Godwin Wulfnothsson (Wessex) of Wessex (bef. 995 - 1053)

Born before 0995 in England [uncertain]

Ancestors

Husband of Gytha (Thorgilsdatter) Wessex — married 1019 in Hålland, Jämtland, Sweden

Descendants

Died 15 Apr 1053 after age 58 in Winchester, Hampshire, England

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Biography

Origins

Godwin was probably the son of Wulfnoth Cild. The name of his mother is not known, nor is his birth year. He was old enough to witness charters as an earl from 1018, so he was probably born before 995.^[1] Medlands suggests a birth date of about 993.^[2] Frank Barlow in his book on the Godwins suggests a birth date not long before 993.^[3]

The main evidence pointing to who his father includes:

• one manuscript of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles which, in an entry for 1008, when Beorhtric, brother of Eadric Streona, laid accusations against Wulfnoth, describes Wulfnoth as father of Earl Godwine^[4]
• the 1014 will of Athelstan, son of King Æthelred the Unready, which leaves an estate at Compton, Sussex to Godwin, Wulfnoth's son, Wulfnoth having held the estate previously^[5] - coupled with subsequent evidence (including in the Domesday Book) that Godwin held Compton^[1][2]

Early Reign of Cnut

Nothing is known of Godwin's life before he started to witness charters as an earl in 1018, after Cnut became king of England.^[1] According to an early biography of Edward the Confessor - the Vita Ædwardi Regis, commissioned by Godwin's daughter Eadgyth, which gives a flattering portrayal of Godwin - Cnut was impressed by Godwin's military experience and the prudence of his advice, but no other evidence has been found to corroborate this.^[3] Initially Godwin's earldom probably consisted of only part of Wessex.^[1]

Marriage and Children

Godwin married Gytha, whose brother Ulf married a sister of Cnut.^[1] According to theVita Ædwardi Regis, Cnut, after he became ruler of England, took Godwin to Denmark, made Godwin part of his royal council, and gave him his "sister" in marriage.^[1] "Sister" here means sister-in-law. Medlands gives the marriage date as 1019, with no clear source.^[2] The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography suggests that a date of 1022-3 is more likely: Cnut is known to have gone to Denmark then.^[1]

Godwin and Gytha had the following children:

• Eadgyth, who married Harold II^[1][2]
• Svein^[1][2]
• Harold^[1][2]
• Tostig^[1][2]
• Gyrth^[1][2]
• Leofwine^[1][2]
• Wulfnoth^[2]
• Gunhild^[1][2]
• Ælfgifu^[2]

Gyrth and Godwin may also have had a son called Ælfgar: but he is named in only one source, Orderic Vitalis.^[2]

Earl of Wessex

From 1023 Godwin's name appears first among the earls attesting Cnut's charters, and it is likely that he became earl of Wessex about then.^[1] The Vita Ædwardi Regis describes Godwin as becoming "bajulus" of the whole of England, adding that "what he decreed should be written was written, and what he decreed should be erased was erased." The significance of the word "bajulus" is uncertain. It is possible that he acted as, effectively, regent when Cnut was away from England.^[6]

It was likely to have been during Cnut's reign that Godwin acquired many of his estates.^[1]

Events following death of Cnut

Cnut died in November 1035.^[7] In the struggle that followed, Godwin supported the claim of Harthacnut, which was championed by his mother Emma, to succeed Cnut as king of England. With Harthacnut away from England, Godwin appears to have switched his support to Harold Harefoot, who was finally proclaimed king in 1037.^[1][7]

In 1036 Alfred, one of Emma's sons by her first marriage to Æthelred the Unready, landed in Kent. According to the C manuscript of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles intercepted by Godwin, and then sent by Harold Harefoot to Ely, where he was blinded and died. The D manuscript states that Harold was responsible for Alfred's death.^[7] After Harold Harefoot's death and the accession to the English throne of Harthacnut, Godwin is said to have claimed he acted only on the strict orders of Harold Harefoot.^[8]

Reign of Edward the Confessor

The Vita Ædwardi Regis states that Godwin played a key role in securing the English throne for Edward the Confessor after Harthacnut's death in 1042.^[8] In 1043 Godwin and other earls accompanied Edward when he seized treasure held by Edward's mother Emma of Normandy.^[9] In 1045 Edward married Godwin's daughter Eadgyth.^[1][9] Godwin added to his holdings of land and during the 1040s his sons Svein and Harold were given earldoms.^[1]

Then came a crisis. In 1051 a major conflict developed between Edward the Confessor and the Godwin family, brought to a head by a disagreement over the appointment of a new Archbishop of Canterbury and by Edward the Confessor's dismissal of a complaint by Godwin about the behaviour in Dover of Eustace of Boulogne and his retainers: instead of supporting Godwin, Edward ordered him to punish the citizens of Dover, and Godwin refused. Civil war threatened, with both the Godwins and Edward gathering their forces, but in the end the Godwins were forced abroad. Godwin himself went, with his wife and his sons Svein, Tostig and Gyrth, to Bruges, while Harold and Leofwine sought refuge in Ireland. The next year the Godwins (apart from Svein who died in 1052 while on pilgrimage) returned to England and gained sufficient support for Edward the Confessor to be compelled to accept them back and to restore Godwin to all his lands and his earldom.^[1][10]

