Sweyn Godwinson

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Sweyn Godwinson ( Old English : Swegen Gōdwines sunu; * around 1020; † 1052 ) was the eldest son of Earl Godwin of Wessex and brother of King Harald II.

In 1043 Sweyn received a county (Earldom), which consisted of Gloucestershire , Herefordshire , Oxfordshire , Berkshire and Somerset . He signed his first document in 1044.

Sweyn made an alliance with the Welsh prince Gruffydd ap Llywelyn of Gwynedd and supported him in 1046 in his successful attempt to subdue his main rival Gruffaydd ap Rhydderch of Deheubarth . On his way back from Wales he kidnapped the abbess Aedgifu of Leominster with the obvious intention of marrying her and gaining control of the abbey's vast possessions. Since the king opposed this, Aedgifu returned to the monastery. Sweyn himself fled the country in 1047 and sought protection from the Count of Flanders . From Flanders he went to Denmark, but returned to England in 1049 (it appears that he also had to flee Denmark), although his brother Harald and his cousin Beorn initially opposed his return. Beorn let himself be changed and accompanied Sweyn to the king, but was murdered by Sweyn, which meant another exile for Sweyn after a conviction as niðing, as a dishonorable man. In fact, however, Sweyn appears to have been pardoned because he was reinstated in his offices the following year. Another year later, in 1051, the entire family, Godwin and his sons, had to leave England after an argument with the King. Sweyn was killed in 1052 on his way back from a pilgrimage to Jerusalem (sources are contradictory).

Sweyn had a son, Hakon, who was brought back to England by Harald in 1064 and more is not known about him.

literature

  • Frank Barlow (ed.): Vita Ædwardi regis qui apud Western Monastery requiescat S. Bertini Monacho ascripta. The Life of king Edward who rests at Westminster attributed to an monk of St. Bertin (1962) pp. 7-8
  • Frank Barlow, Edward the Confessor , 2nd Edition (1997) p. 74
  • Ann Williams: Swein, in: Oxford Online Dictionary of National Biography [1]
  • Kelly DeVries: The Norwegian Invasion of England in 1066. (1999). Pp. 108-114. ISBN 1-84383-027-2 .

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Barlow (1997) p. 74, Barlow (1962) p. 7-8 and Williams
  2. ↑ Codex diplomaticus aevi saxonici, IV: 74
  3. ^ DeVries, p. 109
  4. ↑ Williams
  5. ↑ DeVries, pp. 110-111
  6. ^ DeVries, p. 112
  7. ↑ Williams
personal data
SURNAME Godwinson, Sweyn
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Gōdwines sunu, Swegen
BRIEF DESCRIPTION English nobleman
DATE OF BIRTH around 1020
DATE OF DEATH 1052