Harold (14 page)

It was probably as part of the need to foster support in his new earldom that Harold, at around this time, had contracted a marriage with Edith ‘Swan-neck’, also known as Edith the Fair. She brought wide lands valued for tax at £366 in Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Suffolk, Essex and Cambridgeshire, to her husband’s support. This support was undoubtedly of considerable assistance to Harold, particularly the extensive lands held by Edith and the large number of men commended to her in Cambridgeshire, a county where he himself had relatively few of either.
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Harold seems to have added to his East Anglian estates following the forfeiture of his brother Swein in 1047, since when Swein sought restoration in 1049, Harold and his cousin Beorn opposed this declaring that ‘they would give up to [Swein] nothing that the king had given them’. Although Swein was eventually, temporarily, restored a year later, Harold no longer raised any objection and so may either have retained the lands he had gained from Swein’s forfeiture or, more probably, he received compensation from the estates of his murdered cousin Beorn. Unfortunately, we have no direct information about where these estates lay but the fact that Earl Beorn held authority in Hertfordshire, and so perhaps lands as well, may provide a clue. It is possible that it was at this point that Harold began to extend his landholdings into Hertfordshire and the surrounding shires; by 1066 he held extensive lands in this area but never, as far as we know, the authority of earl.
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In this way Harold gradually became one of the most powerful landholders in eastern England and, as such, attracted a considerable following. It is fortunate that the Domesday Book entries for the counties of Harold’s East Anglian earldom preserve fairly full records of such commended men, who included some forty-five named men and one woman, and many unnamed, with land valued at around £230 in all. These individuals included Wulfric the Priest, who held 14 acres of land valued at 5
s
at Plunkers Green in Essex; Uhtred, who held 2 estates of 4 carucates valued at £6 in total at Houghton and Newton in Suffolk; Ordgar, who held 2 estates of 6 hides valued at £12 in total at Sawston and Harston in Cambridgeshire; and the single named woman, Aelflaed, who held 3 estates of 6 carucates valued at £14 in total at Wickham Skeith, Stonham and Willisham in Suffolk. In one instance, we are supplied with an example of the kind of circumstances which led such men to seek Harold’s support. Stanwine of Peasenhall in Suffolk sought Harold’s support during the outlawry of his previous lord, Eadric of Laxfield. Stanwine subsequently returned to Eadric’s patronage, presumably after the latter’s restoration but with Harold’s permission. In addition to these freemen and minor
thegns
, Harold also sought and obtained the adherence of more important men. These included Leofwine of Bacton, who held extensive lands, in Suffolk and Essex from the king. Leofwine, in common with a number of other significant local landowners, although a royal
thegn
, was also commended to Harold for his estate at Bacton and so was, to an extent, Harold’s man as well. Another of these prominent local men was Eadric the Steersman, a royal
thegn
and the commander of a royal ship, who held his estate at Blakeney in Norfolk in commendation to Harold.
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Other men greater than these also sought Earl Harold’s favour, some even presenting him with gifts or bequests to secure this, while he in turn issued rewards for service. Ansgar the
Staller
made a gift to Harold of his estate of Leighs in Essex, 2½ hides valued at £4. Ansgar was a royal
staller
and a very powerful man, holding extensive estates throughout eastern England valued at £447 and with men commended to him holding lands valued at a further £205. Ansgar’s gift was perhaps made in return for Harold’s support for the retention of his other remaining lands after his father Athelstan’s forfeiture, noted above, or for the recovery of some of his father’s lost lands. In turn, Harold presented the Leighs estate to Scalpi, his
huscarl
, as a reward for service. A lady named Wulfgyth bequeathed an estate worth 8
s
at Fritton in Norfolk to Harold. In turn, he appears to have passed this land to one of his local supporters, Eadric of Laxfield, who held it in 1066. Harold’s link to Eadric seems clear from his fostering of Eadric’s men during the latter’s exile, as indicated by the example of Stanwine of Peasenhall. Eadric was another powerful local lord with extensive estates in Norfolk and Suffolk valued at £191 and with men commended to him holding lands valued at a further £224. These powerful lords must have provided key supporters for Earl Harold. Similarly, lesser men also sought Harold’s favour with gifts; Lady Wulfgyth’s son, Ketel, bequeathed a half estate at ‘Moran’ in Norfolk to Harold, while Thurstan, son of Wine, bequeathed him a half mark of gold.
