Gyrth Godwinson

Gyrth and his brother's death at theBattle of Hastings,scene 52of theBayeux Tapestry.
HIC CECIDERUNT LEWINE ET GYRD FRATRES HAROLDI REGIS
(Here have fallen dead Leofwine and Gyrth, brothers of King Harold)

Gyrth Godwinson(Old English:Gyrð Godƿinson;c.1032– 14 October 1066) was the fourth son ofEarl Godwin,and thus a younger brother ofHarold Godwinson.He went with his eldest brotherSweyninto exile to Flanders in 1051, but unlike Sweyn 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.

Biography

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 brotherLeofwine's Earldoms of Kent, Essex, Middlesex, Hertford, Surrey and probably Buckinghamshirethe Godwinsonsnow controlled the entirety of East England.

According toOrderic VitalisandWilliam of Malmesbury,Gyrth tried (ineffectually) to prevent Harold from engagingWilliam of Normandyin battle, saying that he instead could lead the English forces and that he must stay in London to lead another battle and reminding him of the oath which he had sworn to William. Harold, however, ignored Gyrth's advice. Gyrth fought at and was killed in theBattle of Hastingsalongside his brothers Harold and Leofwine.

Popular culture

Gyrth was portrayed by actorMalcolm Websterin the two-partBBCTV playConquest(1966), part of the seriesTheatre 625.

Sources

• Barlow, Frank (ed.).Vita Ædwardi.
• DeVries, Kelly (1999).The Norwegian Invasion of England in 1066.Boydell Press. pp. 108–114.ISBN1-84383-027-2.

External links

• Gyrth 1atProsopography of Anglo-Saxon England