Today, Paula Lofting has popped by with a post about Swegn Godwinson. I can hear you go “Swegn? Wasn’t his name Harold Godwinson?” And yes, it was Harold Godwinson – and for those interested in HIM, check out Paula’s recent release Searching for the Last Anglo-Saxon King – but today’s protagonist is Harold’s older brother, Swegn. Now I can hear you all go “But if there was an older brother why didn’t HE become king?” – read Paula’s post and you will know why. Some peeps, sadly, carry the seeds of their own destruction within.
Swegn Godwinson: The Original Bad Boy of the Anglo-Saxon Era
No historical biography of the Godwins could ever be complete without Swegn, the eldest of the brood of boys and girls that Gytha, Harold’s mother, had given birth to. Of the children Godwin sired, Swegn was the most troublesome, but he was also the son Godwin doted on the most, despite Swegn betraying him by claiming he was the son of King Cnut.
Swegn was a downright pain in the arse, but there was something about Swegn that makes me want to advocate for him. A troubled young man from boyhood, everything he did went wrong. Swegn was boastful, demanded his own way, probably spoilt, and could start an argument in an empty room.
At twenty, he had the whole world at his feet. By the time he was twenty-nine, his life was in ruins. He’d been a wild adolescent, strutting around, bragging that he was the son of Cnut. Was he? It’s a possibility, but without today’s DNA testing, nothing could be proved, and Cnut was dead and couldn’t confirm. All Swegn did was hurt his mother and no doubt his father. According to Hemming’s Cartulary, Gytha cleared herself of any infidelity by swearing an oath before a council of noblewomen.
Godwin though, acted as though nothing had happened. He advocated for Swegn with King Edward and Swegn was given the earldom of Hereford. Perhaps Godwin thought that having the responsibility would keep his son on the straight and narrow, and for about three years, it did. Then Swegn, bless his little naal-binded socks, decided to abduct a beautiful nun.
It all happened when Swegn was on his way back from helping his mate Gruffudd ap Llywelyn raid the lands of their mutual enemy, Gruffudd ap Rhydderch They had been raiding together in the south of Wales, and Swegn was loaded down with booty, and you’d think that he’d want to get hack to his base and check out his bling, but no, what he thought was a better idea was to pay a visit to an old flame, Abbess Eadgifu. As soon as he saw her, a visit was not going to be enough and he had to have her, permanently. He was an earl now, and no longer a young landless son, and perhaps she would look more kindly on him. But Eadgifu didn’t, and for a moment, his job, his status, his family, the reputation he’d tried hard to reform all went out the window. As she wouldn’t comply, he abducted her.
Swegn refused to return her to her convent. It sounds romantic, but it was likely more to do with Swegn’s impulsive need to get what he felt he deserved, than any sort of romantic notion. Thing is, Swegn had picked up the wrong woman, for who should be the patrons of Leominster, but Earl Leofric and his wife Countess Godgifu – or Lady Godiva of the naked horse ride through the high street of Coventry. It’s quite possible that Eadgifu was related to them.
It must have been quite shocking for the Godwinsons when Swegn, realising he couldn’t go back to his lands in Hereford, brought her home to mummy and daddy’s house in Bosham where they were just sitting down to a family meal. In walks brother Swegn, late for dinner as usual, with, of all things, a nun!
“Give her back, right now, Swegn!” his father says, whilst the rest of the family are thrown into varying fits of laughter or horror, whichever of their sensibilities were offended.
Edward refused to allow him to marry her, demanding Swegn release her. Swegn held on to her long enough to get her with child. Though nothing is mentioned in the chronicles, most historians believe she was the mother of Swegn’s son, Hakon, who wound up as a hostage in Normandy. Eventually, however, he had to let her go. It could be said that he must have loved her, and this was proven by his abandonment of his lands, wealth, and job. But Swegn was not one to think with his brains when they were in his trousers.