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It was by such grants and bequests that these people and many others hoped to secure the support and protection of Earl Harold. In return, the support of such local men permitted Harold to govern his earldom and to raise forces from it, for example, to join the royal fleet in 1049, and to support his father, initially, during his dispute with King Edward in 1051. In the latter case, however, Harold’s authority proved insufficient to hold the loyalty of these men in the face of an open confrontation with the king. This reveals the latent strength of the king’s position in disputes with his earls. The king was the lord of all royal
thegns
and could summon them to his aid and although commended to other lords they would normally obey their king, as happened in 1051. The exception came, perhaps, in cases where such men believed that an injustice had been done; when this happened they might well withhold their support as they did in 1052.

It is clear that Earl Harold had already become a wealthy and powerful man as Earl of East Anglia and his forfeiture, along with that of the rest of his family, in 1051–2 was therefore a disaster of unprecedented proportions. It put Harold in much the same position as his father had been back in 1009. Godwine, having already recovered from such a position once, was perhaps more confident about his ability to do so a second time. In contrast, this crisis probably brought home to Harold the need to avoid such a situation arising again, and he resolved to maintain a close relationship with the king. It was fortunate for Harold that his downfall proved transient and that, as the Chronicle makes clear, in 1052 he was restored to ‘all that [he] held before’.
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Following his restoration, new opportunities to increase his land and influence soon fell to Harold as a result of the deaths, in quick succession, of his elder brother Swein and his father, Earl Godwine. Swein’s death made Harold his father’s principal heir and as such, on the latter’s death in 1053, Harold must have inherited the largest proportion of Godwine’s private estates. Unfortunately, there is no direct evidence to confirm this. Harold’s brothers, Tosti, Gyrth and Leofwine, must also have received a share so that Polhampton in Hampshire, granted to Godwine by Cnut, passed to Tosti. In addition, Harold’s mother, Gytha, may have retained a life interest in a number of Godwine’s former estates, and this was perhaps the reason for the latter’s appearance in Domesday Book. More importantly, Harold also succeeded his father as Earl of Wessex and so came into possession of the extensive lands of this great earldom. Thus he came into possession of such comital estates as Aldermaston in Berkshire, Puddleton in Dorset, Old Cleeve in Somerset and Morehampstead in Devon. It was undoubtedly this dual increase in landholding that made Harold the most powerful man in England after the king, with lands valued at £1,633 in the shires of Wessex.
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On succeeding to his new earldom of Wessex, Harold ‘resigned the one he had previously held’ in East Anglia. Nevertheless, he continued to hold extensive lands in Norfolk, Suffolk, and especially Essex until 1066 and some have seen this as an appropriation of comital estates. There exists no definite proof of this, and, as has been noted above, these lands could have been granted by King Edward to his brother-in-law as private estates, which Harold was therefore entitled to retain after surrendering the lands of the earldom itself. It seems unlikely, too, that Earl Aelfgar, the new Earl of East Anglia, would have accepted a truncated earldom given the sensitivity he appeared to show towards his rights, and which, incidentally, would probably result in his exile in 1055 and 1058. The evidence is rather that clearly established comital lands passed to Harold’s successors, so that, for example, his brother Gyrth held the ‘third penny’ of Ipswich in 1066. In this context it is possible that the distinction between official and private estates may have become blurred during the period following the Danish conquest. It is probable that King Cnut, as a foreigner, was less conscious or less respectful of the niceties of previous distinctions between official and private lands. As a result, he may have granted away lands previously associated with earldoms as private estates. This may be why we find a number of clearly comital estates, those associated with the payment of the ‘third penny’, in the hands of individuals who had no right to them. It is thus possible that some lands in East Anglia, which appear to show signs of having once been comital estates, came to Harold as private grants. Unfortunately, in view of the limited evidence available, it is unlikely that a final conclusion can be reached in this matter.
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One fact that is certain is that, although Harold surrendered his East Anglian earldom, many men of that earldom, including those listed on pp. 70–1, remained supportive of Harold. The reason for this is clearly that Harold was seen as a rising star and it therefore made sense for these men to maintain their links with him. As Harold’s power increased as Earl of Wessex, so the protection and patronage he could offer these men increased and they wanted to secure their share of this.

