Edith – The Handfasted Queen of England
By David EP Dennis
Here is a woman whose lifelong husband is going to have sex with a widow whose husband he had killed, just so that his future son can be King of England! This is the dramatic story of Edith Swan-Neck who had to identify her husband’s mutilated body at Senlac north of Hastings.
On 11 October 2022 in the Seafront Room in the White Rock Hotel, Hastings, there will be a series of celebratory lectures and presentations on the life of Edith Swanneshals (Swan-neck), the Danish right-handfasted wife of King Harold Godwinson. The doors at the White Rock open at 12.30; however, the celebration organised by the Friends of Edith starts with a visit to the specially conserved statue in West Marina Gardens not too far from the Bo-Peep public house at 11am, to which everyone is invited.
The statue, in West Marina Gardens
Having studied elements of Edith’s life and considered the pressures upon her mental health, I have the greatest admiration for her as a wife and mother of almost all of King Harold’s children. Several modern books have been written about aspects of her life and those of her offspring, including the highly praised Conquered: The Last Children of Anglo-Saxon England by Eleanor Parker, Lecturer in Medieval English Literature at Brasenose College, Oxford – and the ground-breaking study, Edith the Fair by historian Bill Flint, 2015 – published by Gracewing Press – a book that connects her to the shrine at Walsingham.
We may dismiss the battling lives of early medieval heroes and heroines as being legends or myths, yet these were humans capable of the same feelings of joy or loss that we have today – and so this article I would like you to consider how you would feel – as a woman or man – if you had to face up to the following situations.
Edith was born around 1025. We do not know her mother for sure, although she too may have been named Edith or Wulfhild – a daughter of King Æthelred. However, it is thought that Edith’s father was the great mercenary Jomsviking warrior, Thorkell the Tall, whose drunken horde had invaded Kent in 1009 and physically and mentally abused Ælfheah, the Archbishop of Canterbury, leading to his terrible fate on 19 April 1012 – clubbed to death with a cattle bone by a man he had just baptised. Shocked and embarrassed, Thorkell then changed sides and began to defend England on behalf of King Æthelred the Unready, rather than invade it.
So, Edith was a Dane living in an often-violent culture that accepted long term sexual and emotional commitment using the binding of hands in a ceremony – handfasting, ‘in the way of the Danes.’ The ceremony of binding two people together meant that for a short-term relationship, left hands were bound by ribbons in a ceremony performed in front of relatives – but right hands were bound if the intention were to love each other lifelong. Her Anglo-Saxon right-handfasted husband, Earl Harold Godwinson, born around 1022, also had Danish roots since his mother was the Danish noblewoman, Gytha Thorkelsdóttir (sometimes Thorgilsdóttir). He would have understood this custom even though he was nominally a Christian who gave large sums of money to the Church – especially to Waltham Abbey near London. Edith was certainly not his concubine, as
many historians have claimed inaccurately.
Left: The statue, in West Marina Gardens; RIGHT: Identifying the body
Earl Harold had built a west country hunting lodge for King Edward the Confessor, and this had been destroyed by Gruffydd ap Llywelyn, King of Wales. Earl Harold attacked this Welsh king, and eventually in 1064, he was beheaded, by a Welshman with a deep grudge – but undoubtedly motivated by Harold’s campaign aims. Gruffydd’s head and the prow of his ship were sent by Harold to King Edward, as proof of his death. Gruffydd had married Ealdgyth, the daughter of Ælfgar, Earl of Mercia and now she was widowed.
In those far-off days, women bore many children and considered themselves lucky if even one of them survived. The English Christian Church of the time was deeply traditionalist. Despite pleading by Edith Swan-neck, church leaders refused her permission to bury a stillborn child in consecrated ground. To make matters worse, when Harold became King in 1066, the Church told Harold that if he was to die in battle but wished to leave a legal descendant to be king after him, then he must marry in the Christian Church. Any child products of a handfasted marriage would not be valid for kingship, despite the fact that Edith had given him (almost certainly) four sons and two daughters. Therefore, despite his deep love for Edith Swan-neck, he married Gruffydd’s widow, Ealdgyth in church. To produce a child – a hoped for son, he then had to persuade her to sleep with him even though he had effectively procured her first husband’s death. We have to assume that Harold must have been conflicted by this turn of events.
