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As the year 1066 began, England's King, Edward the Confessor, was an old and sick man. He had been King since 1042. No one expected him to live much longer. The next King of England was usually the son or another close relation of the previous king. But even if his son could succeed a King, it was the custom for a new king to be named as heir to the throne and accepted as such by the Witan. Edward the Confessor had no children. He hadn't made his choice of successor very clear either. In medieval times, this was always likely to cause a problem!
When Edward the Confessor died, there were four main claimants to the throne:
Edgar Atheling
Edgar was the Edward's great nephew, the closest relation of Edward's. As he was only a child many people thought that he wouldn't be a good king if England were attacked.
Harold Hardrada
Hardrada had inherited land from King Canute who had once been a King of England. Hardrada said that this meant he had a right to be the King of England as well. Tostig, Harold of Wessex’s brother, supported him. Hardrada was very powerful as he was already the King of Norway.
Harold of Wessex
Harold was the most powerful man in England as Wessex was a very rich and important area. On his deathbed Edward is said to have promised Harold the crown. He was the favourite of many English Thanes who would choose the next King: in 1066 you didn't have to be the closest relation to be the next monarch.
William of Normandy
William said that Edward had promised him the crown of England. William claimed that Harold of Wessex had vowed to help him become King. As Duke of Normandy, William was used to ruling a large land.
If this situation occurred today, one of these candidates would be the obvious choice as monarch. Following the rules of succession that are now in place, Edgar Atheling would have been crowned King of England, as he was the closest blood relation to the late monarch.
With Edgar dismissed by the Witan as being unsuited to the job of running the country, there were three extremely powerful contenders for the throne of England. Each had a strong claim. Harold Hardrada was able to point to his ancestry to show that he had a hereditary claim to the throne. Harold of Wessex had held a role under Edward that is best described as him being, 'deputy king'. William of Normandy's claim was based on promises made by Edward and Godwinson, though he also had the support of the Pope, the head of the Roman Catholic Church.
How does this lead to 1066 being important though? Surely a King was chosen and that was that. Not quite. Edward the Confessor died on January 5th 1066, in London. On the 6th, Harold Godwinson had himself crowned King of England. Coronations are usually months after the death of a King, not hours! There was certainly something bothering him, otherwise, why rush? The reason for the rush became apparent as the year progressed. Both Hardrada and the Duke of Normandy were incensed by the quick actions of Harold Godwinson. Even members of the Godwinson family were willing to complain about it! Tostig, Harold’s younger brother, led a small attack in his frustration at Harold. Upon being beaten away, he sailed to join the King of Norway. Together they made plans to invade England and take the crown by force.
Over the English Channel, in Normandy, the response had been much the same. William was furious. He sent envoys to the pope, other Kings and mighty Dukes explaining why he should have been crowned King. Many of these men agreed with him, and they were willing to send men, weapons and food to aid William in a quest to take the crown from Harold.
Now Harold Godwinson had a massive problem on his hands. Far across the North Sea he knew that there was a large Norwegian fleet being prepared to attack England. They'd probably land in Northumberland or Yorkshire and march on the city of York. If they captured the city, the North of the country was all but theirs. As if that wasn't problem enough, he also had his old hunting partner, William of Normandy, to think about. Harold knew from first hand experience just how effective a leader William was, and here he was, faced with his old friend about to launch a fleet across the channel to try and steal his crown.
So what should Harold do? Defend the Northern coast to protect York and Durham? That would leave the route to London clear for William if his invasion happened first. Defend the south then and protect Winchester, London and St. Albans, the three cities most closely associated with government? Harold was in a tricky position. If he guarded one place, the other was all but lost. If he sat in the midlands and waited for news of invasion, the same was true, either invader could capture vital cities before he arrived if they acted quickly.
The 'What happened next' part of the story will be acted out in class, to show you how Harold did act. Be warned though, it involves lots of blood, guts and quite a few crowns!
The follow-up exercise that will be done by some groups (those who can access
rooms large enough) can be found on the excellent history teachers' resource
website at http://thinkinghistory.co.uk/resources/eventsof1066.htm
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