When was harold godwinson crowned king

People who seize the throne without any dynastic link are always keen to argue that they have the popular vote and that people are supporting them over any potential rivals. King Stephen did the same thing in when Henry I died. TV A new online only channel for history lovers. Sign Me Up. It took place approximately 7 miles 11 kilometres northwest of Hastings, close to the present-day town of Battle, East Sussex, and was a decisive Norman victory.

What caused the 30 year period of internecine violence in medieval England? Dan Snow narrates this animated short documentary on the events that led to 22 May - the First Battle of Saint Albans. The discovery of a Saxon coffin in the church at Bosham in the s led to much speculation that King Harold was buried here.

An exhumation had shown it to be the grave of a middle-aged man who had lost a leg, the head was also missing. A recent attempt at the exhumation of the grave was refused in December , on the reasons that the chances of establishing the identity of the body as Harold II were unlikely and therefore did not justify disturbing a burial place.

John Chapel of St. Harold II Godwinson. Coin of Harold II Harold had been elected from several candidates, including Edgar Atheling , who although he had the superior hereditary right, being Edward's great-nephew, was considered too young at the time to make an effective ruler.

Popular Saxons. Alfred the Great. Edward the Confessor. Edward the Elder. Ethelred I. Soon after, we arrive at one of the most intriguing scenes of the entire tapestry — one in which Harold is shown swearing a sacred oath upon holy relics.

William of Poitiers was in no doubt as to the answer. You might expect the Bayeux Tapestry to take a similar line to William of Poitiers, and accuse Harold of making a promise he had no intention of keeping. In fact, if a scene showing a meeting between King Edward and Harold on his return home is anything to go by, the tapestry is more aligned with the English version of events.

That scene seems to depict Edward admonishing Harold. Whatever Harold did or did not promise William during his sojourn in Normandy, the two were set on a collision course by the death of the ageing English king, Edward, in January Among the companions gathered around the ailing king is his queen, Edith.

But it is not his wife to whom Edward holds out his hand. That honour is bestowed on Harold. Norman chroniclers suggest that Edward was delirious at the point of death, his words frightening those around him. Once more, the tapestry takes an alternative view. What exactly does this mean? But he was just a boy, and probably considered too young to rule.

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