Family of Tostig GODWINSON and Judith +

Husband:	Tostig GODWINSON (c. 1021-1066)
Wife:	Judith + (1033-1094)
Children:	Skuli TOSTISSON (1052- )
	Ketil TOSTISSON (1054- )
Marriage	bef Sep 1051

Husband: Tostig GODWINSON

Name:	Tostig GODWINSON
Sex:	Male
Father:	Godwin + (992-1053)
Mother:	Gytha + THORGILSDATTER (997- )
Birth	1021 (est)
Death	25 Sep 1066 (age 44-45)	Stamford Bridge, Yorkshire, England
	Cause: battle wounds at the Battle of Stamford Bridge
Burial		York Minster, Yorkshire, England
	Yorkshire, England

Wife: Judith +

Child 1: Skuli TOSTISSON

Name:	Skuli TOSTISSON
Sex:	Male
Birth	1052

Child 2: Ketil TOSTISSON

Name:	Ketil TOSTISSON
Sex:	Male
Birth	1054

Note on Husband: Tostig GODWINSON

ostig Godwinson (died 25 September 1066) was an Anglo-Saxon Earl of Northumbria and brother of King Harold Godwinson, the last crowned english King of England.

Tostig was the third son of Godwin (d. 1053), Earl of Wessex and Kent, and Gytha, daughter of Thorgils Sprakaleg. In 1051, he married Judith, the daughter of Count Baldwin IV, half-sister of Baldwin V of Flanders, and aunt of Matilda who married William the Conqueror. The Domesday Book recorded twenty-six vills or townships as being held by Earl Tostig forming the Manor of Hougun.[1]

[edit] Earl of Northumbria

 

In 1051, Tostig and his father were banished from England to which they forcefully returned in 1052. Three years later in 1055, Tostig became the Earl of Northumbria upon the death of Earl Siward.

 

Tostig appears to have governed in Northumbria with some difficulty. He was never popular with the Northumbrian ruling class, a mix of Danish invaders and Anglo Saxon survivors of the last Norse invasion. Tostig was said to have been heavy handed with those who resisted his rule, including the murder of several members of leading Northumbrian families. In late 1063 or early 1064, Tostig had Gamal, son of Orm and Ulf, son of Dolfin, assassinated when they visited him under safe conduct.[2] Also, the Vita Edwardi, otherwise sympathetic to Tostig, states that he had 'repressed [the Northumbrians] with the heavy yoke of his rule'.

 

He was also frequently absent at the court of King Edward in the south, and possibly showed a lack of leadership against the raiding Scots. Their king was a personal friend of Tostig, and Tostig's unpopularity made it difficult to raise local levies to combat them. He resorted to using a strong force of Danish mercenaries (housecarles) as his main force, an expensive and resented policy (the housecarles' leaders were later slaughtered by rebels). Local biases probably also played a part. Tostig was from the south of England, a distinctly different culture from the north, which had not had a southern earl in several lifetimes. In 1063, still immersed in the confused local politics of Northumbria, his popularity apparently plummeted. Many of the inhabitants of Northumbria were Danes, who had enjoyed lesser taxation than in other parts of England. Yet the wars in Wales, of which Tostig's constituents were principal beneficiaries, needed to be paid for. Tostig had been a major commander in these wars attacking in the north while his brother Harold marched up from the south.

[edit] Deposition of Tostig Godwinson by his brother Harold and the thegns of Northumbria

 

On 3 October 1065, the thegns of Yorkshire and the rest of Yorkshire descended on York and occupied the city. They killed Tostig's officials and supporters, then declared Tostig outlawed for his unlawful actions and sent for Morcar, younger brother of Edwin, Earl of Mercia. The northern rebels marched south to press their case with King Edward. They were joined at Northampton by Earl Edwin and his forces. There, they were met by Earl Harold, who had been sent by King Edward to negotiate with them and thus did not bring his forces. After Harold, by then the king's right hand man, had spoken with the rebels at Northampton, he realized that Tostig would not be able to retain Northumbria. When he returned to Oxford, where the royal council was to meet on 28 October, he had probably already made up his mind.

[edit] Exile and rebellion

 

Harold Godwinson persuaded the King Edward the Confessor to agree to the demands of the rebels. Tostig was outlawed a short time later, possibly early in November, because he refused to accept his deposition as commanded by Edward. This led to the fatal confrontation and enmity between the two Godwinsons. At a meeting of the king and his council, Tostig publicly accused Harold of fomenting the rebellion. Harold was keen to unify England in the face of the grave threat from William of Normandy, who had openly declared his intention to take the English throne. It was likely that Harold had exiled his brother to ensure peace and loyalty in the north. Tostig, however, remained unconvinced and plotted vengeance.

