My historical novel, The Road To Battle, deals with the events and personalities surrounding the Norman Conquest of England in the year 1066. Just like all major watersheds in history the Norman Conquest has a history all its own, which helped to create the circumstances which led to the eventual conflict between all of the involved parties and its outcome, first at the Battle of Stamford Bridge, and then the Battle of Hastings (also known as Senlac).

The chain of events that would ultimately culminate in the Norman Conquest of England truly begins with the dawn of what would become known as the age of the Vikings. This commenced with the first raid upon English soil by these fierce and intrepid Scandinavian warriors in the year 793 at the abbey of Lindisfarne. For the next 275 years roughly England would be continuously harassed and at times occupied by Viking marauders, particularly the Danes, and the struggle to free themselves from Viking rule would prove a most critical factor in shaping English national identity. England didn’t achieve what was ultimately regarded as its first semblance of national unity until Egbert, ruler of the kingdom of Wessex, was recognized as the nominal overlord of the kingdom of Northumbria in the year 829 after having already secured the submission of the kingdoms of Mercia and East Anglia. However, this accordance of title is in fact misleading as there emerged no viable conception of a united English kingdom until Alfred came to rule over Wessex, and through his valiant and ultimately successful campaign against the Danes forged a somewhat unified realm, earning the sobriquet of “the Great” for his efforts.

The fortunes of the fledgling English state waxed and waned over the course of the following century after Alfred’s decisive victory at the Battle of Edington in 878, but on March 18 in the year 978 a fateful decline began with the murder of young King Edward, the heir of King Edgar, the great grandson of Alfred the Great. Edgar had died in 975, leaving Edward to succeed him as his eldest son by his first wife. Unfortunately, Edgar had made the grave error of taking a Lady Aethelthryth as his second wife, and had fathered a son by her named Aethelred, about four years old at Edgar’s death. Aethelthryth wanted Aethelred on the throne, and arranged the murder of King Edward to accomplish this, an act many held placed England and its royal house under the curse of vengeance, which in my novel is articulated in what I call Saint Dunstan’s curse, Saint Dunstan having been the tutor of the slain monarch who would be known thereafter as Edward the Martyr. Aethelred would earn a far less savory nickname, that of “the Unready”, a title his woeful lack of competence as England’s sovereign would amply justify.

During the 10th century and even before, Christian missionaries had embarked on campaigns to convert the heathen Vikings to their faith, with mixed success. Although by the 11th century Denmark, Norway, and Sweden had nominally become Christianized, the old ways and beliefs displayed a considerable persistence, a fact testified to by the appearance of both Teutonic and Christian totems upon many Scandinavian tombs. The predatory habits of the Norse remained undiminished by the new faith’s acceptance, and they continued to wage war ferociously among themselves and to make continuous raids upon other lands. One of their chiefs, Rollo, launched expeditions of such relentless rapacity against the weak domain of the Carolingian French King Charles III that in the year 911, Charles ceded Rollo and his followers the territory upon which the Duchy of Normandy was founded. Normandy would quickly rise to become one of the most states in Europe, eventually being inherited by the man who would capture England in 1066.

In England, King Aethelred demonstrated himself a singularly poor and ineffective ruler, and his reign would ultimately prove disastrous and determining for his country. In the year 991 a famous battle was fought and lost to the Danes at Maldon, and eleven years later in 1002 King Aethelred on very bad advice from his royal counselors perpetrated what would be known as a massacre of the Danes on St. Brice’s Day, November 13. The sister of King Svein of Denmark happened to be among the massacre’s victims, and this naturally caused the Dane to seek royal vengeance against Aethelred. The same year of the St. Brice’s Day Massacre also saw another crucial event transpire – the marriage of Aethelred with Lady Emma of Normandy, a wedding which bound the destinies of England and Normandy together irrevocably and set the stage for the ultimate contest over English sovereignty decades later.

