The Background to the Tapestry: A King, an Archbishop and an Earl, Part 5

In which Godwin returns from exile and exacts his revenge upon the Archbishop. 

In the previous episode, we saw Earl Godwin of Wessex and his family have their lives his  thrown into turmoil, caused by the apparent connivance of King Edward and his friend, the Norman Archbishop Robert and the King's brother-in-law Eustace of Boulogne. They had lost support for their cause when many of their man either balked at the idea of a civil war - or were summoned as King's thegns to Edward's side. These would have been men who lived within Godwin's jurisdiction but owed their land to the King, therefore if they had refused the summons they could have been tried for treason. Godwin and his sons must have decided that the best way forward for them was to gather up as much of their treasure and flee. Tostig might have already been wed to Judith of Flanders at this stage and the family would have found refuge at the court of her brother Baldwin . They decided to double their chances by splitting up into two groups, Harold and his younger brother Leofwin took Swegn's ship to Ireland  to the court of  MacDiarmid whilst the rest of the family went to Baldwin in Flanders. The Queen, also a Godwin, took her chances at court whilst the youngest son Wulfnoth and Swegn's son Hakon were taken as hostages into the Queen's household first, then into the Archbishop's perhaps when Edith her self was sent to a nunnery by the King.

According to David Hume (The History of England, Volume I ), the Count of Flanders allowed Godwin to purchase ships from his harbour and man them with mercenaries and those of his followers that had arrived from England with him. The King got to hear about Godwin's activities in Flanders and had set up a fleet of his own. Here it might be conjectured that Godwin  practiced his cunning, by sailing out toward Sandwich harbour. As he expected, the King's fleet set sail out to meet them. He turned tail and sailed back with his forces to Flanders. The King and his counsel felt safe in the knowledge that the Earl had fled from their naval blockade and Edward allowed his fleet to stand down, thinking that the Earl would not dare to attempt an invasion again. As soon as Godwin felt it was convenient, he set sail once more with his force, this time to the Isle of Wight. There he met up with Harold and Leofwin who arrived with 9 ships and an army of Irish mercenaries in his pay. Harold had  landed simultaneously in Porlock and ravaged the lands there. He had to fight hard against those Somerset and Devonshire men who opposed him, killing some '30 good thegns' and putting the rest to flight. Some of the locals may have augmented his army of Irish mercenaries. Landing in the Isle of Wight, Godwin may have boosted his support even more as the Isle was in their former jurisdiction of Wessex. He then went on having met up with Harold and Leofwin, to the mainland gathering more men to him. Ian Walker states in his book Harold: The last Anglo-Saxon King, his belief that that because Godwin returned with such a large fleet, he must have men who had also followed him into exile. This is very plausible. The C Chronicle stated that Godwin had come to the land before the King's fleet knew about them and 'enticed' all  the boat men from Kent and Hastings and along the coasts of Sussex and also men of Surrey so that when he embarked later on his mission to regain his lands, they were already waiting to join him to 'live and die' with him.

Meanwhile during the Godwinsons exile, those men who had turned  from Godwin, were not happy with the increasing influence at court of the King's Norman advisors. Robert de Jumieges was not the all people's original choice for Archbishop and the Norman's were advancing  within the church. The Bishops of London and Dorchester were also Normans.  Despite their unpopularity with the Northern Earls, the Godwins  were much loved in the south. One would imagine that the men of Dover would have had their morale buoyed by the Earl's refusal to punish them. The Duke of Normandy's visit and those foreign officials who were influencing the King toward a possible Norman succession, may have disheartened the English who were not keen to see a foreigner with no blood tie to the House of Wessex on the throne. The arrival of Godwin on English shores again may have been a Godsend for some, for he found that many men rallied to him, promising to aid him to seek justice for him and his family. With this large body of men, the Godwinsons marched upon London and Godwin threw himself upon his knees at the King and declared his loyalty and that he had no wish to cause him harm and that he knew that the King had been counselled evilly. The King appears to have been under the illusion that he was still being supported by the northern earls who had loyally stood by his side last time, but he was wrong. They refused to take Godwin into custody and with Bishop Stigand as go-between, they advised the King to listen to the Earl's plea. According to Walker, Godwin most likely had sent Swegn on a pilgrimage whilst they were in exile to atone for his sins, believing that Edward would be more likely to look favourably on a reconciliation if a penitent Swegn was away seeking forgiveness. He was to die on that pilgrimage anyway, ridding his father of the problem.

