1. Among our authorities for this period the English Chronicles of course still retain their preeminent place, and the differences, especially the marked differences in political feeling, between the various versions become of constantly increasing importance. Florence also, always valuable, now increases in value. His narrative is still grounded on that of the Chronicles, but he gradually ceases to be a mere copyist. It is always of moment to see which of the several versions he follows; and, as he draws nearer his own time, he gradually acquires the character of a distinct authority. He can however hardly be looked on as such during the period embraced in this Chapter. The contemporary Biographer of Eadward now becomes of the greatest value in his own special department. For all matters which are strictly personal to the King, the Lady, and the whole family of Godwine, his authority is primary. He is however very distinctly not an historian, but a biographer, sometimes a laureate. In his narrative there are many omissions and some inaccuracies; his value lies mainly in his vivid personal portraits of the great men of the time, with all of whom he seems to have been personally acquainted. It must be borne in mind that his book, dedicated to the Lady Eadgyth, is to a great extent a panegyric on her family. Still it is highly important to have this description of them from the English side to set against the dominant Norman calumnies. It is to the Chronicles as harmonized by Florence that we must go for our main facts; the Biographer gives us their personal aspect, their personal colouring, and many personal details. Just as the Encomiast of Eadgyth becomes of so much value, we lose the Encomiast of Emma, who ends his narrative with the accession of Harthacnut. The purely Norman writers now gain in importance. But, as regards purely English affairs, their importance is of this peculiar kind, that, after reading the English account of any fact, it is needful to turn and see what is the Norman perversion of it. At the head of the class stands William of Poitiers, Archdeacon of Lisieux, the chaplain and biographer of William the Conqueror. His work, unluckily imperfect, is our primary authority for all that concerns his hero; but allowance must be made throughout for his constant flattery of his own master and his frantic hatred towards Godwine and Harold. The later Norman writers, William of Jumièges and his continuator, and the poetical chroniclers, Robert Wace and Benoît de Sainte-More, are of use as witnessing to Norman tradition, but they do not yet assume that special value which belongs to William of Jumièges and Wace at a somewhat later time. The subsidiary English writers, and the occasional notices to be found in the works of foreign historians, retain the same secondary value as before. Indeed, as Scandinavian affairs are of great importance during several years of this period, the Sagas of Magnus and Harold Hardrada may be looked upon as of something more than secondary value. Among the secondary English writers, Henry of Huntingdon diminishes in importance, as he gets more out of the reach of those ancient ballads and traditions which it is his great merit to have preserved. On the other hand, the value of William of Malmesbury increases, as he draws nearer to his own time. He often sets before us two versions of a story, and makes an attempt at a critical comparison of them. But his prejudices are distinctly Norman, and his utter lack of arrangement, his habit of dragging in the most irrelevant tales at the most important points of his narrative, makes him one of the most perplexing of writers to consult.
3. On the different statements, see Appendix A.
4. Chronn. and Flor. Wig. 1043.
8. As at the election of Eadmund Ironside, vol. i. p. 419. So, after the fall of Harold the son of Godwine, the citizens of London were foremost in choosing the young Eadgar King. Fl. Wig. 1066. The expression of “all folk,” and the extreme haste at a time when the Witan seem not to have been sitting, point to an election of this kind, forestalling the next ordinary Gemót.
11. Lyfing’s share in the business comes from Florence; “Eadwardus, annitentibus maxime Comite Godwino et Wigornensi Præsule Livingo, Lundoniæ levatur in Regem.”
12. This contrast is not directly stated, but it seems implied in the reference to the age and experience of Eadward.
13. Will. Malms. ii. 196. “Jure ei competere regnum, ævi maturo, laboribus defæcato, scienti administrare principatum per ætatem severè, miserias provincialium [Harthacnut’s Danegeld?] pro pristinâ egestate temperare.”
14. Ib. “Quo se pronior inclinaverit, eo fortunam vergere; si auxilietur, neminem ausurum obstrepere, et è converso.”
15. Vita Eadw. 394. “Quoniam pro patre ab omnibus habebatur, in paterno consultu libenter audiebatur.” Will. Malms. ii. 197. “Quidam auctoritatem ejus secuti.”