So, with his love-life and career in ruins, Swegn returned home from exile in 1049. In the meantime, the king needed to cover the area that Swegn had vacated and so divided up Swegn’s jurisdiction between his brother Harold and their cousin Beorn. Beorn was the son of their mother’s brother Ulf, who had married Cnut’s sister, Estrid. It is believed that Beorn and his brother Swein had both been brought up in England by Godwin and Gytha and by now Swein was in power in Denmark, but Beorn had sought his fortune in England aided by his Uncle Godwin. Harold was at this time, the earl of East Anglia, and Earl Beorn had lands in the south midlands.
Swegn was given an audience with King Edward, begged forgiveness and asked for his lands back. Harold and Beorn, however, were not budging, either out of disgust for their kinsman or because they want to keep the added wealth, or perhaps a bit of both. Either way, they stood before the king and gave their answers – a big fat ‘nay’.
The king handed it over to Swegn to sort it out with his brother and cousin, but they stood fast. It was another ‘no way Hosay’ and King Edward had no choice but to give him four days to get back to his ships. This infers that Swegn didn’t take the news very well and left in a fit of rage after threatening bodily harm to Harold and Beorn.
Instead of leaving, Swegn decided to go find his father. He found Godwin with his ships and Beorn was with him. With the help of Godwin, he convinced Beorn to come with him to speak to the king. Beorn, feeling a twang of guilt at his cousin’s plight, agreed to go with him for old times’ sake but insisted on taking three of his companions with him to keep him safe.
When Swegn dumped Beorn’s three friends on shore in Bosham instead of Sandwich where the king was supposed to be, Beorn started to worry. Swegn asked Beorn to come out to sea with him, perhaps with a mind to use him as a hostage. Beorn refused and ended up being bound, thrown in a boat, and taken out to Swegn’s fleet where he was forced on board Swegn’s personal ship. There they argued, may even had a fight. Something made Swegn snap, and Beorn ended up dead.
The three abandoned companions sounded the alarm and when Harold got wind of Beorn’s abduction, he sailed out looking for him. Swegn’s crews mutinied and left him with only two vessels and their men. Some days later, Beorn was found buried in a churchyard. He dug him up and brought his body to Winchester to be buried next to his uncle, the famed King Cnut who could not stop the waves.
Swegn’s crews were captured and put to death, but Swegn was forced to go before a gathering of huscarls, many of whom were Danes or of Danish extraction, and it was they who decided his fate which was to be declared Niðing, a fate worse than death. No more than a vile coward, an outlaw to be killed on sight. The wergild laws were laid down to ensure that the victim’s kin received justice, and the family of the culprit shared the shame, liable for restitution as much as the perpetrator. Swegn, as usual, had probably acted impulsively, but no amount of repenting was going to get him out of this tight spot, so he fled to Flanders where the count had a penchant for exiles from England.
Swegn? Photo: Mike South PhotographySwegn, though, was like a cat with nine lives and managed to survive another exiling thanks to the kindly Bishop Ealdred, who found Swegn on a good day, and made him see the error of his ways. Edward was persuaded to take the new repentant Swegn back and gave him land in Somerset to look after on the proviso that he kept himself out of trouble. Unfortunately for Swegn, he didn’t last long. The unruly Swegn fell foul of the king’s nephew, Earl Ralph, who was running the same Marcher lands that Swegn had been so adept at keeping contained back in the day. Ralph was building castles in the area and the two sides had come into conflict.
In 1051 Godwin and the king fell out over a thing called the Dover incident, where the king’s brother-in-law, Eustace and his men were beaten up by the people of Dover. The king demanded that Godwin punish Dover by burning the town. Godwin refused. The whole family were summoned to the king. Godwin and Swegn were obliged to give hostages, and Swegn was also exiled, probably because he had breached the terms of his probation by causing mischief with Ralph. Eventually, however, the whole family were exiled with him, and this is where the story of Swegn comes sadly to an end.
During his time in exile, Swegn, impulsive, impetuous, and imprudent eldest son of Earl Godwin, reflected on what had gone wrong in his life. He decided not to join the family when, after many months in Flanders, they decided to return with force to reclaim their lands in England. Swegn knew that his chances of getting his lands back would be better if he atoned for his sins. Deep down he knew that even a pilgrimage to Jerusalem was not going to win his life back. But it was the only option. He had lost his earlship, lost the love of his life, lost his beloved cousin, and lost the respect of the king. Moreover, he had lost the love of his family. If he didn’t go, he might as well kill himself. He left barefoot, made it to Jerusalem, and was absolved of all his sins in the church of the Holy Sepulchre. On the way home, he died. We do not know for sure how.
