Lesson video

Hello, welcome to History here at Oak National Academy.

My name's Mr. Newton and I will be your teacher for today and I'll be here to guide you through the entirety of the lesson.

So, let's get started.

We'll be thinking about our big inquiry question, who had power in Anglo-Saxon England? This is the question we will use to investigate what England was like before the Normans invaded in 1066.

We know that the Anglo-Saxons were a deeply religious people and had created a wealthy economy with their agricultural industry and international trade, and this had boosted development in the towns and villages.

We know that the king had great powers over the laws, the army and land ownership.

However, we also saw how the king had limits to his powers.

Edward the Confessor, had relied on his Earls, such as the Godwins.

He gave them land and in return they helped him to rule the country.

By the end of this lesson, you'll be able to explain why the Godwin family was so powerful in Anglo-Saxon England.

Before we begin, there are a few key words we need to understand.

The first word is exile.

Exile is when someone is sent away from their home country.

Our second word here is advisor.

An Anglo-Saxon advisor was a high ranking noble who gave advice to the monarch, such as an earl or bishop.

A successor is a person expected to inherit the throne after the monarch has died.

Our fourth word here is house.

And in this lesson a house refers to a dynasty, a group of leaders or rulers from the same family.

A chronicler is someone who writes a record of historical events.

Today's lesson is split into three parts.

We first look at Edward the Confessor becoming King of England.

Then we're going to focus on the house of Godwin and how they increased their power in England, before finally ending on why did Harold Godwinson visit Normandy? Right, let's start the lesson with Edward the Confessor.

By the time Edward became king of England in 1042, he was nearly 40 years old.

For most of his life, he had lived not in England, but in exile in Normandy.

Because he had spent most of his life in Normandy, Edward did not have an entourage of loyal followers in England.

The Earl of Wessex, Godwin, saw an opportunity.

We can see Earl Godwin in the illustration on the left with King Edward.

Earl Godwin gave Edward his support, but in return gained massive influence over the King to consolidate this relationship, Edward married Godwin's daughter Edith in 1045 and appointed Swain and Harold Godwinson, Godwin's eldest sons as Earls in Southern England.

Okay, let's have a check for understanding.

Fill in the blank with the correct key word.

Pause the video, select the correct key word and come right back.

Okay, great, welcome back.

Let's check how that sentence should have read with the correct key word inserted.

Edward the Confessor position as king was weak and he relied on the support of the House of Godwin.

Let's continue, though Edward had needed Godwin's support to become King, he also had good reason to resent him.

Godwin was suspected of having betrayed Edward's brother during the Viking invasion.

As a way of balancing the power of the Godwins, Edward strengthened his connections in Normandy.

He brought in some Norman advisors to help him rule England.

And in the spring of 1051, Edward suggested that his cousin, Duke William of Normandy, could be his successor.

We can see Duke William of Normandy in the Bayeux tapestry on the left.

Godwin clashed whipped Edwards advisors and family.

And in the summer of 1051, with England on the brink of Civil war, the house of Godwin fled into exile.

Edward, again, strengthening his Norman connections, summoned Duke William of Normandy to visit him.

This seemed to further confirm William as a potential successor, England looked likely to have a Norman as king.

In August 1052, the house of Godwin made an armed return to England.

By now, the unpopular news had spread of a possible Norman succession, and Godwin raised huge military support in England.

Edward was forced to forgive Godwin and return him and his sons to their former Earldoms. Edward's Norman friends fled the country, leaving Edward once again dependent on the support of Godwin and his family.

Okay, let's have a check for understanding.

Why did the house of Godwin flee into exile in 1051? Select three correct answers.

Was it A, England was on the brink of Civil War, B, Edward suspected that Godwin had portrayed his brother.

C, Godwin clashed with Edward's Norman advisors, D, Godwin refused to support Edward's military campaigns.

Pause the video, select the three correct answers and then come right back.

Okay, great, welcome back.