16. Will. Malms. u. s. “Quidam muneribus flexi.”
18. Adam Brem. ii. 74. See Appendix A.
19. See below under the years 1045 and 1047.
20. Will. Malms. ii. 197. “Et hinc censoriè notati et postmodum ab Angliâ expulsi.”
21. Thierry, i. 180. St. John, ii. 132.
22. Henry of Huntingdon indeed (M. H. B. 759 A) hints at a suspicion of Eadward’s Normannizing tendencies, when he makes the English embassy stipulate that he shall bring the smallest possible number of Normans with him (“quod paucissimos Normannorum secum adduceret”). But Henry’s narrative just here is so very wild that it is not safe to rely on his authority.
24. Chron. Petrib. 1041. “Eall folc geceas Eadward to cynge on Lundene; healde þa hwile þe him God unne.” (Cf. Hen. Hunt. M. H. B. 759 A. “Electus est in Regem ab omni populo.”) This prayer is the opposite to that of Antinoos, Od. i. 386:—
See Gladstone, Homer, iii. 51.
25. Chron. Ab. 1042. “Eall folc underfeng ða Eadward to cinge, swa him gecynde wæs.” “Right of birth” does not very well express “gecynde,” but I do not see how better to translate it. The word occurs again in Chron. Wig. 1066, as applied to young Eadgar. It will be remembered that the Abingdon Chronicle is the only one which charges Godwine with a share in the death of Ælfred. See vol. i. pp. 545, 546. The Biographer (p. 396) speaks of Eadward as reigning “ex Dei gratiâ et hæreditario jure.” This is of course a courtier’s view. “Hæreditario jure” must here mean a right derived from ancestors, not a right to be handed on to descendants, as must be the meaning of the words in the Waltham Charter, Cod. Dipl. iv. 154.
26. Chron. Wig. 1042. “Eall folc geceas þa Eadward, and underfengon hine to kyninge, eallswa him wel gecynde wæs.” This expression is the exact counterpart of that of Rudolf Glaber describing the election of Lewis in 946. See vol. i. p. 224.
27. With the expressions used about the succession of Eadward compare the still stronger expressions used by Florence about the succession of Eadred in 946; “Proximus hæres Edredus, fratri succedens, regnum naturale [gecynde] suscepit.” Yet Eadmund left two sons, both of whom afterwards reigned.
28. Chron. Flor. Wig. See Appendix A.
29. Flor. Wig.
30. Chron. Ab. and Petrib. “Eadsige arcebisceop hine halgade, and toforan eallum þam folce wel lærde, and to his agenre neode and ealles folces wel manude.” So Will. Malms. ii. 197; “Ab Edsio archiepiscopo sacra regnandi præcepta edoctus, quæ ille tunc memoriâ libenter recondidit, et postea sanctè factis propalavit.”
31. At Githslep, now Islip, in Oxfordshire. Cod. Dipl. iv. 215.
32. Vita Eadw. 395.
33. Vita Eadw. 395. “Primus ipse Romanorum Imperator Heinricus,” &c. But Henry was not crowned Emperor till 1047. Hermannus Contractus in anno.
35. Vita Eadw. 395. “Munera imperiali liberalitate exhibenda mittit, et quæ tantos decebat terrarum dominos.” Æthelred of Rievaux (X Scriptt. 375), who seems here to copy the Biographer, says the same.
36. Vita Eadw. 395. “Rex quoque Francorum item Heinricus nomine.”
37. Ib. “Ejusdem Anglorum Regis vicinâ carnis propinquitate consanguineus.” The Biographer throughout makes the most of his hero, but there is a marked difference in his tone towards the German King and towards any other prince. The expression “terrarum domini,” reserved for the lords of the continental and the insular Empires, is most remarkable. I am at a loss to see what kindred there was between Eadward and Henry of Paris.
38. Vita Eadw. 395. “Ceteri quoque eorumdem Regum tyranni [a very singular expression] et quique potentissimi duces et principes, legatis suis eum adeunt, amicum et dominum sibi suisque constituunt, eique fidelitatem et servitium suum in manus ponunt.” Is this merely the flourish of an English Dudo (cf. the talk about Cnut, vol. i. p. 504), or did any foreign princes really plight a formal homage to Eadward in exchange for his gifts and favours? In the later feudalism such a relation would not be impossible.
39. See vol. i. p. 566. For the submission of Denmark to Magnus, see Adam of Bremen, ii. 74, 75. Snorro, Saga of Magnus, c. 19 (Laing, ii. 377). Adam however represents Magnus’ first occupation of Denmark as the result of several battles with Swend, while Snorro makes Magnus be peacefully elected in a Thing at Viborg, after which he makes Swend an Earl and leaves him as his representative in Denmark.
