Hacon Swegenson (bef. 1051)

Ancestors

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Biography

Hacon Swegenson was the only son of Sweyn Godwinson, the grandson of Godwin, Earl of Wessex and the nephew of King Harold Godwinson, who briefly ruled England in 1066.

He was given as a hostage to King Edward the Confessor in 1051 as assurance of his grandfather Godwin, Earl of Wessex's behaviour and support during the confrontation between the earl and the king which led to the exile of Godwin and his other sons.

Upon Godwin's return to England at the head of an army in 1052, following extensive preparations in Ireland and Flanders, Norman supporters of King Edward, and especially Archbishop Robert of Jumièges, fled England. It is likely at this point that Hacon (and Wulfnoth Godwinson, a younger son of Godwin) were spirited away by the fleeing archbishop, and taken to Normandy, where they were handed over to Duke William of Normandy.^[1]

According to Eadmer's Historia novorum in Anglia, the reason for Harold's excursion to Normandy in 1064 or 1065 was that he wished to free Wulfnoth and Hakon. To this end he took with him a vast amount of wealth, all of which was paid to Guy I of Ponthieu, when Harold and his party were shot by a sniper.

Hacon returned to England however, his uncle Wulfnoth remained in Normandy, took no part in the battle of Hastings, and outlived William the Conqueror.^[2]

According to Francis Blomefield, Hacon was the holder of Swathing, in Norfolk, prior to the Norman invasion.^[3]

Sources

1. ↑ Frank McLynn, 1066, https://books.google.com/books?id=FYpDCSWhypAC&pg=PA161
2. ↑ Walker, Ian W. Harold, The Last Anglo-Saxon King. Stroud, History Press 2010 p222
3. ↑ An Essay Towards a Topographical History of the County of Norfolk, volume 5, Francis Blomefield

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