The Twelve Days of Christmas: Day Twelve: Edward’s Saga

The Saga of Edward the Confessor was featured on this blog in early December last year with a link to Dasent’s 1894 english translation on the sacred texts website. See
https://saga1066.blogspot.com/2021/12/the-saga-of-edward-confessor.html

The saga’s other title is Saga Játvarðar konungs hins helga or the Játvarðar Saga in short.  According to wiki it was compiled in the 14th century in Iceland. There’s a copy on Internet Archive of an 1852 translation.
Saga Játvarðar konúngs hins helga
https://archive.org/details/SagaJatvardarkon000200849v0JatvReyk/page/n3/mode/2up

The saga appears at the end of the Flateyjarbok manuscript which was written around 1387 to 1394. “Flateyjarbók is the largest medieval Icelandic manuscript, comprising 225 written and illustrated vellum leaves. It contains mostly sagas of the Norse kings” [wiki]  See the Vigfússon and Unger 1860 edition here
Flateyjarbok
https://archive.org/details/flateyjarbokens00unkngoog/page/462/mode/2up?view=theater

Edward’s Saga makes use of post-conquest sources, and has absorbed the Norman propaganda supporting William’s claim. The further from the original events, the greater distortion of the accounts by the post-conquest sources. Over three hundred years the story is transformed and crucial facts are missing or distorted.

In Chapter six the saga relates that Edward made William his heir following the death of Godwin.

6. King Edward made up his mind after that [the death of Godwin] that he thought duke William the bastard was next to the kingdom in England after him, both for this cause that he was come from the kings of the English, and because of the near kinship which was between them.  

Not only does it include a summary of the story of Harold’s shipwreck and oath, it precedes it with an oath made by the entire witan to support his appointment of William. These oaths do not appear in the English records.

Once on a time when Edward had a conference with all the greatest chiefs, he made all take an oath to him;  first the sons of Godwin, and all the rest after them, that they would take no king after him but William the bastard. But it was a little after that Harold Godwin's son fared on some business of his own south over the sea, and could not get back for the sake of foul winds. Then he came to visit duke William, and stayed with him awhile. Then he took an oath to William also that he would not hold the realm against him when they lost king Edward.  It is also some men's story that then he betrothed a daughter of the duke, and broke himself those bonds.

The Saga claims that Edward repeated this nomination of William as heir during his final illness. It does not refer to William’s absence or explain why William was not summoned to Edward’s bedside.

When king Edward had ruled England three and twenty years he was seated in London.  Then he took sickness at Yule, and calls to him many chiefs, and again gave it out that William was to be king after him in England.

Harold is accused of pretending that Edward gave him the throne when Edward was too ill to speak. This is another version of the deathbed throne grab as described by Wace.

But when the sickness began to press him so that he had little voice left, men say that Harold stooped over him and called men to witness afterwards that the king had given him the kingdom after him in England.  King Edward died a little after and was buried in London in Paul's church. He shone by miracles straightway after his death as he did before, and lay in earth till saint Thomas the archbishop translated him and let them lay him in a worthy shrine.

In Chapter seven, Harold’s appointment by the Witan is explained. The nobility wanted an Englishman as king not someone ‘outlandish’ i.e someone from outside the land. So according to this saga, the English twice appointed the Norman Duke William on Edward’s orders, but at the last minute decided that Harold was more suited because he was English.

7.   For that Harold, Godwin's son, was of great family in England, and a very proper man in himself, but the rulers of the land thought it hard to come under the rule of outlandish lords, then they took Harold to be king, and he was consecrated under the crown as the custom was of English chiefs.  

The saga has limited information about the relationship between Harold and his brother Tostig. It repeats the error that Tostig was the elder and it has no knowledge of his expulsion from England at the end of 1065, prior to Edward’s illness. It states that Tostig was still in England at the time of the coronation and that he challenged Harold for posession of the throne. It does not mention his exile to Flanders.

In this design his brother Tosti had no share, but he was older, and so he thought himself nearer to the kingdom.  Then he went to meet his brother Harold and claimed to be even with him, but when Harold said "nay" to that, then he fared out of the land and fled to Denmark to find king Sweyn, Wolf's son, his kinsman, and bade him fare to England and win the land under his rule "as the Dane kings of old had done."  But Sweyn was not ready to do that.  

