Gytha (Thorgilsdatter) Wessex (abt. 1000 - aft. 1069)

Ancestors

Wife of Godwin Wulfnothsson (Wessex) of Wessex — married 1019 in Hålland, Jämtland, Sweden

Descendants

Died after 1069 after about age 69 in Flanders

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Biography

Family Origins

Gytha was the daughter of Thorgils Sprakeleg.^[1][2] Her father is named in the Morkinskinna, which refers to her as sister of "Jarl Úlfr". Adam of Bremen records that the sister of "Wolf" married Earl Godwin and was mother of Svein, Tostig and Harold.^[2] Her brother Ulf married a sister of Knut, king of Denmark, England and Norway.^[1] John of Worcester, in the Chronicle formerly attributed to Florence of Worcester, describes Ulf as uncle of her son Svein, and describes Gytha, wife of Godwin Earl of Wessex, as sister of "Sweyn, king of Denmark, father of St. Canute, the martyr."^[3] Gytha's birth date is not known.

Marriage and Children

Gytha married Godwin, who became Earl of Wessex. According to the biography of Edward the Confessor commissioned by Godwin's daughter Eadgyth, Knut, 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: Knut is known to have gone to Denmark then.^[1]

Gytha and Godwin 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]

Up to the Norman Conquest

Gytha was generous to several major religious foundations - the Old Minster at Winchester, Tavistock Abbey and St Olave's, Exeter. It is said that she asked her husband to acquire an estate at Woodchester, Gloucestershire for her use so that when she was staying in the area she did not need to encroach on land which had belonged to Berkeley Abbey.^[1]

In 1051 Gytha fled England with her husband following a conflict with Edward the Confessor, and went to Bruges. They returned the next year, Edward being forced to accept them back.^[1][4]

According to a monk of Worcester called Hemming, when her son Svein claimed that his father was not Godwin but Knut, Gytha called together a set of noble ladies to attest to Godwin being Svein's father.^[1][5]

Following the death of Harold II in the Battle of Hastings in 1066, Gytha is said by some to have sought to ransom his body for decent burial by offering William the Conqueror Harold's weight in gold. There are differing accounts of what ensued. According to William of Poitiers, William refused to hand over the body; William of Malmesbury states that William the Conqueror gave Gytha the body for burial at Waltham Abbey but declined to accept the proffered gold.^[1]

After the Norman Conquest

After the Battle of Hastings, Gytha went to her estates in the south-west of England. She was in Exeter, Devon in 1068 when William the Conqueror demanded its submission and its citizens sought to negotiate with him. William laid siege to Exeter, and Gytha escaped before it surrendered.^[1] She and other wives of prominent Anglo-Saxons retreated to the island of Flat Holm in the Bristol Channel.^[1][6] Soon after, she left England, taking treasure with her. At first she went to Flanders, accompanied by her daughter Gunhild and Gytha, daughter of Harold II. She moved on to seek refuge with her nephew Sweyn king of Denmark.^[1]

According to Medlands, Gytha ended her life after 1069 as a nun at St Omer. No source is given for this,^[2] and this must be regarded as far from certain.

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} 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. Gytha (-St Omer after 1069), entry in "Medieval Lands" database (accessed 25 July 2021)
3. ↑ Thomas Forester (translator). The Chronicle of Florence of Worcester, Henry G Bohn, 1854, p. 148, Internet Archive and p. 456, Internet Archive
4. ↑ Michael Swanton (translator and editor). The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles, revised edition, Phoenix Press, 2000, pp. 173-183
5. ↑ Frank Barlow.The Godwins, Longman, 2002, p. 38
6. ↑ Michael Swanton, The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles, p. 202

• Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, entry by Ann Williams for 'Godwine [Godwin], earl of Wessex', print and online 2004
• 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. Entries (accessed 25 July 2021) for:
  • Gytha (-St Omer after 1069)
  • GODWIN, son of WULFNOTH & his wife
• Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900, Vol. 22, pp. 50-55, entry for 'GODWIN or GODWINE (d. 1053)', Wikisource
• Wikipedia: Godwin, Earl of Wessex