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Gyrth Godwinson

11th-century English earl

Gyrth Godwinson
Summary

11th-century English earl

scene 52]] of the [[Bayeux Tapestry]].<br>HIC CECIDERUNT LEWINE ET GYRD FRATRES HAROLDI REGIS<br>(Here have fallen dead Leofwine and Gyrth, brothers of King Harold)

Gyrth Godwinson (Old English: Gyrð Godƿinson; 1032 – 14 October 1066) was the fourth son of Earl Godwin, and thus a younger brother of Harold Godwinson. He went with his eldest brother Sweyn into exile to Flanders in 1051, but unlike Sweyn he was able to return with the rest of the clan the following year. Along with his brothers Harold and Tostig, Gyrth was present at his father's death-bed.

Biography

Following the death of his father in April 1053, the Godwinsons managed to retain their hold on England. Harold inherited the Earldom of Wessex and became second in power only to the king. Gyrth was made Earl of East Anglia, Cambridgeshire and Oxfordshire some time between 1055 and 1057. Together with his brother Leofwine's Earldoms of Kent, Essex, Middlesex, Hertford, Surrey and probably Buckinghamshire the Godwinsons now controlled the entirety of East England.

According to Orderic Vitalis and William of Malmesbury, Gyrth tried (ineffectually) to prevent Harold from engaging William of Normandy in battle, saying that he instead could lead the English forces and that he must stay in London to lead another battle and reminding him of the oath which he had sworn to William. Harold, however, ignored Gyrth's advice. Gyrth fought at and was killed in the Battle of Hastings alongside his brothers Harold and Leofwine.

Citations

Sources

  • {{cite book
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References

  1. Barlow, ''Vita Ædwardi'' pp. 7–8.
  2. DeVries, ''The Norwegian Invasion of England in 1066'', pp. 114–115.
  3. DeVries, ''The Norwegian Invasion of England in 1066'', pp. 115.
  4. ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' (D and E), 1066
Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

house-of-godwin anglo-norse-people anglo-saxon-people norman-conquest-of-england earls-of-east-anglia 11th-century-english-nobility anglo-saxons-killed-in-battle 1030s-births 1066-deaths
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