The Twelve Days of Christmas: Day Twelve: Saga of Haraldr Hardrada.

 The Saga of Haraldr Hardrada was contained in the manuscript Heimskringla which was written in Iceland in c 1230. Only one page of the original manuscript survives, the rest was lost in a fire in 1728.
“Heimskringla is a collection of sagas about Swedish and Norwegian kings, beginning with the saga of the legendary Swedish dynasty of the Ynglings, followed by accounts of historical Norwegian rulers from Harald Fairhair of the 9th century up to the death of the pretender Eystein Meyla in 1177. [wiki]”
Following an error by Edward Freeman in his history of the Norman Conquest, the saga of Haraldr Hardrada is often misnamed ‘Heimskringla’ in popular history books.

Note that Wace’s account (above) was written approximately 100 years after 1066, this account was written some 60 years after Wace. The saga is not a direct replica of Wace’s account but follows its own agenda.

SAGA OF HARALD HARDRADE.
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/598/598-h/598-h.htm#link2H_4_0539

Chapter 77 of the saga describes King Edward and his family. His wife Queen Edith Godwinson is given five brothers, Tostig, the eldest, then Morcar, Waltheof, Sweyn and finally Harold.

“and the fifth was Harald, who was the youngest, and he was brought up at King Edward's court, and was his foster-son. The king loved him very much, and kept him as his own son; for he had no children.”

Chapter 78 describes Harold’s visit to Normandy and William’s court. There is no mention of any oath taken by Harold to support William’s claim to be Edward’s heir. The chapter focuses on an engagement between Harold and one of the daughters of William. Her name is not given and no account is given of his existing relationship with Edith Swanneck. Chapter 79 notes that Harold did not return to fulfil the betrothal. The same chapter describes the death and burial of King Edward, giving the wrong death date.
 
Edward was king over England for twenty-three years and died on a bed of sickness in London on the 5th of January, and was buried in Paul's church. Englishmen call him a saint.

Chapter 80 describes the positions of Tostig and Harold within Edward’s court.  

The sons of Earl Godwin were the most powerful men in England. Toste was made chief of the English king's army, and was his land-defence man when the king began to grow old; and he was also placed above all the other earls. His brother Harald was always with the court itself, and nearest to the king in all service, and had the charge of the king's treasure-chamber.

The saga repeats the accusation that Harold faked Edward’s bestowal of the throne and that he used false witnesses to support his claim. It gives the wrong date for his coronation.

It is said that when the king was approaching his last hour, Harald and a few others were with him. Harald first leans down over the king, and then said, "I take you all to witness that the king has now given me the kingdom, and all the realm of England:" and then the king was taken dead out of the bed.
The same day there was a meeting of the chiefs, at which there was some talk of choosing a king; and then Harald brought forward his witnesses that King Edward had given him the kingdom on his dying day. The meeting ended by choosing Harald as king, and he was consecrated and crowned the 13th day of Yule, in Paul's church. Then all the chiefs and all the people submitted to him.

Haraldr Hardrada’s Saga is concerned principally with the activities of Tostig and Haraldr Hardrada with respect to the invasion of York in 1066. It is not concerned with William the Bastard until the end of the saga when it describes his arrival in England and the death of Harold at the battle of Hastings. It does not present any claim that Harold Godwinson made oaths to William concerning the throne. Chapter 99 describes William’s reaction to the death of Edward.
 
When the Earl of Rouen, William the Bastard, heard of his relation, King Edward's, death, and also that Harald Godwinson was chosen, crowned, and consecrated king of England, it appeared to him that he had a better right to the kingdom of England than Harald, by reason of the relationship between him and King Edward. He thought, also, that he had grounds for avenging the affront that Harald had put upon him with respect to his daughter. From all these grounds William gathered together a great army in Normandy, and had many men, and sufficient transport-shipping.  

Chapter 80 relates that Tostig felt that Harold had robbed him of the throne, especially as he was the older brother, and he challenges Harold.

Now when his brother, Earl Toste, heard of this [Harold’s Coronation] he took it very ill, as he thought himself quite as well entitled to be king. "I want," said he, "that the principal men of the country choose him whom they think best fitted for it." And sharp words passed between the brothers. King Harald says he will not give up his kingly dignity, for he is seated on the throne which kings sat upon, and is anointed and consecrated a king. On his side also was the strength of the people, for he had the king's whole treasure.

