HistoryExtra
type: channel
link: https://www.historyextra.com
description: The official website for BBC History Magazine
date: 2025-10-22T07:01:03.000Z
update period: hourly
update frequency: 1
update base: 2000-01-01T12:00+00:00
items: 11th-century Europe: not just the Norman Conquest
items: The conqueror’s queen: meet the real Matilda of Flanders
items: William the Conqueror: life of the week
items: King and Conqueror’s most gruesome death should never have happened and would be “totally out of character”
items: Far away from England, the mystery of Harold Godwinson's lost crown might have just been solved
items: Edith the Fair: the life of Harold Godwinson’s first wife
items: How Tostig Godwinson’s brotherly betrayal hastened the fall of the Anglo-Saxons
items: How historically accurate is King and Conqueror? Here’s the real history that should have happened
items: Meet the real William the Conqueror, the Duke of Normandy who reshaped England
items: How well did Harold Godwinson and William the Conqueror know each other prior to the battle of Hastings?

11th-century Europe: not just the Norman Conquest
type: item
date: 2025-10-22T07:00:39.000Z
creator: Dr David Musgrove
subject: Medieval
subject: Membership
subject: Norman
subject: Period
description: Charles West explains how the 11th century saw a raft of major changes and a plethora of significant events that extend beyond the Norman Conquest
encoded: When we think of Europe in the 11th century, one date stands out: 1066. However, as Professor Charles West explains, this was a century of great change, and great events, across all of Europe. In conversation with David Musgrove, Charles talks about why we should perhaps be more concerned with the battle of Manzikert than the battle of Hastings, and why the 11th century is a story of cities and popes as much as it is of conquest and the Normans. Charles West is the author of Europe in the Eleventh Century: Beyond Revolution and Reform (Oxford University Press, 2025). <a href="http://www.awin1.com/cread.php?awinmid=3041&awinaffid=489797&p=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FEurope-Eleventh-Century-Revolution-Medieval%2Fdp%2F0198860234%2F%3F_encoding%3DUTF8%26pd_rd_w%3DnAZG5%26content-id%3Damzn1.sym.a7785aa2-ac28-4769-b3eb-cff7b9738627%26pf_rd_p%3Da7785aa2-ac28-4769-b3eb-cff7b9738627%26pf_rd_r%3D130-4414563-4593041%26pd_rd_wg%3DfXSDe%26pd_rd_r%3D5b153ec9-1b16-4286-8ae5-7ff403b76e63&clickref=historyextra-social-histboty.">Buy it now from Amazon

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The conqueror’s queen: meet the real Matilda of Flanders
type: item
date: 2025-09-18T14:53:11.000Z
creator: Tracy Borman
subject: Anglo-Saxon
subject: Medieval
subject: Norman
subject: Period
subject: Trends-Entertainment
description: Matilda of Flanders sits in the shadow of her more famous husband but, writes Tracy Borman, she was an able political player who deserves to be better known
encoded: Matilda of Flanders was the formidable wife of William the Conqueror, the man who toppled Harold Godwinson to usher in the Norman Conquest in 1066. She broke the mould of queen consorts, wielding considerable power on behalf of – and sometimes in direct opposition to – her husband, and establishing an Anglo-Norman dynasty that would endure for centuries. But until the BBC 1066 drama King and Conqueror few people had heard of her, thanks to the male-dominated sources for the period. The Bayeux Tapestry, which depicts the Norman Conquest of England, includes over 600 different men and just three women – Edith of Wessex (who is Edward the Confessor’s wife, and also Harold Godwinson’s sister); an unnamed woman fleeing a building burned by William’s troops (who may or may not be Edith the Fair, Harold’s wife); and a woman the embroidery identifies as Aelfgyva, of whom we know less. What’s certain is that none of them are Matilda. Who was the real Matilda of Flanders? Piecing together the fragments of Matilda’s life before 1066 reveals a woman who was destined to rule – and given her pedigree, she was viewed as a great prize in the international marriage market. Although the records are scarce for Matilda’s years, she was probably born in around 1031. She was the daughter of the future Count Baldwin V of Flanders (then one of the most important principalities in Europe) and Adela, the daughter of King Robert II ‘the Pious’ of France. Matilda had two brothers, Baldwin and Robert. Described by a contemporary chronicler as ‘highly born’, she could trace her descent from the kings of France, the emperors of Germany and even the Anglo-Saxon dynasty. The latter connection would be of great value to her future husband, William of Normandy. Read more | Did Edward the Confessor really murder his mother? There is no surviving likeness of Matilda, but a later chronicler described her as “one of the most beautiful women that could be seen”. Her skeleton was examined in 1961 and recor…

