Tostig Godwinson
Encyclopedia
Tostig Godwinson was an Anglo-Saxon
Earl of Northumbria
and brother of King Harold Godwinson
, the last crowned english King of England.
(d. 1053), Earl of Wessex and Kent, and Gytha
, daughter of Thorgils Sprakaleg. In 1051, he married Judith
, the daughter of Count Baldwin IV, half-sister of Baldwin V of Flanders, and aunt of Matilda
who married William the Conqueror
. The Domesday Book
recorded twenty-six vills or townships as being held by Earl Tostig forming the Manor of Hougun.
Tostig appears to have governed in Northumbria with some difficulty. He was never popular with the Northumbrian ruling class, a mix of Danish invaders and Anglo Saxon survivors of the last Norse invasion. Tostig was said to have been heavy handed with those who resisted his rule, including the murder of several members of leading Northumbrian families. In late 1063 or early 1064, Tostig had Gamal, son of Orm and Ulf, son of Dolfin, assassinated when they visited him under safe conduct. Also, the Vita Edwardi, otherwise sympathetic to Tostig, states that he had 'repressed [the Northumbrians] with the heavy yoke of his rule'.
He was also frequently absent at the court of King Edward in the south, and possibly showed a lack of leadership against the raiding Scots. Their king was a personal friend of Tostig, and Tostig's unpopularity made it difficult to raise local levies to combat them. He resorted to using a strong force of Danish mercenaries (housecarles) as his main force, an expensive and resented policy (the housecarles' leaders were later slaughtered by rebels). Local biases probably also played a part. Tostig was from the south of England, a distinctly different culture from the north, which had not had a southern earl in several lifetimes. In 1063, still immersed in the confused local politics of Northumbria, his popularity apparently plummeted. Many of the inhabitants of Northumbria were Danes, who had enjoyed lesser taxation than in other parts of England. Yet the wars in Wales, of which Tostig's constituents were principal beneficiaries, needed to be paid for. Tostig had been a major commander in these wars attacking in the north while his brother Harold marched up from the south.
s of Yorkshire and the rest of Yorkshire descended on York and occupied the city. They killed Tostig's officials and supporters, then declared Tostig outlawed for his unlawful actions and sent for Morcar, younger brother of Edwin
, Earl of Mercia
. The northern rebels marched south to press their case with King Edward. They were joined at Northampton by Earl Edwin and his forces. There, they were met by Earl Harold, who had been sent by King Edward to negotiate with them and thus did not bring his forces. After Harold, by then the king's right hand man, had spoken with the rebels at Northampton, he realized that Tostig would not be able to retain Northumbria. When he returned to Oxford, where the royal council was to meet on 28 October, he had probably already made up his mind.
Tostig took ship with his family and some loyal thegns and took refuge with his brother-in-law, Count Baldwin V. He even attempted to form an alliance with William. Baldwin provided him with a fleet and he landed in the Isle of Wight in May 1066, where he collected money and provisions. He raided the coast as far as Sandwich
but was forced to retreat when King Harold called out land and naval forces. He moved north and after an unsuccessful attempt to get his brother Gyrth to join him, he raided Norfolk
and Lincolnshire
. The Earls Edwin and Morcar defeated him decisively. Deserted by his men, he fled to his sworn brother, King Malcolm III of Scotland
. Tostig spent the summer of 1066 in Scotland.
He made contact with King Harald III Hardrada of Norway and persuaded him to invade England. One of the sagas claims that he sailed for Norway, and greatly impressed the Norwegian king and his court, managing to sway a decidedly unenthusiastic Harald, who had just concluded a long and inconclusive war with Denmark, into raising a levy to take the throne of England. With Hardrada's aid, Tostig sailed up the Humber
and defeated Morcar and Edwin at Gate Fulford
.
