Godwin, Earl of Wessex

Lived: Unknown – 1053 Where: England

Before the Earl of Warwick earned his reputation as England’s infamous kingmaker, there was Godwin, Earl of Wessex. He was made an earl in 1018 during the reign of Cnut, becoming the king’s trusted advisor and marrying Gytha Thorkelsdóttir, whose brother was married to Cnut’s sister. After Cnut died in 1035, a fight ensued over the succession between his sons Harthacnut and Harold Harefoot, as well as Alfred Aetheling, his stepson and son of the former king, Aethelred the Unready. Godwin supported Harold and to secure the throne for him, he pretended to be an ally of Alfred’s before capturing and blinding him, with Alfred dying shortly after. When Harold died in 1040, Godwin turned his support to

Harthacnut, who died just two years later, and then to Edward – Alfred’s brother – who became Edward the Confessor. The earl’s daughter, Edith, married Edward, making Godwin the father-in-law of the English king. However, he blamed the king for the growing influence of the Normans in England and turned against him, with Godwin and his sons exiled in 1051. Not to be pushed aside, Godwin forced his way back into England with an armed campaign and he was reinstated as earl, shortly before his death. The earl consistently switched his allegiances to maintain his power and his son, Harold Godwinson, would become the last crowned Anglo-saxon king of England before his death at the Battle of Hastings.