Lady Emma was much younger than her royal husband, only about fifteen at the time of the marriage and it is quite an understatement to state she wasn’t left enthralled by King Aethelred. Although children were born (among them Edward, later King of England, Alfred, and Godgifu, a woman who would play her own minor role in the events leading up to the Norman Conquest) relations between Aethelred and Emma grew strained very quickly and she came to despise him for various reasons, his royal incapacity foremost. In my novel it’s implied that Emma turned to a young nobleman, Godwine, for both private comfort/pleasure and political support. Given the nature of the times and the individuals involved, I think it’s quite possible, if not probable they may well have been lovers. Godwine, consumed with ambition, was certainly to prove himself instrumental in eventually deposing Aethelred from power when the Danes invaded England in 1013-14, the expedition led first by King Svein and then by his most handsome and capable son Canute upon Svein’s death. Lady Emma had fled to Normandy with Princes Edward and Alfred at the Danish investment leaving the hapless Aethelred abandoned. Emma soon returned home to woo Canute, however, possibly/probably with Godwine’s help, and at length King Aethelred was removed from the throne of England in favor of Canute, who then wed Lady Emma, allowing her to remain Queen. Aethelred died soon after his dethroning, and it’s possible he was murdered by Godwine to cement good relations with Canute and Emma. Aethelred left a son by a prior wife, Prince Edmund, to succeed him but Edmund, known as “Ironside”, also died under mysterious circumstances after being defeated by Canute at the Battle of Ashington in 1016. Meanwhile the two Princes Edward and Alfred remained in exile at the court of Normandy, the wards of Duke Richard, Emma’s brother. This desertion by their mother would shape both men dramatically and directly influence the events that would attain their climax in the autumn of 1066.

Canute, who would be called “the Great,” would rule England for almost twenty years with Lady Emma as his consort. She gave birth to an heir, Harthecanute, in 1018, but Canute’s affair with an Englishwoman called Aelfgifu would ultimately complicate the royal succession owing to its production of an illegitimate but recognized son who’d be known later as Harold Harefoot.

Godwine profited handsomely from his role in bringing Canute to the throne and helping Lady Emma remain Queen, being awarded title to the earldom of Wessex in 1018 and being given a new bride, Canute’s fifteen year old cousin Gytha. From this political union sprang the initial foundation of the house of Godwine, whose significant members would include Harold, later King of England, Edith, who would become Queen to Prince Edward, and Tosti, who perhaps more than any other figure affected events critically through his actions resulting in the Norse and Norman invasions of England.

Events in Normandy and Norway at this time also contributed to the situation that would be resolved by the Conquest of England. Duke Richard II of Normandy, brother to Lady Emma, died in the year 1026, being succeeded briefly by his son Richard III. When Richard died in 1027, his brother Robert, who would be known in popular legend as both “the Magnificent” and “the Devil” became Duke of Normandy, and around this time altered the course of history by his affair with a certain Herleva (also referred to as Arlette – it’s from her that the term “harlot” was said to have been derived – perhaps a clue to her personality or a further slander upon her son), a tanner’s daughter from the vicinity of Falaise. It’s reputed that Robert fell in love with her after catching sight of her bathing naked in a nearby river, and their ensuing relationship produced two children – a girl named Adelaide, and a son named William who would be known as the Bastard and one day conquer England. Arlette was eventually married off to one Herluin of Conteville, bearing him two children as well, Robert, Count of Mortain, and more significantly, Odo, who would become Bishop of Bayeux and his half-brother William’s right-hand man, and a leading advocate of England’s conquest. Duke Robert died abruptly while on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem in 1035m leaving his young son William to succeed him as Duke of Normandy. Ambitious men, among them William’s own relatives, at once conspired to depose and murder the young heir to seize power, ensuring a traumatic childhood for William (he was often on the run and witnessed the brutal murder of supporters and guardians on more than one occasion). William had to turn to King Henry I of France for protection, becoming for a time Henry’s vassal. Duke Robert had sheltered Princes Edward and Alfred of England as his father and brother had before him, and in gratitude it’s alleged Edward promised Robert he would name him as his heir if he ever regained his father Aethelred’s sovereignty. This is what William always claimed afterward, and it led to a visit to England on his part in 1051 during which Edward is supposed to have reaffirmed such a promise, naming William as his heir. Prince Alfred had perished under mysterious circumstances in 1036 when he became involved in the civil war then being waged in England between Harold Harefoot and Harthecanute. It’s thought Earl Godwine murdered him although he was acquitted of the crime (in the novel I posit my own possible scenario).

