Harold Godwinson: King of England in 1066

In this detailed biographical video, we consider the life and times of King Harold Godwinson, the last crowned Anglo-Saxon king of England.
Most famous for his fall at the iconic Battle of Hastings in 1066, the life of King Harold is in fact one of personal, as well as national, tragedy. In this video we follow Harold’s life and career from his birth around a millennium ago in 1022 AD to his tragic fall at Hastings.
Far from just the loser at Hastings, Harold was in fact a highly competent ruler, soldier and diplomat, having served with distinction for decades under his brother-in-law King Edward the Confessor throughout the mid eleventh century.
Hopefully, this long and detailed treatment will reveal a man of exceptional bravery, determination and talent, second only to the king he served and having risen (by 1066) to a crown he was not born to wear, ultimately falling due to the most tragic of circumstances and bad luck.
Also covered within (among other subjects) are the rise of the Godwinsons (including the 1051-52 crisis), as well as all the key events of the whole 1066 saga, including the three great battles of 1066!
***
Below are some timestamps to help break up the video for casual viewers:
0:31 - Family Origins
1:30 - Harold’s Grandfather
3:29 - The Rise of Godwin, Harold’s Father
4:43 - Harold’s Mother Gytha
5:13 - Family Tree: Wulfnoth Cild to Harold and his Siblings
6:48 - Death of King Cnut & Succession Crisis
8:36 - The Capture & Mutilation of Alfred Atheling
10:00 - The Rise of Edward the Confessor
10:43 - Edward’s Norman Relations
12:28 - English Earldoms Map Circa 1045 AD
13:02 - Harold as Earl of East Anglia
14:39 - Marriage to Edith Swan-Neck
16:00 - Sweyn Godwinson: Harold’s Wayward Older Brother
19:48 - English Earldoms Map Circa 1050 AD
20:05 - Exile & Crisis (1051-1052 AD)
22:39 - English Earldoms Map Circa 1051 AD
28:59 - Harold Becomes Earl of Wessex (1053 AD)
29:47 - English Earldoms Map Circa 1053-1056 AD
32:47 - Tostig Godwinson Becomes Earl of Northumbria (1055 AD)
33:18 - English Earldoms Map Circa 1055 AD
35:51 - Harold VS Ælfgar (1055 AD)
38:11 - Harold Recovers Edward the Exile (1057 AD)
40:20 - The Rise of Harold’s Younger Brothers: Gyrth & Leofwine
41:32 - Mercian-Welsh Alliance
42:18 - Note: “North-Western coast.”
43:58 - Harold’s Welsh Campaigns (1062-1063 AD)
47:21 - Harold in Normandy (1064 AD)
50: 34 - Note: the hostages were given in 1051, but seized in 1052 and handed to William.
52:21 - Harold & the Breton Campaign (1064 AD)
54:23 - Harold Swears his Oath to William (1064 AD)
55:15 - Rebellion in Northumbria (1064-1065 AD)
1:04:16 - Harold’s Bid for the Crown
1:05:28 - Marriage to Edith of Mercia
1:06:37 - Harold’s Coronation
1:08:31 - Harold the Man: Personality, Appearance & Relationships
1:21:16 - Note: Ealdred was probably donating relics around or after 1060 when Waltham was re-built by Harold, not around 1051. Waltham did exist prior to Harold’s investment in it though. So, minor map errors here.
1:23:45 - Harold’s Reign
1:24:40 - Documents, Diplomas & Coinage
1:25:51 - Haley’s Comet
1:26:38 - Tostig Raids England
1:27:59 - William of Normandy’s Reaction to Harold’s Coronation
1:29:02 - William’s Appeal to the Pope
1:30:07 - William’s Preparations
1:31:00 - Tostig Allies with Harald Hardrada
1:33:06 - William Delays his Invasion?
1:34:09 - Harald Hardrada Sets Sail
1:35:08 - The Battle of Fulford (20th September 1066 AD)
1:38:59 - King Harold Marches North
1:41:16 - The Battle of Stamford Bridge (25th September 1066 AD)
1:44:23 - Pre-Battle Negotiations
1:45:56 - Battle Begins: the Berserker Holds the Bridge!
1:47:06 - The Fall of Harald Hardrada
1:47:46 - The Death of Tostig Godwinson
1:48:33 - Orre’s Storm
1:49:59 - The Norse Surrender: Olaf’s Oath
1:50:51 - Harold Marches South to London
1:52:29 - William Lands at Pevensey
1:54:04 - Harold Arrives in London (Before Hastings)
1:54:34 - Strategic Considerations: why did Harold Fight at Hastings?
1:55:54 - Containing the Normans in the Hastings Peninsula
1:59:51 - The Battle of Hastings (14th October 1066 AD)
2:00:37 - The English Occupy Senlac
2:04:35 - Taillefer: the Norman Champion
2:05:40 - The First Norman Infantry Assault
2:06:20 - The Bretons Rout: a missed Saxon opportunity?
2:08:45 - Feigned Retreat: chance or design?
2:10:26 - Norman Breakthrough: a Saxon Ajax!
2:11:17 - King Harold’s Death
2:13:04 - William Victorious at Hastings
2:13:31 - King Harold’s Body Recovered
2:16:40 - King Harold’s Final Resting Place?
2:17:28 - William Marches on London
2:18:27 - William the Conqueror’s Coronation
2:19:02 - King Harold’s Legacy: How the Current Monarch Descends from Harold
***
Buy Me A Coffee: paypal.me/historyhub
Written, researched, narrated and produced by Adam Clarke.
#1066 #battleofhastings #medievalhistory