, taking hostages after a peaceful surrender, and likely agreed with the local inhabitants to gather commandeered supplies at Stamford Bridge, near York, a conveniently central spot, well fed by streams and roads. King Harold Godwinson raced northward with an English army from London and, on 25 September 1066, surprised Tostig and about 6,000 of his men, basking in the sun and awaiting supplies. The Norwegians, and the Flemish mercenaries hired by Tostig, were largely without armor and carried only personal weapons. The day was very hot and no resistance was expected. The remainder of the 11,000 man force remained guarding the Norse ships, beached miles away at Riccall. After a brief meeting of the two kings, where Harald refused to surrender, and Tostig to abandon him, a long battle ensued. Despite making a brave stand, and reinforced late in the day by a desperate, sweating column from Riccall, the Norwegians suffered a complete and utter defeat. Tostig was killed in the battle, along with Harald Hardrada. Fewer than twenty of the three hundred Norwegian ships returned home.
. Tostig's two sons took refuge in Norway, while his wife Judith married Duke Welf
of Bavaria
.
His two sons with Judith:
Popular (as opposed to scholarly) non-fiction books that cover Tostig's life and role in history include:
Tostig in fiction
Tostig features in the novels The Last English King
(2000), by Julian Rathbone
(where he is depicted as Edward the Confessor
's catamite
), Harold, The Last of the Saxon Kings, by Edward Bulwer-Lytton, The King's Shadow, by Elizabeth Alder, The Interim King, by J. Colman McMillan, Warriors of the Dragon Gold, by Ray Bryant, and God's Concubine book 2 of The Troy Game series by Sara Douglass, The Bastard King by Jean Plaidy.
On screen, Tostig was portrayed by actor Frederick Jaeger
in the two-part BBC
TV play Conquest (1966), part of the series Theatre 625
.
Tostig also appeared in the Channel 4 documentary, 1066: The Battle for Middle Earth.
Anglo-Saxons
Anglo-Saxon is a term used by historians to designate the Germanic tribes who invaded and settled the south and east of Great Britain beginning in the early 5th century AD, and the period from their creation of the English nation to the Norman conquest. The Anglo-Saxon Era denotes the period of...
Earl of Northumbria
Earl of Northumbria
Earl of Northumbria was a title in the Anglo-Danish, late Anglo-Saxon, and early Anglo-Norman period in England. The earldom of Northumbria was the successor of the ealdormanry of Bamburgh, itself the successor of an independent Bernicia. Under the Norse kingdom of York, there were earls of...
and brother of King Harold Godwinson
Harold Godwinson
Harold Godwinson was the last Anglo-Saxon King of England.It could be argued that Edgar the Atheling, who was proclaimed as king by the witan but never crowned, was really the last Anglo-Saxon king...
, the last crowned english King of England.
Early life
Tostig was the third son of GodwinGodwin, Earl of Wessex
Godwin of Wessex , was one of the most powerful lords in England under the Danish king Cnut the Great and his successors. Cnut made him the first Earl of Wessex...
(d. 1053), Earl of Wessex and Kent, and Gytha
Gytha Thorkelsdóttir
Gytha Thorkelsdottir , also called Githa, was the daughter of Thorgil Sprakling . She married the Anglo-Saxon nobleman Godwin of Wessex....
, daughter of Thorgils Sprakaleg. In 1051, he married Judith
Judith of Flanders, Countess of Northumbria
Judith of Flanders, Countess of Northumbria, and later Duchess of Bavaria was the wife firstly of Tostig Godwinson, Earl of Northumbria, and secondly of Welf I, Duke of Bavaria...
, the daughter of Count Baldwin IV, half-sister of Baldwin V of Flanders, and aunt of Matilda
Matilda of Flanders
Matilda of Flanders was the wife of William the Conqueror and, as such, Queen consort of the Kingdom of England. She bore William nine/ten children, including two kings, William II and Henry I.-Marriage:...
who married William the Conqueror
William I of England
William I , also known as William the Conqueror , was the first Norman King of England from Christmas 1066 until his death. He was also Duke of Normandy from 3 July 1035 until his death, under the name William II...
. The Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
recorded twenty-six vills or townships as being held by Earl Tostig forming the Manor of Hougun.
