Godwin Wulfnothsson Earl of Wessex

• Preferred Name: Godwin Wulfnothsson Earl of Wessex^{[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]}
  
• Alternate Name: Wulfnothsson
  
• Gender: M
  
• Birth: 983 in Sussex, England at LATI: N0.981 LONG: E0.3385 with note: Foundation for Medieval Genealogy 993 was listed as date but makes him too young to have the first child
  
• LdsEndowment: 25 AUG 1893 with note: GEDCOM data
  
• Death: 15 APR 1053 in Winchester, Hampshire, England at LATI: N1.0629 LONG: E1.3148
  
• Burial: APR 1053 in Winchester Cathedral, Winchester, Hampshire, England at LATI: N1.0606 LONG: E1.3128
  
• Residence: ABT 1053 in Wessex England, Baldwin's Land at LATI: N30.8163 LONG: E50.6003 with note: GEDCOM data
  
• LdsBaptism: 31 MAY 1892 with note: GEDCOM data
  
• Christening: in England - Aka Guthini Ulfnathsson (Wulfnoth) at LATI: N2.3387 LONG: E2.3894 with note: GEDCOM data
  
• FSID: LY66-YCC
  
• Cause+of+Death: 15 APR 1053 in Winchester, Hampshire, England at LATI: N1.0629 LONG: E1.3148 with note: Description: Godwine collapsed with what was almost certainly a major stroke on 12 April 1053 while dining with Edward the Confessor. He lingered on, unable to speak, for three days, dying on 15 April. He was buried at the Old Minster, Winchester. His son Harold succee
  
• http://familysearch.org/v1/TitleOfNobility: Earl of Wessex1018 in Wessex, Anglo Saxon England at LATI: N1.2 LONG: E2
  
• LdsSealingToParents: 16 FEB 1932 with note: GEDCOM data
  
• By 1018 he was an earl, becoming Earl of Wessex in about 1019.: 1019 with note: GEDCOM data
  
• Occupation: Conde de Wessex y Kent, Jarl, Jarl av Wessex, Jarl av Wessex og Kent, Earl of Wessex, wesswx jarl, Earl of Wessex & Kent, EARL OF THE WEST SAXONS, acceded: 1018, Comte, de Wessex, Earl Wessex, Earl av Wessex och Kent 1020-53, Earl av Wessex, jarl
  
• Notes:

  === Life Sketch ===
  Wikipedia -
  
  Godwin of Wessex (Old English: Godwine; c. 1001 – 15 April 1053) became one of the most powerful earls in England under the Danish king Cnut the Great (King of England from 1016 to 1035) and his successors. Cnut made Godwin the first Earl of Wessex (c. 1020). Godwin was the father of King Harold Godwinson (r. January – October 1066) and of Edith of Wessex, who in 1045 married King Edward the Confessor (r. 1042–1066).
  
  Rise to power
  Godwin was born c. 1001, likely in Sussex.[1] Godwin's father was probably Wulfnoth Cild, who was a thegn of Sussex. His origin is unknown but 'Child' (also written Cild) is cognate with 'the Younger' or 'Junior' and as 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, who left him an estate when he died in 1014.[2] This estate in Compton, Sussex, had once belonged to Godwin's father.[3] Although he is now always thought of as connected with Wessex, Godwin had probably been raised in Sussex, not Wessex[3] and was probably a native of Sussex.[1]
  
  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.[2] Between 1019 and 1023 he accompanied Cnut on an expedition to Denmark, where he distinguished himself, and shortly afterwards married Gytha, the sister of the Danish earl, Ulf, who was married to Cnut's sister, Estrid.[4]
  
  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.[2]
  
  In 1040, Harold Harefoot died and Godwin backed the successful accession of Harthacnut to the throne of England. When Harthacnut died in 1042 Godwin supported the claim of Æthelred's last surviving son Edward the Confessor to the throne. Edward 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.
  
