Godwin of Wessex was the father of Harold II, the last Anglo-Saxon king of England, defeated by Duke William of Normandy at the Battle of Hastings. Godwin was likely the son of Wulfnoth Cild, a thegn of Sussex. He first appears in documents during the reign of Cnut, one of… Read More »Earl Godwin of Wessex
Edmund II, the son of King Ethelred the Unready, ruled over Wessex for a short period of time. His reign lasted all of seven months, from April 23 to November 30 of the year 1016. During that time, Edmund managed to hold off Canute (or Cnut or Knute) from invading… Read More »Edmund II Ironside
He was the pious king, the saintly king, one of the last Anglo-Saxon rulers to sit the English throne. He was St. Edward the Confessor, the son of King Ethelred II and Emma, the daughter of Richard II of Normandy. Exiled due to Danish invasions and unrest among the English… Read More »Edward the Confessor (c. 1003 – 1066)
The power vacuum left after the deaths of King Henry I and his only legitimate son, William, resulted in a power struggle between Henry’s nephew, Stephen of Blois, and Henry’s daughter, Matilda. Before Henry’s death, the barons had agreed to support Matilda as the next ruler of England, but instead… Read More »Stephen of Blois
Henry I (1068 – 1135) was the fourth son of William the Conqueror, and might never have become king if not for the rebellious nature of his eldest brother (Robert Curthose) and the untimely deaths of his other two brothers (Richard and William Rufus). It is even speculated that Henry… Read More »King Henry I of England
Robert Curthose (Robert II), Duke of Normandy (b. 1054 – d. 1134) The eldest son of William the Conqueror and Maltida of Flanders, Robert Curthose was the likely successor to his father’s estates in Normandy. His unstable temperament and rebellious nature, however, led to his expulsion and exile to Italy,… Read More »Robert Curthose (Robert II), Duke of Normandy
According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, Cerdic arrived off the coast of Britain with his son, Cynric, and a fleet of five ships in the year 495 and landed near Southhampton (Hampshire), or what the chronicle calls “Cerdic’s-ore.” That day, they fought against an army of Welsh troops. In the year… Read More »Famous People in Medieval History: Cerdic, First King of Wessex
The Capetians, called the Robertinians in earlier generations, ruled medieval France from 987 to 1328. A powerful family in the West Frankish Kingdom, the Capetians were likely of Saxon origin, migrating from the Rhine-Meuse region some time in the early 8th century. For several generations the Robertinians, descendants of Count… Read More »The Capetians
The Angles and Saxons arrived in England sometime during the 5th century, not long after Rome had fled the island and left the Britons to fight against their northern aggressors, the Picts. According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, in A.D. 449: In their days Hengest and Horsa, invited by Wurtgern, king… Read More »The Anglo-Saxons in Medieval England