[@HistoryHubChannel]

Welcome to History Hub! For regular viewers I hope this epic biographical video is worth the wait. I hope to make many more longer videos like this, but given this channel is run by just one guy they may be fewer and farther between, however, I will also publish shorter ones too on occasion. Please show your support by liking, commenting and sharing to help the channel grow and I hope you enjoy! :D

[@allenlindsey1175]

New sub here Top shelf content here

[@HistoryHubChannel]

@@allenlindsey1175 thanks. More to come. 👍

[@thicclegendfeep4050]

England really has no shortage of badass warrior Kings in it's history. While I don't live in England, I am fascinated in my English heritage, and consider King Harold a hero of the English people. Anglo-Saxon period might be my favorite period in history, and it absolutely ended with a bang in 1066 !

[@mikeycraig8970]

If he'd defeated the bastard Duke, we'd have two kings know as great .

[@Guyverman01]

More like ended in tragedy.

[@mmsizzlak3726]

Don't know about anyone else, but for myself? KZbin has become THE spot for history

[@Thedarkestduchess]

Yes, absolutely

[@BBEEAATTNNGGUU]

KZbin sucks.

[@Thedarkestduchess]

@@BBEEAATTNNGGUU where else can you get thousands of free history documentaries, thousands and thousands of them, all different eras, subjects and makers, regarding all times, places and events in history?

[@BBEEAATTNNGGUU]

@@Thedarkestduchess Maybe you don't know what's going on, but the level of censorship is insane. It's disgusting, and it disrespects the ways of my country. KZbin can't be put in the trash can fast enough.

[@Thedarkestduchess]

​​@@BBEEAATTNNGGUUyour country? Where is that? Also, why are you here if that's genuinely how you feel?

[@Nexus-ub4hs]

Absolutely brilliant telling of King Harold, I was enthralled throughout! I did shed a tear towards the end. You have done their memories justice, thank you so much and well done!

[@HistoryHubChannel]

Thank you. I try my best. 👍

[@benziescha5438]

Thankyou for your stellar coverage of a massively overlooked and great King.

[@suzannedenhoedt6609]

Truly EPIC story of Harold, I'm much impressed with him and with you and how much detail you included- amazing work! I feel I know the story so much better now and Harold is a true hero in my mind.

[@nilsbrownmusic4507]

Discovered this amazing doc on La fête de St Jean-Baptiste here in Quebec. Tell the average Quebecker their Norman ancestors invaded England, ruled it with utmost brutally and changed its language forever? They never believe you. Having Harold fleshed out so beautifully adds so much. Thank you. He was a totally viable and interesting monarch.