In Norway, Christianity had been established in the reign of King Olaf II (r. 1015-28), Olaf being then driven out of Norway by King Canute with the help of rebellious Norwegian nobles. At the great Battle of Stiklestad in 1030, King Olaf was killed and more importantly, his half-brother Harald, then fifteen years old, was forced to flee east to the land of the Rus and to the Byzantine Empire at Constantinople, biding his time for a return. Harald would become quite renowned as a warrior, becoming leader of the Varangian guard, and grew into a giant almost seven feet tall of spectacular strength and cunning to match. In 1035 King Olaf’s son Magnus came to the throne of Norway, and in 1041 he made a fateful arrangement with then King of England Harthecanute agreeing that whomever of them died first should be succeeded by the other. As Harthecanute died the next year, this would yield Harald a claim to the throne of England when he came back to Norway in 1046 and succeeded Magnus a year later. Harald would become known as Hardrada, or “Hard-Counsel,” which may reflect a pragmatic frame of mind or a tendency to refuse practical advice, or perhaps both.

One of the otherwise insignificant King Harthecanute’s decisive actions was to invite Prince Edward back to England from Normandy in 1041. Edward had become far more Norman than English owing to his long exile although it’s been theorized that he had a love-hate perspective regarding his adopted homeland. Earl Godwine of Wessex saw Edward as a potential instrument through which he might wield power, and perhaps even succeed to the throne himself. Upon the sudden death of Harthecanute in June 1042, Godwine acted swiftly, managing to prevent Lady Emma from starting another civil war to seat Magnus of Norway on the English throne, locking her up and placing Edward in power in March 1043. Two years later Godwine wed his daughter Edith to King Edward, despite reports of Edward’s aversion to women (homosexuality and other allegedly deviant practices were widespread then, much more than people realize). At this time Harold Godwinesson was coming to manhood, although he wasn’t in line to succeed Godwine as Earl of Wessex due to the impediment of his elder brother Sweyn, a notorious villain.

In 1047, at the Battle of Val-es-Dunes, Duke William of Normandy established himself as the undisputed master of his domain, marking the beginning of a meteoric rise to prominence. Duke William would break with France a few years later, thanks in part to his marriage with Matilda of Flanders, a distant cousin and King Henry’s niece. Henry opposed this marriage, and succeeded in getting the Pope to issue a ban against it, an act that strained relations with his former protégé. In 1054, at the Battle of Mortemer, William defeated a large French army, repeating the triumph three years later in 1057 at the Battle of Varaville. These victories made Duke William a power to be reckoned with, coinciding with a vast Norman expansion taking place in South Italy under another adventurer, Robert Guiscard. Meanwhile, Sweyn, Harold Godwinesson’s brother, had died during a pilgrimage to Jerusalem and Earl Godwine himself had died the following year in 1053, possibly poisoned (this was a method highly favored in Normandy). The deaths of Sweyn and Godwine left Harold heir to Wessex and the second most powerful man in England. Edward had fathered n o children by Harold’s sister Edith and thus Harold began entertaining thoughts of proving Edward’s eventual inheritor. Naturally Duke William saw Harold as a rival for power, and the stage was set for an ultimate battle of wits and at length swords between them.

In the decade or so before 1066 the eventual combatants for England’s throne were engaged in various personal intrigues and military campaigns. Harold fought the Welsh, Duke William was preoccupied with France and the Count of Anjou, another adversary, and Harald Hardrada was at war with Denmark. During this time occurred several key developments. In 1055 Earl Siward of Northumbria died, possibly poisoned, and Queen Edith manipulated matters so that her brother Tosti succeeded him, forcing Earl Siward’s son Waltheof into exile where he would ultimately wed Duke William’s niece. Tosti would go on to befriend Malcolm Canmore, the heir to the throne of Scotland, usurped by the infamous Macbeth later immortalized by Shakespeare, and through him (Malcolm was married to Ingiborg, a relation of Harald Hardrada) the King of Norway. In 1057 Malcolm was restored to the Scottish throne, and that same year a nephew of King Edward’s, known as Edward Aetheling or Edward the Exile, returned to England from an exile in Hungary with his family at Edward’s invitation. It’s been speculated Edward had plans to recognize his nephew as his heir, but Edward Aetheling died suddenly soon after returning to England, most likely by poison supplied by either Earl Harold Godwinesson or Duke William of Normandy. After Edward Aetheling’s death his wife the Lady Agathe would champion her son Edgar’s claim to the English throne as the last of Aethelred’s line.

