Harold Godwinson Flashcards
Where was Edward the confessor from and how did this give William of Normandy the upper hand
Edward grew up in Normandy while his family was in exile there
Because of this he appointed many Norman’s as earls to the witan in his early reign
What happened later on edwards regin
He appointed the godwins as earls instead of they Norman’s and replaced the witan with English nobles
Norman sources state that Edward told William he could have the thrown when he died
Why did the godwins cut ties with the Norman’s
Because once they had more power in England they didn’t want to share it
They cut ties to make sure they were the most powerful family in England
What gave William the upper hand over Harold
Harold helped william of Normandy in two military campaigns
He was gifted armour and weapons for his help and created a symbol of trust between the two
Why do some people believe Harold was helping William as a trick
By saying he would help William become king , William wouldn’t worry about trying to build an army to invade England and would therefore be safe
What do English sources suggest about Harold’s promise
Harold was forced to make the promise to William as he had his brothers held hostage at the time
Say he had to make the promise or he would have harmed his brothers
What do Norman sources say about Harold’s promise
He swore in Norman holy relics as a binding promise
And he was happy to do this and fight for William and support him as king
Why did Harold owe William
In 1064 Harold went on embassy to Normandy but was shipwrecked and captured in an area called ponthieu in northern France and was held captive by count guy of ponthieu and William of Normandy paid a ransom to release him
What caused Tostigs rebellion in 1065
Tostig was a southerner so people from the north mistrusted him
Tostig doesn’t understand the danelaw that they use in the north
He creates peace with Scotland after they invaded Northumbria in 1061
He taxed too much and people weren’t used to it
Tostig was unjust and kills off his rivals
What does tostigs actions result in
An uprising in York 1065
Saxon house carls are killed
Morcar becomes an earl replacing Tostig
Harold backs the rebels over his brother
Tostig is exiled
Harold marries morcars sister and gets some control over Mercia