[@nennamori]

Always been a fan of Harold although thanks to G.A Henty Wulf the Saxon and imagine my horror when I looked up my genealogy later...lmao. I think it's very telling that his enemies couldn't quite bring themselves to slander all of him unlike William the Bastard who was in the end so hated his corpse was left to rot while they decided the next king.

[@dannygoring6722]

Thanks for this very full, comprehensive and balanced biography of King Harold. Such an incredible and tragic story!

[@alexanderguesthistorical7842]

I believe there is a key piece of strategic understanding that is missing from our understanding of the reason why Harold "rushed" from London to Hastings to deal William, even though he only had a relatively small force at his disposal. During Harold's preparations for the imminent invasion by the Normans in the Summer of 1066, the site of Battle had been specifically CHOSEN and PREPARED BY Harold as an excellent defensive position. As Harold knew William had moved from Pevensey and was now entrenched in the old Burgh of Hastings, this brought in to play the careful preparations Harold had made in the summer at Battle. I believe THIS is the reason for the haste of Harold to get to his carefully prepared defensive position, before the Normans reached it, and advanced past it (thereby negating it entirely) in their journey towards London and power. Indeed, we are told by the literary sources that William engaged Harold, before his (Harold's) forces had been fully drawn up, going ACROSS the ridge at Battle, thereby physically BLOCKING the road to London. In Harold's haste to get to Battle he had arrived at his chosen battle site JUST IN THE NICK OF TIME.

[@GeraldM_inNC]

Thanks for that piece of info, I wasn't aware that Harold had previously prepared those defenses. Still, sometimes in life you have to abandon well laid plans. He force-marched his exhausted men all the way from Stamford Bridge to Hastings, and they were in no physical condition to face the Normans. IMO it was more important for the Anglo-Saxons to have some time to rest up and replenish their nourishment in London, and await the Normans there. Facing the enemy with exhausted, hungry men for the sake of terrain seldom leads to good things.

[@alexanderguesthistorical7842]

@@GeraldM_inNC Yes, he did "force march" his men from Stamford Bridge, but I believe (if I remember correctly). He did rest his men before the march south for a day or so. And don't forget Harold was a very shrewd military commander and he would have known just how much to push his men to march speedily, without exhausting them completely. Add to this the men at his disposal were entirely used to hard physical labour and their battle hardened nature. At Hastings then, his troops would have been tired, but not totally exhausted and unable to fight. The KEY POINT is that Harold had prepared Senlac ridge, so that he could defend the position successfully against attack with relatively few men. Such was the strategic importance of this place. And if could have stopped William at Hastings, William's army would have been cut-off from mainland England by the shoreline (as Time Team pointed out). Therefore, with all this in mind Harold H A D to get down there before William got there, which meant that he did not have TIME to re-group with a larger force in London. It's a key point which wierdly, the historian's seem not to have figured out

[@dindu551]

How the heck aren't there more views of this exquisitely researched presentation?

[@MICHAEL-wg2lh]

This was excellent absolutely loved it ⚔ ❤🛡 he was a true warrior king 👑

[@HistoryHubChannel]

Thank you. He's definitely one of my favourite kings, though his was a short reign.

[@straingedays]

Have seen many documentaries and a two part movie on 1066, however yours is by far the most detailed Family trees, surrounding battles and detailed accounts, made this one of your best of a great list to date.

[@HistoryHubChannel]

Thank you, I try my best. 👍

[@SKILLIUSCAESAR]

What movie?

[@jayterry8551]

If you want details listen to the British history podcast. Jamie does a deep and detailed history.

[@2msvalkyrie529]

Thoroughly well done. ! Excellent delivery too.

[@HistoryHubChannel]

Thank you. Audio quality could be better, but I'll likely update this video (new audio, maps etc) in future. 👍

[@Riley-ed4bz]

Have you considered doing a video on The reign of King Offa in the 8th Century? I think that would be fascinating!

[@CaptainAmaziiing]

I'm super impressed you found Glonieorn, Gamelbearn, and Dunsten's names. They don't get a lot of press.