40. Vita Eadw. 395. “Patrem eum sibi eligit, seque ut filium illi in omnibus subjicit.” Compare the famous form of the Commendation of Wales and Scotland to a greater Eadward, vol. i. pp. 60, 129. The monastic biographer of Eadward gives quite another picture, by way of preparation for his legendary account of the death of Magnus; “Sola tamen Dacia, adhuc spirans et anhelans cædes, Anglorum interitum minabatur, verum quis fuerit tanti conatûs finis sequentia declarabunt.” Æthel. Riev. X Scriptt. 375.
41. Vita Eadw. 395. “Mittuntur singulis pro celsitudine suâ ab ipso Rege regalia munera, quæ ut nullius quamlibet multiplex Regis vel principis umquam æquaret munificentia, Regum pulcherrimus et nobilissimus Anglorum Rex Ædwardus facit eisdem Francorum principibus vel annua vel continua.” The money seems all to go to France, none to Germany or Denmark.
42. Vita Eadw. 397.
The Biographer here, as often, breaks forth into hexameters.
43. Mr. Luard seems to think this ship a mere repetition of the ship given to Harthacnut. Why?
44. Vita Eadw. 397.
Were the dragon and the lion thus coupled to express Eadward’s mixed origin, English and Norman?
45. Ib.
For instances of historical tapestry see vol. i. p. 303.
47. On the legendary history of Eadward see Appendix B.
50. See Appendix B.
51. His monastic biographer (Æth. Riev. X Scriptt. 388) says by way of praise, “Cuncta regni negotia Ducibus proceribusque [to Earl Harold and the Witan] committens, totum se divinis mancipat obsequiis. Quantò autem se corporalibus subtrahebat, tantò luminosius se spiritalibus indidit theoriis.”
53. Vita Eadw. 396. “Si ratio aliquem suscitaret animi motum, leonini videbatur terroris, iram tamen non prodebat jurgiis.” We shall presently come across a ludicrous example of his “nobilis ira,” venting itself in an oath. Possibly the reference may partly be to his abstinence, like that of Saint Lewis, from the French, and generally southern, vice of reviling God and the Saints. See Joinville, p. 120 ed. Du Cange, 1668; p. 217 ed. Michel, 1858.
54. I allude to his wish, frustrated by Godwine, to subject Dover to military chastisement (Chron. Petrib. 1048. Cf. the dealings of the Emperor Theodosius with Thessalonica and Antioch), and his wish, frustrated by Harold, to wage war with the Northumbrians on behalf of Tostig in 1065. Vita Eadw. 423.
56. Vita Eadw. 414. “Benignissimus Rex Ædwardus ... plurimum temporis exigebat circa saltus et silvas in venationum jocunditate. Divinis enim expeditus officiis, quibus libenter quotidianâ intendebat devotione, jocundabatur plurimum coram se allatis accipitribus vel hujus generis avibus, vel certè delectabatur applausibus multorum motuum canibus. His et talibus interdum deducebat diem, et in his tantummodo ex naturâ videbatur aliquam mundi captare delectationem.” So William of Malmesbury (ii. 220), in a passage which, like several others, makes one think that he had this Life of Eadward before him. “Unum erat quo in sæculo animum oblectaret suum, cursus canum velocium, quorum circa saltus latratibus solebat lætus applaudere; volatus volucrum quorum natura est de cognatis avibus prædas agere. Ad hæc exercitia continuis diebus, post audita manè divina officia, intendebat.” He retained these tastes to the last. In 1065 Harold built a house at Portskewet as a hunting-seat for the King. Chronn. Ab. and Wig., and Flor. Wig. in anno.
57. For these two beautiful stories of Saint Anselm, see his Life by John of Salisbury, Anglia Sacra, ii. 165.
58. It is not clear whether Eadward did not take the same delight as Queen Elizabeth in another form of animal torture. There is something suspicious in part of the royal dues paid by the city of Norwich, “ursum et sex canes ad ursum [a very business-like phrase].” Domesday, ii. 117. Cf. Will. Fitz-Stephen, Giles, i. 180.
59. Will. Malms. ii. 196. “Dum quâdam vice venatum isset, et agrestis quidam stabulata illa quibus in casses cervi urgentur confudisset, ille suâ nobili percitus irâ, ‘Per Deum’ inquit ‘et Matrem ejus, tantumdem tibi nocebo si potero.’” William’s whole comment is very curious. This story has been made good use of by Lord Lytton, in his romance of “Harold,” which, if the sentimental and supernatural parts be struck out, forms a narrative more accurate than most so-called histories of the time. For a somewhat similar tale see Motley, United Netherlands, iii. 172.