 

Tostig took ship with his family and some loyal thegns and took refuge with his brother-in-law, Count Baldwin V. He even attempted to form an alliance with William. Baldwin provided him with a fleet and he landed in the Isle of Wight in May 1066, where he collected money and provisions. He raided the coast as far as Sandwich but was forced to retreat when King Harold called out land and naval forces. He moved north and after an unsuccessful attempt to get his brother Gyrth to join him, he raided Norfolk and Lincolnshire. The Earls Edwin and Morcar defeated him decisively. Deserted by his men, he fled to his sworn brother, King Malcolm III of Scotland. Tostig spent the summer of 1066 in Scotland.

 

He made contact with King Harald III Hardrada of Norway and persuaded him to invade England. One of the sagas claims that he sailed for Norway, and greatly impressed the Norwegian king and his court, managing to sway a decidedly unenthusiastic Harald, who had just concluded a long and inconclusive war with Denmark, into raising a levy to take the throne of England. With Hardrada's aid, Tostig sailed up the Humber and defeated Morcar and Edwin at Gate Fulford.

[edit] Battle of Stamford Bridge

Main article: Battle of Stamford Bridge

 

Hardrada's army invaded York, taking hostages after a peaceful surrender, and likely agreed with the local inhabitants to gather commandeered supplies at Stamford Bridge, near York, a conveniently central spot, well fed by streams and roads. King Harold Godwinson raced northward with an English army from London and, on 25 September 1066, surprised Tostig and about 6,000 of his men, basking in the sun and awaiting supplies. The Norwegians, and the Flemish mercenaries hired by Tostig, were largely without armor and carried only personal weapons. The day was very hot and no resistance was expected. The remainder of the 11,000 man force remained guarding the Norse ships, beached miles away at Riccall. After a brief meeting of the two kings, where Harald refused to surrender, and Tostig to abandon him, a long battle ensued. Despite making a brave stand, and reinforced late in the day by a desperate, sweating column from Riccall, the Norwegians suffered a complete and utter defeat. Tostig was killed in the battle, along with Harald Hardrada. Fewer than twenty of the three hundred Norwegian ships returned home.

[edit] Aftermath

 

After his death at Stamford Bridge, it is believed that his body was taken to York and buried at York Minster. Tostig's two sons took refuge in Norway, while his wife Judith married Duke Welf of Bavaria.[3]

 

His two sons with Judith:

 

Skuli Tostisson Kongsfostre (born 1052) - Whose great-great-granddaughter Helena Guttormsdotter was the mistress of Valdemar II of Denmark and mother of Valdemar's son Canute, Duke of Reval. He was also the patrilineal great-great-grandfather of king Inge II of Norway and duke Skule Bårdsson, father of the Norwegian Queen Consort Margrét Skúladóttir, spouse of king Haakon IV of Norway.

Ketil Tostisson (born 1054)

 

[edit] Portrayal in books and films

 

Tostig in non-fiction books

 

Popular (as opposed to scholarly) non-fiction books that cover Tostig's life and role in history include:

 

1066: The Year of the Conquest (1977) by David Howarth (ISBN 0-88029-014-5)

The Making of the King 1066 (1966) by Alan Lloyd (ISBN 0-88029-473-6)

 

Tostig in fiction

 

Tostig features in the novels The Last English King (2000), by Julian Rathbone (where he is depicted as Edward the Confessor's catamite), Harold, The Last of the Saxon Kings, by Edward Bulwer-Lytton, The King's Shadow, by Elizabeth Alder, The Interim King, by J. Colman McMillan, Warriors of the Dragon Gold, by Ray Bryant, and God's Concubine book 2 of The Troy Game series by Sara Douglass, The Bastard King by Jean Plaidy.

 

On screen, Tostig was portrayed by actor Frederick Jaeger in the two-part BBC TV play Conquest (1966), part of the series Theatre 625.

 

Tostig also appeared in the Channel 4 documentary, 1066: The Battle for Middle Earth.

Note on Wife: Judith +

Judith of Flanders, Countess of Northumbria, and later Duchess of Bavaria (1033 – 5 March 1094)[1] was the wife firstly of Tostig Godwinson, Earl of Northumbria, and secondly of Welf I, Duke of Bavaria. Her niece was Matilda of Flanders, Queen consort of William the Conqueror, who was Judith's cousin.

 

She was the owner of many books and illuminated manuscripts, which she bequeathed to Weingarten Abbey.