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William the Conqueror: life of the week
type: item
date: 2025-09-02T07:00:18.000Z
creator: Emily Briffett
subject: Anglo-Saxon
subject: Medieval
subject: Membership
subject: Norman
subject: Period
subject: Life of the week (podcast series)
description: David Bates explores the life of the formidable medieval warrior and ruler, who inspired both fear and respect
encoded: In 1066, William, Duke of Normandy, crossed the Channel and changed English history forever. Known to some as a ruthless and ambitious conqueror and to others as a astute and innovative state-builder, his legacy is still debated today, almost a thousand years later. But how much do we know about the man behind this formidable reputation? As new BBC Drama King and Conqueror hits the screens, Emily Briffett speaks to Professor David Bates to chart William's dramatic rise to power and the brutal realities of Norman rule.

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King and Conqueror’s most gruesome death should never have happened and would be “totally out of character”
type: item
date: 2025-08-31T19:58:29.000Z
creator: Kev Lochun
subject: Anglo-Saxon
subject: Medieval
subject: Norman
subject: Period
subject: Trends-Entertainment
description: Historian Tom Licence takes issue with one of King and Conqueror’s most egregious historical liberties
encoded: Bringing the Norman Conquest of 1066 to the small screen, King and Conqueror plays fast and loose with real history to tell the story of how Duke William of Normandy became King William I of England. The eight-part drama begins with the coronation of King Edward the Confessor and ends exactly where you think it would, with King Harold Godwinson, the last crowned Anglo-Saxon king of England, dead on the field at Hastings with an arrow in his eye. That’s a span of more than 20 years – and as such there is a lot of editing of the historical record going on. Some important characters are missing, and not just Edgar Aetheling, the claimant many overlook in the 1066 story. Events happen out of order. And a lot of real historical figures die in times, places and ways that raise eyebrows. But one particular plot point is so shocking, so unexpected, that we put it to medieval historian Tom Licence to get his reaction. And it’s such a massive spoiler that we’ve hidden it after these two images of the show's leads, James Norton as Harold and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as William the Conqueror. Edward the Confessor is portrayed in King and Conqueror as a weak and ineffectual man, touched even – he believes he hears the voice of God whispering to him. If there is anyone whispering in his ear, it is his mother, Emma of Normandy. The real Emma was queen consort to both Aethelred the Unready and Cnut the Great, the only woman to have married two English kings. Two of her sons were also kings, first Harthacnut, and then Edward the Confessor. For her whole life, she had been an able political player. In King and Conqueror, she is vicious and manipulative, a woman who dominates Edward and goads him for his failures. She is the power behind his throne. When Edward finally snaps, he does so totally and utterly. In a moment of red mist worthy of Game of Thrones, he beats his mother to death with his crown. Did Edward the Confessor beat his mother Emma of Normandy to death with this crown? “Be…

