Harold Godwinson Dbq

January 1066 was a time of chaos for medieval England. There were three people claiming the throne for themselves, and the result changed Europe forever. There was Harold Godwinson, the most powerful noble in England, who claimed that the king had promised to him the throne at the last minute, as he lay dying. There was William, Duke of Normandy, whom Edward had been friends with since they were children. Lastly, there was Harald Hadraada, a Norwegian noble who was given a claim to the English throne by King Magnus of Norway. William, the Duke of Normandy, had the best claim to the throne because his claim was legitimate, supported, and lawful, and because his opponents’ claims were not. The events that led up to the chaos in 1066 took more

The Witan Gemot did not support his ascension to the throne, and he was hurriedly crowned by the archbishop without the nobles’ consent on the day of Edward’s burial. As a Norman monk wrote in 1120, “Harold had himself crowned King alone by Archbishop Stigund, without the common consent of the other bishops and nobles” (Source 2). Without the support of the nobles and the Witan Gemot, Harold’s claim to the throne had no value and was therefore illegitimate. In fact, as the Norman monk goes on to write, “When the English learned that Harold taken the throne they were moved to anger; some of the most powerful were ready to resist him by force” (Source 2). Evidently, Harold’s claim was unlawful and even the people he was ruling opposed it. Also, as mentioned in the previous paragraph, Harold and his followers were excommunicated, or excluded from the proceedings of the Church, by the pope. This made his claim unlawful and invalid because English kings had to be Christian and supported by the Church. Lastly, Harold’s claim that Edward had promised him the throne was partially false and had little or no value. Edward was delirious and on his deathbed when he promised Harold the throne, so Harold’s claim was invalid. As a foreign monk wrote in 1066, “...the King was broken with age and knew not what he said. Stretching forth his hand to Harold, Edward said, ‘I commend all the kingdom to your protection’ ”(Source 3). On the other hand, William was promised the throne by Edward in 1051. In 1051, Edward was still healthy and conscious, so William’s claim to the throne was more valid and legitimate than