Earl of Northumbria
In 1051, Tostig and his father were banished from England to which they forcefully returned in 1052. Three years later in 1055, Tostig became the Earl of Northumbria upon the death of Earl Siward.Tostig appears to have governed in Northumbria with some difficulty. He was never popular with the Northumbrian ruling class, a mix of Danish invaders and Anglo Saxon survivors of the last Norse invasion. Tostig was said to have been heavy handed with those who resisted his rule, including the murder of several members of leading Northumbrian families. In late 1063 or early 1064, Tostig had Gamal, son of Orm and Ulf, son of Dolfin, assassinated when they visited him under safe conduct. Also, the Vita Edwardi, otherwise sympathetic to Tostig, states that he had 'repressed [the Northumbrians] with the heavy yoke of his rule'.
He was also frequently absent at the court of King Edward in the south, and possibly showed a lack of leadership against the raiding Scots. Their king was a personal friend of Tostig, and Tostig's unpopularity made it difficult to raise local levies to combat them. He resorted to using a strong force of Danish mercenaries (housecarles) as his main force, an expensive and resented policy (the housecarles' leaders were later slaughtered by rebels). Local biases probably also played a part. Tostig was from the south of England, a distinctly different culture from the north, which had not had a southern earl in several lifetimes. In 1063, still immersed in the confused local politics of Northumbria, his popularity apparently plummeted. Many of the inhabitants of Northumbria were Danes, who had enjoyed lesser taxation than in other parts of England. Yet the wars in Wales, of which Tostig's constituents were principal beneficiaries, needed to be paid for. Tostig had been a major commander in these wars attacking in the north while his brother Harold marched up from the south.
Deposition of Tostig Godwinson by his brother Harold and the thegns of Northumbria
On 3 October 1065, the thegnThegn
The term thegn , from OE þegn, ðegn "servant, attendant, retainer", is commonly used to describe either an aristocratic retainer of a king or nobleman in Anglo-Saxon England, or as a class term, the majority of the aristocracy below the ranks of ealdormen and high-reeves...
s of Yorkshire and the rest of Yorkshire descended on York and occupied the city. They killed Tostig's officials and supporters, then declared Tostig outlawed for his unlawful actions and sent for Morcar, younger brother of Edwin
Edwin, Earl of Mercia
Edwin was the elder brother of Morcar, Earl of Northumbria, son of Ælfgār, Earl of Mercia and grandson of Leofric, Earl of Mercia. He succeeded to his father's title and responsibilities on Ælfgār's death in 1062...
, Earl of Mercia
Mercia
Mercia was one of the kingdoms of the Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy. It was centred on the valley of the River Trent and its tributaries in the region now known as the English Midlands...
. The northern rebels marched south to press their case with King Edward. They were joined at Northampton by Earl Edwin and his forces. There, they were met by Earl Harold, who had been sent by King Edward to negotiate with them and thus did not bring his forces. After Harold, by then the king's right hand man, had spoken with the rebels at Northampton, he realized that Tostig would not be able to retain Northumbria. When he returned to Oxford, where the royal council was to meet on 28 October, he had probably already made up his mind.
Exile and rebellion
Harold Godwinson persuaded the King Edward the Confessor to agree to the demands of the rebels. Tostig was outlawed a short time later, possibly early in November, because he refused to accept his deposition as commanded by Edward. This led to the fatal confrontation and enmity between the two Godwinsons. At a meeting of the king and his council, Tostig publicly accused Harold of fomenting the rebellion. Harold was keen to unify England in the face of the grave threat from William of Normandy, who had openly declared his intention to take the English throne. It was likely that Harold had exiled his brother to ensure peace and loyalty in the north. Tostig, however, remained unconvinced and plotted vengeance.Tostig took ship with his family and some loyal thegns and took refuge with his brother-in-law, Count Baldwin V. He even attempted to form an alliance with William. Baldwin provided him with a fleet and he landed in the Isle of Wight in May 1066, where he collected money and provisions. He raided the coast as far as Sandwich
Sandwich, Kent
Sandwich is a historic town and civil parish on the River Stour in the Non-metropolitan district of Dover, within the ceremonial county of Kent, south-east England. It has a population of 6,800....
but was forced to retreat when King Harold called out land and naval forces. He moved north and after an unsuccessful attempt to get his brother Gyrth to join him, he raided Norfolk
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
and Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...