In 1060 King Henry of France and Count Geoffrey of Anjou both died, leaving Duke William at liberty to entertain his designs on the English throne without local opposition (although King Philip, Henry’s young successor, regarded William with undiminished antagonism). Godgifu, the sister of King Edward, had married and had a son named Walter of Mantes, who in the year 1062 succeeded a nobleman named Herbert Wake-the-Dog as Count of Maine, a province adjacent to Normandy. Duke William promptly invaded Maine and seized it as his own territory, taking as hostages Count Walter and his family. At the same time Earl Harold was campaigning in Wales against Prince Gruffydd, defeating him in 1063. It’s possible Lady Aldgyth, Gruffydd’s English wife, had something to do with his death, and she returned to England with Harold (she was the grand-daughter of the famous Lady Godiva). King Harald Hardrada’s war against Denmark was winding down and would end by treaty in 1064.

In 1064-65 several critical events transpired which would provide the direct impetus for Duke William’s invasion of England and the last incursion onto English soil by the Norse. The seizure of Maine by Normandy and the capture of its nominal ruler Count Walter of Mantes, the nephew of King Edward the Confessor of England, may have prompted Edward to dispatch Earl Harold Godwinesson to Normandy upon a mission of mercy, so to speak, to secure the release of Walter and his family. According to accepted history, Earl Harold did undertake to go to Normandy on some pretext in 1064 and was allegedly imprisoned by Count Guy of Ponthieu after his ship was wrecked off Ponthieu’s coast, being rescued from such captivity by Duke William. The Norman account of this episode implied Harold had been sent by King Edward to validate the pledge that Edward had made to Duke William concerning the Duke’s succession to the English throne, but in light of the Conquest it must be understood that the Normans had final say over what version of events became Gospel, as there were no surviving English accounts to seriously contradict it.

It was said that Harold swore an oath of voluntary submission to Duke William but it’s implied by other sources that Harold was tricked or otherwise coerced into taking such an oath, if he did in fact do so. It has also been suggested that Harold might have become betrothed to a daughter of Duke William’s named Agatha, despite Harold’s “common-law” or Danish marriage with a woman named Ealdgyth Swanneshalles, the mother of his children.

In my novel I advance my own version of what occurred to leave Harold in such a precarious position upon King Edward’s death in January 1066, based upon calculated speculation deriving from careful consideration of viable possibilities and the various personalities involved and their potential motivations. One must remember that at heart, the Norman Conquest was the product of a prolonged and intricate domestic dispute, particularly within the Godwine family itself, a family joined to that of Duke William of Normandy’s by marriage (Earl Tosti, Harold’s brother, had wed Lady Judith, sister to Duke William’s wife Lady Matilda). That there were all sorts of personal petty intriguing going on by various individuals on both sides of the English Channel shouldn’t be doubted as it shouldn’t be forgotten how purely petty motivations can exercise an enormous impact upon history. For example, Duke William had been known unflatteringly as the Bastard his entire life, and was very eager to garner respectability he felt denied him, hence his desire to be a king. Earl Tosti was a third son who’d spent his entire life in the shadow of his two elder brothers, much to his dismay, and was a thoroughly unsavory and unpleasant character from all reports. Despite this he’d been a favorite of his sister Queen Edith (perhaps for her own reasons – remember, she’d been wed to King Edward, a man who’d never treated her kindly and whom she probably didn’t like, let alone ever love, just to serve her father’s political agenda, and Earl Harold had kept her wed to Edward to likewise serve his own ambitions) and through her a favorite of King Edward’s – he’d become Earl of Northumbria due to Edith’s assistance (proving himself a hated tyrant) and had even entertained ambition of succeeding Edward as king himself. However, in 1065, a sudden revolt by the Northumbrian nobles had resulted in Tosti’s summary ouster and exile with Earl Harold’s tacit approval. This may have been due to nothing more than sheer sibling rivalry, or a matter of Harold’s taking revenge upon Tosti for some personal injury (remember, Tosti was the brother-in-law of Duke William and it’s no stretch to thus presume he played both sides to serve his own ends). Tosti ultimately ended up in Duke William’s service out of vengeance, before going to Scotland and then Norway to plead for assistance in reclaiming his estate. King Harald Hardrada had what could have been held legitimate claim to the English throne, but as he was fifty-one at the time of Tosti’s petition, it’s also possible the aging warrior might’ve been looking to recapture the “glory days” of his youth and the Viking past which was then receding under the civilizing influence of Christianity. My point here is to stress how this fateful historical event of such lasting significance was in all likelihood equally shaped by what might be held as mundane personal motives, vengeful indignation being foremost among them, as by any alleged higher inspiration or grand strategizing. As in everyday life, most things on a so-called historic scale happen for far less than exalted reasons and the Norman Conquest to my mind is a prime example of this.

