Tom Licence reconstructs the career of Harold Godwinson before the famous final day at Hastings. He traces the rise of the Godwin family, Harold’s experience as an earl and military commander, and the political manoeuvring that placed him on the throne after Edward the Confessor’s death.
The book tests later stories about oaths, betrayal and rightful succession against the surviving evidence. Licence follows the rapid campaigns against Harald Hardrada and William of Normandy, explains the pressures behind Harold’s decisions in 1066 and presents him as a formidable ruler whose reputation was reshaped by defeat and Norman victory.
Marc Morris
Alison Weir
35 books
Gareth Russell