HAROLD II

also called Harold Godwineson, or Godwinson born c. 1020 died Oct. 14, 1066, near Hastings, Sussex, Eng. Harold II, silver penny with design attributed to Theodoric, 1066; in the National Portrait last Anglo-Saxon king of England. A strong ruler and a skilled general, he held the crown for nine months in 1066 before he was killed at the Battle of Hastings by Norman invaders under William the Conqueror. Harold's father, Godwine, Earl of Wessex and Kent, was the most powerful man in the kingdom early in the reign of Edward the Confessor (104266). About 1044 Godwine obtained for Harold the earldom of East Anglia. In 1051 Edward banished Godwine and his sons for defying royal authority, but Harold led the forces that in 1052 invaded England and forced the king to restore the family. Upon Godwine's death in 1053, Harold succeeded to his father's earldoms and became the chief power in the land. By 1057 he had obtained earldoms for his three brothers, Tostig, Gyrth, and Leofwine. His only rival was the house of Leofric of Mercia. Leofric's outlawed son, Aelfgar, raided Mercia with help from the Welsh, and in retaliation Harold and Tostig subjugated Wales in 1063. In 1065 the Northumbrians revolted against Tostig, their earl. Bowing to rebel demands, Harold gave Tostig's earldom to Morcar of the house of Mercia, but by doing so he made Tostig his bitterest enemy. Nevertheless, Harold's position remained unshaken. On his deathbed Edward the Confessor had supposedly designated Harold the royal heir. Earlier, Edward had, however, promised the crown to William, Duke of Normandy. Moreover, Harold himself, when shipwrecked on the coast of Normandy, had been forced to promise to support William's claim. Hence, when Harold assumed power on the death of Edward (Jan. 5, 1066), he was immediately threatened with the rivalry of William and another royal claimant, Harald III Hardraade, king of Norway, as well as with the enmity of Tostig. In May, Harold mobilized his fleet and army against an expected invasion by William. Instead, he had to use his forces to repel Tostig's raids on the south and east coasts of England. He dismissed his men in early September because he had run short of supplies. Thus, William was free to cross the English Channel unopposed. Tostig and Harald III Hardraade joined forces and invaded England in that month, but they were defeated and killed by Harold at Stamford Bridge, near York, on September 25. Three days later William landed in England. Harold attacked him near Hastings on October 14, and in an all-day battle the king, Gyrth, and Leofwine were killed. The accession of William to the English throne as King William I ended the Anglo-Saxon phase of English history.