  Later conflicts, decline, and death
  
  England in 1065; Earldoms in Godwin's immediate house are those east of Dehaubarth and Gwent shaded white
  Godwin secured the marriage of his daughter Edith (Eadgyth) to Edward in 1045.[5]
  
  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 Norman dominion. After a violent clash between people of 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, 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, to 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, 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. According to one colourful account by the 12th-century writer Aelred of Rievaulx, 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.[6] However, this appears to be no more than Norman propaganda, 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."[7]
  
  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.
  
  Family
  Children
  Sweyn Godwinson, Earl of Herefordshire (c. 1020 – 29 September 1052)
  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)[8]
  
  Godwin of Wessex (Old English: God in; 1001-15 April 1053)
  Godwin of Wessex (Old English: God in; 1001-15 April 1053) was one of the most powerful earls in England under the Danish king Cnut the Great and his successors. Cnut made him the first Earl of Wessex
  
  === Thorlongus decendancy ===
  The generations from Thorlongus to Reginald (Reynald) de Crawford and Margaret Loudon were taken from a diagram on the Clan Crawford Association website.

• m. ABT 1020

1. Harold Godwinson of England II, b. ABT 1022 in Wessex, England     d. 14 OCT 1066 in Senlac Hill, Battle, Sussex, England

1. Title: Medieval HistoryNet: The Rise of Godwine Earl of Wessex
   Publication: Name: http://www.medievalhistory.net/page0008.htm;
   Note: Hugh Bibbs, B.A. Bowen Island Canada Scriptorium Series: Volume 2 Northwest & Pacific Publishing 1999 Northwest & Pacific Publishing ***** Printed by: Dominion Blue Reprographics Burnaby, Canada Published by: Northwest & Pacific Publishing a division of Northwest & Pacific Building Co. Ltd. P.O. Box K-41 Bowen Island British Columbia Canada The Rise of Godwine Earl of Wessex Copyright: Hugh Bibbs, B.A., 1999 All rights reserved Third Edition 1999 Foreword to the Third Edition This small contribution to the secondary source discussions concerning the family of the last AngloSaxon King of England, Harold Godwinesson, is significant for two reasons. Firstly, the mutiny of Wulfnoth in A.D. 1009 is put into its correct historical context for the first time here, and so it is seen to have been very important to the succession of many English Kings. Jo Hanford of Her Majesty’s Naval Base, Portsmouth, wrote that the first edition of this book "…we have gratefully added to our library collection, as not only is it useful for naval history, but local history as well…" Secondly, the myth of the last AngloSaxon King includes the notion that the royal House of Godwine was the last bastion of English rule to have upheld on behalf of the AngloSaxon people the loyalty of the ancient gold-giver of Beowulf. But, as shown here, the House of Godwine was not founded upon patriotic service. It was raised in treachery, and upheld by an enemy of the Royal family of Alfred the Great. Dr. Simon Keynes of the department of AngloSaxon studies at Cambridge University wrote, "...your book on Earl Godwine... I have read with great enjoyment. You have fastened on a very interesting subject, which has not been properly treated in the past." Introduction Almost one thousand years ago, in the year 1042, King Edward the Confessor acceded to the throne of England. He inherited the English crown indirectly from his own father, king Aethelraed the Unraed (Unwise), but only after it had been used by a succession of Viking kings, beginning with Cnut of Denmark. King Edward the Confessor also inherited from his stepfather, Cnut, an over-mighty vassal named Godwine. In fact, Edward’s entire reign was oppressed by the presence of this Earl Godwine of Wessex and his great brood of brutish and grasping sons. Often the story of Godwine’s sons has been told, since it is a good story, ending with the death of most of them at Hastings field in 1066. But the account written here will just be a study of Earl Godwine’s own origins, examining firstly the fascinating solution to the mystery of where he sprang from, and secondly how it was that he became such an over-mighty vassal. This study will test the proposals of such esteemed medievalists as Sir Frank Stenton, Simon Keynes, Frank Barlow and others, pitting their contentions regarding Earl Godwine’s rise to power against the Primary Sources, particularly the contemporary AngloSaxon Chronicle, the Vita Aedwardi Regis, the Encomium Emmae Reginae, and the later twelfth century works Chronicon ex Chronicis, Wendover’s Flowers of History, and Malmesbury’s Chronicles of the Kings. Part 1: Beginnings of the House of Godwine It was King Cnut who created the English Earldoms, and it was he who raised up Godwine, and created him Earl Godwine of Wessex. What followed Godwine’s elevation was his great success and fame above all other such laymen of the English middle ages. The Earl was able to turn his Wessex title into the foundation of a new Royal Family. His own sons, including King Harold the Second, failed to build upon his pre-eminence and sire a new royal dynasty only because the Normans killed them all, most at the Battle of Hastings. But that was not Earl Godwine’s fault. The question remains unanswered, though, as to why Cnut raised this Godwine to such high estate, especially so early in Cnut’s own reign, when Godwine was still such a young man. No account of that period has previously answered this question well. The historian G.O. Sayles wrote of Cnut’s most valuable fief, the Wessex Earldom, that, "he bestowed