Tostig Godwinson
Tostig Godwinson (
1026? –
September 25,
1066) was an
Anglo-Saxon earl of
Northumbria and brother of King
Harold II of England, the last Anglo-Saxon
King of England.
Tostig was born the third son of
Godwin, Earl of Wessex and Kent, and
Gytha Thorkelsdóttir. In
1051, he married Judith, the daughter of Count
Baldwin IV, half-sister of
Baldwin V of Flanders, and maternal aunt of
Matilda who married
William the Conqueror.
That same year,
1051, Tostig and his father were banished from Northumbria 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 well until 1063 when he became involved in the confused local politics of Northumbria. 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.
[Harold: The Last Anglo-Saxon King, by Ian W. Walker, 1997.] Those who violated his authority were severely punished, which made him extremely unpopular. Also, the
Vita Edwardi, otherwise sympathetic to Tostig, states that he had 'repressed [the Northumbrians] with the heavy yoke of his rule'. On 3 October 1065 the
thegns of Yorkshire and the rest of Yorkshire descended on York and occupied the city. They killed Tostig's officials and supporters. They then declared Tostig outlawed for his unlawful action and sent for
Morcar, younger brother of
Edwin, Earl of
Mercia. The Northern rebels marched southto 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 came to negotiate as he did not bring his forces. He had been sent by King Edward to open negotiations with the rebels. After Harold had spoken with the rebels at Northampton, he realised that it 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. Harold persuaded the King to agree to the demands of the rebels. Tostig was outlawed a short time later, possibly early in November, because he refuesed to accept his deposition as commanded by Edward. Tostig then took ship with his family and some loyal thegns and took refuge with his brother-in-law, Count Baldwin V. Baldwin provided him with a fleet and he landed in the Isle of Wight in May 1066 where he collected money and provisions, and he raided the coast as far as
Sandwich. King Harold called out land and naval forces and Tostig retreated. He moved north and after an unsuccessful attempt to get his brother Gyrth to join him he raided
Norfolk and and
Lincolnshire. The earls Edwin and Morcar defeated him decisively, and 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 in some way with King
Harald III Hardraade of Norway and persuaded him to invade England. With Hardraade's aid, Tostig sailed up the
Humber and defeated Earls Morcar and Edwin at
Gate Fulford. Hardraade's army invaded
York.
On
September 25,
1066, King Harold II of England (Tostig's brother) marched his army from the south of England where they were awaiting the Normans up to York and halted the Norwegian invasion at the
Battle of Stamford Bridge, in which Tostig and Harald III were killed. After the death of Tostig, his two sons took refuge in Norway, while his wife Judith married Duke
Welf of
Bavaria.
Popular (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)
*
The Last English King (
2000) by Julian Rathbone (ISBN 0-349-11385-8)
*
Harold, The Last of the Saxon Kings, by Lord Bulworth-Lytton
*
The King's Shadow, by Elizabeth Alder
*
Vikings
*
A pedigree of him; not necessarily reliable.