Even greater turmoil flooded the life of Edith Swan-neck. She had to stay loyal to her king and husband through this emotional period. It is one thing to say – ‘Oh, they were used to it’ – but, in my opinion, it is highly unlikely that mere custom and Christian rites would be sufficient to stop the dreadful sadness Edith experienced, having to see her husband undertake a dynastic marriage with another woman – and then to identify her beloved Harold’s horrifically mutilated and possibly castrated body in the cold light of a late autumn evening on the battlefield at Senlac.
About the Friends of Edith
FoE is a not-for-profit organisation formed on 14th October 2018 and committed to protecting the statue of Edith and Harold in West Marina Gardens, St Leonards on Sea, East Sussex and to increasing the awareness and appreciation for Edith Swan-neck who is depicted in the statue finding the body of her husband, King Harold II, killed at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. The statue was made in 1875 by Charles Wilke for Lord Brassey, who was MP for Hastings at the time and who subsequently gave the statue to the town. Due to the rain and salt air (it is fifty metres from the sea) it is eroding significantly.
FoE has been formed to help protect the statue from further erosion and preserve it for future generations. In addition, Edith’s life story, largely hidden from history, has interesting resonances for today and so deserves to be more widely known. FoE is linked to CARE, an established Campaign for Action to Rescue Edith (by the original name of Campaign for A ‘Roof’ for Edith) which raises funds to put a plaque on the statue. It can be found on both Facebook and Twitter, and also has an online petition page (all @roof4edith) A copy of the Articles of Association can be obtained from [email protected]
It is hoped that the event will be held again next year, and its scope increased substantially. It may become an annual event depending on the public response. The event will be filmed, and sound recorded and promoted through a range of media. The significance of the event is that Edith was the wife of Harold II, the last Anglo-Saxon king of England who died on 14th October 1066 – and Edith’s identification of his mutilated body may have enabled him to have an honourable burial. No financial support for the Friends of Edith has been given by Hastings Borough Council but some officers and elected members of the council have given verbal support. The future aims of the Friends will be extended depending on the interest shown, and support given. However, it is noted that Kevin Boorman is the Major Projects Manager at Hastings Borough Council, and he is working with consultants to produce a world-class history interpretation centre at Hastings Castle. During the presentations on 11 October, a clear vision of the future of the history project will be revealed.
• For more information see friendsofedith.org.uk
The Programme
2.30-3.30pm Edith in Canterbury
David Reekie, a local historian based in Canterbury will reveal the four townhouses that Edith owned in Canterbury and her other connections to the town.
4.00-5.00pm ‘Eadgifu Swanneshals and Aristocratic Benefactors of St Edmund’s Shrine in Late Anglo-Saxon England’
Dr Francis Young FRHS, a Latin translator and author will explain the land grants that Edith made to the Shrine of the English king killed by the Vikings in 869 CE – St Edmund the Martyr.
5.00-6.00pm ‘The Landboc of Eddeva Pulchra’ – Edith’s landed wealth and core homesteads
Ian Jarman, Founder and Secretary of Friends of Edith has researched the life of Edith for more than 40 years. Landboc – Edith’s landholdings in England, and her legacy.
6.45-8.00pm ‘King Harold’s mother’ – Gytha Thorgilsdottir
A short play and one-woman performance by Heather Leech, local playwright, and actor.
8.00-9.00 pm ‘The Wyrtruman of Eadgifu Swanneshals’ – Edith’s family history, beliefs, and final fate
Ian Jarman, FoE, and Carol McGrath, author of ‘The Daughters of Hastings’ novel trilogy on Gita, Lady of Kyiv, Edith’s daughter. ‘Wyrtruman’ – the family ‘roots’ and belief system of Edith Swanneshals and her final fate and Edith as a Ukrainian princess.
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