Well done if you knew it was A, England was on the brink of civil War.

This was one of the reasons why the House of Godwin flee into exile in 1051.

Second one, Edward suspected that Godwin had portrayed his brother.

And finally, Godwin clashed with Edwards Norman advisors.

Okay, let's have another check.

How did the house of Godwin regain their positions of power in 1052? Select two correct answers.

Is it A, by negotiating a peace treaty with Edward, B, with support from those who opposed a Norman successor, C, by threatening an invasion of England.

Pause the video, select the two correct answers and come right back.

Okay, great, and well done if you knew it was B, with support from those who opposed a Norman successor and C, threatening an invasion of England.

Okay, let's move on to task A.

What I want you to do is starting with the earliest, sort these events in time order.

And you can see I've given you a list of four different events on the left, and you can write these into the boxes on the right.

Pause the video, have a go at the task and come right back.

Okay, great, welcome back.

Let's check the correct time order.

So the first event was Edward becomes King of England.

Then Edward proposes William of Normandy as his successor.

Then we have Godwin clashes with Edwards Norman advisors.

And finally Godwin and his sons are returned to their Earldoms after making that armed return to England.

Okay, great, so we've now got the backstory of Edward the Confessor and the House of Godwin.

Let's now move into the second part of the lesson where we can learn how did the House of Godwin increase their power? So Earl Godwin died in 1053.

Upon his death, his son Harold Godwinson became Earl of Wessex.

Harold is also shown in the bio tapestry on the left.

With their forceful return and Edward devoting more time to religion, the house of Godwin would control most of England by the 1060s.

Let's have a look at this map.

We will use this map to show the powers of the House of Godwin.

We can already see the pink bits on the map are the lands held by the Godwinson Earls.

Now let's add Harold's Earldom to the map.

Harold was the Earl of Wessex.

Wessex was a wealthy Earldom and it gave Harold many, thegns, warrior lords loyal to him.

This obviously gave him great military power.

Edward also relied on Wessex to defend against attacks from Wales or across the English channel.

This made Harold a key advisor in the rule of Anglo-Saxon England.

So we can see from the map then that Harold and Wessex were a central part of defending the English kingdom.

However, as we know, Harold was not alone in ruling over an earldom in England.

Harold's brothers were also given Earldoms. In 1055, Tostig was made Earl of Northumbria.

This gave the house of Godwin power in the north.

In 1057, Gyrth was made Earl of East Anglia and Leofwine was also given a small earldom in the Midlands.

The House of Godwin also had military successes, which helped it to gain more power.

In the 1060s, Harold and his brother Tostig led a series of successful military campaigns in Wales, and you can see up at some soldiers in Wales on the map.

These military campaigns, one Harold many supporters and he was respected by the thegns for being a strong military leader.

It also removed potential rivals to the House of Godwin who had previously allied with the Welsh King.

These were Anglo-Saxon Earls who had teamed up with the Welsh King, which is a threat to the house of Godwin's power.

Another aspect of the house of Godwin's power was its connection to religion in England.

Harold influenced the appointments of many bishops and gave generously to many churches.

This gave him powerful connections with religious leaders in England.

And finally, Harold used political marriages to gain more power.

Harold married twice.

He had an unofficial marriage to a wealthy landowner in the east of England, Edith Swanneck, and an official marriage to another Edith called Edith the Fair.

These marriages gained him powerful relatives.

Okay, let's have a check for understanding.

I want you to complete the sentence by filling in the blank.

Pause the video, select the correct word for the blank, and then come right back.

Okay, great, welcome back.

Let's check how the correct answer should have read.

By the 1060s, the House of Godwin controlled most of England with Harold and three of his brothers each holding one or more Earldom.

Okay, let's have another check.

What role did religion play in Harold Godson's rise to power? A, he converted to Christianity for political gain.

B, he influenced the appointments of religious leaders.

C, his piety made up for his weakness as a military leader.

Pause the video, have a think and come right back.