In Chapter 81, King Harold strips Tostig of his command and Tostig voluntarily leaves for Flanders. According to the English sources, Tostig had been exiled in Flanders since late October 1065 and was not present for the death of Edward.
 
Now when King Harald perceived that his brother Toste wanted to have him deprived of the kingdom he did not trust him; for Toste was a clever man, and a great warrior, and was in friendship with the principal men of the country. He therefore took the command of the army from Toste, and also all the power he had beyond that of the other earls of the country. Earl Toste, again, would not submit to be his own brother's serving man; therefore he went with his people over the sea to Flanders, and stayed there awhile, then went to Friesland, and from thence to Denmark.

The Twelve Days of Christmas: Day Twelve: Master Wace

The post conquest publicity machine of William the Conqueror had two main objectives. Firstly to create a case in support of William’s claim to the English crown. Secondly, to create a case to discredit Harold Godwinson’s claim and assassinate his character and that of his family.

Master Wace had connections to Bayeux Cathedral and was writing in the 1160’s, a hundred years after the conquest. His sources were post conquest and his patron was Henry II. His Chapter IX on Edward’s death and Harold’s succession immediately follows his account of Harold’s shipwreck in Normandy and his oaths.

Firstly he skips over any explanation of William’s absence from the English court during Edward’s extended illness from the beginning of November 1065 through his illness and the consecration of his cathedral in preparation of his burial.
 
‘The day came that no man can escape, and king Edward drew near to die. He had it much at heart, that William should have his kingdom, if possible;  but he was too far off, and it was too long to tarry for him, and Edward could not defer his hour. He lay in heavy sickness, in the illness whereof he was to die; and he was very weak, for death pressed hard  upon him’. 

Wace invents a dialogue between Harold and Edward, stating that Harold had primed his followers to support his grab for the throne. Wace tells us by dialogue that Edward has not fathered an heir, and that the people want him to name an heir who will maintain peace, and that they want his successor to be Harold. This does not specify whether Harold has been formally elected by the witan, or whether Edward actually has the authority to name his own successor. Thus he states William’s claim that Edward was coerced by Harold and his followers.

“Then Harold assembled his kindred, and sent for his friends and other people, and entered into the  king's chamber, taking with him whomsoever he pleased. An Englishman began to speak first, as Harold had directed him, and said ;
" Sire, we sorrow greatly that we are about to lose thee ; and we are much alarmed, and fear that great trouble may come upon us : yet we cannot lengthen thy life, nor alter thy fate. Each one must die for himself, and none for another; neither can we cure thee; so that thou canst not escape death ; but dust must return to dust. No heir of thine remains who may comfort us after thy death. Thou hast lived long, and art now old, but thou hast had no child, son or daughter; nor hast thou other heir, who may remain instead of thee to protect and guard us, and to become king by lineage. On this account the people weep and cry aloud, and say they are ruined, and  that they shall never have peace again if thou failest them. And in this, I trow, they say truly ; for without a king they will have no peace, and a king they cannot have, save through thee.
Give then thy kingdom in thy lifetime to some one who is strong enough to maintain us in peace. God grant that none other than such may be our king ! Wretched is a realm, and little worth, when justice and peace fail ; and he who doth not or cannot maintain them, has little right to the kingdom he hath.
Well hast thou lived, well hast thou done, and well wilt thou do; thou hast ever served God, and wilt be rewarded of him. Behold the best of thy people, the noblest of thy friends ; all are come to beseech thee, and  thou must grant their prayer before thou goest hence, or thou wilt not see God. All come to implore thee that Harold may be king of this land. We can give  thee no better advice, and no better canst thou do."  

As soon as he had named Harold, all the English in the chamber cried out that he said well, and that the king ought to give heed to him. " Sire' they said, "if thou dost it not, we shall never in our lives  have peace."

The next part of the dialogue gives Edward’s response as imagined by Wace. It presents William’s claim that he was previously promised the throne by Edward, but not when. It also claims that some Englishmen have sworn to support this, but again, not whom or when. This could be a veiled reference to Harold’s oath.

