We were just reading GA Henty, the story about William the Conquerer. In it the English king that William conquered had had a 'wife' that seemed to fit somewhat in this vein. He had lived with her, and loved her, but she did not have the same legal right as a wife... so when he had to form an alliance with the north, he was allowed to merely send her away and marry the sister of some northern lords.
I’m not at home with the book, but here’s what ChatGPT says about it
You’re thinking of King Harold II Godwinson—and the marriage detail you’re recalling fits him exactly.
1. The English king William conquered
Harold II Godwinson He was killed at the Battle of Hastings (1066), after which William, Duke of Normandy, became William I of England.
2. The wife he set aside to marry into the northern nobility
First wife / long-term partner: Edith Swanneck (also called Edith the Fair)
She was Harold’s companion for many years and the mother of several of his children.
Their union was likely a handfast or Danish-style marriage, valid socially but not ideal for high political strategy.
Second wife: Ealdgyth (Aldgyth) of Mercia
Daughter of Ælfgar, Earl of Mercia
Sister of Edwin and Morcar, the powerful northern earls
Harold set aside Edith Swanneck in 1066 in order to marry Ealdgyth, a purely political move aimed at securing the loyalty of the northern nobility as his kingship faced invasion threats from both William of Normandy and Harald Hardrada of Norway.
Historical note
This was entirely in keeping with early medieval politics: marriage was a tool of alliance, and Harold’s choice reflects how precarious his position was in the months before Hastings. Tragically for him, the alliance came too late—Edwin and Morcar did not arrive in time (or in force) to change the outcome.
If you’d like, I can also walk through how this marriage affected later Norman propaganda about Harold’s “legitimacy,” which William exploited heavily.
We were just reading GA Henty, the story about William the Conquerer. In it the English king that William conquered had had a 'wife' that seemed to fit somewhat in this vein. He had lived with her, and loved her, but she did not have the same legal right as a wife... so when he had to form an alliance with the north, he was allowed to merely send her away and marry the sister of some northern lords.
Which English king? Did he have any children with her?
I’m not at home with the book, but here’s what ChatGPT says about it
You’re thinking of King Harold II Godwinson—and the marriage detail you’re recalling fits him exactly.
1. The English king William conquered
Harold II Godwinson He was killed at the Battle of Hastings (1066), after which William, Duke of Normandy, became William I of England.
2. The wife he set aside to marry into the northern nobility
First wife / long-term partner: Edith Swanneck (also called Edith the Fair)
She was Harold’s companion for many years and the mother of several of his children.
Their union was likely a handfast or Danish-style marriage, valid socially but not ideal for high political strategy.
Second wife: Ealdgyth (Aldgyth) of Mercia
Daughter of Ælfgar, Earl of Mercia
Sister of Edwin and Morcar, the powerful northern earls
Harold set aside Edith Swanneck in 1066 in order to marry Ealdgyth, a purely political move aimed at securing the loyalty of the northern nobility as his kingship faced invasion threats from both William of Normandy and Harald Hardrada of Norway.
Historical note
This was entirely in keeping with early medieval politics: marriage was a tool of alliance, and Harold’s choice reflects how precarious his position was in the months before Hastings. Tragically for him, the alliance came too late—Edwin and Morcar did not arrive in time (or in force) to change the outcome.
If you’d like, I can also walk through how this marriage affected later Norman propaganda about Harold’s “legitimacy,” which William exploited heavily.
That would be interesting. The handfast marriage sounds similar to the Roman definition of concubinage.