Norman Conquest Timeline

HAROLD IS RIGHTFUL KING SAYS ARCHBISHOP

Canterbury, 4 October 1066

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Stigand, has again declared that Harold is the lawful heir to the English throne. Stigand was present at the deathbed of Edward the Confessor in the role of priest and witnessed the King's dying wish that Harold succeed him.

"Edward was specific," Stigand says. "Queen Edith was there weeping and the King said to Harold: 'I commend this woman and all the kingdom to your protection.' To protect the kingdom he would have to take the throne. It was plain that he should also have authority over the Queen, who is his sister. 'Serve her and honour her with faithful obedience as your lady and sister, which she is, and do not deprive her, as long as she lives, of any honour she has received from me.'"

Stigand also says that the old King wanted Harold to be magnanimous towards the Normans Edward had brought over to England after his exile in Normandy. He reports King Edward as saying: "I also commend to you those men who have left their native land for love of me and served me faithfully. Take an oath of fealty from them if they wish, and protect and retain them; or send them with your safe conduct across the Channel to their homes with all they have acquired in my service.'"

Apparently King Edward said all this in front of a Norman, his courtier Robert fitz Wimarc. Even William of Normandy does not deny what Edward said on his deathbed.

However, some have put other interpretations on the King's dying words. It is possible that he may only have wanted Harold to act as regent until William arrived in England. William claims that Edward promised the crown to him in 1051, in gratitude for his protection during Edward's 25-year exile in Normandy. Even if Edward had offered Harold the crown on his deathbed, Harold had sworn an oath to support William's succession during a visit to Normandy in 1064. By taking the crown himself, he had broken that oath. Harold's perjury was one of the Normans' stated reasons for the invasion.

Stigand's view of events is not unbiased. Although he did not crown Harold - that was done by the Archbishop of York - Stigand is known as vehemently anti-Norman. He brokered a deal between Harold's father and Edward in 1052 that resulted in many Normans fleeing England. One of them was the Archbishop of Canterbury, Robert of Jumièges. In a blatantly uncanonical move Stigand then took over that position while his predecessor was still alive. Stigand was confirmed as Archbishop 1058 - but only by the antipope Benedict X. When Benedict was deposed in 1059, Stigand was excommunicated by Pope Nicholas II. The pope has even given his backing to the Norman invasion to reassert Rome's authority in England and have Stigand deposed.

Opening a new front in the war of words, William is now claiming that Stigand, along with Harold and two other earls, swore to support William's claim to the throne in King Edward's presence.

Article by Nigel Cawthorne