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Far away from England, the mystery of Harold Godwinson's lost crown might have just been solved
type: item
date: 2025-08-28T14:00:57.000Z
creator: Isabel King
subject: Anglo-Saxon
subject: Medieval
subject: Norman
subject: Period
subject: Historical people
subject: Medieval kings and queens
subject: Trends-Entertainment
description: New research into the history of a long-lost Belgian church suggests that something very precious may have been sold to fund its upkeep
encoded: Overlooking Bruges’ market square and a few hundred metres away from the neo-Gothic Provincial Palace stands a popular chain hotel, providing accommodation for some of the millions of tourists that visit the Belgian city each year. Looking at this unremarkable redbrick building, it’s hard to imagine that on the same site, an important place of worship once towered over this historic metropolis: the medieval St Donatian’s Church. And a new detail that has emerged from the archives of the church leads us to consider something even harder to imagine: could the crown of England’s last Anglo-Saxon king, Harold Godwinson, have been sold to pay for its upkeep? A church of sanctuary and sacrilege St Donatian’s church – named after the fourth-century French saint, Donatian – was established around AD 950 by Arnulf I, the count of Flanders. Prior to its destruction during the French Revolutionary Wars, the church was a college of canons, built to hold relics of St Donatian brought to Bruges from Torhout (a municipality in West Flanders) in around 870. <img src="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/7/2025/08/PublicDomainsander-WL-45d2aa1.jpg" width="800" height="534" alt="A sketch of a beige church with many arched windows and a tower in the centre. It has a grey roof and many smaller buildings around it too. In the corner, there is a label reading "ECCLESIA CATHEDRALIS S. DONATIANI"" title="An illustration of St Donatian's in Flandria Illustrata, 1641 (Public domain)" /> Today, the church is best-known for being the scene of the brutal murder of another Flemish count, Charles the Good, who was attacked by a group of knights in 1127. Lesser-known, however, is the fact that the place of worship also played a significant role in the exile of Lady Gunhild – sister of the last Anglo-Saxon king, Harold Godwinson. Read more | Shakespeare didn't do the Norman Conquest, but the Bayeux Tapestry did, so where does that leave the BBC's King and Conqueror? The church b…

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Edith the Fair: the life of Harold Godwinson’s first wife
type: item
date: 2025-08-24T20:08:44.000Z
creator: James Osborne
subject: Anglo-Saxon
subject: Medieval
subject: Norman
subject: Period
subject: Historical people
subject: Trends-Entertainment
description: As seen in King and Conqueror, Edith the Fair was the first wife of Harold Godwinson, and a powerful player in the dynastic struggles of the late-Anglo-Saxon era. But despite her prominence, surprisingly little information about her life remains
encoded: Edith the Fair – also known as Edith Swanneck – is a name that appears only fleetingly in the contemporary records of the 11th century. Yet in her day, Edith was a woman of considerable status and power. As the first wife of Harold Godwinson, the last crowned king of Anglo-Saxon England, she played a part (albeit largely behind the scenes) in the momentous events leading up to the Norman Conquest of 1066. Now she is one of the leading figures in BBC drama King and Conqueror. Read on to discover her role in late-Anglo-Saxon England – and what happened to her after the battle of Hastings. Why is she called Edith the Fair? Edith the Fair is known by the epithet, ‘Swan-neck’, which derives from the Old English ‘swann hnesce’, possibly referencing her graceful physical appearance. While this term is sometimes interpreted romantically in later traditions, it might have served as a distinguishing nickname rather than a comment on her personal relationship with Harold – she was one of many prominent and powerful Ediths on the scene. Who was Edith the Fair? Some evidence points to Edith the Fair being born into a wealthy and influential East Anglian family – but which one, we don’t know. One theory suggests that she might have been a daughter of Thorkell the Tall – a prominent Danish nobleman, military commander and political opportunist active in England throughout the early 11th century, not to mention a possible commander of the Jomsvikings. Thorkell was a powerful figure during the reigns of Aethelred the Unready and Cnut the Great, serving as jarl [Danish lord] of East Anglia under the latter and playing a key role in the shifting power structures of the Anglo-Danish realm. If Edith was his daughter, this would have placed her firmly within the upper tiers of Anglo-Scandinavian nobility, reinforcing her suitability as a consort for a leading nobleman such as Harold Godwinson. The Domesday Book (compiled two decades after the Conquest) records an ‘Eddeva the Fair’ as the…