The King's court was in chaos. On one side he was being advised by the foreign counsel against  Godwin's return and now on the other, he was being counselled to negotiate and come to terms with him. The Norman camp must have continued to try to maintain their grip on the King, however Bishop Stigand's negotiations brought about a truce and a meeting of the Witan was called for the next day. Archbishop Robert knew the game was up and pre-empted Godwin's wrath by fleeing London with his fellow Norman bishops, Ulf and William and other 'Frenchmen', as the Abingdon (C) chronicle claims. He went across the sea to Normandy. 

During the great council meeting, Earl Godwin set out his case and declared his innocence and that of his sons. The King, whether he liked it or not, had no option but to restore Godwin and the rest of his family to their estates and Edith Godwinson was released from her incarceration at Wilton Abbey and restored  as his Queen once more. As well as the family's restoration, the witan passed judgement over those who sought to do evil to the kingdom by causing  the unrest and accusing the Godwinsons  falsely. Of course the King was found to be blameless and the Norman camp were easy scapegoats, most having already fled. Those French and Normans of Herefordshire were also sent packing having been given safe conduct by Earl Leofric to go north to Scotland. But not all the foreigners were forced out; William the Bishop of London was eventually allowed to return and the King's nephew, Ralph de Mantes were just some who were permitted to stay. It seems that only those who were mostly responsible for causing the dispute between the King and his leading Earl were forced out.

So at last Godwin had his day and his revenge must have felt very satisfying indeed. It was remarkable that Godwin, who had always been able to avoid such trouble, had managed to bounce back from the devastating effect of exile to sweep back in a wind of fury across the sea and ravage his way back into office like a tornado, as if nothing had ever happened. Robert Champart returned to Jumieges, but with him he was to take the most precious things that Godwin might have possessed. Champart might have been outwitted by Godwin, but he was not going down in defeat without taking something of Godwin's with him.

Find out in the final episode - the Aftermath - what happens next.

References
Bates D (2004) William the Conqueror, The History Press.

Barlow F (2003) The Godwins: The Rise and Fall of a Noble Dynasty (The Medieval World), Longman.

Barlow F (1997) Edward the Confessor (2^nd ed) Yale University Press, US.  

Stenton F (1971) Anglo Saxon England (3^rd Ed) Oxford University Press, Oxford.

Swanton M (2000) The Anglo Saxon Chronicles (2^nd ed) Phoenix Press, London.

A Tale of a King, an Archbishop and an Earl: Part 4

The Background to the Tapestry: A King, an Archbishop and an Earl, Part 4

In which the Godwins return to power, Robert Champart flees their retribution and Edward throws in the towel.

The Godwins were forced into exile in the autumn of 1051. Harold and younger brother Leofwin went west to find Swegn's ship to take them to the court of Macdiarmid in Ireland to drum up support there. The rest of the family fled to Flanders to seek refuge with Count Baldwin IV, that is at least nearly all of the rest of them.The ones left behind were Queen Edith and the hostages,  Godwin's youngest son Wulfnoth and the boy believed to have been the son of Swegn, Hakon. Edith was eventually sent packing to a nunnery. Her decision to stay loyal to her husband would backfire on her. Edward might have beeen prepared to keep her at first but whatever happened, she eventually had to go. Robert Champart, also known as Robert de Jumieges might have had other ideas for a new wife for Edward, perhaps a Norman alliance. As for Hakon and Wulfnoth, Godwin and Swegn were never to see their boys again.
  Champart had recently been conscecrated as Archbishop of Canterbury, a decision that had angered Godwin and the supporters of the popular candidate for the job, Aelfric as reported  here in Part One. At sometime in 1051, either before or after the Dover incident and Godwin's exile, Robert travelled to Rome to recieve his bishop's pallium from the Pope. Some Norman sources state that he sought out Duke William in Normandy on his way back and was opening negotiations up on Edward's behalf to strengthen ties between Edward and William. If he could get the Duke on side, Edward could save the cost of manning and maintaining the warships necessary to ward off raids from Vikings  launching their attacks from ports in Normandy. In return for William's support some say that Champart, acting on Edward's behalf offered William the heirdom to the crown of England. There is no evidence to say that William had any part in the plot to oust Godwin, but if Champart truly did indeed visit William at this time, he might well have learned of the man's unpopularity  from Robert. Whether Eustace of Boulogne was at William's court at this time is not known but the events that followed the Dover Incident and subsequent exiling of Godwin seem very coincidental indeed.
The only one of the Anglo Saxon chronicle to report William's visit to Edward's court was the D Chronicle:

