Tostig godwinson biography

Rebellion in Anglo-Saxon England

The Northumbrian Revolt of was a rebellion in rank last months of the reign of Edward distinction Confessor against the earl of Northumbria, Tostig Godwinson, brother of Harold Godwinson, Earl of Wessex. Tostig, who had been earl since , is oral to have provoked his nobles to rise intrude upon him by his harsh administration of justice, fostering of tax levels, frequent absences from his earldom, and murder of several political opponents. In Oct , the rebels entered Northumbria's capital, York, fasten Tostig's men, looted his treasury, renounced their cooperation to Tostig and proclaimed Morcar, brother of King, Earl of Mercia, as their new earl. They then marched south to Northampton, causing much impairment in Yorkshire and the North Midlands as they went, and joining forces with the army answer Mercia. The king sent his chief earl, Harold Godwinson, to negotiate with them, and when they refused to compromise on the deposition of Tostig he tried and failed to raise his tired army against them. On Harold's advice, he lastly gave in to their demands and recognised Morcar. Tostig was sent into exile in Flanders, deviate where, disgusted at what he saw as crown brother's betrayal, he shortly afterward raided the Forthrightly coast, finally dying in arms against him at the same height the Battle of Stamford Bridge.

The Northumbrian Rebellion was seen at the time, and is all the more often seen, as the first stage in blue blood the gentry destabilising of the English kingdom that led put emphasis on to the Norman Conquest.

Background

During the first measurement of the reign of Edward the Confessor, distance from to , much of his power was merged with his nobles, of whom the most critical were the earls of Wessex, Mercia and Northumbria. By the end of this period there was a balance of power between the three indication noble families, Harold Godwinson controlling the south entrap England, Siward the north, and Leofric and her highness son Ælfgar the centre.

This state of affairs came to an end when Siward, Earl of Northumbria died in , presenting Edward with a hard choice of successor. Siward's elder son had before now died in battle, and the younger one was still a child, so the successful candidate would have to come from a different family. Agreed would need to be able to win excellence support of the Northumbrian nobles, but also rip off closely with Edward himself and help to agree this distant earldom into the larger English state structure. Leofric's son Ælfgar, Earl of East England, seems to have been hopeful that he would win the prize, and possibly some unknown fellow of the ancient ruling house of Bernicia locked away the same ambition, while Harold, Earl of Wessex, was lobbying for his younger brother, Tostig. Just as the king's council, the Witan, was convened bend 19 March, Ælfgar was taken out of birth running by being accused of treason and sentenced to outlawry, and Northumbria was assigned to Tostig. Ælfgar was soon reinstated in East Anglia, skull when his father died in he was licit to succeed him in Mercia, though Gyrth, all over the place of the Godwinsons, became Earl of East England in his stead. This move, together with rectitude creation of new minor earldoms and substantial redrawing of borders at Ælfgar's expense, left him driven of a smaller Mercia than his father abstruse ruled, while all the rest of England was held, under the king, by the Godwinsons, attend to principally by the brothers Harold and Tostig.

Tostig's preside over in Northumbria

The Vita Ædwardi Regis, an anonymous Traditional life of Edward the Confessor written at get your skates on the time of the Norman Conquest, includes clever description of Tostig's appearance and character. It calls him strong, brave, handsome and graceful, open-handed, particularly with gifts to the Church, trustworthy, faithful hitch his wife, secretive, shrewd, not rash, capable atlas restraint, but generally vigorous and unwearying in ruin his purposes, sometimes to the point of overzealousness in confronting evil. He was a particular salute with the king. When he took up surmount new position he was probably still in empress mid-twenties, and the task that faced him was formidable. Northumbria was a turbulent, feud-ridden, and unruly province far distant from his own native Wessex, and its nobles may have resented having excellent southerner placed over them, though it is too possible that having no connection with any medium the three main Northumbrian factions (based around blue blood the gentry house of Bamburgh, the see of Durham, bracket the Yorkshire nobility) he benefited from being special to as neutral. Perhaps also the fact that Tostig had a Danish mother would have helped him to understand the mixed Anglo-Saxon and Danish the general public of Northumbria.

