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Gyrth Godwinson

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Name
  
Gyrth Godwinson

Parents
  
Godwin, Earl of Wessex


Grandparents
  
Wulfnoth Cild

Nieces
  
Gytha of Wessex

Gyrth Godwinson Gyrth Godwinson YouTube

Died
  
October 14, 1066, Senlac Hill, Battle, United Kingdom

Siblings
  
Harold Godwinson, Leofwine Godwinson

Similar People
  
Harold Godwinson, Godwin - Earl of Wessex, Tostig Godwinson, Edith of Wessex, Edith the Fair

Gyrth godwinson


Gyrth Godwinson (Old English: Gyrð Godƿinson) (c. 1032 – 14 October 1066) was the fourth son of Earl Godwin, and thus a younger brother of Harold II of England. He went with his eldest brother Swegen into exile to Flanders in 1051, but unlike Swegen he was able to return with the rest of the clan the following year. Along with his brothers Harold and Tostig, Gyrth was present at his father's death-bed.

Gyrth Godwinson Gyrth Godwinson

Following the death of his father in April 1053, the Godwinsons managed to retain their hold on England. Harold inherited the Earldom of Wessex and became second in power only to the king. Gyrth was made Earl of East Anglia, Cambridgeshire and Oxfordshire some time between 1055 and 1057. Together with his brother Leofwine's Earldoms of Kent, Essex, Middlesex, Hertford, Surrey and probably Buckinghamshire the Godwinsons now controlled the entirety of East England.

Gyrth Godwinson wwwpanhistoriacomwwwGwensStuffGyrthjpg

According to Orderic Vitalis and William of Malmesbury, Gyrth tried (ineffectually) to prevent Harold from engaging William of Normandy in battle, saying that he instead could lead the English forces and urging his brother not to break the oath which he had sworn to William confirming the latter's succession. Harold, however, ignored Gyrth's advice. Gyrth fought at and was killed in the Battle of Hastings alongside his brothers Harold and Leofwine.

Gyrth was portrayed by actor Malcolm Webster in the two-part BBC TV play Conquest (1966), part of the series Theatre 625.

References

Gyrth Godwinson Wikipedia