Gytha Thorkelsdóttir

Gytha Thorkelsdóttir was a Danish noblewoman who married Godwin, Earl of Wessex, and became the matriarch of one of the most powerful families in late Anglo-Saxon England. Her children included Harold Godwinson, Tostig Godwinson, Edith of Wessex and several other sons and daughters who occupied leading positions in English and northern European politics.

Gytha survived the deaths of Harold and several of her sons in 1066. She remained associated with resistance to Norman rule in the south-west, notably around Exeter, before leaving England as William the Conqueror consolidated control. Her later fate is not securely documented.

Carol McGrath portrays Gytha as an important family and political presence in The Handfasted Wife and The Betrothed Sister, both of which follow the women of Harold Godwinson’s family through conquest and exile.