineteen days later.<ref name=":0" />

Tostig had two sons, probably born to an Anglo-Danish woman before his marriage to Judith; their names indicate an Anglo-Danish ancestry. They were fostered at the Norwegian court, probably before his marriage in 1051:<ref>{{Cite book|last=Mason|first=Emma|title=The House of Godwine|publisher=Bloomsbury Academic|year=2004|isbn=9781852853891|location=London|pages=103}}</ref>
* Skuli Tostisson Kongsfostre. He was the great-great-grandfather of King [[Inge Bårdsson|Inge II of Norway]] and Duke [[Skule Bårdsson]], and the matrilineal great-great-grandfather of [[Estrid Bjørnsdotter]].
* Ketil Tostisson.

==In popular culture==
Popular (as opposed to scholarly) non-fiction books that cover Tostig's life and role in history include:
*{{cite book |title=1066: The Year of the Conquest |year=1977 |author-link=David Armine Howarth |first=David |last=Howarth |publisher=Dorset Press |isbn=0-88029-014-5}}
*{{cite book |title=The Making of the King 1066 |year=1966 |first=Alan |last=Lloyd |publisher=Dorset Press |isbn=0-88029-473-6}}

He is portrayed by [[Luther Ford]] in the 2025 TV series ''[[King and Conqueror]]''.<ref>{{cite news |title=BBC and CBS Studios announce further casting for new period drama King & Conqueror as filming wraps |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/2024/king-and-conqueror-further-casting-filming |access-date=8 December 2024 |work=[[BBC]] |date=17 July 2024}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[:Template:Cnut the Great family tree|Cnut the Great's family tree]]
*[[Haralds saga Sigurðarsonar]]
*[[Saxons]]
*[[Vikings]]
*[[Normans]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==Other sources==
*{{Cite book |last= Barlow |first=Frank |author-link=Frank Barlow (historian) |title=Edward the Confessor |url= https://archive.org/details/edwardconfessor00barl |url-access= registration |location=Berkeley / London |publisher=(University of California Press / Eyre and Spottiswoode) |year=1970 |isbn=9780520016712 }}
*Barlow, Frank (2002) ''The Godwins : the rise and fall of a noble dynasty'' (Longman Harlow) {{ISBN|9780582423817}}
*{{EB1911|wstitle=Tostig |volume=27 |page=79}}
*{{Cite book |last= Clarke  |first=Peter A. |title=The English nobility under Edward the Confessor |location=Oxford |publisher=Clarendon |year=1994  }} {{ISBN|9780198204428}}
*DeVries, Kelly (2003) ''The Norwegian Invasion of England in 1066'' (Boydell & Brewer Ltd) {{ISBN|9781843830276}}
* {{Cite book | first=Edward A | last= Freeman | year=1868 | title=The History of the Norman Conquest of England, its Causes and its Results|volume= II. The Reign of Eadward the Confessor| location=Oxford | publisher=Clarendon Press | url=https://archive.org/stream/historyofnormanc02free#page/124/search/tostig}}
*Mason, Emma (2004) ''The House of Godwine : the history of a dynasty'' (London: Hambledon) {{ISBN|9781852853891}}
* {{cite book |last1=Key |first1=Michael John |title=The House of Godwin: The Rise and Fall of an Anglo-Saxon Dynasty |date=15 July 2023 |publisher=Amberley Publishing |isbn=978-1-3981-1727-3 |url=https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/The_House_of_Godwin/AS9FzwEACAAJ?hl=en |language=en}}

==External links==
* {{PASE|185643|Tosti 2}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-reg|en}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Siward of Northumbria|Siward]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Earl of Northumbria]]|years=1055–1065}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Morcar]]}}
{{s-end}}{{Norman Conquest}}{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tostig Godwinson}}
[[Category:House of Godwin]]
[[Category:Anglo-Norse people]]
[[Category:Earls of Northumbria]]
[[Category:Anglo-Saxon warriors]]
[[Category:11th-century English nobility]]
[[Category:Anglo-Saxons killed in battle]]
[[Category:Burials at York Minster]]
[[Category:1020s births]]
[[Category:1066 deaths]]
[[Category:Year of birth uncertain]]
[[Category:Norman conquest of England]]

{{House of Godwin}}