Wulfnoth Cild
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Wulfnoth Cild is thought to have been the father of Godwin, Earl of Wessex and thus the grandfather of King Harold Godwinson. Earl Godwin's father was certainly named Wulfnoth, a relatively uncommon name. He is thus assumed to be the same person as Wulfnoth Cild, a thegn in Sussex.
The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle reports that in 1009 Wulfnoth, commanding a force of 20 ships, was accused, of what is not said, to King Ethelred the Unready by Earl Brihtric, Eadric Streona's brother. Wulfnoth retaliated by ravaging the south coast, leading to Brihtric being sent with a force of 80 ships to deal with him. Brihtric's ships were caught in a storm, driven ashore, and then burned by Wulfnoth and his men. Wulfnoth was sentenced to exile but his son Godwin remained in England.
In 1014, the will of King Ethelred's son the Ætheling Athelstan states that Godwin was to receive "the estate at Compton which his father possessed." The date of Wulfnoth's death, like that of his birth, is not known.
[edit] References
- Walker, Ian, Harold: The Last English King. Stroud: Sutton, 1997. ISBN 0-7509-2456-X