it upon Godwine, a Wessex man of no distinguished aristocratic origins, who owed his rapid rise to his own energies and abilities..." However, a quick look at the chronology of Godwine’s story shows that even at the beginning of Cnut’s reign Godwine was already there playing an important role within the royal court. Arguing that Godwine earned Cnut’s trust instantly is insupportable, and proving he did so by using the fact that the new King of England gave it to him is blatant tautology. Sir Frank Stenton suggested that Godwine had been created Earl by Cnut before the end of 1018, and directly afterwards married Gytha, the King’s sister-in-law: "His marriage...was the basis of his fortunes." This interpretation is putting the cart before the horse, surely, since a suitor proposing his own marriage into the Royal family had to already be a great man to gain permission for such a match. In fact, Godwine did not rise to such heights from obscurity, as suggested by such brief explanations as these. But, in order to find out the reason why was he brought into Cnut’s circle of advisors while still a young man, and just who he was to Cnut, it is useful to inquire whether Godwine’s father and the King’s father had previously done business together. This line of inquiry produces interesting results. As to who Godwine’s father was, the writer D. Fisher suggests that Godwine may have been the son of an English thegn of Wessex named Wulfnoth. Backing him up, and having more scholarly enthusiasm for this tidbit of intelligence, Frank Stenton asserts without reservation that Godwine’s father was Wulfnoth. They are both supported in this view by Frank Barlow. John of Worcestor’s Chronicon ex Chronicis additionally states that Wulfnoth was himself the son of Aethelmaer. That connection is interesting, since this Aethelmaer was a brother of King Aethelraed’s ealdorman (Overlord) of Mercia, a man named Eadric Streona, who figures largely in Cnut’s succession, as we will see. Additionally, as Frank Barlow points out, there is something of interest concerning Wulfnoth and Godwine in the last will of King Aethelraed’s son, the Aetheling (Prince) Aethelstan who died sometime between 1012 and 1015. According to that will, the dying prince made a bequest of land to our man Godwine Wulfnothsson. Although he is now always thought of as connected with Wessex, Godwine had probably been raised in Sussex, not Wessex, since the land left to Godwine by the Aetheling Aethelstan was none other than the estate in Compton, Sussex, which had once belonged to Godwine’s father, Wulfnoth. How the prince had come to possess Godwine’s family estate is interesting. The chronicles indicate that Wulfnoth was probably deprived of his estate for high treason. Part 2: Wulfnoth’s Crime Wulfnoth’s story concerns a great treachery on his part, during his service as a Commander in the English navy. What we know of his behaviour would indicate either that he was a bold and innovative leader, or that he was simply a stupid and reckless conspirator. As it happened, Wulfnoth was not the only man of his time connected with tales of high treason. In addition to Wulfnoth’s story, there were also other, perhaps coincidental, acts of betrayal occurring during King Aethelraed’s reign. Other names which keep pace with Wulfnoth’s story are those of his two uncles, Brihtric and the previously mentioned ealdorman of Mercia, Eadric Streona. As well as betrayals involving all these Englishmen, there was similar double-dealing behaviour by Thorkell the Tall, the commander of the Danish army of 1010-12 which for those three years ravaged England. Each of these men were probably fighting sometimes for Cnut or his father, the Viking King Svein Forkbeard of Denmark, and sometimes for the English King Aethelraed, during those years when King Aethelraed was defending his English realm from the Vikings. Wulfnoth’s story begins with the naval preparations of king Aethelraed for the season of 1009. The King’s informants knew that the Vikings were amassing an invasion fleet. When they did invade, the Vikings almost always made landfall off the Humber, preparatory to a massive landing of troops and horsemen. The reason for this was that the Humber inlet let them into the heart of the Danelaw, their customary pale of settlement, where they had supporters on the ground inside England. Due to this threat, Aethelraed anchored his fleet at Sandwich in 1009. While waiting there, prepared to engage the Viking fleet at sea if necessary, something happened to alarm the English North Sea Fleet Command, and a serious accusation was leveled against Commander Wulfnoth. In our source, The AngloSaxon Chronicle, this accusation was left unspecified. For this reason, we cannot say what exactly Wulfnoth did to arouse suspicion. However, since he subsequently engaged in the most egregious mutiny against the fleet, their doubts about him were fully justified. Simon Keynes, a current lecturer in medieval studies at Cambridge, goes as far as accusing another fleet Commander, Wulfnoth’s uncle Brihtric, for the debacle which ensued. Upon the fleet Commanders’ apparent falling out, Wulfnoth deserted the English fleet, while maintaining himself in command of twenty rebel ships. The chronicler states that Wulfnoth turned to piracy along the south coast. Apparently then, Brihtric gave chase with his eighty ships loyal. However, a storm raged throughout the pursuit, and Brihtric managed to cause his entire fleet to founder, an astonishing defeat of seamanship for a Sea Commander. As a result of the English fleet’s distress, Wulfnoth came about and closed on the royal warships. His own ships’ crews set upon those in trouble, putting all of Brihtric’s vessels to the torch, a remarkable feat. This sorry tale is the official explanation given by the Sandwich fleet Command...
   
