Cultural depictions of Harold Godwinson

Fictional accounts based on the events surrounding Harold Godwinson's brief reign as king of England have been published. These include the 1851 poem "The Swan-Neck", by Charles Kingsley,[1] and the play Harold, by Alfred, Lord Tennyson, in 1876.[2] Several novels were published in the Victorian era about Harold Godwinson. These included Harold, the Last of the Saxons (1848) by Edward Bulwer-Lytton,[3] Wulf the Saxon: a story of the Norman Conquest (1895) by G. A. Henty,[4] The Andreds-weald; or The House of Michelham: a Tale of the Norman Conquest (1878) by Augustine David Crake; and William the Conqueror: An Historical Romance (1858) by General Charles James Napier.[4] Rudyard Kipling wrote a short story, included in his 1910 collection, Rewards and Fairies, where an aged King Harold (who survives Hastings) meets Henry I and dies in the arms of a Saxon knight.[4] The short story "The Eye of the Hurricane" by Kevin Crossley-Holland (in the 1969 book Wordhoard: Anglo-Saxon Stories by Crossley-Holland and Jill Paton Walsh) depicts Harold fighting in the Battle of Hastings.[5] In the posthumously published Robert E. Howard story "The Road of Azrael" (1976), Harold survives the battle and escapes to the Middle East.[6]

Modern novels have included The Golden Warrior (1949) by Hope Muntz,[7][8] Harold Was My King (1970) by Hilda Lewis,[9] The Wind From Hastings (1978) by Morgan Llywelyn,[10] Lord of Sunset (1998) by Parke Godwin,[11] The Last English King by Julian Rathbone,[12] the fantasy novel God's Concubine (2004) by Sara Douglass,[13] and The Handfasted Wife (2013) by Carol McGrath.[14] The one-act play A Choice of Kings (1966) by John Mortimer deals with his deception by William after his shipwreck.[15] The Rhyme of King Harold (2014) by Ian Macgill is a verse novel about Harold's life.[16] After Hastings (2020) by Steven H. Silver is an alternate history novel where Harold defeats Williams at Hastings, and subsequently comes into conflict with the Papacy. [17]

Citations
  1. Billie Melman, "Claiming the Nation's Past: The Invention of an Anglo-Saxon Tradition". Journal of Contemporary History Vol. 26, No. 3/4 (pp. 575-595)
  2. "Harold", in Valerie Purton and Norman Page (eds.), The Palgrave Literary Dictionary of Tennyson. Houndsmills, Basingstoke. Palgrave Macmillan, 2010. ISBN 9780230244948 (p.103).
  3. Drabble, Margaret (2000). The Oxford Companion to English Literature Sixth edition, (p. 147). Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-866244-0.
  4. Ernest A. Baker, A Guide to Historical Fiction. London : G. Routledge and Sons, 1914. (pp. 12-15.)
  5. Kevin Crossley-Holland, Green Blades Rising: the Anglo-Saxons. London, Andre Deutsch, 1975 (p.58)
  6. Richard E. Geis, "Review: The Road of Azrael by Robert E. Howard". Science Fiction Review, November 1979. (p.57)
  7. The Golden Warrior: the story of Harold and William. London: Chatto & Windus, 1949
  8. "In 'The Golden Warrior,' Harold, king of Saxon England, goes to his death with such awesome courage..." Courage and Hope in New Novels. The West Australian (Perth, WA). 22 July 1950. (p. 25)
  9. Lynda G. Adamson, World Historical Fiction: An Annotated Guide to Novels for Adults and Young Adults. Phoenix, AZ; Oryx Press ISBN 9781573560665 (p. 156)
  10. Kathryn Falk, Love's Leading Ladies. Pinnacle Books, 1982. ISBN 9780523415253 (p. 180).
  11. "Review of Lord of Sunset by Parke Godwin". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 29 July 2019.
  12. Siobhan Brownlie, Memory and Myths of the Norman Conquest. Woodbridge, Suffolk. Boydell & Brewer Ltd, 2013, ISBN 9781843838524 (p.99)
  13. "Review: God's Concubine by Sara Douglass". (Review by Vivane Crystal). Historical Novel Society. Retrieved 18 July 2019.
  14. "Review: The Handfasted Wife by Carol McGrath". (Review by Sarah Bower). Historical Novel Society. Retrieved 25 August 2019.
  15. "...there was a one-act play by John Mortimer called A Choice of Kings about his [William's] tricking of Harold Godwinson". "A Theatregoer’s Guide to the English Monarchs" by Tim Treanor. DC Theatre Scene, 19 February 2010. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
  16. "The Rhyme of King Harold" By Ian Macgill medievalists.net Retrieved 2 September 2019.
  17. O'Neill, John. "What if King Harold had Prevented the Norman Conquest: After Hastings by Steven H Silver" Black Gate, 12th July, 2020. Retrieved 18th January 2021.
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