Tostig Godwinson Archives - The History JarThe History Jar

By Forman Armorial (produced for Mary, Queen of Scots) – This image is available from the National Library of Scotland under the sequence number or Shelfmark ID Adv.MS.31.4.2, fol.5r., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1409450

Given the borders gave us the words blackmail and bereaved it’s perhaps not surprising that the culture of the borders was on occasion lawless or that people who lived in the marches may not have regarded themselves either as Scottish or English – ties of kinship were much more important than nationality.

Let’s begin with the geography of the post-Roman world. The kingdom of Benicia was established by 547AD. When it unted with Deira in 603AD – ok, I’m underplaying it – there’s a marriage followed by a series of assassinations – the kingdom of Northumbria was formed.

By the ninth century Northumbria was one of England’s dominant kingdoms while the concept of Cumberland only really appeared as a political entity from the tenth century onwards. Saxons, Vikings, various wars, rebellions and the incorporation of Cumberland into the kingdom of Strathclyde by Malcolm I are all recorded in the Anglo Saxon Chronicle and bring me to the start of my chronology. I am not tackling King Edwin or the various political manoeuvrings of the heptarchy in this post. Let’s just stick with the borders for the time being.

1005 Malcolm II crowned king of Alba. He allied himself to Owain Foel of Strathclyde.

1006 Siege of Durham – results in the defeat of Malcolm by Uhtred of Bamburgh who later became both the earl of Bamburgh and York.

1018 Battle of Carham – the Northumbrians defeated and an eastern border between England and Scotland created.

1031 King Cnut invades Alba.

1034 Malcolm II dies. His grandson Duncan inherits the throne. At this time Scotland – which holds Cumbria on the west side of the country, possibly now extends so far south as the River Lune in Lancashire.

27 July 1054 The Battle of Dunsinane Wood also called the Battle of the Seven Sleepers. This was fought between the forces of King Macbeth, who is another of Malcom II’s grandsons, and Siward, Earl of Northumbria and his nephew, Malcolm Canmore, the son of King Duncan. Macbeth, who killed Duncan in 1040, was defeated. Malcolm remains in Scotland continuing his war with Macbeth. Siward returned to Northumbria…and as an aside Siward was rather hoping for a Scottish monarch on the throne who would support his claim to the kingdom of Cumbria.

1055 Siward, Earl of Northumbria died. He had gained control of Northumbria through judicious marriage and political manoeuvring. He supported Cnut, Harthacnut and then Edward the Confessor. He is replaced by Tostig Godwinson, a brother of Harold Godwinson (he of arrow in the eye fame). It was not a popular choice.

1058 Malcolm III (Canmore) began raiding Northumberland. Peace is eventually agreed but there are a successive series of raids resulting in the taking of slaves, cattle and tribute.

1065 Tostig booted out of Northumbria by its people who are fed up with his heavy-handedness. Morcar, the younger brother of the Earl of Mercia, is appointed in his place. It does not sweeten Tostig’s relationship with his brother Harold. Malcolm III welcomed Tostig into Scotland.

1066 Tostig returns from exile with the army of Harold Hardrada, King of Norway who is making his claim to the throne of England.

25 September 1066. Hardrada and Tostig are killed at the Battle of Stamford Bridge outside York.

So far so good but in 1067, Copsi, who was Tostig’s man, submits to William the Conqueror and is sent to York as the new Earl of Northumbria. It’s a promotion which lasts five weeks before the Northumbrians murder him. Osulf, son of Eadulf, and a member of one of the region’s leading families – chase Copsi to a church near Ouseburn. Osulf sets the church on fire. Fleeing once more, Copsi was captured and beheaded. Osulf becomes earl but is murdered in his turn.

1068 Gospatric who is a relative of Uhtred of Bamburgh and Malcolm Canmore pays William the Conqueror to become Earl of Benicia He then joined in with a rebellion against the king fermented by Edwin, Earl of Mercia and his brother Morcar. Gospatric fled to Scotland and the north endured a harrying.

1069 Malcolm III takes his army south as far as Wearmouth. Gospatric submits to William the Conqueror and is sent to make was in Cumbria which is part of Malcolm’s kingdom.

Malcolm welcomes Saxon refugees from the Royal House of Wessex, including Margaret – who he married- which improves his claim to territory in the south, especially as he gave his sons English rather than Scottish names. Malcolm recognised that the Conqueror’s grasp on Northumberland was weak and was making a political play for the territory.