“Then the king sat up in his bed, and turned his face to the English there, and said, " Seignors, you well know, and have ofttimes heard, that I have given my realm at my death to the duke of Normandy ; and as I have given it, so have some among  you sworn that it shall go.”"

Then Harold takes his prompt and requests the throne from Edward.

“But Harold, who stood by, said, " Whatever thou hast heretofore done, sire, consent now that I shall be king, and that your land be mine ; I wish for no other title, and want no one to do any thing more for me.”"

Edward states that Harold will have the throne but the wording carefull avoids Edward saying ‘I give it to you.’  Edward is merely acknowledging his awareness that there is nothing he can do to prevent Harold taking control. He then prophecises that William will successfully take his revenge on Harold.

" Harold," said the king, " thou shalt have it, but I know full well that it will cost thee thy life. If I know any thing of the duke, and the barons that are with him, and the multitude of people that he can command, none but God can avail to save thee."

Harold responds that he does not fear William.

“Then Harold said that he would stand the hazard, and that if the king would do what he asked, he feared no one, be he Norman or other.”

Edward then gives his consent that the English select their own king and by this allows them to make Harold the heir.

“So the king turned round and said, whether of his own free will I know not, "Let the English make either the duke or Harold king as they please, I consent." Thus he made Harold heir to his kingdom, as William could not have it. A kingdom must have a king; without one, in fact, it would be no kingdom ; so he let his barons have their own will. 

Wace concludes the scene with Edward’s death and burial.

“And now he could abide no longer. He died, and the English lamented much over him. His body was greatly honoured, and was buried at Westminster ; and the tomb which was made for him was rich, and endureth still.”

Wace finally claims that Harold used his position to take the crown and deliberately concealed his coronation from William.

“As soon as king Edward was dead, Harold, who was rich and powerful, had himself anointed and crowned, and said nought of it to the duke, but took the homage and fealty of the richest, and best born of the land.”

The Twelve Days of Christmas: Day Twelve: Edward’s Burial

The twelfth day of Christmas, 5th January is the Eve of the Epiphany. This day saw both the funeral of King Edward and the coronation of King Harold.

ASC 1065 

" ... and he was buried on twelfth-day in the same minster; as it is hereafter said. Here Edward king,  of Angles lord, sent his stedfast soul to Christ. In the kingdom of God a holy spirit! He in the world here abode awhile, in the kingly throng of council sage. Four and twenty winters wielding the sceptre freely, wealth he dispensed. In the tide of health, the youthful monarch, offspring of Ethelred! ruled well his subjects; the Welsh and the Scots, and the Britons also, Angles and Saxons relations of old. So apprehend the first in rank, that to Edward all the noble king were firmly held high-seated men. Blithe-minded aye was the harmless king; though he long ere, of land bereft, abode in exile wide on the earth; when Knute o'ercame the kin of Ethelred, and the Danes wielded the dear kingdom of Engle-land. Eight and twenty winters' rounds they wealth dispensed. Then came forth free in his chambers, in royal array, good, pure, and mild, Edward the noble; by his country defended— by land and people. Until suddenly came the bitter Death and this king so dear snatched from the earth. Angels carried his soul sincere into the light of heaven."

Orderic Vitalis [or his editor] gets the date wrong.
 
“Some time afterwards, King Edward, of pious memory, died at London on the nones [fifth] of January, in the twenty-fourth year of his reign, and was interred in the new monastery which he had just built on the western side of  the city, and at the consecration of which he had been present the week before. His body was laid near the altar which St. Peter the apostle had blessed with the working of  miracles in the time of Mellitus, bishop of London.”

The Twelve Days of Christmas: Day Eleven: Edward’s Death

 The eleventh day of Christmas, 4th January is not assigned a feast day. In 1066 this was a Thursday.

 

 

The image shows the death of Edward and his reception into heaven, attended by St John and St Peter.
http://cudl.lib.cam.ac.uk/view/MS-EE-00003-00059/63

ASC CD&E 1065
"He [Edward] died on the eve of twelfth-day; and he was buried on twelfth-day in the same minster; as it is hereafter said. "

The eve of twelfth day is of course the eleventh day or the 4th of January, and he was buried the next day which is the eve of the Epiphany. Some writers have confused the eve of twelfth day i.e. the eleventh, with the eve of the Epiphany which is the twelfth. Note that the Epiphany is sometimes referred to as the thirteenth day of Christmas. This has caused some writers to give his death date as the 5th January.