. The Earls Edwin and Morcar defeated him decisively. Deserted by his men, he fled to his sworn brother, King Malcolm III of Scotland
Malcolm III of Scotland
Máel Coluim mac Donnchada , was King of Scots...
. Tostig spent the summer of 1066 in Scotland.
He made contact with King Harald III Hardrada of Norway and persuaded him to invade England. One of the sagas claims that he sailed for Norway, and greatly impressed the Norwegian king and his court, managing to sway a decidedly unenthusiastic Harald, who had just concluded a long and inconclusive war with Denmark, into raising a levy to take the throne of England. With Hardrada's aid, Tostig sailed up the Humber
Humber
The Humber is a large tidal estuary on the east coast of Northern England. It is formed at Trent Falls, Faxfleet, by the confluence of the tidal River Ouse and the tidal River Trent. From here to the North Sea, it forms part of the boundary between the East Riding of Yorkshire on the north bank...
and defeated Morcar and Edwin at Gate Fulford
Battle of Fulford
The Battle of Fulford took place at the village of Fulford, near York in England on 20 September 1066, when King Harald III of Norway - also known as Harald Hardrada and Tostig Godwinson, his English ally, fought and defeated the Northern Earls Edwin and Morcar. Tostig was Harold Godwinson's...
.
Battle of Stamford Bridge
Hardrada's army invaded YorkYork
York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...
, taking hostages after a peaceful surrender, and likely agreed with the local inhabitants to gather commandeered supplies at Stamford Bridge, near York, a conveniently central spot, well fed by streams and roads. King Harold Godwinson raced northward with an English army from London and, on 25 September 1066, surprised Tostig and about 6,000 of his men, basking in the sun and awaiting supplies. The Norwegians, and the Flemish mercenaries hired by Tostig, were largely without armor and carried only personal weapons. The day was very hot and no resistance was expected. The remainder of the 11,000 man force remained guarding the Norse ships, beached miles away at Riccall. After a brief meeting of the two kings, where Harald refused to surrender, and Tostig to abandon him, a long battle ensued. Despite making a brave stand, and reinforced late in the day by a desperate, sweating column from Riccall, the Norwegians suffered a complete and utter defeat. Tostig was killed in the battle, along with Harald Hardrada. Fewer than twenty of the three hundred Norwegian ships returned home.
Aftermath
After his death at Stamford Bridge, it is believed that his body was taken to York and buried at York MinsterYork Minster
York Minster is a Gothic cathedral in York, England and is one of the largest of its kind in Northern Europe alongside Cologne Cathedral. The minster is the seat of the Archbishop of York, the second-highest office of the Church of England, and is the cathedral for the Diocese of York; it is run by...
. Tostig's two sons took refuge in Norway, while his wife Judith married Duke Welf
Welf I, Duke of Bavaria
Welf I was duke of Bavaria from 1070 to 1077 and from 1096 to his death. He was the first member of the Welf branch of the House of Este. In the Welf genealogy he is counted as Welf IV.-Life and reign:...
of Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
.
His two sons with Judith:
- Skuli Tostisson Kongsfostre (born 1052) - Whose great-great-granddaughter Helena Guttormsdotter was the mistress of Valdemar II of DenmarkValdemar II of DenmarkValdemar II , called Valdemar the Victorious or Valdemar the Conqueror , was the King of Denmark from 1202 until his death in 1241. The nickname Sejr is a later invention and was not used during the King's own lifetime...
and mother of Valdemar's son Canute, Duke of RevalCanute, Duke of RevalCanute or Knud Valdemarsen was a Danish bastard son of King Valdemar II of Denmark, who became Duke of Revelia, Blekinge and Lolland.Canute was the son of the king by his concubine, Helena Guttormsdotter, widow of Danish nobleman Esbern Snare and daughter of the late Guttorm, Riksjarl of Sweden....