Okay, great, welcome back.

Yes, well done if you knew that it was that Harold influenced the appointment of religious leaders.

Okay, let's move on to task B.

Why were the Godwin family so powerful in Anglo-Saxon England? So what I want you to do here is write two paragraphs based on the following, Edward's weakened position in 1052 and Harold and his brothers becoming Earls.

So write two paragraphs, one paragraph on Edward's weakened position and the second paragraph on Harold and his brothers becoming Earls.

Be sure to include lots of detailed information which carefully explains why the Godwin family was so powerful in Anglo-Saxon England.

Pause the video, have a go at the task and come right back.

Okay, great, welcome back.

Now, you could have answered that question in many ways, so your paragraphs may look slightly different from what I have, but nonetheless, check your answer with what I have here.

So for the first paragraph, the Godwin family was so powerful in Anglo-Saxon England because Edward's position was weak in 1052, although the Godwins were forced into exile in 1051, after 1052, news had spread of a possible Norman successor to the English throne.

When the Godwins returned with an invasion force, they had far more support in England than Edward had.

Edward was forced to forgive Godwin and return him and his sons to their former Earldoms. So after 1052, the House of Godwin was even more powerful and Edward was in an even weaker position than before.

So in my paragraph here, you can see that the point of the paragraph was about Edward's position being weak in 1052 and I then offer supporting detailed information about the House of Godwin's armed return to England, which explains why Edward's position was weak in 1052.

Okay, let's now look at the second paragraph.

So the point of this paragraph is Harold and his brothers becoming Earls.

So as I read through, let's see if you can identify the detailed information I'm using to support the points of Harold and his brothers becoming Earls, and how I explain why the Godwin family were so powerful in Anglo-Saxon England.

The Godwin family were also powerful due to Harold and his brothers becoming Earls.

In 1053, Harold became the Earl of Wessex, a wealthy and militarily important earldom, which gave Harold power and influence in Edwards government.

Furthermore, in 1055, Tostig was made Earl of Northumbria, given the Godwins a support base in the north.

In 1057, Gyrth and Leofwine were also given earldoms. This was important as its increased the Godwin's control over vast areas of England, and the earldoms brought wealth and command over hundreds of things.

Therefore, by 1065, the Godwin family controlled most of England and were now wealthier and possibly more powerful than King Edward himself.

So you can see in the paragraph here, I've given detailed information about Harold and his brothers becoming Earls.

I've listed Tostig, Gyrth and Leofwine the earldoms that they were given.

I've mentioned that Northumbria was given to Tostig.

So that's a detailed bit of information there.

I've also given the years that the brothers were given the earldoms, but importantly I've also explained how the distribution of these earldoms to the Godwinson brothers has increased the power of the Godwin family in Anglo-Saxon England.

How the brothers now control vast areas of land and command hundreds of thegns, which would've given them great military power too.

Okay, great.

So we've now reached the final part of the lesson.

We now understand the context of Edward the Confessor becoming King in a weakened position.

We also understand the power of the House of Godwin at this time.

Now we're gonna focus in on an important event.

Why did Harold Godwinson visit Normandy? Around 1064, Harold travelled to Normandy, however, there is speculation as to why.

So let's have a look at two versions of the story.

Norman Chroniclers claim Harold was sent by Edward the Confessor to confirm the king's promise that Duke William of Normandy was the successor to the English throne.

We can see in the image on the left, Edward speaking to Harold before sending him to Normandy.

However, this seems unlikely.

Why would Harold who held influence over Edward agree to deliver a message message that would go against his own ambitions for power in England? So let's look at an alternative interpretation of the events.

English chroniclers claim that Harold travelled to Normandy to recover his brother and nephew who were being held hostage.

It seems William may have held them as a guarantee of Edward's promise.

For a powerful earl such as Harold, who may have had ambitions to be king of England, it would've been essential to get the hostages away from harm.

It is then claimed that William made Harold's swear on holy relics that he would support William's claim to the throne.

