Leofwine Godwinson

Leofwine Godwinson (c.1035 [Barlow, "Vita Ædwardi" pp. 7-8.] – October 14, 1066) was a younger brother of Harold II of England, the fifth son of Earl Godwin.

When the Godwin family was exiled from England in 1051 he went with Harold to Ireland. He would have returned with the rest of the family the following year, but was not present at the death-bed of his father in April 1053.

Following the death of his father in April 1053, the Godwinsons managed to retain their hold on England. Harold inherited the Earldom of Wessex and became second in power only to the king. Leofwine was made Earl of Kent, Essex, Middlesex, Hertford, Surrey and probably Buckinghamshire [DeVries, "The Norwegian Invasion of England in 1066", pp. 115.] some time between 1055 and 1057. Together with his brother Gyrth's Earldoms of East Anglia, Cambridgeshire and Oxfordshire [DeVries, "The Norwegian Invasion of England in 1066", pp. 114-115.] the Godwinsons now controlled the entire East England.

He was killed alongside his brothers Harold and Gyrth in the Battle of Hastings ["Anglo-Saxon Chronicle" (D and E), 1066] .

Leofwine was portrayed by actor Sebastian Breaks in the two-part BBC TV play "Conquest" (1966), part of the series "Theatre 625".

Notes

References

* cite book
title = Anglo-Saxon Chronicle | url = http://omacl.org/Anglo/
* cite book
editor = Barlow, Frank (ed.) | title = Vita Ædwardi
* cite book
last = DeVries | first = Kelly | title = The Norwegian Invasion of England in 1066
publisher = Boydell Press | date = 1999 | pages = 108-114 | id = ISBN 1-84383-027-2

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