Page:Archaeological Journal, Volume 11.djvu/286

 230 ON THE LIFE AND DEATH OF KARL GODWINE. sons. Alul really to suppose an union between Godwinc and the king's own sister, at the very beginning of his reign, for so it must surel}" have been, is only adding an additional marvel to his otherwise sufficiently marvellous rise. The sister of the great Jarl Ulf, connected as he was with the throne, was herself no small alliance for Godwine, without his raising his thoughts to a sister of the king himself — a mar- riaireable dauirhter, whom some of the later writers introduced, he could hardly have had so early. The English writers, who were evidently not very well versed in Scandinavian pedigrees, might by a shght confusion, have mistaken Gytha for Cnut's own sister. I cannot help thinking that the author of the " Vita Haroldi " means no other than Gytha, when he unites Godwine to a sister of Cnut living in Denmark. If both this and the more correct statement were afloat, they might easily have been mistaken for two separate wives. We may also remark, that in iIalmesbury's tale, it is not easy to see who is the " grandfather '^ alluded to, from whom the boy received the horse which caused his death, Wulfnoth, whether ''child " or herdsman, he has not mentioned, and Cnut's father, Svend, was dead. Of the children of Godwinc and Gytha, Harold, Swegen, Tostig, Gyrth, Lcofwinc, an<l Eadgyth, all j)lay imj)ortant parts in the history. Wulfnoth we shall also find mentioned, but yElfgar rests on the authority of Ordcricus alone, and is absent from ][almesbury's list. According to the Kornian writer, botli these two became monks, jElfgar at Khcims, Wulfnoth at Salisljury.^ Saxo, as we liavc seen, and after him Polyilore Vergil, assign to Godwine a son named liiorn, who is unknown to any of tlic early Englisli writers. J)ucliesne identified this Biorn with Wulfnotli,** I know not on what gi-(nnids, except that there is something of the Scivage beast in the composititjn of both names ; it strikes nic rather that (iytlia has here attributed to lier as her son a liioni, who was really her nephew, namely, the son of Ulf, and hi-(jther of iiiig Svend Estrithson, afterwards murdered by Ills cousin Swegen. Of Godwine's (hi-ei; danghtei-s, Queen Eadgyth is of course recognised I'verywhere, though " Klft{nriiH io |f){ititiii-<|Ui< vix'Tiiiii, vl ill vcrii r<>ii- oliirniiit.