 

Judith was born in 1033 in Bruges, the only child of Baldwin IV, Count of Flanders by his second wife, Eleanor of Normandy, who was herself, the daughter of Richard II of Normandy and Judith of Brittany. Judith had an older half-brother, Baldwin V, Count of Flanders, who succeeded their father upon his death which had occurred when Judith was about two years old. Judith's niece was Matilda of Flanders who married William, the first Norman king of England, known to history as "William the Conqueror". King William was Judith's first cousin, being the son of her maternal uncle, Robert of Normandy.

[edit] First Marriage

 

On an unknown date before September 1051, she married her first husband, Tostig Godwinson, brother of King Harold II of England. In September 1051, Judith was forced to flee England for Bruges, along with her husband and in-laws after Tostig joined his father's armed rebellion against King Edward the Confessor; however, they returned home the following year.

 

He was created Earl of Northumbria in 1055, making Judith the Countess of Northumbria, from that date onwards. His distinguished marriage to Judith had helped Tostig secure the earldom.[2]

 

Together they had children whose names and numbers are not recorded. They were described in the Vita Edwardi Regis as "unweaned" at the time of their father's death.[3] Tostig had at least three illegitimate sons by unknown mistresses.

 

Judith was described as having been a "pious and inquisitive woman"; her piety was expressed in the many gifts and donations she made to the Church of St. Cuthbert in Durham, which included landed estates and an ornate crucifix. The latter allegedly was a present to appease the saint after she challenged St. Cuthbert's ruling that forbade women to enter the cathedral which housed his relics. Judith, angered that women were not permitted to set foot inside the church and wishing to worship at his tomb, had decided to put Cuthbert's prohibition to the test by ordering her serving woman to go inside to see what repercussions would follow for breaking the holy decree (Judith had planned to go herself upon the latter's safe return); when the woman was about to enter the churchyard, she was stricken by a sudden, violent force of wind that left her infirm and eventually killed her. Judith, as a result of superstitious fear, had the crucifix especially made for St. Cuthbert's shrine.[4] Throughout her life, she collected and commissioned many books and illuminated manuscripts, some of which are extant,[5] including the Gospels of Countess Judith, which are currently housed in Pierpont Morgan Library in New York City. These were written and illuminated by English scribes and artists to record for posterity, Judith's generosity to the Church.

 

In October 1065, Northumbria rose in rebellion against the rule of Tostig. After his brother Harold persuaded King Edward to accept the demands made by the rebels, there was an acrimonious confrontation between the two brothers, with Tostig accusing Harold of fomenting the rebellion. In November, Tostig was outlawed by King Edward, and Judith, along with Tostig and her children, was compelled to seek refuge with her half-brother in Flanders the following month. Count Baldwin appointed Tostig as castellan of Saint-Omer.[6] In May 1066 following the succession of Harold to the English throne in January, he returned to England with a fleet provided by Baldwin to seek revenge on his brother. He formed an alliance with King Harold III of Norway, but they were both killed on 25 September 1066 at the Battle of Stamford Bridge by the forces of King Harold.

 

After her husband's death at Stamford Bridge, Judith moved to Denmark.[7] It is presumed that she brought her "unweaned" children with her to Denmark; however, nothing is known of their subsequent fates. Less than a month after Tostig's death, Judith's brother-in-law was killed at the Battle of Hastings by the Norman army led by her cousin, William the Conqueror, who would thereafter reign as William I of England.

[edit] Second marriage

 

In 1071, when she was 38 years of age, she married her second husband, Welf I, Duke of Bavaria, who had divorced his childless wife, Etherinde von Northeim in 1070. Upon her marriage, she became Duchess of Bavaria; however in 1077, her husband was deprived of his title, and did not regain it until 1096, two years after her death.

 

They made their principal home at the castle of Ravensburg and together had two sons,[8] and one daughter:

 

Welf II, Duke of Bavaria (1073 – 24 September 1120), married Matilda of Tuscany, but the marriage did not produce issue.

Henry IX, Duke of Bavaria (1074 – 13 December 1126), married Wulfhild of Saxony, by whom he had seven children.

Kunizza of Bavaria (died 6 March 1120), married Frederich Rocho, Count of Diesen

 

[edit] Death

 

Judith died on 5 March 1094 and was buried at St. Martin Monastery, the Benedictine abbey which had been built by Duke Welf on the Martinsberg in Weingarten, and had received Judith's patronage. She also had bequeathed her magnificent library and a relic of Christ's Blood to the abbey.[9] The Chronicon of Bernold recorded the death "1094 1V Non Mar of Iuditha uxor ducis Welfonis Baioariae" and her subsequent burial.[10] Her husband Duke Welf died in 1101 in Cyprus while returning home from the First Crusade.

 

In fiction

 

Judith appears as a character in Jean Plaidy's historical romance The Bastard King; however, she is incorrectly portrayed as Matilda of Flanders' sister.