When King Edward the Confessor died on January 6, 1066, Harold faced a serious dilemma he resolved by seizing the English throne in violation of his supposed oath to Duke William. He also married Lady Aldgyth, whose brother Morcar had succeeded to rule in Northumbria in Earl Tosti’s place, and this action may have likewise abrogated an alleged agreement with Normandy concerning a possible marriage between Harold and the Duke’s daughter Agatha (there is also a tradition that Duke William might have accepted a sister of Harold’s named Aelfgyva as a bride for one of his sons - Aelfgyva’s the famous mystery woman of the Bayeux Tapestry, who must have been involved in some private scandal the Normans learned of – or perhaps she was just the hapless victim of a deliberate smear campaign against the fallen English sovereign the Conquest had violently deposed). These decisions by Harold, along with his estrangement from Tosti set the stage for a dramatic chess game between the antagonists lasting for several months. Harold had to bolster English defenses as well as his own against foreign attacks upon two fronts while Duke William had to create a war-fleet, recruit mercenaries to fight under his standard, persuade his own nobles England was worth mounting a risky overseas invasion for, and secure his own Duchy from attack by its less than amicable neighbors, France in particular. There was also the question of garnering the support of the Church for his expedition, an enterprise whose veracity some have since questioned but which there’s evidence for (an ambitious counselor to then Pope Alexander, Hildebrand, was instrumental in garnering Rome’s blessing for the Norman invasion. Remember, Robert Guiscard, another Norman adventurer, held almost complete sway over south Italy, having actually captured and imprisoned a papal predecessor of Alexander’s almost fifteen years earlier. It wouldn’t have been difficult to impose upon Alexander to rule in William’s favor although some say the Normans only invented such papal support for the Conquest after the fact.

The basis of securing Rome’s nod for the invasion itself stemmed from the alleged corruption of the English church as personified by Stigand, the Archbishop of Canterbury, a conniving double-dealer with a long sordid history of duplicity. Stigand hadn’t been recognized as Archbishop, so it was in the interest of Rome to see him deposed, and Stigand no doubt did everything possible to protect himself. Stigand also had a grudge against Harold, having been withheld the honor of officiating at Harold’s royal coronation) While all this was happening in the south Tosti was in Norway trying to convince King Harald to invest England from the north and capture the crown himself, as much for revenge against Harold as a return to power.