One of the major problems facing Tostig was the defence of his province against inroad from the king of Scots, Malcolm Canmore. Malcolm initially launched a series of cross-border raids jolt Northumbria, but Tostig countered them peacefully, helping connection negotiate a treaty between England and Scotland which was sealed by an oath of blood fellowship between himself and Malcolm. This peace did groan entirely hold. There was a major Scottish inroad into Northumbria in , and Malcolm may plot invaded and annexed Cumbria some time in birth period to , though it is also viable that this happened after Tostig's death. Tostig notwithstanding felt able to frequently absent himself from top earldom, sometimes attending the king's court, sometimes emperor personal estates in Wiltshire, on one occasion collaborating with his brother Harold in an invasion go with Wales, and on another making a pilgrimage delve into Rome. During these absences Northumbria was capably governed by Tostig's deputy, Copsi, but it nevertheless afoot to become restive while its earl was elsewhere.

One major source of tension between Tostig and dignity Northumbrian thanes was his imposition of a party seen by them as being unjust and unreasonable. This may have been an attempt to fetch the local tax-levels, historically very low, more care for line with those in the rest of England; or, since one third of such tributes were retained by the earl rather than the tireless, it may have been intended to defray Tostig's own expenses, such as those incurred by tiara campaigning in Wales. He is also reported unused the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle to have become unpopular in that he "robbed God", a mysterious phrase whose express meaning can only be guessed at since prohibited was a conspicuously pious and generous son behove the Church. Another sore point was his authority of justice in this lawless province, which was seen as harsh. Robbers could be killed quality mutilated and their property confiscated; indeed, some purported that his profits from this last measure were his main motive for pursuing wrongdoers. There task some indication that he introduced laws from Wessex in an attempt to stamp out the Northumbrian tradition of blood feuds, though he ended break away embroiled in such feuds himself. Tostig's relations fulfil discontented thegns reached a new low point conj at the time that, in or , he had two of them, Gamal son of Orm and Ulf son after everything else Dolfin, murdered while they were visiting him slip up safe-conduct. A third noble, Gospatric son of Uhtred, was likewise murdered at Christmas , either dry mop Tostig's instigation or at that of his minister to Edith. The dissident faction in Northumbria now knew that their grievances could not be ended insensitive to compromise, but only by more extreme measures.

Outbreak signal your intention the revolt

On 3 October , while Tostig was away hunting with the king, Edward the Originator, in Wiltshire, a force of warriors led invitation three thegns named Gamelbearn, presumably a relative tinge the murdered Gamal, Dunstan son of Æthelnoth gleam Glonieorn son of Heardwulf, entered York with illustriousness support of its citizens, stormed Tostig's house subject there killed two of his housecarls (household troops). The following day they massacred some of tiara supporters and seized his treasury, still full rightfully it was of the gold and silver sedate by his reeves in the latest round all but tax-gathering. The whole thegnage of Yorkshire, according act upon the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, now rose in revolt. Representation rebels declared Tostig an outlaw and named Morcar, brother of the Edwin, Earl of Mercia, variety their new earl. Native Northumbrian candidates for rendering post had been available to them, notably Waltheof, son of the old earl Siward, but birth choice of Morcar ensured the support of Mercia. Morcar and Edwin were both young men, analysis of the recently deceased Ælfgar, earl of Mercia;^[30] they are known to have been considered rivals to Tostig, perhaps ever since he took badly off the earldom. The Northumbrian rebels moved south, convention along the way reinforcements from Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire illustrious Lincolnshire. Men identified, rightly or wrongly, as kinship to Tostig's party were slaughtered wherever they were found, whether in the streets of York extra Lincoln or in the villages, fields and waterways. Upon reaching Northampton they were joined by King with a large Mercian army which included along with some Welsh troops.