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How Tostig Godwinson’s brotherly betrayal hastened the fall of the Anglo-Saxons
type: item
date: 2025-08-24T20:04:51.000Z
creator: James Osborne
subject: Anglo-Saxon
subject: Medieval
subject: Norman
subject: Period
subject: Historical people
subject: Trends-Entertainment
description: Though overshadowed by his famous brother Harold, Tostig Godwinson played a small yet crucial part in the dramatic downfall of Anglo-Saxon England as told in the series King and Conqueror. Fuelled by betrayal and ambition, discover how one brother’s quest for power helped to bring about the end of an era
encoded: By the autumn of 1066, the once-mighty Godwin family looked set to crumble – and at the heart of this collapse was a bitter feud between two brothers, Harold Godwinson and Tostig Godwinson. Their competing ambitions and rivalry played no small part in the eventual end of Anglo-Saxon England, and the onset of the Norman Conquest. Tostig, long overshadowed by his brother Harold, would ultimately become both an instigator and a victim of one of the most consequential years in English history – a moment explored in the new BBC series King and Conqueror. Who was Tostig Godwinson? Tostig Godwinson was the younger brother of King Harold Godwinson, the king who lost his crown (and life) to William the Conqueror at the battle of Hastings in 1066. Through his support of the Norwegian king Harald Hardrada, Tostig helped to hurry the two invasions of 1066, that weakened England’s defences and left the country vulnerable to Norman conquest. Tostig as Earl of Northumbria Tostig’s place in the story of 1066 is inseparable from the extraordinary power of his family. His father, Godwin of Wessex, rose from obscurity to become the most influential noble in England: so powerful that when he and his children were exiled by the king, Edward the Confessor, in 1051, popular pressure forced their return within a year. It was a clear signal: the Godwins rivalled the authority of the crown itself. When Godwin died in 1053, Harold took his place as the Earl of Wessex, effectively becoming second in power only to the king. Tostig gained the earldom of Northumbria two years later in 1055, when Earl Siward – a loyal supporter of Edward and a powerful figure of Danish descent – died without an heir. Though a southerner, Edward appointed Tostig to fill the position, likely due to his family’s clout at court rather than local popularity. What is certain is that Tostig’s rule in Northumbria was troubled from the start. The region had strong Scandinavian ties and operated with a degree of autonomy. I…

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How historically accurate is King and Conqueror? Here’s the real history that should have happened
type: item
date: 2025-08-24T20:01:15.000Z
creator: Kev Lochun
subject: Anglo-Saxon
subject: Medieval
subject: Norman
subject: Period
subject: Trends-Entertainment
description: The BBC’s Norman Conquest drama starring James Norton and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau brings 1066 to the small screen. Here’s what King and Conqueror gets right about the build-up to the battle of Hastings – and where history takes a backseat to the drama
encoded: In a decade in which Vikings have been incredibly vogue – how else to explain the small-screen invasion posed by Vikings, Vikings: Valhalla and The Last Kingdom in recent years – it’s surprising that it’s taken this long to get to a dramatisation of the Viking Age’s purported end in 1066. The BBC’s King and Conqueror steps into that breach, taking us back to 11th-century England and the Norman Conquest, to the story told in the Bayeux Tapestry – which you may have heard will be loaned back to the UK from France in 2026. King and Conqueror is the story of how Duke William of Normandy, a man descended from Vikings, won the English throne and became William the Conqueror. But it’s also the story of the rise and fall of Harold Godwinson, the last crowned Anglo-Saxon king of England, and a man who had to die for William to succeed. And it’s the story of an unlikely bromance between these two men, underscored by an almost-certainly ahistorical heart-to-heart in a bathtub. Who are the king and conqueror of King and Conqueror? James Norton (Happy Valley) stars as Harold Godwinson and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Game of Thrones) plays his nemesis, William of Normandy, aka the Conqueror. The eight-part drama begins with the coronation of Harold’s predecessor, Edward the Confessor, in 1043, and takes us through to exactly where you’d think it would (and if this is a spoiler, apologies, but you’ve had nearly 1,000 years to catch up): with Harold dead at the battle of Hastings, with an arrow in his eye. Whether Harold really was felled by an arrow is a point of scholarly debate (tied to the Bayeux Tapestry, which confusingly, isn’t even a tapestry) but the show does a nifty job of explaining the arrow away. Also neatly handled in a story dominated by three men are the women behind the Norman Conquest: Matilda of Flanders (William’s wife), Emma of Normandy (Edward’s mother), Edith the Fair (Harold’s wife) and Edith of Wessex (Harold’s sister and Edward’s wife, who is named Gunhild in …

