On January the 5th, 1066, Edward the Confessor died in London. As the leading magnate in England in early 1066, and as the brother-in-law of the king, who had died without any offspring - proving yet again that, much as saintliness was to be admired, it was never conducive to the maintenance of a strong monarchy when it cropped up in kings. Harold's claim to the throne was not based upon royal blood, which the Confessor's notable lack of effort in the child-producing fields had left a little thin on the ground, but more simply upon the fact that he seemed to be the best man for the job. There were three other claimants for the throne at the time, Edgar the Atheling (too young), Harald Hardraada (too tough for the English, who had been quite happy with the somewhat soppy Confessor, thank you very much, and didn't much fancy some great Norse giant gallavanting around the countryside chopping bits off people willy-nilly) and William of Normandy (too French). All three had at least as much of a claim as Harold, and both Harald and William went on to contest Harold's claim by force of arms.
Much of what we know about Harold derives from Norman sources - as always it is the victors who write the history - and particularly important is the Bayeux Tapestry. Although undoubtedly a biased account of the events of 1066, it is nevertheless one of the best sources we have available for that momentous year. It is interesting to note that the Tapestry appears to portray Harold almost as a figure from a Greek tragedy - as a man who could have been a great hero, had he not committed a fatal error of judgement. To the Normans, that error of judgement was in claiming for himself the throne that should rightfully have been theirs.
For all that he was respected on both sides of the Channel, Harold's destiny was not to be remembered as a great king of the English, but rather as the sap beaten by William the Conqueror at Hastings. As soon as he learned of Harold's coronation, William had made it quite clear that he did not regard Harold as the most suitable man for the job, and that it was a job that he, personally, was ideally suited for. Moreover, he appears to have believed that Edward the Confessor had promised him the job, and that Harold had sworn him a sacred oath that implied that the job was his.
timnfromoz
© 1997 timnfromoz@hotmail.com
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