Unable to escape, it appears Harold agreed.

Have a look at the illustration.

We can see Harold standing on the right swearing an oath to William, who is seated holding a sword on the left.

And we can see that Harold is making his oath while touching a casket containing holy relics.

Remember an oath for Anglo-Saxons was a very serious matter.

Oath breakers risked losing their status and the respect of their community, friends and family.

Regardless of the true purpose of the visit, the event was significant.

It was significant because it showed Harold as a trusted advisor.

If Edward selected him for the task, then Harold must have been a trusted advisor to the king.

It was also significant because it boosted William's claim.

It boosted Williams claim to the throne and the connection between England and Normandy.

And finally, the Normans would use the incident to damage the reputation of Harold as an oath breaker.

Once Harold became king, instead of supporting Williams's claim, the Normans then called Harold an oath breaker.

Okay, let's have a check for understanding.

What do Norman Chronicler claim Harold Godwinson did on his visit to Normandy in 1064? A, agreed to support William's invasion of England to take the crown from Edward the confessor.

B, married a Norman Noble woman in an alliance between House of Godwin and Normandy.

C, swore to an oath on holy relics to support William's claim to the English throne.

Pause the video, have a think and come right back.

Okay, welcome back and well done if you knew it was C.

Norman Chroniclers claim Harold swore to an oath on holy relics to support William's claim to the English throne.

Okay, let's have another check here.

Why is Harold Godwinson's visit to Normandy in 1064 considered to be significant by historians? Is it A, it boosted William's claim to the English throne because of an oath that Harold swore to William.

B, it led to Harold's conversion to Norman customs. When he returned to England, he championed religious reforms. C, it was the first diplomatic mission between England and Normandy, which had previously been at war.

Pause the video, have a think and come right back.

Okay, welcome back.

Well done if you knew it was A, it boosted William's claim to the English throne because of an oath that Harold swore to William.

Okay, let's move on to the final task, task C.

And you can see here, I've given you a detail from the Bayeux tapestry.

I want you to look closely at the image.

The first part of the task, I want you to label A, B, and C of the image.

And the second part of the task, I want you to describe what is happening in this scene.

So label the A, B, and C boxes of the image.

And then describe what is happening in this scene from the Bayeux tapestry.

Pause the video, have a go at the task and come right back.

Okay, great, welcome back.

So let's check those answers.

So box A was William Duke of Normandy, and you can see him there seated holding a sword.

Swords often represent justice.

So we can see there William being depicted as a just leader sitting down, holding the sword of justice.

And for box B we can see that it was holy relics.

So we can see here it's a casket, and if you look closely, you can see two crucifixes on the top corners of the caskets.

And box C is Harold Godwinson.

Okay, let's move on to the second part of task C where I asked you to describe what is happening in that scene.

So now we've labelled and identified the different parts of the image.

Now let's describe what was happening there.

Your description might be slightly different from mine, but it should contain the basic information I have here.

Harold Godwinson is swearing an oath on holy relics.

Norman Chronicler said the oath was that Harold would support William Duke of Normand's claim to the English throne.

Okay, great, let's summarise today's lesson, Edward the Confessor and the house of Godwin.

Edward, the confessor lacked support after spending most of his life in Normandy, Earl Godwin backed him in return for influence.

Edward tried to balance the power of the Godwins with supporters from Normandy, leading to the Godwin's exile.

At this point, Norman chronicles say that Edward promised that William of Normandy would be his successor as King, Edward was forced to return the Godwins to their positions of power after they threatened an invasion.

And in 1064, Harold Godwinson swore an oath to William Duke of Normandy.

This oath was an important support for William's claim.

Well done on a brilliant lesson.

Thank you for joining me for this fascinating story of the rise of the House of Godwin.

I hope you have learned a lot in this lesson.

I will see you next time when we continue our inquiry into who had power in Anglo-Saxon England.

See you in the next lesson.