2. Title: Geni: Gōdwine Wulfnothsson
   Author: Geni
   Publication: Name: https://www.geni.com/people/Gōdwine-Wulfnothsson-Earl-of-Wessex/6000000001156548017;
   Note: Information for Gōdwine Wulfnothsson
   
3. Title: Wikipedia.org - Godwin, Earl of Wessex
   Author: Sources 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. Weir, Alison (1996) Britain's Royal Families: The Complete Genealogy. London: Random House. ISBN 0-7126-7448-9 Further reading Williams, Ann (2008). "Cautionary tales: the daughters of Æthelstan Mannesunu and Earl Godwine". Anglo-Saxon. 2: 1–16. ISSN 1754-372X. External links Wikiquote has quotations related to: Godwin, Earl of Wessex Godwine 51 at Prosopography of Anglo-Saxon England Regia Anglorum Kingmakers – the story of the House of Godwin
   Publication: Name: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godwin,_Earl_of_Wessex;
   Note: Godwin of Wessex (Old English: Godwine; c. 1001 – 15 April 1053) became one of the most powerful earls in England under the Danish king Cnut the Great (King of England from 1016 to 1035) and his successors. Cnut made Godwin the first Earl of Wessex (c. 1020). Godwin was the father of King Harold Godwinson (r. January – October 1066) and of Edith of Wessex, who in 1045 married King Edward the Confessor (r. 1042–1066). Rise to power Godwin was born c. 1001, likely in Sussex.[1] Godwin's father was probably Wulfnoth Cild, who was a thegn of Sussex. His origin is unknown but 'Child' (also written Cild) is cognate with 'the Younger' or 'Junior' and as 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, who left him an estate when he died in 1014.[2] This estate in Compton, Sussex, had once belonged to Godwin's father.[3] Although he is now always thought of as connected with Wessex, Godwin had probably been raised in Sussex, not Wessex[3] and was probably a native of Sussex.[1] 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.[2] Between 1019 and 1023 he accompanied Cnut on an expedition to Denmark, where he distinguished himself, and shortly afterwards married Gytha, the sister of the Danish earl, Ulf, who was married to Cnut's sister, Estrid.[4] 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.[2] In 1040, Harold Harefoot died and Godwin backed the successful accession of Harthacnut to the throne of England. When Harthacnut died in 1042 Godwin supported the claim of Æthelred's last surviving son Edward the Confessor to the throne. Edward 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. Later conflicts, decline, and death England in 1065; Earldoms in Godwin's immediate house are those east of Dehaubarth and Gwent shaded white Godwin secured the marriage of his daughter Edith (Eadgyth) to Edward in 1045.[5] 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 Norman dominion. After a violent clash between people of 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, 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, to 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, 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. According to one colourful account by the 12th-century writer Aelred of Rievaulx, 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.[6] However, this appears to be no more than Norman propaganda, 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."[7] 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. Family Children Sweyn Godwinson, Earl of Herefordshire (c. 1020 – 29 September 1052) 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)[8]
   
