Gyrth Godwinsson, Earl of East Anglia

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Gyrth Godwinsson, Earl of East Anglia

Also Known As: "Gyrð Gōdwinson"
Birthdate:
Birthplace: Wessex, Isle of Thanet, Kent, England (United Kingdom)
Death: October 14, 1066 (33-34)
Senlac Hill, Hastings, Sussex, England (United Kingdom) (Killed in the Battle of Hastings)
Place of Burial: England
Immediate Family:

Son of Gōdwine Wulfnothsson, Earl of Wessex and Gytha, countess of Wessex
Brother of Eadgyth Gōdwinesdatter, Queen of England; Sweyn Godwinson, Earl of Herefordshire; Harold Godwinsson, King of England; Tostig Godwinson, Earl of Northumbria; Leofwine Godwinsson, Earl of Essex and Kent and 2 others

Occupation: Comte d'East-Anglie, du Cambridgeshire et de l'Oxfordshire
Managed by: Private User
Last Updated:

About Gyrth Godwinsson, Earl of East Anglia

Gyrth Godwinson (Old English: Gyrð Gōdwinson) (c. 1032[1] – October 14, 1066) was the fourth son of Earl Godwin, and thus a younger brother of Harold II of England. He went with his eldest brother Swegen into exile to Flanders in 1051, but unlike Swegen 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.

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[2]. Together with his brother Leofwine's Earldoms of Kent, Essex, Middlesex, Hertford, Surrey and probably Buckinghamshire[3] the Godwinsons now controlled the entirety of East England.

According to Orderic Vitalis and William of Malmesbury, he tried (ineffectually) to prevent Harold from engaging William of Normandy in battle, saying that he instead could lead the English forces and urging his brother not to break the oath which he had sworn to William confirming the latter's succession. Harold, however, ignored Gyrth's advice. Gyrth fought at and was killed in the Battle of Hastings alongside his brothers Harold and Leofwine[4].

Leofwine's death at the Battle of Hastings. HIC CECIDERUNT LEWINE ET GYRD FRATRES HAROLDI REGIS (Here have fallen dead Leofwine and Gyrth, brothers of King Harold)

5. GYRTH ([1032]-killed in battle Hastings 14 Oct 1066[574]). Orderic Vitalis names “Suenum, Tosticum, Heraldum, Guorth, Elgarum, Leofvinum et Wlnodum” as the seven sons of “Githa Goduini comitis relicta”[575]. Florence of Worcester records that he fled with his parents to Bruges in 1051, after the family's disgrace[576]. He was appointed Earl of the East Angles in 1057, in succession to Earl Ælfgar who had succeeded his father as Earl of Mercia. After Gyrth's death, his lands were given to Ralph "the Staller" by William I King of England.
https://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/ENGLAND,%20AngloSaxon%20nobility.h...


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Gyrth Godwinsson, Earl of East Anglia's Timeline

1032
1032
Wessex, Isle of Thanet, Kent, England (United Kingdom)
1066
October 14, 1066
Age 34
Senlac Hill, Hastings, Sussex, England (United Kingdom)
1066
Age 34
England (United Kingdom)
????
Also Of, Isle Of Thanet, Kent, England
????
Also Of, Isle Of Thanet, Kent, England
????
Also Of, Isle Of Thanet, Kent, England