Tostig Godwinson

[laughs]

He- but he's been camped there expecting that invasion to come, and on the same day that he breaks that up, Harold Hardrada lands in the northeast of England, and not, not just alone either, but with Harold's brother, Tostig.

Listen, it's a bad sign, right? A- and Tostig, he's just like, "I am here to do some light fratricide," which I really respect.

Also, you know, like, a- again, this is very traditional.

Like, all this is the sort of stuff I expect to see out of England, right? And it's like he's younger by about seven years.

Yeah

... until you're powerful enough to come back and, and challenge me.

And here's the thing, is that I think that partially we've got Tostig who's like, "Do it, Harold.

In the years that followed, the power of Harold steadily increased.

In 1055, Siward, Earl of Northumbria, died, and Northumbria was granted to Tostig, Harold's brother, whereby the influence of his house was temporarily extended to the north, while Gurth, another brother, ruled in East Anglia.

In the same year a dangerous competitor for the throne was removed by death.

Edward the Athling, son of Edmund Ironsides, had been recalled from Hungary by the Witan, the call being looked upon apparently as equivalent to a recognition of his claim to the succession.

No instance had yet occurred indeed of their thus selecting a man not of princely birth, but in the case of Canute they had established their right to depart from the royal line, and in choosing Harold they best consulted England's interests and chose the man in whom the best hope for the country lay.

Hardly however was Harold on the throne than he was called to support his claim by arms.

His brother Tostig had been deprived of Northumbria for his cruelty and oppression and banished the realm in 1065.

He now took the opportunity to avenge his wrongs and with the sanction of William ravaged the coast of England.

And among his army, he believes he has a secret weapon.

Nine months ago, the English nobleman, Tostig Godwinson, was sent into exile by his own brother.

Since then, that same brother has been crowned King of England.

Now, Tostig is out for revenge, and Hardrada has promised to deliver it.

Eight months ago, the old English King Edward died after a series of strokes.

But since Edward was childless, the line of succession was unclear.

Several men staked their claims, but the royal council chose Edward's closest advisor and the most powerful nobleman in the country to take the throne.

Harold moved quickly to secure his rule, arranging his coronation for the same day as Edward's funeral.

There be many will murmur to see the son of Godwin so exalted.

The bitter Tostig, whose earldom Harold had taken away, may call in the Norwegians against his brother.

Puts hand on Fitz Asburn's arm.

faithful fitz osborne bid land frank come hither for i would speak with him fitz osborne

What's a bold choice of decor is fire.

It was me! Tostig Godwinson, the rightful Earl of Northumbria and King of the North! The King of the North! The King of the North!

Yeah! The tool in the north, more like.

Didn't we get rid of you? Because you were such a contemptible moron.

I shall be gone long ago.

Glory to Mercia! And to a lesser extent Northumbria.

You've a nerve showing your daff face in here, Tostig.

I'm gonna bash your head in and fill your brain cavity with gravy.

There's also this Cain and Abel vibe.

So Harold's brother, Tostig, was the former Earl of Northumbria who Harold Godwinson eventually stripped of power and sent off into exile, right? So you got these four figures, you know.

Uh, everybody wants to be King except Tostig who just wants to kill his brother.

And he, and he, so, uh, Tost, so basically the death of Edward, even though the nobles got together and said, let's make, let's just make Harold Godwinson King and be done with it.

Um, the death of Edward got a lot of folks throughout.

And just feeling like this lack of succession opened up possibilities.

So Harold is the first, like, you know what I'm going to, Harold Hardrada is the first to say, you know what I'm going to do? I'm going to go kill, I'm going to go to England and kill some people and make myself king of that too.

And Tostig is like, that is awesome.

He'd fought in Constantinople, he'd blinded emperors, he'd written love poems in ruins, and he was roughly seven feet of pure, unadulterated troubles.

With him was Tosti, Harold Godwinson's own brother, a man whose family tree was basically a circle of knives.

They had sailed three hundred ships up the River Ouse, burning York, taking hostages, and laughing in the autumn sun.

They thought the English were asleep.

[upbeat music] Welcome to the Proper British History Podcast.

Today we unpack the tangled tale of Tostig Godwinson, Harold's brother, who turned a royal ally into an enemy.

Tostig Godwinson began as a junior son of Earl Godwine, a power behind the throne in early Norman England.

He inherited Northumbria from his brother in ten sixty-five and quickly made that border kingdom feel like his own private fief.

His administration was marked by heavy taxation to finance his own ambitions and the expansion of the earldom's reach into neighboring shires.

He left a dynasty that had effectively carved England into a series of earldoms, each overseen by his sons.

Harold, Tostig, Gyrth, Leofwine, and others were not merely nobles.

They controlled their own retinues of housecarls, possessed extensive land-

Hank joined BJ's Wholesale Club the day he became a father of thirty.

His sister Edith, the former queen consort, brought with her connections to the Church and a personal reputation that could be leveraged to gain ecclesiastical support.

She had previously been the king's primary advisor in matters of succession.

Tostig, though estranged for part of his life after being made Earl of Northumbria and later banished by his own brother, remained within Harold's network, bringing Northumbrian forces and an element of northern stability.

These family ties created a political network that could be activated in the crisis of succession.