" Then soon Earl William came from beyond the sea with a great troop of French men and

the King recieved him and as many of his companions as suited him, and let him go again."   

This was also reported by Florence. Strangely one can only wonder why such an important visit was not recorded in any of the other chronicles.  Some historians, such as Ian Walker, have expressed their belief that the visit never took place and that it was Norman propaganda that inserted the comment at a later date after 1066. As we do not know for sure that Champart went to Normandy at that time, I think it is safe to say that the visit could well have happened. And William did not pluck the claim that Edward had offered him the crown of England out of the air. Something must have happened or been said in order for the seed to have been planted within the Duke's mind all those years ago. Why else would he embark on such a major mission to wrest his crown from Harold Godwinson years later in 1066?

So a series of consequences has emerged, we see Godwin gradually becoming more and more out of favour with the King; whisperings of treason about Godwin in Edward's ear by the Earl's number one enemy, Robert Champart; the possibility of Champart  talking  with William of Normandy about the succession to the English throne; then Eustace of Boulogne causes a fracas in Dover that most likely went worse than he thought it would (men dying on both sides) and the consequent exiling of a  recalcitrant Earl Godwin. Following on from that, we have a youthful William of Normandy cross the seas as if he has been summoned by the King who lets "him go again." Contrived? Perhaps. The evidence does not confirm this solidly, however one could be forgiven for the conjecture that from these events, something was afoot in the court of Edward in 1051 that was not favourable to the Godwins. Or perhaps it was nothing more than a series of coincidences, in any case, whatever it was, it gave Edward a brief interlude from Godwin's control.

For 9 months or so Edward was free from the Yoke of Godwin. In that time, he put aside his wife in a nunnery, most likely on the advice of Champart. Edith's Encommium states that she was sent away with an escort for  her own safety and given consideration as to her comfort, however another source states that she was stripped of all her lands and wealth and sent packing with only her maid for company. It is also possible that Edward may have been considering a new marriage alliance urged on by the Normans who were now counselling him. If this was so, there does not seem to have been any moves made towards this. Either Edward was not in a hurry to wed another woman having just got rid of one, or he was simply paying lip service to those around him. Champart might have been dissapointed at the pace of change, however he was about to have a rude awakening in the form of Godwin's return.

In the next episode we see what happened on Godwin's return

Apart from the sources mentioned references are from:

Barlow F (1997) Edward the Confessor (2^nd ed) Yale University Press, US.  

Stenton F (1971) Anglo Saxon England (3^rd Ed) Oxford University Press, Oxford.

Swanton M (2000) The Anglo Saxon Chronicles (2^nd ed) Phoenix Press, London.

