Harold Godwinson: Encyclopedia II - Harold Godwinson - Legacy and Legend

Harold Godwinson - Legacy and Legend

Harold's illegitimate daughter Gytha of Wessex married Vladimir Monomakh Grand Duke (Velikii Kniaz) of Kievan Rus' and is ancestor to dynasties of Galicia, Smolensk and Yaroslavl, whose scions include Modest Mussorgsky and Peter Kropotkin. Consequently, the Russian Orthodox Church recently recognised Harold as a martyr with October 14 as his feast day. Ulf, along with Morcar and two others, were released from prison by King William as he lay dying in 1087. He threw his lot in with Robert Curthose, who knighted him, and disappeared from history. Two of his elder half-brothers, Godwine and Magnus, made a number of attempts at invading England in 1068 and 1069 with the aid of Diarmait mac Mail na mBo. They raided Cornwall as late as 1082, but died in obscurity in Ireland.

A cult of hero-worship rose around Harold, and by the 12th century, legend says that Harold had indeed survived the battle, had spent two years in Winchester after the battle recovering from his wounds, and then traveled to Germany, where he spent years wandering as a pilgrim. As an old man, he supposedly returned to England, and lived as a hermit in a cave near Dover. As he lay dying, he confessed that although he went by the name of Christian, he had been born Harold Godwinson. Various versions of this story persisted throughout the Middle Ages, and have little claim to fact.

Literary interest in Harold revived in the 19th century, with the play Harold, by Alfred, Lord Tennyson, in (1876); and the novel Last of the Saxon Kings, by Edward Bulwer-Lytton, in (1848). Rudyard Kipling wrote a story, The Tree of Justice (1910), describing how an old man who turns out to be Harold is brought before Henry I. E. A. Freeman wrote a serious history in History of the Norman Conquest of England (1870-79), in which Harold is seen as a great English hero. A fictional account based on the events surrounding Harold's struggle for and brief reign as king of England titled "The Interim King" has been published and is written by James McMillan. By the 21st century, Harold's reputation remains tied as it has always been, with subjective views of the "right-ness" or "wrong-ness" of the Norman conquest.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Legacy and Legend", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki