[Not to be confused with Ealdgyth (Eldgyth, Ældgyth, Edith) OF MERCIA - Queen Consort of Wales; Queen Consort of England (Memorial no. 150390052). Both were married to Harald (Harold) II Godwinson - King of Wessex.]
Edith (Edyth) 'The Fair' also known as Edith Swanneck, was one of the wealthiest magnates in England and was the first wife and Queen to King Harold Godwinson, marrying on 23 Jan 1045.
According to folklore, Edith identified Harold's body after the Battle of Hastings. The body was horribly mutilated after the battle by the Norman army of William the Conqueror, and, despite pleas by Harold's mother, Gytha Thorkelsdóttir, for William to surrender Harold's body for burial, the Norman army refused, even though Harold's mother offered Harold's weight in gold. It was then that 'Edith the Fair' walked through the carnage of the battle so that she might identify Harold by markings on his chest known only to her. It was because of Edith the Fair's identification of Harold's body that Harold was given a Christian burial by the monks at Waltham Abbey. This legend is recounted in the well-known poem by Heinrich Heine, "The Battlefield of Hastings" (1855), which features Edith the Fair (as Edith Swan-Neck) as the main character and claims that the "marks known only to her" were love bites.
Children with Harold : Godwin, Edmund, Magnus, Gunhild, Gytha and possibly Ulf.
C.Smith
Edith (Edyth) 'The Fair' also known as Edith Swanneck, was one of the wealthiest magnates in England and was the first wife and Queen to King Harold Godwinson, marrying on 23 Jan 1045.
According to folklore, Edith identified Harold's body after the Battle of Hastings. The body was horribly mutilated after the battle by the Norman army of William the Conqueror, and, despite pleas by Harold's mother, Gytha Thorkelsdóttir, for William to surrender Harold's body for burial, the Norman army refused, even though Harold's mother offered Harold's weight in gold. It was then that 'Edith the Fair' walked through the carnage of the battle so that she might identify Harold by markings on his chest known only to her. It was because of Edith the Fair's identification of Harold's body that Harold was given a Christian burial by the monks at Waltham Abbey. This legend is recounted in the well-known poem by Heinrich Heine, "The Battlefield of Hastings" (1855), which features Edith the Fair (as Edith Swan-Neck) as the main character and claims that the "marks known only to her" were love bites.
Children with Harold : Godwin, Edmund, Magnus, Gunhild, Gytha and possibly Ulf.
C.Smith
[Not to be confused with Ealdgyth (Eldgyth, Ældgyth, Edith) OF MERCIA - Queen Consort of Wales; Queen Consort of England (Memorial no. 150390052). Both were married to Harald (Harold) II Godwinson - King of Wessex.]
Edith (Edyth) 'The Fair' also known as Edith Swanneck, was one of the wealthiest magnates in England and was the first wife and Queen to King Harold Godwinson, marrying on 23 Jan 1045.
According to folklore, Edith identified Harold's body after the Battle of Hastings. The body was horribly mutilated after the battle by the Norman army of William the Conqueror, and, despite pleas by Harold's mother, Gytha Thorkelsdóttir, for William to surrender Harold's body for burial, the Norman army refused, even though Harold's mother offered Harold's weight in gold. It was then that 'Edith the Fair' walked through the carnage of the battle so that she might identify Harold by markings on his chest known only to her. It was because of Edith the Fair's identification of Harold's body that Harold was given a Christian burial by the monks at Waltham Abbey. This legend is recounted in the well-known poem by Heinrich Heine, "The Battlefield of Hastings" (1855), which features Edith the Fair (as Edith Swan-Neck) as the main character and claims that the "marks known only to her" were love bites.
Children with Harold : Godwin, Edmund, Magnus, Gunhild, Gytha and possibly Ulf.
C.Smith
Edith (Edyth) 'The Fair' also known as Edith Swanneck, was one of the wealthiest magnates in England and was the first wife and Queen to King Harold Godwinson, marrying on 23 Jan 1045.
According to folklore, Edith identified Harold's body after the Battle of Hastings. The body was horribly mutilated after the battle by the Norman army of William the Conqueror, and, despite pleas by Harold's mother, Gytha Thorkelsdóttir, for William to surrender Harold's body for burial, the Norman army refused, even though Harold's mother offered Harold's weight in gold. It was then that 'Edith the Fair' walked through the carnage of the battle so that she might identify Harold by markings on his chest known only to her. It was because of Edith the Fair's identification of Harold's body that Harold was given a Christian burial by the monks at Waltham Abbey. This legend is recounted in the well-known poem by Heinrich Heine, "The Battlefield of Hastings" (1855), which features Edith the Fair (as Edith Swan-Neck) as the main character and claims that the "marks known only to her" were love bites.
Children with Harold : Godwin, Edmund, Magnus, Gunhild, Gytha and possibly Ulf.
C.Smith
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