[@peggybrem2848]

Great stuff. Fantastic details; clarified so much, tidying up my confusion. Thank you so much!👍

[@HistoryHubChannel]

My pleasure. I'm glad you enjoyed it. 😀

[@mosaicweightedblankets7624]

Love this - so imformative - wonderful top down of the subject

[@DavidGlory-zs7xo]

‘No one can guarantee success in war, only deserve it’.

[@TheCynthiaRice]

I am blown away by the quality of your videos!

[@HistoryHubChannel]

Thank you, that's good to know. 👍

[@GoBlueGirl78]

Yassss! Thank you! I’ve been waiting for this!

[@blakel013]

Another banger from this channel. Never disappoint when it comes to the videos on this channel. Keep up the good work!!!

[@HistoryHubChannel]

Comments like this make it all worth it. I'm glad you enjoy it. 😀

[@sircalvin83]

Another masterpiece Adam- Cant wait for the next one!

[@Piperdogloveshats]

Fantastic! Thanks for another great video!

[@huntin4audi]

Always happy when you have a new upload. Thank you.

[@HistoryHubChannel]

Thanks. 👍

[@richardsutton2017]

Great video! Thanks.

[@galloe8933]

I was late by hours, but I still got the video fresh enough!

[@historycentral8543]

harold godwinson doesnt get the praise he deserves he beat hadrada against all the odds in the battle of stamford bridge and almost came within an inch of victory at the battle of hastings , it was his death which shook the saxon lines i personally think he was shot in the eye with an arrow and then slayed to death by the normans btw execellent content you give a really detailed insight of arguably the last anglo saxon king

[@avatarlui9195]

If only he didn’t lose his hill advantage that he had over the Normans, as they were struggling pretty heavily to break through the English shield wall.

[@dean8542]

@@avatarlui9195 He got greedy and broke his lines to try drive the normans into the sea instead of waiting for more english fighters to turn up to strength the line before onsetting the normans the normans never won that fight the english lost it

[@Sulla-ps3jv]

Another excellent video. Great Job!

[@HistoryHubChannel]

Cheers. Would love to do something on Sulla at some point. 👍

[@albertcurtis1201]

This is great work. Thanks my man.

[@HistoryHubChannel]

Thanks. 👍

[@kingslegion1]

just understand i am not by any means against this, it is so good and informing. i am so glad someone put some truth out there. i know it is not easy. THANK YOU

[@quintonbroster2994]

Thank you

[@CommonSwindler]

Superb video. Can’t wait for you to do Henry II.

[@harold_the_great]

My favourite English king. He defeated Harald Hardrada, one of the most formidable kings of the age. Came within an inch of beating William too. I have nothing but the utmost respect for him. He'd rather die then just give England over to some foreigner. He should be celebrated as a hero of England.

[@HistoryHubChannel]

I don't know why but he's always been my favourite king too. First read properly about him when I was about fifteen or sixteen. I've been obessed with the whole story and figures of the 1066 era ever since. Lol

[@harold_the_great]

@@HistoryHubChannel He was a great man and a great king who died protecting England and its identity. If he had won at Hastings, he'd be known as the greatest Englishman of all time and up there with Winston Churchill as a beloved history figure and icon of England. If you really think about it, he was England's last true king though wasn't he. After him, we had a long norman reign which lead to a hybrid Welsh/Norman reign and then came the German Windsors.

[@alistairclarke6726]

excellent doco!

[@HistoryHubChannel]

Cheers! 👍

[@DavidGlory-zs7xo]

Excellent

[@majakoren1746]

Your channel has 'an upper hand' among all others here on KZbin, as english history is concern

[@HistoryHubChannel]

Cheers. 👍

[@Guyverman01]

The Last truly English King of England.

[@miltonfarmer1139]

This is great.

[@kingslegion1]

i also must say this is one of if not the best of breaking down this time of history and i do wish somehow it is or could be implemented to all. this one treaty should be accepted and i think if anyone of merit could understand it.. use it for further advancement.