Before he died he made some dying statements to the people gathered around his bed. These statements were preceded by the account of the monks dream and prophecy related above. What he said and to whom varies from writer to writer.

 King  Edward  draws  to  his  end,
There  is  no  one  who  has  not  great  sorrow  for  it ;
His  flesh  is  already  half  dead,  
His  people  he  calls  again  and  again  comforts  ; 

 

 Note that the scene as depicted in the Bayeax Tapestry shows Queen Edith at his feet as described in the Life of Edward.  " that is to say, the queen, who was sitting on the floor warming his feet in her lap, her brother, Earl Harold, and Rodbert the steward of the royal palace and a kinsman of the king, also Archbishop Stigand and a few more"

Barlow's Life, p79  gives his speech to Queen Edith  and he commends her to her brother Harold, who is named as his 'governor'. This confirms that Harold had been governing England on Edward's behalf and with his consent, throughout his illness.

“ When he was sick unto death and his men stood and wept bitterly he said “do not weep …”
Then he addressed his lst words to the queen who was sitting at his feet ..’

“And stretching forth his hand to his governor, her brother Harold, he said,
“I commend this woman and all the kingdom to your protection. Serve and honour her with faithful obedience as your lady and sister, which she is and do not despoil her, as long as she lies, of any honour got from me.
Likewise I also commend those men who have left their native land for love of me, and have up till now served me faithfully. Take from them an oath of fealty, if they should so wish, and protect and retain them or send them with your safe conduct safely across the Channel to their own homes with all that they have acquired in my service.
Let the grave for my burial be prepared in the minster in the place which shall be assigned to you. I ask that you do not conceal my death, but announce it promptly in all parts, so that the faithful can beseech the mercy of Almighty God on me, a sinner.”

p80 says he was now up to his last hour

“And so coming with these and like words to his last hour, he … gave up his spirit to God the Creator on the fourth of January …”

p81 they bear him from the palace

“ They bore his holy remains from his palace home into the house of God, and offered up prayers and sighs and psalms all that day and the following night. Meanwhile, when the day of the funeral dawned, they blessed the office of the interment they were to conduct with the singing of masses and the relief of the poor.”

and here the book 'the Life of Edward' ends.

Paris’s Lives of Edward

And  when  all  was  accomplished. 
The  soul  left  the  body  ; 
Angels  descend  from  above,
Singing  Te  Deum  Laudamus  ; 
All  the  court  of  Heaven  is  full 
Of  glory,  and  of  the  joy  which  conducts  him. 
And  Saint  Peter,  his  dear  friend,
Opens  the  gate  of  Paradise, 
And  Saint  John,  his  Own  dear  one, 
Conducts  him  before  the  Majesty, 
And  God  gives  him  his  kingdom, 
Who  puts  the  crown  on  his  head ; 
Makes  him  possessed  of  this  great  glory 
Which  shall  never  be  ended.  
And  thus  from  an  earthly  kingdom 
He  passed  to  a  Heavenly. 
Truly  blessed  was  this  king, 
Who  here  and  there  was  crowned  ; 
And  so  much  more  is  worth  that  (kingdom)  than  this,  
As  gold  is  than  mire  ; 
For  the  one  is  brief  and  ends  soon, 
The  other  sure  and  enduring. 
In  the  thousand  and  sixty-sixth  year 
Since  God  took  flesh, 
After  he  had  reigned  twenty-three  years
And  a  half,  King  Edward
Died,  the  fourth  day  of  January,
Virgin  of  body,  pure  throughout.

Note the shape of the gates of heaven as depicted by Matthew Paris, above, is a yoni. There are other examples of heaven being shown with this shape in medievil manuscripts. The question must be asked, why these medievil monks were depicting heaven with this shape, and were they aware of its significance?

 

The Twelve Days of Christmas: Day Ten: Edward's Prophecy

The tenth day of Christmas, 3rd January. In 1066 this was a Wednesday. There was no feast day assigned to this day in 1066, as far as I can determine.

Edward was sleeping for the two days preceding his death - this is day two.