After many months things came to a climax in the fall of 1066, when Harald Hardrada finally invaded England in early September. Hardrada anticipated an easy victory but he and Earl Tosti were soon surprised by Harold Godwinesson’s quick and decisive response, a forced march that caught them off guard at Stamford Bridge ( a roll-over triumph in battle against the incompetent Earl Morcar and his brother Earl Edwine of Mercia at Fulford Gate outside the city of York had rendered Harald and Tosti fatally complacent) and resulted in an annihilating English victory, a victory which marked the end of the Norse threat against England forever after almost 300 years of constant harassment and periodic occupation. Earl Tosti could be said to have had his revenge from beyond the grave, however, as Harold’s necessity of meeting and defeating his brother and Harald Hardrada in the north had provided Duke William with the critical opportunity to land in England from the south, requiring Harold’s forced rush back to confront him. Tosti is truly the key player in the drama of the Norman Conquest, as without his persuasion of Norway to enter the conflict between Harold and Duke William, the outcome of the latter’s expedition would’ve likely met a drastically less successful end. Harold’s Huscarls were among the best fighting men in Europe, and had the English not had to exhaust themselves waging a victorious but expensive battle against the Norse, and had they been waiting for Duke William in the south ready to fight for their native soil fresh, the consequences could have been just as vast and far-reaching as the outcome of their defeat. Instead on October 14, 1066 at Senlac Hill near Hastings, King Harold II of England was ultimately killed and his army beaten by the Normans, changing English and European history forever in incalculable ways.

One of the main criteria for classifying any given historical action as folly is that it should be possible to discern feasible alternative solutions to the action taken, and also that the said action should be seen to be detrimental in its effects to the parties involved. In the case of the Norman Conquest of England, I believe such alternative solutions existed, perhaps in greater abundance than is commonly known and acknowledged. Of course, it can be said that if Earl Godwine had not contrived to elevate Prince Edward to the English throne, a man who was essentially raised a foreigner and was hostile both to the country for his father Aethelred’s deposition and death and his own exiling, and to Godwine himself for his purported role in the death of Edward’s brother Prince Alfred Aetheling, there never would’ve been a succession crisis such as ultimately arose. Edward’s antipathy to women was well-known, and being forced to marry a member of a family he held responsible for his brother’s death who was half his age wasn’t likely to result in a heir’s swift production, Godwine should’ve known, but since he entertained designs of either becoming king in Edward’s place or having one of his sons do so, it may be assumed Godwine was perhaps indifferent to Edward’s sexuality and sentiments. He was also uncaring of his daughter Edith as he thought nothing of her happiness in binding her to an aloof husband she didn’t love who cared nothing for her, and how this doubtless embittering mistreatment may’ve influenced later events can only be conjectured. Denied the joy of true love and motherhood, Edith may’ve cultivated a deep hateful resentment against her own family for her unhappiness, and perhaps conspired with Edward at length against them and also plotted to foil Duke William’s effort to claim the English crown (King Edward’s reported to have held bitter feelings against the Normans for the way he’d been treated in his youth, and also because he despised his mother the Lady Emma whom he held liable for his father’s death and his own abandonment).

Duke William as has been noted suffered from the stigma attached to his illegitimate birth and as a result was intent upon demonstrating himself worthy of noble rank and respect by becoming a king in his own right. Had he not become obsessed with acquiring England’s crown, and been satisfied to assume sovereignty over France in wake of his defeating his old patron King Henry I, again, history would’ve been quite different. William could’ve taken Paris far easier and with a lesser cost in blood and treasury than was entailed by his expedition against England, and had he become King of France William and Harold Godwinesson would have avoided military conflict and perhaps tightened their familial bonds by having their children marry, thereby ensuring their grandchildren of succession rights to their respective royal estates without bloodshed. The main trouble between William and France began with the marriage of Duke William to Henry’s niece, Matilda of Flanders, a troth Henry disapproved of and tried to block. Matilda is alleged to have had an affair with a certain Brihtric Meaw, an English nobleman, prior to marrying William, and it’s possible that if this is true she might’ve been sent to France in disgrace, and reacted by going after William out of anger, spite, and resentment at possible mistreatment by her uncle. It’s also possible Henry simply didn’t want William becoming too powerful by marrying a member of his family, and underestimated both the feelings and ambitions of the would-be couple to his lasting regret. At any rate Duke William had ample opportunity and was very likely advised to take the French throne instead of England’s and out of stubborn pride refused, wishing to prove his valor in the Viking tradition of his ancestors through a daring, dangerous invasion by sea.