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Meet the real William the Conqueror, the Duke of Normandy who reshaped England
type: item
date: 2025-08-24T19:45:14.000Z
creator: James Osborne
subject: Anglo-Saxon
subject: Medieval
subject: Norman
subject: Period
subject: Historical people
subject: Trends-Entertainment
description: Explore the momentous life of the Duke of Normandy – and later king of England, William the Conqueror – with expert insight from historian David Bates.
encoded: Duke William of Normandy, who would become known as William the Conqueror, arguably changed the course of English history more profoundly than any ruler before or since. Despite beginning life as a child of uncertain status in a volatile duchy, he died as king of a realm he had seized by force then reshaped through reform, repression and relentless control. But how did an illegitimate Norman boy become the founder of England’s new ruling dynasty? That’s a central question posed in the new BBC series King and Conqueror, that tackles William the Conqueror’s role in the turbulent and dramatic run up to the events of 1066. Who was Willam the Conqueror? William the Conqueror was the first Norman king of England, whose reign overhauled the country’s politics, aristocracy and relationship with Europe. Born the illegitimate son of Duke Robert I of Normandy, William became duke as a child. He fought to secure his rule in a violent and unstable duchy with the support of his wife Matilda of Flanders. In 1066, he claimed the English crown after the death of Edward the Confessor, arguing that Harold Godwinson had broken an oath to support his succession. William’s victory at the battle of Hastings marked the end of Anglo-Saxon rule. As king, William violently suppressed rebellion to emphasise his power, most brutally during the Harrying of the North. He also restructured the Church, redistributed land to Norman lords and ordered the Domesday Book in 1086. His rule bound England to Normandy and initiated four centuries of close ties to continental Europe. His death in 1087 left a legacy that defined the English monarchy for generations. Watch: The real history behind King and Conqueror View Green Video on the source website The rise of William’s family and the Dukes of Normandy By the early 11th century, Normandy was largely shaped by two competing forces: its Viking past, and its evolving place within the feudal politics of France. Just over a century before William’s birth, the…

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How well did Harold Godwinson and William the Conqueror know each other prior to the battle of Hastings?
type: item
date: 2025-08-24T18:58:25.000Z
subject: Anglo-Saxon
subject: Medieval
subject: Norman
subject: Period
subject: Historical people
subject: Trends-Entertainment
description: Their fabled clash at hastings in 1066 changed England and Europe, but how well did Harold and William know each other prior to that fateful day? While King and Conqueror paints them as having something of a bromance, the truth is less clear cut, as historian Tom Licence explains
encoded: Everyone loves a good story, and the clash between Harold Godwinson and William the Conqueror on 14 October 1066 has been a starting point for storytellers ever since – not least the creators of new BBC drama King and Conqueror. How did the two men meet? Why did they come to blows, and why did England’s king die at the hands of a foreign invader? Few people knew the answers to those questions, and those who did were not impartial. A backstory was therefore invented, to suit the tastes of William’s supporters. Or is that Harold’s? In fact, there are multiple overlapping backstories, stitched together from legends, guesswork, and propaganda. The historian’s task is to sift through all the stories and pick out what might be of use. When did Harold Godwinson and William the Conqueror first meet? We know that Harold and William met late in Edward the Confessor’s reign, most likely in the summer of 1065. But is this when they first met? In the absence of detailed records, this question is difficult to answer. Harold isn’t mentioned in the chronicles before 1049, well into his twenties, so an early meeting with William can’t be ruled out. And it’s likely that Harold knew who William was. As a son of the Earl of Wessex, he should have known something of the neighbouring princes who, through trade and peacekeeping, had dealings with his father. Normandy was just across the Channel – a neighbour of Wessex in effect. He would have known that the king, Edward the Confessor, had recently lived in Normandy and attended William’s court. But the early 1050s brought trouble for Harold: There was a powerful party of Normans at Edward’s court, vying with Harold’s family to dominate the king’s counsel. Matters came to a head in 1051 – Harold’s family lost, and were driven into exile. In late 1051, William visited Edward in England, but Harold was in Ireland and would not have met him then. At some point, probably in 1052, William also got hold of two of Harold’s close relatives – a bro…

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