. He was also the patrilineal great-great-grandfather of king Inge II of NorwayInge II of Norwayalign=right|Inge Baardson was king of Norway from 1204 to 1217. His reign was within the later stages of the period known in Norwegian history as the age of civil wars. Inge was the king of the birkebeiner faction...
and duke Skule BårdssonSkule BårdssonSkule Baardsson or Duke Skule was a Norwegian nobleman and claimant to the royal throne against his son-in-law, King Haakon Haakonsson. Henrik Ibsen's play Kongs-Emnerne is about the dispute between Duke Skule and King Haakon.-Biography:Skule Baardsson was born around 1189...
, father of the Norwegian Queen Consort Margrét SkúladóttirMargrét SkúladóttirMargrete Skulesdotter was a Norwegian Queen consort, spouse of king Haakon IV of Norway and Queen consort of Norway from 1225 to 1263.-Biography:...
, spouse of king Haakon IV of NorwayHaakon IV of NorwayHaakon Haakonarson , also called Haakon the Old, was king of Norway from 1217 to 1263. Under his rule, medieval Norway reached its peak....
. - Ketil Tostisson (born 1054)
Portrayal in books and films
Tostig in non-fiction booksPopular (as opposed to scholarly) non-fiction books that cover Tostig's life and role in history include:
- 1066: The Year of the Conquest (1977) by David Howarth (ISBN 0-88029-014-5)
- The Making of the King 1066 (1966) by Alan Lloyd (ISBN 0-88029-473-6)
Tostig in fiction
Tostig features in the novels The Last English King
The Last English King
The Last English King is a historical novel by English writer Julian Rathbone. The novel covers the time of the Battle of Hastings. It revolves around Walt Edwinson, a housecarl of Harold Godwinson, the last Anglo-Saxon king of England. The story starts with Walt returning to his home at Iwerne in...
(2000), by Julian Rathbone
Julian Rathbone
Julian Christopher Rathbone was an English novelist.- Life :Julian Rathbone attended Magdalene College, Cambridge, where he was a contemporary of Bamber Gascoigne and Sylvia Plath. At Cambridge he took tutorials with FR Leavis, for whom, without having ever been what might be described as a...
(where he is depicted as Edward the Confessor
Edward the Confessor
Edward the Confessor also known as St. Edward the Confessor , son of Æthelred the Unready and Emma of Normandy, was one of the last Anglo-Saxon kings of England and is usually regarded as the last king of the House of Wessex, ruling from 1042 to 1066....
's catamite
Catamite
A catamite was a handsome youth kept as a sexual companion in ancient Rome, usually in a pederastic relationship. The word derives from the proper noun Catamitus, the Latinized form of Ganymede, the beautiful Trojan youth abducted by Zeus to be his companion and cupbearer...
), Harold, The Last of the Saxon Kings, by Edward Bulwer-Lytton, The King's Shadow, by Elizabeth Alder, The Interim King, by J. Colman McMillan, Warriors of the Dragon Gold, by Ray Bryant, and God's Concubine book 2 of The Troy Game series by Sara Douglass, The Bastard King by Jean Plaidy.
On screen, Tostig was portrayed by actor Frederick Jaeger
Frederick Jaeger
Frederick Jaeger was a German-born actor who found success working in British television.Jaeger was born in Berlin, but moved to England following Adolf Hitler's rise to power in Germany. He graduated from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in 1948, and became a British citizen two years later...
in the two-part BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
TV play Conquest (1966), part of the series Theatre 625
Theatre 625
Theatre 625 is a British television drama anthology series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC2 from 1964 to 1968. It was one of the first regular programmes in the line-up of the channel, and the title referred to its production and transmission being in the higher-definition 625-line...
.
Tostig also appeared in the Channel 4 documentary, 1066: The Battle for Middle Earth.