Rising Against Tostig

• Harold's embassy to Normandy


  1064 or possibly 1065
• Main events of Harold's embassy to Normandy

  • When did it happen
  • Why did it happen
  • Where did it happen
  • Consequences or results
• Edward the Confessor ruled from 1042 until his death in 1066
• Power of the House of Godwin increased during Edward the Confessor's reign
• Succession crisis occurred over who should be the next king after Edward the Confessor's death in 1066
• Harold's embassy to Normandy was part of a wider context of the succession crisis
• Harold's embassy to Normandy was a diplomatic mission on behalf of Edward the Confessor
• Harold traveled to France but landed at Pontia due to bad weather
• Harold was taken prisoner by Count Guy of Pontia
• Duke William demanded Count Guy to hand Harold over
• Harold helped William in two military campaigns after being rescued
• William gave Harold gifts of weapons and armor
• The gifts symbolized the relationship between a lord and his warrior
• Harold made a solemn oath to William, swearing on holy relics
• The Bayeux Tapestry depicts Harold making the oath to William
• The content of the oath made by Harold to William is unknown
• Historians assume the oath was to support William as the claimant to the English throne
• It is unknown if Harold made the oath freely or under duress
• Harold's embassy to Normandy


  Shows that Harold was involved in the succession crisis and had a significant impact on his future actions
• Historians assume that this was an oath to William to support him as the claimant to the English throne when Edward the Confessor died
• Harold was King Edward's trusted advisor
• The embassy was significant as it shows close ties between England and Normandy
• The embassy was used by the Normans to boost William's claim to the English throne
• The embassy was used by the Normans to portray Harold as an oath breaker
• Such oaths of allegiance were important between a lord and a follower in both Anglo-Saxon and Norman society
• Possibly 1065


  1064
• Harold was sent on a mission by King Edward the Confessor, possibly to rescue his brother Wulfnoth and his nephew Hakon
• Harold arrived in Pontchar near Flanders and later in William's lands in Normandy
• Harold became one of William's warriors and fought for him, being rewarded with weapons and armor
• Harold made an oath to William, possibly to support him as King of England
• The Saxon view is that the oath was forced
• Harold's Norman embassy sets the scene for the later battle between William of Normandy and Harold Godwinson
• William of Normandy would win the battle
• Harold likely made some sort of promise to support William's claim
• If it was a promise to make William King of England, perhaps Harold had little choice but to make this promise