Harold Godwinesson’s greatest tactical error by far was in allowing his brother Earl Tosti to be overthrown and exiled, and had Harold recognized this and taken prudent steps to woo Tosti back into the family fold, the consequences would’ve proven tremendous. This is an instance where purely petty personal differences exerted a singularly critical effect upon vital historical outcomes. We can only speculate as to why Harold turned on Tosti, being doubtless aware of the lifelong bitterness his younger brother harbored at being in Harold’s shadow (Harold himself suffered from the burden of knowing his brother Sweyn had been his father’s favorite – there is a Kennedy-like element to the Godwine saga – ambitious father, doting mother, elder son groomed for power but cut off by early death, leaving the second son to uneasily fill his shoes, with a third son awaiting opportunity for distinction in the wings and riding his elder’s coattails with no little resentment and jealousy). A practical solution to the internal strife created by Tosti’s fall would have been the Earl’s arranged restoration in exchange for intercession on Tosti’s part against his Norman brother-in-law – imagine how events might have transpired had Tosti reconciled with Harold, and been sent to Norway to negotiate a formal alliance between his brother and Harald Hardrada. It’s possible Harold was repaying treachery in kind, and that Tosti had acted as Duke William’s agent against Harold prior to his exile - Tosti may’ve helped Duke William to entrap Harold into taking his alleged oath of fealty to the Duke, or it might have been that Edward and Edith were planning to have Tosti succeed to the throne in Harold’s place. Harold’s other error was in marrying Aldgyth, a move that had some practical benefit but not as much as if Harold had wed a daughter of Duke William’s as he was alleged by some sources to have promised to do or had simply made William an offer the Duke would’ve been compelled to at least ponder before resorting to military action. Other options available to Harold other than usurpation of England’s crown were: 1) He could’ve chosen to raise Edgar Aetheling to the throne and thus foiled Duke William’s claim without giving him any cause to accuse Harold of oath-breaking (Harold could’ve passed the buck, declaring the Witan, England’s royal council, of choosing Edgar as king despite Harold’s objections). 2) He could’ve acquiesced to William’s claim to rule and then cleverly assumed real power as William’s regent. 3) He could’ve proposed the marriage of a son or daughter of his with one of Duke William’s, with the understanding that either Harold’s son or William’s should succeed Edward, their heir being of joint English and Norman blood). 4) Harold could’ve done likewise with Harald Hardrada, presenting William with the intimidating prospect of meeting Harold and the Norseman together in battle to press his claim). 5) Harold could’ve taken the audacious step of inviting Tosti to become King and thrown William and Hardrada for the proverbial loop. These are just a few of the alternatives Harold Godwinesson could’ve considered embracing to avoid potentially deadly combat with Duke William and Harald Hardrada (the latter’s folly was in getting involved in a conflict he had no real stake in – the English were sick of Norse rule by then and likely would’ve fought to the bitter death resisting renewed Viking sovereignty – don’t rule out the influence of self-deluding nostalgia where Hardrada’s motives are concerned).

The theme of my novel is taken from an old Hebrew proverb which states “He who labors for a crown is lost.” This could certainly be said to be the case where the main antagonists of the drama of the Norman Conquest are concerned. King Harold of England and King Harald Hardrada of Norway lost their lives pursuing royal ambitions that they would’ve been wiser to forego, as did Earl Tosti, but perhaps surprisingly it’s Duke William who personally gained the least from his victory at Senlac. He gained the English crown, yes, but his family life suffered greatly, as he became estranged from his sons, his brothers, Odo in particular, and ultimately his beloved wife Matilda. The responsibilities of kingship were both infinite and wearisome, and William was forever engaged in putting down revolts not only in England but in Normandy as well. It was during the suppression of such a revolt in 1087 that William suffered fatal injury as the result of a riding accident, dying exhausted and regretful a month later on September 9.

It’s said William repented of seizing the English throne from Harold by force of arms, and he had good reason to feel that way. Although it can be said that William’s Conquest and reign laid the foundations of English greatness (and by extension those of the United States), never was it more true of a man that in gaining the world he lost his own soul, and achieved nothing but misery in his own remaining lifetime for it in consequence. Only history, and England at length “won” because of the Norman Conquest – its major antagonists most certainly did not.

To add final ironic insult, after he died William’s corpse was stripped naked and left lying on the floor, before being hastily shoved into a crypt too narrow for its bloated dimension, causing it to burst and send everyone flying from the stench. God save the King, as the saying goes.