Earl Harold would gain further lands on the death of Earl Ralph in 1057, when part of his former earldom passed to Harold. It was then that Harold probably acquired his extensive lands and rights valued at £201 in Herefordshire and Gloucestershire. A large part of these appear to have been directly associated with the office of earl, including Much Cowarne and Burghill in Herefordshire and the ‘third penny’ of the burghs of Winchecombe and Hereford. These lands and rights had probably previously been held by Ralph and by Harold’s brother Swein, when they governed this area before him. Harold may also have gained from the exile of his brother Tosti in 1065 as he is recorded as holding extensive lands valued at £308 in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire, although he personally never held any authority in these northern shires, but there is nothing to confirm this.
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Alongside the direct acquisition of land in southern and western England, Earl Harold also won the support of many men in these areas, as he had done in East Anglia. Unfortunately, the Domesday Book entries for many shires in Harold’s Wessex earldom fail to record men commended to Harold and we can only identify a small portion of these individuals. Many of these men no doubt previously supported Earl Godwine. Thus Azur, a royal
thegn
who held lands valued at £271 throughout central Wessex, held lands in Sussex valued at £32 from Godwine and others valued at a further £18 from Harold. Harold’s own supporters in Wessex included freemen like Thorkell, who held an estate of 1 virgate valued at 10
s
at Rotherbridge in Sussex, Thorgils, who held an estate of 9 hides at Ashtead in Surrey valued at £10, and Thorbert, who held an estate of 8 hides at Ashton-under-Hill in Gloucestershire. In addition to these freemen and smaller
thegns
, Harold sought to secure support from more important men, just as he had done in East Anglia. These included Thurkill White, who held lands valued at £68 almost entirely in Herefordshire and largely from Harold himself, and royal
thegns
such as Cypping, who held lands valued at £136 in Hampshire but who also held an estate of 5 hides valued at £5 at Silchester from Harold, and Eadmer
Atre
, who held lands valued at £142 in Wessex and the East Midlands but who held an estate of 13 hides valued at £24 at Berkhampstead in Hertfordshire from Harold. Like those in East Anglia, these men were all to an extent men of Harold.
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Harold also sought the support of other great men such as Eadnoth the
Staller
, who held extensive estates in western Wessex valued at £154, and Aethelnoth
Cild
, who held extensive estates in Kent and eastern Wessex valued at £260. In order to win over these men Harold was prepared to offer generous gifts, and his influential backing in legal disputes. He presented Eadnoth with land valued at £1 at Islington in Dorset, which had been taken from a cleric, and Eadnoth also held other lands from him. He provided his support to Aethelnoth
Cild
in holding on to ‘Merclesham’ and Hawkhurst in Kent, against the claims of St Martin’s Church at Dover.

All of these men, however great themselves, contributed their support to Harold in varying degrees and so ensured his firm control of southern England. They would later support his invasion of Wales and his attempt on the throne, and thereafter would fight to defend his kingship.
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The dispute between Aethelnoth
Cild
and St Martin’s leads us to consider another way in which Harold may have built up his lands – acquisition from the Church. It was a fairly common occurrence throughout this period that churches had to fight hard to retain their lands against encroachment by powerful and unscrupulous laymen. Earl Godwine, certainly, had an unenviable reputation in this respect, having undoubtedly obtained lands at Folkestone in Kent, from Christ Church, Canterbury, which the author of the
Vita Eadwardi
freely admitted rightfully belonged to the archbishopric. It has also been suggested that Godwine may have been involved in the illegal dissolution of Berkeley Abbey and as a result, his wife, Countess Gytha, is said to have refused to consume any produce from its former lands, presumably in fear of God’s retribution. In Harold’s own case, twenty-three claims of the loss of Church lands are recorded against him in Domesday Book, and a further three are noted elsewhere. This seems rather a large number at first sight. The lands concerned range from one hide in Cornwall, recorded as taken from St Petroc’s Church, to some fifty hides in Somerset, claimed by the Bishop of Wells. The accusations appear particularly serious in those cases where the sources tell of lands taken ‘wrongfully’, and in some instances ‘by force’ or ‘through violence’.
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