4. Title: The Peerage.com
   Author: Citations [S11] Alison Weir, Britain's Royal Families: The Complete Genealogy (London, U.K.: The Bodley Head, 1999), page 26. Hereinafter cited as Britain's Royal Families. [S11] Alison Weir, Britain's Royal Families, page 34. [S11] Alison Weir, Britain's Royal Families, page 35. [S11] Alison Weir, Britain's Royal Families, page 36. [S58] E. B. Fryde, D. E. Greenway, S. Porter and I. Roy, editors, Handbook of British Chronology, 3rd edition (London, U.K.: Royal Historical Society, 1986), page 29. Hereinafter cited as Handbook of British Chronology.
   Publication: Name: https://www.thepeerage.com/p10218.htm#i102178;
   Note: Godwine, Earl of Wessex1 M, #102178, b. circa 987, d. 15 April 1053 Last Edited=11 Dec 2005 Godwine, Earl of Wessex was born circa 987.2 He was the son of Wulfnoth, Cyld of Sussex.2 He married, firstly, Gytha (?), daughter of Thorgils 'Sprakalegg' Styrbjornson and Sigrid of Halland, between 1019 and 1020.1 He married, secondly, Thyra Sveynsdottir, daughter of Sveyn I 'Forkbeard' Haraldsson, King of Denmark and England and Gunhilda of Poland.1 He died on 15 April 1053 at Winchester Castle, Winchester, Hampshire, EnglandG, from apoplexy.1 He was buried at Winchester Cathedral, Winchester, Hampshire, EnglandG.1 He gained the title of Earl of Wessex in 1020.2 He gained the title of Earl of Kent in 1020. Children of Godwine, Earl of Wessex and Gytha (?) Gyrth, Earl of East Anglia3 d. 14 Oct 1066 Leofwine, Earl of Kent3 d. 14 Oct 1066 Wulfnoth (?)3 d. a 1087 Alfgar (?)3 Edgiva (?)3 Elgiva (?)3 d. c 1066 Gunhilda (?)4 d. 24 Aug 1087 Eadgyth of Wessex b. c 1020, d. 18 Dec 1075 Harold II Godwinson, King of England+5 b. bt 1020 - 1022, d. 14 Oct 1066 Sweyn Godwinson, Earl of Mercia+3 b. c 1023, d. 29 Sep 1052 Tostig, Earl of Northumbria+3 b. c 1026, d. 25 Sep 1066
   
5. Title: Oxford Dictionary of National Biography: Godwine [Godwin], earl of Wessex
   Publication: Name: http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-10887;jsessionid=81A23E2C125BF2E602856F372E677727;
   Note: Godwine [Godwin], earl of Wessex (d. 1053) Ann Williams https://doi.org/10.1093/ref:odnb/10887 Extract Godwine [Godwin], earl of Wessex (d. 1053), magnate, was probably the son of Wulfnoth Cild, a thegn of Sussex. In 1009 Wulfnoth was accused of unspecified crimes at a muster of the fleet; he fled with twenty ships and a force sent to pursue him was destroyed in a storm. The context is irrecoverable, but his accuser
   