The Story: Scene 2

Interpreting The Tapestry: Scene by Scene

Scene 2

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And so Harold and his men arrive at Bosham. As previously discussed in my first post examining the BT scene by scene, Harold is off to Normandy to pay the Duke a visit and discuss terms for the release of his kin, however if we are looking at it from the Norman's point of view, Harold was on a misssion, sent by King Edward, to confirm his succession to the English crown upon Edward's death. Edward had been playing fools advocate for years it would seem, dangling the crown in front of various contenders. At the time of Harold's trip to Normandy, the Earl was at the height of his power, a man in his early forties, well experienced in diplomacy and administration as well as campaigning against the Welsh. He had recently put an end to King Gruffydd's harrassment of English lands along the borders by embarking on an invasion of Wales of the like he had not attempted before. In a joint enterprise with Tostig, his brother, Earl of Northumberland, he marched his army into the stonghold of Rhuddlan, forcing Gruffydd to flee into the wilds of Snowdonia whilst Harold, harrying the Welsh until they themselves murdered Gruffydd, sending his head to Harold as proof.
 I personally prefer to follow the story that Harold crossed the sea to Normandy with the sole intention of bringing home his relatives, Hakon and Wulfnoth. Mainly because this seems the most feesible rationale for him going and Eadmer, albeit a later chronicler, confirms it. I do not think that Edward had decided to send Harold on a mission to pass on his blessing and offer him the crown at all. Why would he endow his great nephew Edgar with the title of Atheling if he had intended William for the crown all along. And William was never referred to as Atheling or the heir to the English throne prior to his taking it. So imagine Harold arrives at the court of Normandy only to find that the Duke has ideas about his arrival there of his own.

So why did William believe he was the King of England's heir? He was not of the line of the Kings of Wessex and there were others who might have been more qualified after all. Edward had his nephews, Ralph who died in 1057 and would have been out of the running by the 1060's, and Walter de Mantes who dies in the captivity of the Duke of Normandy along with his wife. Young Edgar the Atheling, grandson of Edward's older brother Edmund Ironside. Edgar would have had a far better claim than William. A clue, in fact, lies in the Anglo Saxon chronicle. Chronicle D claims that in the entry for 1051, Duke William came with a large contingent of 'French' men and was recieved by King Edward. It says no more than a few cursory words and says nothing about discussing the succession  with him. Historians have been known to wrangle over the validity of this claim as it is only mentioned in Chronicle D and not any of the others. Some have suggested that this possibly never happened and was a late entry to help promote William's actions as justifiable. It has been noted that there were reasons to believe that this visit did not take place: one of them is that it was likely that William's difficulties in Normandy at this time would have made it impossible for him to come to England and it is curious as to why contemporary Norman sources made no note of it either.  However later, it was claimed that in this meeting, (as goes the Norman propaganda machine) that the offer of an heirdom took place. So, if we look at the previous events, it is plausible to imagine that scenario did take place and let's face it,William cannot have plucked the idea out of thin air. There  must have  been some basis for it.    

So what did happen before William's visit to his second cousin in 1051? This is the back-story according to the Anglo Saxon Chronicles: At mid-lent, 1051, as there was now a vacancy for the Archbishop of Canterbury's job, Edward called his council-meeting in London and advised them of his wish that his great friend and advisor, Robert Champart, former Abbot of Jumieges, should be given that post. It seems that Robert Champart may have put some noses out of joint when he came back from Rome with his pallium, because when Bishop Spearhavoc, whom Edward had promoted to Robert's see of London, approached him with the King's writ, Robert refused to consecrated him stating that the Pope had refused to let him do this. Spearhavoc was an outstanding artist whose engravings and paintings had brought him to the attention of the Godwins and the King. He may have been closely allied with the Queen. Why the Pope was against him being consecrated seems to be unknown and Robert was not about to go against the Pope in this just after recieving his pallium.

What follows appears to be a chain of events that may well be linked together. Count Eustace of Boulogne, brother-in-law of King Edward for his marriage to Goda, Edward's sister, came across the sea to visit with Edward. Chronicle E states that he

           ".....he turned to the king and spoke with him about what he wanted, and
                 then turned homeward....when he was some miles or more this side of Dover,
                 he put on his mail coat   and all his companions and went to Dover."