Information of his death reached England in the spring of 1053. It must have been distressing for Harold to see the devastating affect the news had on his parents. Swegn had left them with the hope that he was genuinely remorseful and that he would come back a changed man. What Harold thought about this we do not know, but I would be surprised if Swegn’s behaviour and Godwin’s protection of him had not affected the relationship Harold had with his father.
How Swegn spent his last moments can only be imagined, and it is easy to feel that this troubled young man had got his just desserts at last. Nonetheless, it was a sad end to what could have been a promising life, for a man who was his own worst enemy.
***
Thank you, Paula – and now on to your recent release! I must start by saying I just LOVE the cover.
Searching For The Last Anglo-Saxon King
A reexamination of Harold Godwinson explores his life, reign, and legacy, challenging Norman propaganda and historical myths.
Harold Godwinson occupied his place in the chronicles for more than twenty years after bursting onto the political sphere when he was barely out of his teens. His role in English history has always been overshadowed by his failure to defend his crown and country against the might of William the Conqueror and his invaders. His demise at the hands of a Franco-Norman hit squad wrought the death knell of Anglo-Saxon rule. Reigning for just ten months, Harold’s accomplishments as dux Anglorum, and later king of England, were undermined by the Norman propaganda that was waged against his memory, long after his grisly end in 1066.
But just who was this man, who some historians recall as one of England’s greatest rulers? What were his origins? Is there any truth that he could trace his ancestry to the House of Wessex, and did he really usurp the throne from Duke William, the Bastard of Normandy? In this re-examining of this great historical figure of the eleventh century, we glean new theories and ideas not only about Harold’s life, but also questions historians have pondered upon for years. Did Edward really offer the throne to William? And how much of William’s claim was truth or fiction?
Paula Lofting presents a thoughtful and careful critique of the previous research. Examining his life through a telescopic view of the primary sources, she offers the reader a more accurate evaluation of who he was, how he died, and what happened to his remains after his death on a field near Hastings on October 1066.
Buy it HERE!
Anna says: As yet, I haven’t read the entire book – it is quite a hefty volume with a LOT of information. I like how Paula has taken the time to present Harold’s ancestry (I just loved the heading “How Godwin became a Viking”) Being me, I must admit I leapt ahead to the final chapters of the book, the ones in which Paula discusses how Harold died and where he was buried. It always makes me tear up a bit to read of his death – and I know Paula feels the same. Kudos for maintaining a strict factual account – as factual as it can be, a thousand years after the events – when describing these pivotal (and emotionally fraught) events!
Paula Lofting in re-enactment modePaula Lofting was born in the ancient Saxon county of Middlesex in 1961. She grew up in Australia hearing stories from her dad of her homeland and its history. As a youngster she read books by Rosemary Sutcliff and Leon Garfield and her love of English history grew. At 16 her family decided to travel back to England and resettle. She was able to visit the places she’d dreamt about as a child, bringing the stories of her childhood to life. It wasn’t until later in life that Paula realised her dream to write and publish her own books. Her debut historical novel Sons of the Wolf was first published in 2012 and then revised and republished in 2016 along with the sequel, The Wolf Banner, in 2017. The third in the series, Wolf’s Bane, will be ready for publishing later this year.
In this midst of all this, Paula acquired contracts for nonfiction books with the prestigious Pen & Sword publishers. Searching for the Last Anglo-Saxon King, Harold Godwinson, England’s golden Warrior is now available to buy in all good book outlets, and she is now working on the next non-fiction book about King Edmund Ironside. She has also written a short essay about Edmund for Iain Dale’s Kings and Queens, articles for historical magazines. When she is not writing, she is a psychiatric nurse, mother of three grown up kids and grandmother of two and also re-enacts the Anglo-Saxon/Viking period with the awesome Regia Anglorum.
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