“Up till then, for the last two days or more, weakness had so tired him that when he spoke scarcely anything he said had been intelligible.”

Prior to his death Edward awakens and relates a predicitve dream he has had about two monks who convey to him a message from God.  The story is in both Barlow's life of Edward and in the later Matthew Paris version.

Barlow's Life: p75 the prophecy of the monks

“ since, they said, those who have climbed to the highest offices in the kingdom of England, the earls, bishops, and abbots, and all those in holy orders, are not what they seem to be, but on the contrary, are servants of the devil, on a year and one day after the day of your death God has delivered all this kingdom, cursed by him, into the hands of the enemy, and devils shall come through al this land with fire and sword and the havoc of war”

Note that this states overtly that William the conqueror is Edward’s enemy.

The later Life repeats and expands the prophecy.

These  two  appeared  to  me  ; 
"What  God  bids  me  by  these  two, 
And  commands  you  to  hear. 
Lords  all,  for  God’s  sake,  hear, 
For  for  that  I  am  reinvigorated. 
Too  much  now  is  virtue  failing 
In  England,  and  sin  rising  ; 
Nor  can  God's  long-suffering  endure 
That  He  take  not  a  mighty  vengeance  ; 
The  longer  He  waits  to  defer  it,  
The  more  fearfully  will  He  strike. 
Bishops,  prelates,  and  priests, 
No  longer  seek  to  be  good  pastors  ; 
They  seek  not  to  feed  the  sheepfolds ; 
But  to  sell  them  is  each  one  s  business  ; 
To  rescue  them  from  the  wolf  none  pains 
Takes,  but  only  for  the  milk  and  the  wool. 
Princes  and  counts  and  barons 
Go  seeking  only  vain-glory, 
Nor  do  they  live  but  to  swallow  money. 
The  poor  they  strip  and  illtreat; 
But  vengeance  for  it  shall  come, 
It  shall  last  a  year  and  a  day  ;  ,
This  shall  be  by  war  and  by  fire.' 
Thus  they  finished  their  speech.

The meaning is clear, England is corrupt and God will have his vengeance and use William to bring it about within a year and a day of Edward's death. If William is perceived to be the enemy, this would explain his absence.

Barlow's Life continues p76
"When those who were present had heard these words - that is to say, the queen, who was sitting on the floor warming his feet in her lap, her brother, Earl Harold, and Rodbert the steward of the royal palace and a kinsman of the king, also Archbishop Stigand and a few more whom the blessed king when roused from sleep had ordered to be summoned - they were all sore afraid as men who had heard a speech contaning many calamities and a denial of the hope of pity."

At the end of p76 - Archbishop Stigand denies the prophecy and says that Edward is rambling.

“ And while all were stupified and silent from the effect of terror, the archbisop himself, who ought to have been the first to fear or give a word of advice, with folly at heart whispered into the ear of the earl that the king was broken with age and disease and knew not what he said.”

The Twelve Days of Christmas: Day Nine: Feast of St Basil and Gregory.

 The ninth day of Christmas, 2nd January is the feasts of Sts. Basil the Great and Gregory of Nazianzus. In 1066 this was a Tuesday.

 “The Three Hierarchs of Eastern Christianity refers to Basil the Great (also known as Basil of Caesarea), Gregory the Theologian (also known as Gregory of Nazianzus) and John Chrysostom. They were highly influential bishops of the early church who played pivotal roles in shaping Christian theology. In Eastern Christianity they are also known as the Three Great Hierarchs and Ecumenical Teachers, while in Roman Catholicism the three are honored as Doctors of the Church. The three are venerated as saints in Eastern Orthodoxy, Catholicism, Anglicanism, and other Christian churches”. [wiki]

One has to ask the question why the feast only recognises two of the three.   

“Disputes raged in 11th century Constantinople about which of the three hierarchs was the greatest.  …All three have separate feast days in January: Basil on January 1, Gregory on January 25, and Chrysostom on January 27. The Eastern Churches teach that the three hierarchs appeared together in a vision to St. John Mauropous, bishop of Euchaita, in the year 1084, and said that they were equal before God: "There are no divisions among us, and no opposition to one another." As a result, a January 30 feast day commemorating all three in common was instituted around 1100 under the Byzantine Emperor Alexios I Komnenos.” [wiki]

  

Sources say that Edward lapsed into semi consciousness for two days prior to his death. Counting backwards, this would be the first of the two days. The sources say that he took the last rites and this must have been whilst he was still conscious.

