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THORKELSDOTTIR Gytha (Thyra)
Birth: ABT 997 of Halland, Sweden
Death: ABT 1069
Notes
m 1019/1020
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gytha_Thorkelsd%C3%B3ttir
Gytha Thorkelsdóttir (Old English: G?ða Þorkelsdottir, c. 997 – c. 1069), also called
Githa, was a Danish noblewoman. She was the mother of King Harold Godwinson and
of Edith of Wessex, queen consort of King Edward the Confessor of England.[1]
Biography[edit]
Gytha Thorkelsdóttir was the daughter of Danish chieftain Thorgil Sprakling (also
called Thorkel).[2] Gytha was also the sister of the Danish Earl Ulf Thorgilsson who
was married to Estrid Svendsdatter, the sister of King Cnut the Great. She married the
Anglo-Saxon nobleman Godwin of Wessex. They had a large family together, of whom
five sons became earls at one time or another, three remaining earls in 1066:
Two of their sons, Harold and Tostig, faced each other at the Battle of Stamford
Bridge, where Tostig was killed. Less than a month later, three of her sons, Harold,
Gyrth, and Leofwine, were killed at the Battle of Hastings.
Shortly after the Battle of Hastings, Gytha was living in Exeter and may have been the
cause of that city's rebellion against William the Conqueror in 1067, which resulted in
his laying siege to the city.[3] She pleaded unsuccessfully with him for the return of
the body of her slain son, king Harold. According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, Gytha
left England after the Norman conquest, together with the wives or widows and
families of other prominent Anglo-Saxons, all the Godwin family estates having been
confiscated by William. Little else is known of Gytha's life after that time, although it is
probable that she went to Scandinavia where she had relatives.
Her surviving (and youngest) son, Wulfnoth, lived nearly all his life in captivity in
Normandy until the death of William the Conqueror in 1087. Only her eldest daughter,
Queen Edith (d. 1075), still held some power (however nominal) as the widow of King
Edward the Confessor.
Children[edit]
Sweyn Godwinson, Earl of Herefordshire, (c. 1020–1052), at some point he declared
himself an illegitimate son of Canute the Great but this is considered to be a false
claim
Harold Godwinson, King of England (c. 1022 – October 14, 1066)
Edith of Wessex, (c. 1025 - December 19, 1075), queen consort of Edward the
Confessor
Tostig Godwinson, Earl of Northumbria (c. 1026 – September 25, 1066)
Gyrth Godwinson, (c. 1030 – October 14, 1066)
Gunhilda of Wessex, a nun (c. 1035–1080)
Leofwine Godwinson, Earl of Kent (c. 1035 – October 14, 1066)
Ælfgifu of Wessex, (c. 1035)
Wulfnoth Godwinson, (c. 1040–1094)
Parents
STYRJORNSSON Thorgil "Sprakling" (ABT 970 - ABT 1009)
____ Sigrid (ABT 971 - )
Siblings
THORGILSSON Ulf (ABT 996 - 29 Sep 1027)
THORKELSDOTTIR Gytha (Thyra) (ABT 997 - ABT 1069)
Marriage To ____ Godwin (ABT 992 - 15 Apr 1053)
m.
Notes
his second
Parents
OF WESSEX Wulfnoth (Cild) (ABT 973 - BEF Jun 1014)
----- ----- ()
Children by ____ Godwin ABT 992 - 15 Apr 1053
OF SUSSEX Druella (ABT 1013 - )
GODWINSSON Harold II (ABT 1022 - 14 Oct 1066)
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