[@MrSmetanka]

Hello Adam! Incredible work, although I must admit I'm a little biased when it comes to the history surrounding William, Harold, Harald and the whole second half of the 11th century in general :D How can I support your work?

[@HistoryHubChannel]

Your time in watching and leaving a comment really helps as History Hub's a smaller channel. I know what you mean about this period, I've been obsessed with it for over twenty years now and it's my favourite period of history. 😀

[@wheeloftime-hl7pb]

i once read sevral chapters of a would be novel published on a fantasy magazine, about harold godwinson's adventures in the holy land ... that ll make an interesting series

[@michaeldavis1181]

Very good video Adam. However, coming within weeks after the release of the new book by Michael John Key on the Godwinsons, which I would recommend, I am assuming you took much of your detail from his book. I know you cannot plagiarise a book to a video, but it would have been fair to try and give credit if some of your inspiration for the content came from Key's book.

[@HistoryHubChannel]

Never read that book. I'm using older sources. I've been reading 1066 literature for around twenty years. 👍

[@jaybee9269]

Could you explain the children’s calendar dates on the chart at 1:19:41? It appears children were born long after Harold’s death?!

[@HistoryHubChannel]

Harold’s children. The dates are marked “Fl” for flourished or when they were historically active as unfortunately there aren’t any specific dates of birth and death, although interestingly it’s possible Harold’s son by Edith of Mercia was born after his death. 👍

[@jaybee9269]

@@HistoryHubChannel >> Thanks!

[@harold_the_great]

@HistoryHubChannel Do you think he was buried at Waltham Abbey or the church at Bosham? It's never been confirmed where he was buried which frustrates me a bit because I want to go and lay some flowers at his actual final resting place.

[@HistoryHubChannel]

My money's on Bosham. Tony Robinson spoke with a local historian there who said that in the 1950s some bones were found in the church when they were installing some heating. The bones fit the description of Harold's injuries: a missing head and leg. Bosham was the Godwin base too. Furthermore, one of the Norman sources (William of Poitiers or Jumieges, I forget which) wrote that Harold was laid to rest by the sea. 🤔

[@kiltedjohn1000]

And to think if Harold won,we might not be here watching this

[@kingslegion1]

thank you for at least admitting the possibility of Tostig and William meeting or at least in some way discussing the invasion. this really has no bearing but in the early 80s while in Brittany i came across a writing telling of such a meeting and i could never get it confirmed. But i know William waited, and i know if the winds are favorable for Haldrada they are against William, but that is when he sailed. so i tend to believe what i read so many years ago.. William and Tostig had a deal. William will take the south, Tostig and Hadrada the North.. when those two fell through William took it all and later destroyed the north with the harrowing of the north. i do not say i am right.. its just normal writing seem not correct and i have always had a problem with swallowing shit.

[@dudeistpreist5721]

I saw 1066 and thought the new one piece chapter was out...

[@ikdw3259]

Where can I read more about the Saxon hero who cleaved a knight and horse in two?

[@HistoryHubChannel]

I sourced it from 'the Year of Three Battles' by Frank McLynn. A great book on 1066.

[@user-qk4gk1sw9n]

спасибо очень подробно и поэтому интересно этот гарольд был эффективным менеджером жаль что кнему не пришла помощь зато позднее будет по такому же принципу кошмарить францию столетней войной

[@froomist]

Is that The Holy Hand Grenade???

[@kingslegion1]

i must add this as well and am sure no one wants the facts to disturb them. but with Harold moving to the north so rapidly and to discard the way the anglo saxons did war since the time of alfred. please remember these were real people, not like us where we must think all old thoughts come from us young folk... believe me they do NOT

[@redseneastmkii]

So Harold of Wessex was Anglo-Danish.

[@HistoryHubChannel]

Partly. His mother Gytha was Danish. His name is Danish too. 👍

[@alexanderwaite9403]

Great film. Harold's death was a horrible tragedy for the British Isles because it opened up all of the British Isles to Norman/French rule.

[@aheroicdose]

Read the j in jarl as a y, as in yarl for jarl.

