On January 5th, 1066, King Edward, the monarch of the Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of Wessex, died suddenly.
His death was like a starting gun, triggering a race for the throne of England.
But Harold Gwynson's rivals were at a disadvantage. They were all on the other side of the sea, thousands of miles away.
Since ten years ago, in the year 1056, Harold, who was enfeoffed in Wessex, had been in control of all the powers except for the fact that he did not have the title of king. However, despite his geographical advantage, he still had a problem. On his path to the throne, Harold still faced a huge obstacle. Even though he was the most powerful man in England, and even though he was the brother-in-law of the late king, Edward, he did not have a direct blood relationship with the royal family.
Edward, however, left a blood relative. Prince Edgar, who was only 14 years old, was Edward's nephew.
As for Harold, he was blessed by the heavens. At least, he was blessed by the heavens at this moment.
Several of England's great nobles had gathered in London since Christmas last year. In the absence of a clear successor to the seriously ill Edward, they had to choose the next king. Among the members of the Parliament of Nobles was Harold's brother, Goss Gwynson, the Earl of East Anglia.
With the help of his brother, they succeeded in persuading the Parliament to accept that England now needed a person who was good at ruling and had real power. As Edward's right-hand man, Harold was ambitious, capable of war, and was the actual controller of power. His father, Earl Godwin, had successfully built a great dynasty and accumulated a lot of territory and power for his four sons. Harold's other two brothers, Kent and Tosty, who had a large land in Northumbria in the north, and Goss, who was a member of the Parliament of Nobles, divided the whole of England and Scotland between the four brothers and helped maintain the family's power. People even thought that it was Earl Godwin who had personally created the governing system of Edward's reign. Although they had recently lost their brother in the north, Harold Gwynson was still the best candidate for the new king.
And Harold was indeed a mature politician. He knew that he had to take the initiative and persuade the Parliament of Nobles to support him. So, a few minutes after Edward's death, Harold played his trump card. He claimed to the Parliament of Nobles that Edward had told him in his dying days that he wanted him to succeed the throne. The other people present at the time did not refute his claim. Even the Parliament of Nobles was happy to hear this. They needed a strong king, and now this strong and brave king had given them the perfect excuse.
And so, on January 6th, 1066, the people of England buried their old King Edward in the morning in the incomplete Westminster Abbey that he had built himself. On the same afternoon, Harold Gwynson was just a few steps away from the body of the recently buried Edward. He was anointed with holy oil, put on a crown, and crowned the new King of England under the auspices of the Bishop. According to the religious custom, a new King could only be crowned a few months after his election.
It was not until many days later that the news of Edward's death and the Earl's rapid ascension to the throne reached William's ears in Rouen, the largest city in Normandy at the time. And Harald the Ruthless, the Norwegian King, was only told by his men when he was suppressing the countrymen who rebelled against his rule with fire. They had heard the news from the traders who traveled to and from the North Sea.
The days of peace in England were numbered. William was organizing his own army into an expeditionary force. At the same time, Harald was dreaming of a great and eternal victory. But Harold also faced a third enemy, one who was closer to him. His brother, Gosse, was the one who supported him the most in the Gwynson family, but the one in the north was not so loyal.
Tosty, the Earl of Northumbria, was expelled from England by Harold six months before he became King. Tosty was also the brother-in-law of Baldwin V, Count of Flanders, the father-in-law and ally of William, Duke of Normandy.
Tosty was a very charming person. He was more handsome, strong, and brave than Harold. He loved to command and fight on the frontlines with the soldiers. However, when it came to governing his territory, he was a far cry from his elder brothers. Northumbria was in chaos because of him. He casually imposed heavy taxes in his territory and suppressed the other nobles. In fact, everyone knew that at least three Northumbrian nobles had been assassinated by him.
People could not bear the burden and fled to the south. Harold had two choices at that time. If he supported his brother, a civil war would be inevitable. But if there was only one thing that England had learned in that century, it was that during a civil war, the Vikings would take advantage of the situation and conquer them all. So, it was a dilemma. Harold had no choice but to make the right decision. He sacrificed his brother and prevented the Vikings from invading – at least for a few months.
Three weeks after Harold became King, Tosty joined forces with the bastard Duke William in Normandy and began his revenge plan. Now, he hated his brother to the core. He wanted to take back his territory. He wanted revenge.
On the beach in Normandy, the brothers turned against each other.
"My brother, he is a lying dog!" Tosty, who was much taller than William, was now half a step behind the Duke of Normandy.
William, who was walking slowly in front, did not even turn his head. "You came all the way here just to tell me these things that I already know?"
"He betrayed me and my family." Tosty didn't care about the vulgarity of the dyslexic and illiterate William's words. He replied in an even softer voice. When he noticed that William had stopped and turned back to look at him, Tosty continued to persuade him in a more sincere tone, "I'm here to teach him a lesson."
"Then why should I believe you?" William stared at the former Earl of Northumbria with his eyes. "You are related to him by blood."
"I cannot change this fact, but I can help thee. He stole my land, and he also stole thy crown." Tosty did not avoid William's gaze. Instead, he looked at him sincerely. "If we work together, we can defeat him."
William continued to stare at him. After a moment, he nodded slightly and continued to walk forward without saying a word.
The former Earl of Northumbria's thirst for revenge did not stop at William. He also hoped to gain the support of another warlord. After his trip to Normandy, Tosti, who had turned against Harold's brother, sailed a thousand miles north to Norway to seek the support of the Heartless.
A few weeks later, in the Norwegian Highland Lord's Longhouse.
"Oh, why did the black sheep come to Norway to find me?" Harald, who was sitting behind the lord's long table with his two confidants, looked at Tosty Gwensen standing in front of him. "Your appearance and physique are not bad. You can play a few rounds of wrestling with me. But what other use do you have for me?"
For the sake of revenge, Tosty's mouth twitched as he endured the rudeness of these barbarians. "Most of the English nobles hate my brother. They will support me. As long as you support me, they will also support you. They will support you."
"Do I look like an idiot?" The Viking king leaned back and asked the former Anglo Saxon nobleman.
"You are the Warriors that Scandinavia has never seen before. England is within your reach. Attack now and your name will live forever."
“In
lee，With
knee...
In the storm of war, we will march forward bravely and never bend our knees … I will turn my name into a legend. " Harald Hadrada the Heartless, also known as Harald III, the King of Norway, extended his hand to the former Earl of Northumbria, Tosty Gwensen.
The two men reached an agreement and formed an invasion force to attack Harold's England from the north at the end of summer. At the same time, a thousand miles to the southwest, William himself was about to be ready.
William, who had just finished praying with his distant cousin and wife Mathilda, spoke in a gentle tone that was completely different from his usual cruel tone, "When summer comes, we will be ready."
"If this is the will of God, then His will will be realized." The devout Mathilda looked at her husband with admiration. She was confident that William would be favored by God and win the war.
Meanwhile, in the palace in London, Harold was still in the dark about the two invading enemies from different directions.
In the royal hall, Harold's closest brother, the Earl of East Anglia, Gwensen Gwensen, walked beside his brother. "Half of happiness comes from patience. King Edward often said this."
"Wise words." The new King of England, Harold, walked to his throne and sat down. He added to his younger brother Gwensen, "The other half is a sharp sword."
Clearly, Harold, who believed that he was different from the previous Earl and was connected to the Lord because of the divine right of kings, was very clear about the laws of power and politics. He knew that there would be people who would want to snatch his crown and his head away.
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