harold's norman embassy, 1064

• what is an embassy

  a special visit on behalf of a leader
• when did the embassy happen


  summer of 1064 (possibly 1065)
• where did the embassy happen


  normandy
• why did the embassy happen (norman pov)

  king edward asked harold to go talk with william about plans for william to become king of england and the visit involved harold swearing allegiance to him as his future king
• why did the embassy happen (as pov)

  harold went to recover two hostages from william - harold's brother and his nephew
• what happened during the embassy

  harold travelled to france but ended up in ponthieu which is a small county between normandy and flanders and was taken prisoner by the count guy of ponthieu

  then duke william demanded that guy handed over harold and harold helped him in two military campaigns which resulted in william giving harold gifts of weapons and armour -> symbolic of the relationship between a lord and his warrior

  after telling edward's messaage to william, harold made a solemn oath to william swearing on two holy relics
• why was it significant

  showed that harold was edward's trusted advisor and that it was clearly an important embassy
• how did the normans use the embassy

  boost william's claim to the throne as it suggests close ties between england and normandy
• how did the normans use the embassy to portray harold

  portrayed him as an oath-breaker after harold became king instead of helping william to the throne of england. it showed how important oaths of allegiance between a lord and a follower were both in as and norman england