1072 Treaty of Abernethy. Terms agreed between Malcolm and William the Conqueror who had an army as well as a network of fortifications at Warwick, Nottingham and York which secured the south and the Midlands. According to the Anglo Saxon Chronicle, Canmore became William’s man and gave him his son, Duncan, as surety. It wasn’t long before Malcolm was raiding again and Northumbrians revolting against Norman rule.

1080 another Norman army heads north, this time under the command of Robert Curthose, William’s eldest son. A new accord is reached and things went quiet for ten years or so.

Which is a good place to stop, because although it doesn’t take me to the end of the Norman period there have been a fair few dates in this post, several murders and some very dodgy dealings.

It’s always useful to know which countries were allied. In 1066 for example Flanders had an important role to play in the conquest. Count Baldwin V ‘s daughter was Matilda, the wife of William the Conqueror. Baldwin’s family, like the rest of Europe’s political leaders were strategically allied. Interestingly there was even a member of the family married into Earl Godwin’s family. Baldwin’s sister, Judith, was married to Tostig – Harold’s earstwhile brother. On one hand Count Baldwin allowed his brother-in-law to recruit men on the other if his son-in-law successfully invaded the kingdom that Tostig also sought he would be very influential indeed– especially as he held the regency of Philip I of France as well. (Baldwin’s wife was the daughter of Robert II of France as well as being a wily politician in his own right. He was Count of Maine as well as Count Flanders.)

William of Malmsebury indicates that Baldwin advised Wiliam and offered troops. Another chronicler notes that Baldwin was a canny neogitaor and demanded to know what benefits he would reap from his support. Allegedly William sent Baldwin a blank sheet of parchment. Wace suggests that Baldwin fed King Harold and the rest of the Godwinson Clan false information about the number of men at his son-in-law’s disposal. Family loyalty had its place but financial incentive and power were much more important.

Whilst the words of chroniclers are not always reliable, it is true to say that the Norman conquest was not entirely a Norman achievement . There was a good sprinkling of Flanders in the ranks at Hastings; the alliterative Gilbert of Ghent who later turned up in York and also Walter Bec to name but two. The Domesday Book of 1086 gives historians an insight into the role of Flemings in William’s army and the rewards that they received in the aftermath of the conquest. In total in Derbyshire Gilbert of Ghent had three land holdings whilst there were 53 Flemish landholdings in Yorkshire held predominantly by Dreux of Beuviere (George).

There weren’t just Flemings in William’s army. There were many men from Brittany in William’s army. Eustace II of Boulogne also fought for the Duke of Normandy. This is interesting as Bolougne and Flanders were rivals. The Godwinsons had marital links with Flanders through Tostig’s marriage to Judith of Flanders. Eustace on the other hand was the former brother-in-law of Edward the Confessor – his first wife Goda being Edward’s sister. His step son also had a personal vendetta against Sweyn Godwinson – Earl Godwin had famously refused to punish the people of Dover for not providing free bed and board to Eustace and his entourage when the Count was on his way home from visiting Edward the Confessor in 1051. This had become one of the flash points which led to the exile of Earl Godwin.

Looking beyond the immediate Conquest years the role of Flanders remained an important one – it was to Flanders that William’s son Robert fled when he rebelled against his father in 1077. By that time Baldwin’s son Robert I was the Count having usurped the position from his young nephew Arnulf – it was a situation that would end in armed conflict and the death of Arnulf. (Baldwin died in 1067 and was succeeded by his eldest son also called Baldwin but he died three years later leaving a young son. He asked Robert to be a regent for the boy but Robert ignored his brother’s wishes and claimed Boulogne for himself.)

The impact of Robert’s usurpation on Norman- Flemish ties is evident by the fact that Robert Curthose found sanctuary with his uncle. By 1085 Robert of Flanders had become involved in a plan to invade England and snatch the Crown from the head of his increasingly chubby brother-in-law. Robert planned to assist his son-in-law Cnut IV of Denmark who was the great nephew of England’s King Cnut.

In his own turn William had offered help to Arnulf’s younger brother (another Baldwin.)

https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/medlow.asp

George, R. H. “The Contribution of Flanders to the Conquest of England (1065-1086)”

https://www.persee.fr/doc/rbph_0035-0818_1926_num_5_1_6418