6. Title: Foundation for Medieval Genealogy
   Author: [505] Florence of Worcester, 1053, p. 155. [506] Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, E, 1009, and F quoted in footnote 4, p. 138. [507] Florentii Wigornensis Monachi Chronicon, Vol. I, p. 160. [508] Freeman (1877), Vol. I, Appendix, Note MM, p. 663, and Note ZZ, pp. 721-24. [509] EHD, 129, pp. 593-6. [510] Freeman (1877), Vol. I, Appendix, Note ZZ, p. 724. [511] Barlow (2002), p. 27, compares this position, unequated with any established office, with the chief justiciarship of the Angevin Kings of England. [512] Vita Ædwardi, pp. 10-11. [513] Barlow (2002), p. 28. [514] Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, F, 1036. [515] Florentii Wigornensis Monachi Chronicon, Vol. I, p. 195. [516] Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, D, 1052 [1051], and E 1048 [1051]. [517] Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, C and D, 1052. [518] Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, C, 1053. [519] Florence of Worcester, 1053, p. 155. [520] Florence of Worcester, 1049, 1051 and 1067, pp. 148, 152 and 172, the last reference calling her sister of Svend King
   Publication: Name: http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/ENGLAND,%20AngloSaxon%20nobility.htm#Godwindied1053B;
   Note: GODWIN, son of WULFNOTH & his wife --- ([993]-Winchester 15 Apr 1053, bur Winchester Old Minster[505]). His parentage is confirmed by the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle which records that "Beorhtric the brother of the ealdorman Eadric" denounced "Wulfnoth a nobleman of Sussex" to the king in [1008] for unspecified crimes, after which Wulfnoth fled the country only to return, take 20 ships from the king´s fleet, and ravage the south coast and burn the rest of the king´s navy, one manuscript naming him "quendam nobilem virum…Wlnothum (patrem Godwini ducis)"[506]. Florence of Worcester names "Brihtricus, Ælfricus, Goda, Ægelwinus, Ægelwardus, Ægelmærus, pater Wlnothi, patris West-Saxonum ducis Godwini" as the brothers of "Edricum…Ægelrici filium…ducem", and within a few lines in the same paragraph repeats the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle´s report about "Brihtric" accusing "Suth-Saxonicum ministrum Wlnothum" of treachery[507]. The two texts just quoted are contradictory, when read together, in suggesting that Wulfnoth, accused by Beorhtric, was the same person as Beorhtric´s nephew. Freeman argues cogently that Florence did not intend to identify Wulfnoth, the supposed nephew of Eadric, with Wulfnoth, the alleged traitor, arguing along similar lines to what has just been said[508]. He highlights that Florence does not make this connection in his two passages, although the one closely follows the other and it seems surprising that such a link would have been omitted if it had existed. In addition, from a chronological point of view, it is unlikely that Godwin was the grandson of the brother of Eadric "Streona", who died in 1017 and about whom there is no indication that he was very old at that time. The chronology suggests, rather, that Eadric "Streona" and Godwin´s father would have been contemporaries. Another interesting fact is that Ætheling Æthelstan, under his will dated [1014], made a bequest to "Godwine, Wulfnoth's son, the estate at Compton which his father possessed", listed second among the bequests to non-members of the royal family[509]. The wording of the bequest is consistent with the land in question having been confiscated, and such confiscation would have followed if Earl Godwin´s father had been the Wulfnoth Child who was accused of treachery. Freeman highlights that Domesday Book records the two places ini Sussex called Compton as having been held, respectively, by King Harold II (Earl Godwin´s son) and a tenant of Earl Godwin[510]. This strongly suggests that the beneficiary under Ætheling Æthelstan´s will was Earl Godwin, and that