This sounds like Eustace was looking for trouble. He was and it was to have consequences thereafter for Godwin Earl of Wessex and his family. The men of Dover took a dislike to the way that Eustace and his followers demanded hospitality from them and when one of his men wanted to lodge at the house of a man against his will, the Frenchman attacked and wounded him. He found himself at the end of the householder's rage and the Englishman killed him. A fight in the town ensued after the householder was then killed by Eustace and his men and the French killed 20 townsmen and they themselves lost 19 of their own.

Eustace and his men rode out of Dover to report to the King of the indignities that had been inflicted upon them. Edward was apparently aflame with anger. Now Dover was in the jurisdiction of Earl Godwin and Earl Godwin was a thorn in the King's side. He ordered Godwin to punish Dover by ravaging their homes and Godwin, most likely having heard the side of the townsfolk, refused. Does this actually sound like the pious, gentle Confessor we later know him as?
Edward rallied all his loyal thegns and earls to him and Godwin and his sons did also. There was a standoff and still Godwin refused to punish the men of Dover. Eventually, some of his men deserted him and went over to Edward, probably because they did not wish for there to be a civil war in the country. The Godwins were given a few days to leave. Godwin and his sons Swein,Tostig, Gyrth and his wife Gytha, fled to Bruges. Harold went with his younger brother Leofwine to Bristol and took  Swein's ship to Ireland after a storm cost them the lives of some of their follwers. It was around this time that the Godwin boys Hakon and Wulfnoth were most likely handed over to the King as hostages.  

This event would also have a negative consequence for the Queen, (who was also a Godwin) and perhaps the priestly goldsmith, Spearhavoc. The Queen was stripped of all her wealth and banished to a nunnery, although she had evaded this for awhile.  Robert most likely urged him to put her away for being a Godwin, and urged the King to look elsewhere for a wife. As for Spearhavoc, it could be that Robert knew something about his character that others didn't, for after carrying out his duties in the see for months with Edward's permission and without consecration, according to the Chronicle E, Spearhavoc was then driven out of the bishopric; but not before, according to the Historia Ecclesie Abbendonensis, he gathered all the gold and jewels he had been comissioned with from the King to fashion some regalia for him, in many bags and made off abroad with them never to be seen again.  Perhaps his patrons Godwin and Queen Edith had argued with Robert Champart against expelling Spearhavoc from the bishopric and this might have annoyed the King immensely, stuck in the middle between them and his great friend Robert. He already had no particular liking for Godwin, for he still held Godwin responsible for the death of his brother Alfred over 15 years ago. When Eustace arrives  back to the scene, perhaps they concocted an elaborate plot to stir Godwin into defiance and give the king a good reason to be rid of him at last.



Please feel free to ask any questions of me and my theories.

Hope you have enjoyed the journey through the Bayeux Tapestry so far and will continue through this amazing journey.

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Welcome to My New Blog

Welcome to my new blog, THREADS TO THE PAST about the mysteries and tales embroidered into the Bayeux Tapestry. My name is Paula Lofting Wilcox and I am the author of Sons of the Wolf which is my novel set in the 11thc about the fortunes of Domesday man, Wulfhere of Horstede. I started posting various snippets of factual events, people and stories on my Sons of the Wolf blog and thought it may be more of interest to people if I created a seperate blog for the Bayeux Tapsetry aftert I started my posts about the mystery lady, Aelfgyva on the BT. I had intended to make these posts into three parts but the more I investigated the mystery, the longer the threads became. Then I realised that there was a lot more interesting tales illuminated in the threads of this amazing embroidery and felt compelled to create a blog that would be solely dedicated to the history stitched into the fabric of life as it was in  11thc Englalond.

Please join me as I begin the journey and come with me to meet characters like Edward the Confessor, his wife Edith Godwinsdottir, her brother Harold and his arch rival William of Normandy and his brother Odo, the bishop of Bayeux and Eustace of Bologne and many more. You can also learn what facts my investigations into the mystery woman Aelfgyva have turned, learn who she might have been and about what was her role in the story of Harold's fateful mission to Normandy.

I look forward to having your comapny on what I am sure will be an exciting ride.

                               
 Link to my blog Sons of the Wolf  http://www.paulalofting-sonsofthewolf.blogspot.com