Tostig Godwinson - Earl of Northumbria

Tostig Godwinson was an Anglo-Saxon Nobleman, Earl of Northumbria, and the brother of King Harold Godwinson. Tostig was born around 1026 in England and was the third son of Godwin, Earl of Wessex and Gytha Thorkelsdottir.

 

 

In 1051, Tostig married Judith of Flanders, the only daughter of Count Baldwin IV of Flanders and Eleanor of Normandy. Tostig had two sons, Skuli Tostisson Kongsfostre and Ketil Tostisson, likely born to an Anglo-Danish woman before his marriage to Judith.

The House of Godwin was powerful and was gaining increasing influence in England during King Edward the Confessor's reign. In 1051, Godwin, Earl of Wessex, was opposed to Edward's policies, and England was heading towards Civil War. Edward then banished Godwin and his family from England. Some of them, including Gytha, Sweyn, Tostig, and Gyrth, sought refuge in Flanders with Tostig's brother-in-law, Baldwin V, the Count of Flanders.

In 1052, they returned to England with an armed force, gaining support and demanding that the King restore Tostig as Earl. Three years later, Tostig became the Earl of Northumbria after the death of Earl Siward. Despite the friction and power struggle between Godwin and the King, Tostig Godwinson and the King were friends. In 1061, Tostig visited Pope Nicholas II in Rome as part of the English embassy to Rome to deal with several matters of the Church.

Tostig was not a popular Earl in Northumbria. He was from the south of England and was heavy-handed in dealing with those who opposed his rule, including murdering several members of leading families in the north. In 1063 or early 1064, Gamal son of Orm and Ulf son of Dolfin visited Tostig under safe conduct, and Tostig had them both assassinated during the visit.

On October 3rd, 1065, the Thanes of York descended on York and occupied the city, killing Tostig's officials, and declaring Tostig an outlaw while Tostig was in Wiltshire hunting with the King. The northern rebels, including Earl Edwin and his brother Morcar, headed south to press their case against Tostig with King Edward. They were met by Earl Harold, Harold Godwinson, Tostig's brother, whom the King sent to negotiate. After meeting with the rebels, Harold returned to Oxford for the Royal Council, where he persuaded the King to agree with the demands of the insurgents against Tostig. Tostig publicly accused Harold of fomenting the rebellion at a meeting with the King.

 

 

On October 27th, 1065, to avoid a war that no one wanted to fight, the King exiled Tostig from England and named Morcar the Earl of Northumbria. Tostig again returned to Flanders, and Baldwin V. King Edward the Confessor would die a few months later, on January 5th, 1066. Tostig's brother Harold had himself crowned King of England the next day.

In May of 1066, Tostig landed on the Isle of Wight, where he collected provisions and then raided the coast as far as Sandwich before retreating after Harold sent land and naval forces to repel his raiding. He then raided Norfolk and Lincolnshire, after which Earl Edwin and Earl Morcar defeated him, and his men deserted him. Tostig fled to Scotland to his ally King Malcom III, where he spent the summer of 1066.

Tostig contacted Harald Hardrada, King Harald III of Norway, and convinced him to invade England to claim the throne for himself. Tostig and Hardrada sailed up the River Humber and defeated Anglo-Saxon forces under the command of northern Earls Morcar and Edwin at the Battle of Fulford near York on September 20th, 1066. Both Earls escaped the battlefield. York avoided being sacked by the Viking army by offering to provide them with 150 hostages. The Vikings agreed and traveled a few miles east to rest at Stamford Bridge and await the arrival of the hostages.

The rest was short lived, as King Harold Godwinson heard about the Viking army and gathered his army and traveled to York from London in a few days.

On September 25th, 1066, Harold Godwinson's army and the remaining armies of Morcar and Edwin arrived at Stamford Bridge, catching Harald Hardrada, Tostig Godwinson, and their army completely by surprise. As lines started to form on both sides, a lone knight rode out from the Anglo-Saxon forces and approached Tostig and Harald. He spoke to Tostig and said that if he returned to the side of England, he would be restored as Earl of Northumbria. Tostig asked him what offer he had for Harald Hardrada, and he replied, "Seven feet of English ground, as he is larger than most". Then the knight turned and retuned to his army. Hardrada, impressed with the boldness of the knight, asked Tostig who that man was, and Tostig replied that it was none other than his brother, Harold Godwinson.

The Viking army was overwhelmed by Harold Godwinson's forces, and both Harald Hardrada and Tostig Godwinson were killed in the battle. Tostig's body was buried at York Minster in the city of York, where he had once lived as the Earl of Northumbria. Tostig's two sons survived the battle and fled to Norway.