Tostig Godwinson | |
---|---|
Earl of Northumbria | |
Reign | 1055-1065 |
Predecessor | Siward |
Successor | Morcar |
Died | 25 September 1066 Battle of Stamford Bridge, Yorkshire, England |
Burial | York Minster |
Spouse | Judith of Flanders |
Issue | Skuli Tostisson Kongsfostre Ketil Tostisson |
House | House of Godwin |
Father | Godwin, Earl of Wessex |
Mother | Gytha |
Tostig Godwinson (circa 1026 -25 September 1066) was an Anglo-Saxon Earl of Northumbria and brother of King Harold Godwinson. After being exiled by his brother, Tostig supported the Norwegian king Harald Hardrada's invasion of England, and was killed at the Battle of Stamford Bridge.
Tostig was the third son of the Anglo-Saxon nobleman Godwin, Earl of Wessex and Gytha Thorkelsdóttir, the daughter of Danish chieftain Thorgil Sprakling. In 1051, he married Judith of Flanders the only child of Baldwin IV, Count of Flanders by his second wife, Eleanor of Normandy. The Domesday Book recorded twenty-six vills or townships as being held by Earl Tostig forming the Manor of Hougun which now forms part of the county of Cumbria in north-west England.
In September 1051, Godwin and his sons were banished from England by king Edward the Confessor. Godwin, Gytha and Tostig, together with Sweyn and Gyrth, sought refuge with the Count of Flanders. They returned to England the following year with armed forces, gaining support and compelling Edward to restore his earldom. Three years later in 1055, Tostig became the Earl of Northumbria upon the death of Earl Siward.