Death and Burial

Godwin 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 succeeded him as Earl of Wessex.^[1][11]

Research Notes

Alleged first wife Thyra

Alison Weir in her book Britain's Royal Families suggests that, before Godwin married Gytha, he was married to Thyra, a daughter of Svend Forkbeard, King of Denmark; that they had children whose names are not known; and that Thyra died in 1018.^[12] No source is given for this and there appears to be no good evidence. As explained above, Godwin's wife Gytha had a brother who married a sister of Cnut: Cnut and his sister were children of Svend Forkbeard.

Alison Weir's suggestion is repeated on ThePeerage.com, with Weir as the only source.^[13]

Thyra is not listed as a child of Svend Forkbeard in Medlands.^[14]

Thyra has previously been attached as a wife of Godwin, but is now detached.

Suggested relationship to Eadric Streona

A suggestion in the 12th-century chronicle of John of Worcester (formerly attributed to Florence of Worcester) that Godwin was a great-nephew of Eadric Streona is almost certainly a mistake, and John of Worcester may not have intended to imply this.^[2][15] This suggestion was replicated in the Godwin pedigree in Searle's 1899 Anglo-Saxon Bishops, Kings, and Nobles: The Succession of the Bishops and the Pedigrees of the Kings and Nobles.^[16]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 1.19 1.20} Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, entry by Ann Williams for 'Godwine [Godwin], earl of Wessex', print and online 2004
2. ↑ ^{2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13} Charles Cawley. GODWIN, son of WULFNOTH & his wife c.993-15 Apr 1053, entry in "Medieval Lands" database (accessed 1 August 2021)
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} Frank Barlow. The Godwins, Longman, 2002, pp.20-22
4. ↑ Michael Swanton (translator and editor). The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles, revised edition, Phoenix Press, 2000, p. 138 (including footnote 7)
5. ↑ Dorothy Whitelock (editor and translator). Anglo-Saxon Wills, Cambridge University Press, 1930, paperback edition, 2011, pp. 59-61
6. ↑ Frank Barlow, The Godwins, pp.27-28
7. ↑ ^{7.0 7.1 7.2} Michael Swanton, The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles, pp. 158-161"
8. ↑ ^{8.0 8.1} Frank Barlow, The Godwins, pp. 30-31
9. ↑ ^{9.0 9.1} Michael Swanton, The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles, pp. 163-165"
10. ↑ Michael Swanton, The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles, pp. 168-183
11. ↑ Michael Swanton, The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles, pp. 182-184
12. ↑ Alison Weir. Britain's Royal Families, new Pimlico edition, Vintage Books, 2008, p. 26
13. ↑ Lundy, D. ThePeerage.com, "Thyra Sveynsdottir #105419, b. circa 993", accessed 1 August 2021
14. ↑ Charles Cawley, Medlands, Svend Haraldsen, accessed 1 August 2021
15. ↑ Emma Mason. The House of Godwine, A & C Black, 20014, p. 24, Google Books
16. ↑ Searle, W G. (1899). Anglo-Saxon Bishops, Kings, and Nobles: The Succession of the Bishops and the Pedigrees of the Kings and Nobles, Cambridge University Press, 1899, pp.358-9 (Godwin pedigree), Internet Archive

• Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, entry by Ann Williams for 'Godwine [Godwin], earl of Wessex', print and online 2004
• Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900, Vol. 22, pp. 50-55, entry for 'GODWIN or GODWINE (d. 1053)', Wikisource
• Cawley, Charles. "Medieval Lands": A prosopography of medieval European noble and royal families © by Charles Cawley, hosted by Foundation for Medieval Genealogy (FMG). See also WikiTree's source page for MedLands. Entry for 'GODWIN, son of WULFNOTH & his wife c.993-15 Apr 1053
• Barlow, Frank. The Godwins, Longman, 2002
• Bibbs, Hugh. The Rise of Godwine Earl of Wessex, 3rd edition, Scriptorium Series, Vol. 2, Northwest and Pacific Publishing, 1999, Web
• Grills, Hubert. The Life and Times of Godwine Earl of Wessex, Anglo-Saxon Books, 2009
• Mason, Emma. The House of Godwine, Hambledon Continuum, 2004, Google Books - substantial snippets viewable
• Stenton, Frank. Anglo-Saxon England, 3rd edition, Oxford University Press, 1971, especially pp. 416-426 and 561-569
• Wikipedia: Godwin, Earl of Wessex
• Wikipedia: Ancestry of the Godwins