The Doubtful Harold Harefoot
On 12th November 1035, King Cnut died at Shaftesbury in Dorset before his body was taken to Winchester for burial. Cnut had grown into one of England’s finest pre-Norman Conquest kings, coming a long way from the Viking raids he had participated in alongside his father Sweyn Forkbeard. He had reigned over England for 19 years with his death bringing a period of instability, as so often the case in medieval England when a strong king died.
Cnut’s intended successor was his son Harthacnut from the king’s second marriage to Emma of Normandy but, as events would show, Harthacnut, trying to establish his authority in Denmark, another of his inheritances, would have to wait until 1040 to become king of England. That was because Harthacnut’s half brother, Harold Harefoot, swooped in and made his move. With Harthacnut preoccupied overseas, Harold decided he would make himself king. However, the coup wouldn’t be easy.
Cnut’s widow, Emma, following her husband’s death, settled herself at Winchester, waiting hopefully for the arrival of Harthacnut. However, she would be visited not by her son but by men sent by Harold to steal the royal treasures from the Queen’s possession. This is certainly evidence that Harold fully intended to make himself King of England immediately but, as it happened, for the time being, he would have to wait.
It was obvious to many, including the powerful Earl Godwin, that Harold intended to take the crown, going against Cnut’s plans. Although Harold was selected to act as regent for the absent Harthacnut, this was only, as far as he was concerned, one small step to taking the crown. Godwin sided with Emma as she continued to hold out hope that Harthacnut would arrive in England but, as each day passed, her cause became weaker and weaker. There was, however, one potential weapon Emma and her allies could use against Harold.
Although Harold himself insisted that he was Cnut’s son from his first marriage, according to the Anglo Saxon Chronicles “many men found this quite unbelievable.” The chronicler Florence of Worcester adds to the mystery of Harold’s origins by stating that some suspected Harold was in fact the son of a cobbler. His enemies could and, no doubt, did use this to delegitimise Harold but it didn’t work.
By 1037, Harold Harefoot was “full king of England”. His coup had taken some time and with some bloodshed. By 1036, Godwin had switched sides and had, on Harold’s orders, murdered Alfred Aetheling, Emma’s son from her first to Aethelred The Unready, and hundreds of his men when they landed in England. Alfred’s brother, Edward (The Confessor) escaped and returned into exile whilst Emma herself was driven from England in 1037.
These troubles were caused by two things; firstly, Harold’s greed and secondly, the size of Cnut’s empire that he passed on to Harthacnut. Harthacnut’s problems in Denmark gave Harold the perfect excuse to make his move. What would make Harold’s actions all the more remarkable is that it seems to me quite probable that he was not even of royal birth and instead the product of a little known relationship between his mother, Aelgifu, and some humble cobbler. Certainly, as king, Harold, uncouth, cruel with little talent, showed little signs of being of kingly stock although it must be said that Cnut accepted without question that Harold was his son. Nonetheless, there were clearly those who felt the nature of Harold’s birth was extremely doubtful and should have ruled him out as a potential king. Those doubts only grew stronger as Harold’s short but depressing reign went on.