60. Vita Eadw. 396. “Hominis persona erat decentissima, discretæ proceritatis, capillis et barbâ canitie insignis lacteâ, facie plenâ et cute roseâ, manibus macris et niveis, longis quoque interlucentibus digitis, reliquo corpore toto integer et regius homo.” William of Malmesbury (ii. 220) seems again to copy the Biographer; “Erat discretæ proceritatis, barbâ et capillis cygneus, facie roseus, toto corpore lacteus, membrorum habitudine commodâ peridoneus.” Eadward was seemingly an albino.
61. In the Bayeux Tapestry Eadward and one or two others are represented with long beards. William and Harold, and the mass of their respective countrymen, are represented according to the later fashions described in the text.
62. Vita Eadw. 396. “Cunctis poscentibus aut benignè daret aut benignè negaret, ita et ut benigna negatio plurima videretur largitio.”
63. Ib. 415. So Will. Malms. ii. 220.
64. Ib. 396. “In frequentiâ verè se Regem et dominum, in privato, salvâ quidem regiâ majestate, agebat se suis ut consocium.”
65. Vita Eadw. 415. “Inter ipsa divinorum mysteriorum et missarum sacrosancta officia agninâ mansuetudine stabat, et mente tranquillâ cunctis fidelibus spectabilis Christicola, inter quæ, nisi interpellaretur, rarissimè cui loquebatur.” Compare the opposite description given of Henry the Second, who always talked of public affairs during mass (Gir. Camb. Exp. Hib. i. 46. p. 305 Dimock), and the curious story of his holding a discourse at such a moment with Saint Thomas of Canterbury himself, as told by Roger of Pontigny (Giles, i. 132). It is however somewhat differently told by William Fitz-Stephen (ib. i. 218). See Gentleman’s Magazine, April, 1860, p. 386.
The Ayenbite of Inwyt (p. 20 ed. Morris) reproves this practice as a common fault. “And huanne þe ssoldest yhere his messe oþer his sermon at cherche, þou iangledest and bourdedest to-vor God.”
66. Vita Eadw. 414. “Abbates religiosos et monachos, potissimum autem transmarinos ... quam benignè susceperit.” So Will. Malms. 220; “Pauperibus hospitibusque, maximè transmarinis et religiosis, benignus appellando, munificus dando.” See Appendix C.
67. Vit. Eadw. 399. “Quum prædictus sanctæ memoriæ Ædwardus Rex repatriaret à Franciâ, ex eâdem gente comitati sunt quamplures non ignobiles viri, quos plurimis honoribus ditatos secum retinuit idem Rex, utpote compos totius regni, ordinariosque constituit secretorum consilii sui, et rectores rerum regalis palatii.” It is remarkable how seldom, especially in the early part of Eadward’s reign, the foreigners appear to sign charters. They were doubtless jealously watched.
71. Will. Malms. ii. 197. See Appendix D.
73. See vol. i. p. 471. The French biographer of Eadward says (p. 57):—
74. See Appendix E.
75. A Godwine appears (W. Thorn. X Scriptt. 2224) as a benefactor of Christ Church, Canterbury. This may be the great Earl, or it may be the Godwine whose marriage settlement we have in Cod. Dipl. iv. 10.
76. This comes out nowhere more emphatically than in the comparatively hostile Abingdon Chronicle, 1052.
77. Vita Eadw. 408. cf. Fl. Wig. 1066.
78. See the Peterborough Chronicler’s character of William, under the year 1087.
79. Ib. 1135.
80. Will. Malms. iv. 314.
81. Ord. Vit. 672 B.
82. Vit. Eadw. 408.
83. Fl. Wig. 1048, 1049.
84. “When the chronicler praises the gift of speech, he unconsciously proves the existence of constitutional freedom.” Lytton, Harold, i. 165.
85. I attribute the Danish names in Godwine’s family to the influence of Gytha rather than to any Danish tastes prevalent at the Court of Cnut, because the Danes settled in England seem to have so often adopted English names for their children. See vol. i. pp. 580, 591.
86. I should perhaps have done better had I used the English form of this name throughout, as Swegen is clearly more correct etymologically than Svein, Sven, or Swend. It may however be convenient to distinguish the English and Danish bearers of the name.