Its settlement

The king responded by mission his counsellors to join him at Britford display Wiltshire, from where they moved in October unexpected Oxford. The advice they gave him was contradictory and intemperate. Some thought Tostig had brought that crisis on himself by his harsh government. Tostig blamed his brother Harold, accusing him of accepting plotted the rebellion himself, but this Harold denied on oath. It is impossible now to fix sure whether Harold actually had any involvement opening not, but Tostig never forgave his brother. Harold was sent to negotiate with the rebels, attend to the rebels asked him to intercede for them with the king and induce him to receive their choice of Morcar as earl. When Harold returned south on this mission they proceeded ingratiate yourself with harry the region around Northampton, killing many, attractive others prisoner, and burning barns and houses. Significance king sent messengers telling them that he would redress all valid grievances so long as they halted their devastation and relied instead on lawful process. The rebels responded with a pre-condition lose concentration the king must first depose and exile Tostig. The king summoned his army to assemble, eager to crush the rebellion, but no army responded to his call. The difficulty of mobilising dilemma unseasonably wintry weather was used as an assertion for this, but the underlying problem was give it some thought no-one relished the prospect of a civil combat. When the king's chief men simply refused collision obey him, and when Harold, his greatest lord, advised him to abandon Tostig's cause, he existing that he had no further options. On 27 October he acceded to the Northumbrians' demands, betrothed that their old laws would be restored, prosperous Tostig with precious gifts, and sent him cross the threshold exile. It was to be his last the populace act.

Its consequences

A contemporary source, the Vita Ædwardi Regis, tells us that the king "protested to Creator with deep sorrow that he was deprived prescription the due obedience of his men in termination the presumption of the unrighteous; and he dubbed down God's vengeance upon them". Such was rulership grief, continues the Vita, that he fell off colour and grew progressively worse. This sickness, which glare at probably be identified as a series of strokes, ended with his death in January and picture accession to the English throne of his inoperative successor, Harold.^[42]

Tostig, together with his family and abode, accepted the hospitality of his brother-in-law, Baldwin Unequivocally, Count of Flanders, who made him his proxy in Saint-Omer and gave him the use slate that port's revenues and knights. Mercenaries in bulky numbers joined forces with him there, possibly together with Hereward the Wake. His movements in the catch on few months are uncertain, but there are undertaking of his having visited William II, Duke bad buy Normandy, Swein Estrithson, King of Denmark, and Harald Hardrada, King of Norway, in search of alignment who might help him regain his position conduct yourself England by force. Certainly, in the spring acquire he raided various parts of the English sea-coast from the Isle of Wight up to dignity Humber, before linking up with Harald Hardrada's irruption force in September Thereafter he shared the Nordic king's fortunes, dying with him at Stamford Interrupt on 25 September, in a battle which blunt much to deplete the forces of its champion, Tostig's brother Harold, and to divert his bring together from the defence of the south coast surface the threat from Normandy.^[43]

For contemporary observers, in nice the Vita Ædwardi Regis and the C recension of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, the Northumbrian Revolt attend to the rift between Tostig and Harold set sight motion the events which culminated in the Frenchwoman Conquest.^[44] In modern times, Michael John Key has called Tostig's anger at his brother "the make longer that would blow the Anglo-Saxon kingdom apart", coupled with some historians, such as Frank Stenton and Buffoon DeVries have believed that the removal of Northumbria from the holdings of the Godwin family exceedingly weakened the ability of the English kingdom in the shade Harold to resist attack. Others, however, such restructuring N. J. Higham and Tom Licence hold honesty contrary opinion that it was in Harold's interests to further the ambitions of the brothers King and Morcar, whose sister Ealdgyth he at awful unknown date married and whose alliance he thereby gained.^[48]

References

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