[@joey1317]

Lol his downfall was crossing me

[@Anaris10]

OPTIMUM!.

[@kingslegion1]

hate to be an ass but since Harold died... that might be why the comet was an ill omen for him and not William.

[@darthbigred22]

I will admit I have a lot more respect for anyone using BC/AD in their timelines regardless of their own convictions ESPECIALLY for the Middle Ages. I think the more I learn about the Middle Ages the more I realize there was never anything dark about it. So when I see BCE/CE I always imagine a historian who will act like everything was amazing until 0 and then mankind was stupid until the Renaissance. When I began studying armor, arms, and cathedral construction you really realize technological advancement is one continuous movement even through the Middle Ages rather than non stop war only slowed by plagues and witch burning. I think the real shame is we don't have a lot of idea how they fought these wars. We don't know how they would lay out their armies, how did they use cavalry, etc. We can assume how because of pre medieval and post medieval but they, for reasons of military secrecy of the time, don't leave behind a lot of that information. Even finding proper fencing manuals of that era is like finding needles in haystacks. Even now I wonder if a knight was merely a commander or if they truly did don all that armor and wade into a crowd just blowing through them like a human tank? Even if that was true how could a crowd not overpower a man in armor easily? How useful could a lance be against foot soldiers in a crowd after all? Really makes you wonder and it is amazing how we can't even hide how to make the A bomb longer than 3 years and yet they were able to hid how to properly use a long sword to all of time.

[@HaliK7829]

Within its historical may this name Mike Wise Burg who amongst all kneel and wipe a Sovereign shet are amongst all golden Power they will have. So much love there Loyal at most never within the Word disgusting. Within a kid command a kid to deep it’s food on shet commanded and followed the same heavenly knowing the ground are amongst all cleanse never disgusting will you fall..👑🦁😜😂 Prince finds a cleanse Princess never will go for disgusting.😂😜

[@cynric5437]

I’m only just over 12 mins in and there are differences between your interpretation of events and mine. I see Emma scheming to make her first born king from about 1017 until 1041 when her third son made Ed the Con CO-REGENT. This meant the Witan did not choose Ed to be king because he already was. This makes Edward the only king not selected by the Witan. You also need to look into Harthacnut’s sudden death - did he die “in his cups” or from what was in his cup? Godwin, imo, was murdered by Ed the con at the first meeting of the two (Easter 1053) after the death of Emma in 1053.

[@brucehunter8355]

Godwin (& his wife) is my direct maternal grandparents - Ethelred the unready and Alfred the Great are also my maternal great-grandparents I'm 11th cousins with Queen Elizabeth II eighth cousins is my adorable husband who is ninth cousins of Queen Elizabeth II Queen Elizabeth II is the 30 second great grandchild of Alfred the great

[@gm2407]

@10:05 "Edward the confessor had his own story to tell." About that time he learned Kung Fu?

[@HistoryHubChannel]

🤣😂🤣

[@alexanderguesthistorical7842]

I believe also that your understanding of the battlefield at Hastings, although it conforms to the generally accepted version, is not correct. And that the events you mention in the video are basically jumbled up, and in the wrong order. If one interprets the battlefield in the correct manner, in line with the findings of the Time Team, in their investigation into the Battle of Hastings, the events can be re-ordered to give a full, conclusive narrative of what happened that day, with some quite surprising conclusions. This chain of events not only gives us the exact reason why Harold lost the battle, but the origins of the "Norman propaganda" surrounding the battle. In short, everything about the battle CAN be explained. Proof of this, I predict, lies in the fields which surround the battlefield.

[@aresbless]

Never the king.... William won at Hastings period... love him or hate him... he conquered..

[@LurkingObserver]

love or hate him... he's still a bastard, usurper and genocider

[@aresbless]

Pretty sure Emma the greatest Queen your Lil isle EVER had... was the Norman claim... just history.. hail King Cnut lol... yes I'm a pompous American who's ancestors defeated the crown, whom were descendents of the conquering Normans,descended from conquering viking, Danes... so yeah.. CONQUER.....it's kinda what we do.. HISTORICALLY speakung