87. On the sons and daughters of Godwine, see Appendix F.
88. Cod. Dipl. iv. 74. This charter must be early in the year 1043, earlier at least than the Gemót which we shall presently see was held in November. Swegen was therefore probably appointed in the Gemót at which Eadward was finally established as King. Another charter, of 1044 (Cod. Dipl. iv. 80), signed by Harold, Leofwine, Swegen, Tostig, and Gyrth, all with the rank of “Dux,” is deservedly marked as doubtful by Mr. Kemble.
89. See vol. i. p. 580, and Appendix G, on the Great Earldoms. His first signature is in 1045. Cod. Dipl. iv. 97.
90. Fl. Wig. 1051.
91. Chronn. Ab. and Wig. 1065. See Appendix D.
92. Vita Eadw. 408. “Virtute corporis et animi in populo præstabat ut alter Judas Machabæus.”
93. In the Bayeux Tapestry Harold is represented as lifting the Norman soldiers from the quicksands with the greatest ease.
94. Vita Eadw. 409. “Uterque [the writer is comparing Harold and Tostig] satis pulcro et venusto corpore et, ut conjicimus, non inæquali robore, non disparis audaciæ. Sed major natu Haroldus procerior staturâ, patris satis [these words are clearly corrupt] infinitis laboribus, vigiliis et inediâ, multâ animi lenitate et promptiori sapientiâ.”
96. De Inv. c. 14. “Tum ... astutiâ et legum terræ peritiâ, tum quia se talem gerebat quod non solum Angli, verum etiam Normanni et Gallici imprimis invidebant pulcritudini et prudentiæ, militiæ et sagacitati.”
97. Vita Eadw. 409. “Multum obloquia perferre, nam non facile prodere, non facile quoque, et in civem sive compatriotum, ut reor, nusquam, ulcisci.” Compare the character of Edward the First,
Political Songs (Camd. Soc.), p. 163.
98. See the poem in the Chronicles. So Snorro (Ant. Celt. Scand. 189. Laing, iii. 75), while strangely making Harold the youngest of the family and hardly realizing his position in the Kingdom, bears ample testimony to the kindly relations existing between him and the King. He is there called Eadward’s “foster son.” The Biographer (p. 433) calls him “nutricius suus frater.”
99. Vita Eadw. 410; a passage which I shall have to refer to again.
100. I refer both to Harold’s own proceedings at Waltham and to the general promotion of Germans under this reign. See Stubbs, De Inv. ix.
101. See Appendix E.
102. See William of Malmesbury’s Life of Wulfstan, Angl. Sacr. ii. 248, 253.
103. He was however a benefactor to the Abbey of Peterborough. The local historian Hugo Candidus says (p. 44. ap. Sparke), “Comes Haroldus dedit Cliftune et terram in Londone juxta monasterium Sancti Pauli, juxta portum qui vocatur Etheredishythe.” Harold’s connexion with London should be noticed. It was also at his advice that King Eadward made a grant to Abingdon (Hist. Mon. Ab. i. 469), and that a Thegn named Thurkill, of whom we shall hear again, commended himself to the same church (Ib. i. 484).
104. Vita Eadw. 409. “Cum quovis, quem fidelem putaret, interdum communicare consilium operis sui, et hoc interdum adeò differre, si debet duci, ut minùs conducibile à quibusdam videretur fore suæ commoditati.”
105. Ib. 410. “Uterque [Harold and Tostig] interdum quædam simulare adeò egregiè, ut qui eos non noverit incertius nil æstimare poterit.” In connexion with this curious passage I may quote a singular exaggeration from an unknown author; it is found in a marginal note on one of the manuscripts of the Winchester Annals (Luard, 27); “Haroldus Rex, si sapientèr ageret quidquid agebat furore, nullus hominum illum [sic] resisteret. Sed adeò erat animi inconstantis, quod nullus suorum se credidit illi.” Yet “sapientèr” is the adverb which the Biographer specially applies to Harold, in distinction to the “fortitèr” of Tostig.
106. The charge of rashness as brought against Harold during the last scene of his life I shall discuss elsewhere. I here add the Biographer’s disclaimer (Vita Eadw. 409); “Porro de vitio præcipitationis sive levitatis, quis hunc vel illum sive quemvis de Godwino patre genitum, sive ejus disciplinâ et studio educatum arguerit?” There is a very remarkable passage further on (p. 422), in which the Biographer says that Harold was “ad sacramenta nimis (proh dolor) prodigus.” The allusion clearly is to Harold’s oath to William, which the Biographer never distinctly mentions.
107. I refer of course to the tale of Eadgyth Swanneshals, of which I shall have to speak again more than once.