he was the son of Wulfnoth Child, the alleged traitor. In conclusion, it appears unlikely that Florence of Worcester was correct in stating that Godwin´s father was Eadric "Streona"´s nephew. Godwin was installed as Earl in 1018 by King Canute, and as bajulus[511] over almost the whole kingdom[512]. He heads the lists of witnesses to all the king's lay charters after 1023[513], indicating an unrivalled position of power. The earliest reference to Godwin in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is in 1036 when he is recorded as supporting Queen Emma in opposing the accession of King Harold I[514]. Earl of Wessex. Godwin was probably installed as earl of Wessex in [1040/41] by King Harthacnut, as there appear to be no earlier sources which refer to his territory. Florence of Worcester records that King Harthacnut ordered "Godwinum West-Saxonum…comites" and others to burn Worcester, dated to 1041[515]. Godwin appears to have played a major role in the accession and acceptance in England of King Edward "the Confessor" in 1042, and in 1045 married his daughter to the king. However, his relations with the king became tense following a dispute over the appointment of a new archbishop of Canterbury in 1050. In 1051, Earl Godwin refused the king's order to punish an affray at Canterbury, in which one of the men of Eustache Comte de Boulogne was killed. The dispute escalated, and 1 Sep 1051 Godwin and his two older sons made a show of force to the king near Tetbury. Earls Leofric and Siward rallied to the king's support, and battle was avoided. Godwin and his family were given five days' safe conduct to leave the country by the King's Council held on 8 Sep 1051[516]. He fled with his wife and sons Svein, Tostig and Gyrth to Bruges. Godwin returned with an army in Sep 1052, joined forces with his son Harold who returned from Ireland, and sailed into London. The family gathered popular support and was fully reinstated[517]. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records that Earl Godwin died soon after, three days after suffering a stroke[518]. Florence of Worcester records his death and burial at Winchester[519]. m (1019) GYTHA, daughter of THORGILS Sprakling [THRUGILS Sprakaleg] & his wife --- (-St Omer after 1069). She is named by Florence of Worcester[520]. Her origin is deduced from Ulf Jarl of Denmark being described as the uncle of her son Svein by Florence of Worcester[521]. Morkinskinna names “Gytha, the daughter of Thorgils sprakaleggr and the sister of Jarl Úlfr” as the wife of “Godwin”[522]. Adam of Bremen records that "Wolf sororem" married "duci Gudvino", and was mother of "ducis Suein, Tostin et Haroldum [genuit parricidas]"[523], although this last reference is unexplained. She was living in Exeter when King William I attacked it in 1068. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records that she took refuge at Flat Holme, an island in the Bristol Channel[524]. Orderic Vitalis records that, after the rebellion of [her grandsons] the sons of King Harold, “Gisa Goduini uxor, Heraldi genitrix” secretly took a great treasure (“ingentem gazam clanculum”) and crossed “in Galliam”[525]. Florence of Worcester records that "Gytha…comitissa…mater Haroldi regis Anglorum ac soror Suani regis Danorum" fled to Flanders, in a passage dealing with events in early 1068[526]. She became a nun at Saint-Omer. Godwin & his wife had ten children: 1. EADGYTH ([1020/22]-Winchester 18 Dec 1075, bur Westminster Abbey). 2. SVEIN ([1021/23]-Constantinople[532] 29 Sep 1052). 3. HAROLD ([1022/25]-killed in battle Hastings 14 Oct 1066, bur [Waltham Abbey]) 4. TOSTIG ([1025/30]-killed in battle Stamford Bridge 25 Sep 1066). 5. GYRTH ([1032]-killed in battle Hastings 14 Oct 1066[574]). 6. [ÆLFGAR (-Reims ----). 7. LEOFWINE (-killed in battle Hastings 14 Oct 1066) 8. WULFNOTH ([1036/46][581]-[Salisbury] Feb [1094][582]). 9. GUNHILD (-Bruges 24 Aug 1087). 10. ÆLFGIFU (-before Jan 1066[589]).