Yes, he did eventually give up.
And there's a strong chance that his friendship with Robert was built on their mutual hatred of William!
TL: Young and Invaded: The Tales of Edgar Ætheling
- Thread starter Emperor Max
- Start date
And there's a strong chance that his friendship with Robert was built on their mutual hatred of William!
That's probably true.And there's a strong chance that his friendship with Robert was built on their mutual hatred of William!
Chapter 6: From Stanford Bridge, to Hastings and then to London
William shot in the eye, as shown by the Gloucester Tapestry
After Stamford, Harold, the army and the Scottish troops marched down to Hastings, where they met the Norman army, led by William, Duke of Normandy. The battle went on all afternoon until William had an arrow shot in his eye by an anonymous soldier. The two invasions of England were defeated by Harolds army. The army soon returned to London and were cheered by the large populace. Edgar and Gyrth contemplated how Edgar could keep his power and not have to relinquish Wessex, Mercia and East Anglia to Harold. Gyrth believed that while he liked Harold, that he would not like to be under him as King. However, Harold had a boost of popularity from Stamford Bridge and Hastings and was popular with the populace, but his son, Godwin, wasn’t so popular, he had been having affairs with many nuns and noblewomen, including Edgar’s sister Margaret. William shot in the eye, as shown by the Gloucester Tapestry
Edgar was okay for now, England had been weakened and plans to split the kingdom had been pushed back.
What do you think Edgar should do?
Marry Harold's daughter and a few years later have him conveniently "fall ill and die".
Chapter 7: Edgar’s Efforts
Leofwine at Battle of Hastings along with other Godwin family members, as shown in the Gloucester Tapestry
In February 1067, Edgar married Gytha, the daughter of Harold Godwinson, to try and strengthen his claim to the throne. As part of Edgar’s plan, he would have Harold’s brother Leofwine assassinated, in an effort to lower the power of the Godwin family. The assassination attempt on Leofwine was successful and he was murdered in October 1067. Tostig was killed at the Battle of Stamford Bridge and Edgar had replaced him with a pro-Edgar nobleman, the same happened to Leofwine after his assassination. This reduced the Godwin family holdings to Harold in Wessex and Gyrth in East Anglia, who was fond of Edgar. Edgar had the plans to split the kingdom cancelled and was no longer a Witan puppet. He was crowned on 25 December 1068 at Westminster Abbey. Gytha gave birth to a son, named Edward after Edward the Confessor in 1072.Leofwine at Battle of Hastings along with other Godwin family members, as shown in the Gloucester Tapestry
Marry Cecilia, Constance or Adela of Normandy. If he marries Adela, then that waives King Stephen from history and possibly also the Anarchy as a whole.
Chapter 8: 1073: Practically the Vikings
Left - Hereward, right - Sweyn
In 1073, Sweyn II of Denmark began to invade East Anglia, at the time held by Gyrth. Sweyn was aided by a local thane, Hereward, who was of both English and Norse descent. He was a supporter of Harold during the Witan conflicts in 1066. He didn’t like Edgar, considering him to be weak. Within days, the Danish army had captured East Anglia and Gyrth was killed much do Edgar’s despair. Edgar marched to East Anglia with his whole army and successfully cornered the Viking army but Edgar was merciful to Sweyn, who Edward the Confessor had 'taken in as a son' many years earlier and allowed the army to return to Denmark. Hereward was much less lucky and was executed.Attachments
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Chapter 9: 1074: Hereward’s Survival?
There was a rebellion on the Isle of Wight in 1074, led by a 'Hereward, son of Thored', a descendent of Arwulf of Wight and thus Stuf and Wihtgar, the young nephews of the ancestor of Edgar, King Cerdic. Oddly enough The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle gives a similar descent to Hereward, the rebel thane who was executed in 1073. This means that there are 2 possible solutions.- Hereward wasn’t executed and escaped to the Isle of Wight
- This is a close relative of Hereward, but not a son.
Good to see you back @Emperor Max , and writing your foreshadowed TL on King Edgar II.
Nice touch with the re-purposing of OTL Bayeux images.
Just a couple of minor irritants - the bolded words don't quite sit right... But maybe that's just me.
As I've said before, 'Edgar the Outlaw' is one of my favourite figures. I look forward to seeing where you take him.
All the best with your TL.
Nice touch with the re-purposing of OTL Bayeux images.
Just a couple of minor irritants - the bolded words don't quite sit right... But maybe that's just me.
As I've said before, 'Edgar the Outlaw' is one of my favourite figures. I look forward to seeing where you take him.
All the best with your TL.
Edgar installs morcar as Earl of Northumbria in 1066 after tostig is killed, like in OTL. Edwin is a pro-Edgar Earl.
Chapter 10: 1079: Godwin‘s Revolt
Map of Earldoms
In 1075, Harold Godwinson died and he was succeeded by his son, the unpopular Godwin. But in 1079, Godwin and the Earldom of Wessex rebelled against Edgar, planning to take the throne which he believed was rightfully his fathers. Godwin’s soldiers pushed through Mercia, Kent and near London before the rebellion was successfully suppressed. Godwin and many of the Godwin’s were tried and found guilty for treason, bringing an end to the Godwin supremacy in England. Map of Earldoms
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there are no Godwins who have Earldoms now, Gyrth was killed in battle, Harold died in 1075, Tostig was replaced with Morcar, Leofwine was assassinated and replaced with an Edgar loyalist.
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Chapter 11: Children of Edgar Ætheling
Edgar had 8 children with his wife, Gytha Haroldsson. 6 sons and 2 daughters, only one of the children died in infancy.- Edward III (b. 1072. d. 1128) (ruled 1126-1128) m. Constance of France (2 daughters)
- Edgar I of Jerusalem (b. 1073. d. 1104) m. Emma of Apulia (1 daughter)
- Edmund Ætheling (b. 1075. d. 1089)
- Æthelred Ætheling (b. 1077. d. 1107) m. Adeliza of Normandy (3 sons, 1 daughter)
- Thored Ætheling (b. 1079. d. 1096)
- Agatha, Abbess of Shaftesbury (b. 1080. d. 1106)
- Ealdgyth, Countess of Edessa (b. 1081. d. 1113) m. Baldwin, Count of Edessa (3 daughters)
- Ordgar (b. 1082. d. 1083)
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