In the triumvirate of 1066, William of Normandy, Harald Hardrada, and Harold Godwinson, the latter has above all endured as one of the great heroes of English history. But how did he become the short-lived King during that tumultuous year? The answer lies in his formidable family, the Godwins. Often symbolised as the last of the Anglo-Saxons, their stratospheric rise to power was engineered by Godwin, an obscure Thaine from Sussex, in a striking case of social mobility. Making himself integral to Cnut, he was made Earl of Wessex to help him run his new kingdom. But Godwin was also cunning and conniving, constantly shifting sides to ensure the maximum advantage to his family. Even Edward the Confessor, who hated the Godwinsons, had no choice but to promote Harold and Godwin’s other sons, and marry his daughter, Edith. But, with his hatred mounting and the couple childless, the fortunes of the Godwins would soon change…in September 1051, with tensions reaching boiling point, they went into exile. It would not last, and their return would see them catapulted to even greater heights of influence. Meanwhile, just as Edward’s life was dwindling, Harold’s star was rising, and across the channel William of Normandy’s prowess was also mounting. What would happen when, in a remarkable turn of events, the two men finally met? What fateful oaths were taken that day…? Join Tom and Dominic as they lead us to the brink of 1066, and discuss the family behind it all: the Godwins. How would their hold on England see Harold crowned King of England, and turned oath-breaker? EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal ➼ https://nordvpn.com/restishistory Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee! Head to investengine.com/history or use promo code HISTORY for a welcome bonus of up to £100 _______ Twitter: @TheRestHistory @holland_tom @dcsandbrook Producer: Theo Young-Smith Assistant Producer: Tabby Syrett + Aaliyah Akude Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Who was Harold Godwinson and why is he significant?
Thank you for listening to The Rest Is History. For weekly bonus episodes, ad-free listening, early access to series, and membership of our much-loved chat community, go to therestishistory.com and join the club. That is therestishistory.com. Harold, eldest in birth as in wisdom, was by the king's favour appointed to the earldom in his father's place.
In the strength of his body and mind, he stood forth among the people as a second Judas Maccabeus, a true friend of his people and his country. He wielded his father's powers even more actively and walked in his ways, that is, in patience and mercy and with kindness to men of goodwill.
But disturbers of the peace, thieves and robbers, this champion of the law, threatened with the terrible face of our lion. Well practised he was in endless fatigues and doing without sleep and food, and endowed with mildness of temper and a more ready understanding. He could bear contradiction well, not readily revealing or retaliating, never, I think, on a fellow citizen or compatriot.
Indeed, the fault of rashness or levity is not one that anybody could charge against him. So Tom Holland, the name of this paragon, this patriotic icon. Dominic Sandbrook. This hero, this enduring hero of the English people, a man worthy to stand as England's last true-born king. It is, of course, Harold Godwinson. Earl of Wessex, the man who falls at the Battle of Hastings.
And last time we were talking about Duke William of Normandy, the villain of this story. And today we're on somebody who I've always... Held a candle for. Held a candle for, exactly, exactly. Do you see yourself reflected in his character and his prowess? The terrible face of a lion, endowed with mildness of temper and a ready understanding. He could bear contradiction well.
I mean, it's all adding up. It's all there, isn't it? Yeah, it's uncanny. It's uncanny. So this is actually from a biography of Edward the Confessor, not of Harold. That's right. So Harold is a supporting character in this book. Yes.
A lot of what we know about the reign of Edward, who was crowned at the end of the last episode, And goes on to be called the confessor. Not because he's rushing around confessing to things all the time, which is what people often think. It's because there are multiple Edwards and people haven't yet worked out that you could call them the first, the second, the third or anything like that.
I think this is a much better way of doing it. I agree. So Alfred the Great's son was called Edward. So he's Edward the Elder. And then we had Edward the Martyr. And Edward the Confessor is someone who is a saint but hasn't been martyred, basically.
Right. Or that bloke Harold Harefoot. I mean, make up a nickname later if necessary.
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