Barlow’s Life of Edward 

 “Up till then, for the last two days or more, weakness had so tired him that when he spoke scarcely anything he said had been intelligible.”

“When King Edward, replete with faith, perceived that the power of the disease was forcing him to his end, with the commendation and prayers of the most important of God’s faithful he resigned himself to the funeral rites.”

King Edward continued to decline for several days. Nothing is related regarding the administration of the kingdom during his illness. It is assumed that Harold Godwinson as the leading earl was managing things. Both Symeon of Durham and Florence of Worcester call him the “under-king”.
 

The Twelve Days of Christmas: Day Eight: Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God

The eighth day of Christmas, 1st January is the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God. In 1066 this was a Monday.  It is also the Feast of the Circumcision. 

"The Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God is a feast day of the Blessed Virgin Mary under the aspect of her motherhood of Jesus Christ, whom she had circumcised on the 8th day, according to the Levitical Law. Christians see him as the Lord, the Son of God. It is celebrated by the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church on 1 January, the Octave (8th) day of Christmastide." [wiki]

 

 

"The Feast of the Circumcision of Christ is a Christian celebration of the circumcision of Jesus in accordance with Jewish tradition, eight days (according to the Semitic and southern European calculation of intervals of days)[1] after his birth, the occasion on which the child was formally given his name."[wiki]

The Twelve Days of Christmas: Day Seven: The Feast of St Sylvester

 The seventh day of Christmas, 31st December is the feast of Pope St. Sylvester. This was a Sunday in 1065.

Saint Sylvester's Day, also known as Silvester or the Feast of Saint Sylvester, is the day of the feast of Pope Sylvester I, a saint who served as pope (bishop of Rome) from 314 to 335. Medieval legend made him responsible for the conversion of emperor Constantine. Among the Western churches, the feast day is held on the anniversary of Saint Sylvester's death, 31 December, a date that, since the adoption of the Gregorian calendar, has coincided with New Year's Eve.
…Sylvester is said to have healed, in the name of Christ, the emperor Constantine the Great of leprosy.After dying, Saint Sylvester was buried on 31 December in the Catacomb of Priscilla.[wiki]

King Edward was still in ill health and in decline.  Most sources fill in this lull of activity with descriptions of his miracles.

The Twelve Days of Christmas: Day Six: the Feast of the Holy Family

The sixth day of Christmas, 30th December, is the Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph.
This was a Saturday in 1065. This feast day did not exist on 1065.

"The Holy Family consists of the Child Jesus, the Virgin Mary, and Saint Joseph. The subject became popular in art from the 1490s on, but veneration of the Holy Family was formally begun in the 17th century by Saint François de Laval, the first bishop of New France, who founded a confraternity.
The Feast of the Holy Family is a liturgical celebration in the Catholic Church, as well as in many Lutheran and Anglican churches, in honour of Jesus, His mother, and His step-father, Saint Joseph, as a family; it has been observed since 1921 when it was inserted by Pope Benedict XV. The primary purpose of this feast is to present the Holy Family as a model for Christian families."  [wiki]

One of the problems in researching the religious practices of the Christmastide period known as the twlve days of Christmas is that they vary significantly depending on the period and the church.  We can assume that the religious services of Christmastide continued throughout Edward’s illness.

The Twelve Days of Christmas: Day Five: Memorial of St. Thomas Becket

 The fifth day of Christmas, 29th December, is the Memorial of St. Thomas Becket, Bishop and Martyr.  However, as Becket was not born until c1120, this celebration of his matryrdom was not relevent in 1065.

 

"Thomas Becket also known as Saint Thomas of Canterbury, Thomas of London[ and later Thomas à Becket, (21 December 1119 or 1120 – 29 December 1170), was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1162 until his murder in 1170. He is venerated as a saint and martyr by both the Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion. He engaged in conflict with Henry II, King of England, over the rights and privileges of the Church and was murdered by followers of the king in Canterbury Cathedral. Soon after his death, he was canonised by Pope Alexander III." [wiki]

Following the dedication of Westminster Abbey on Childermass day, the records go silent of King Edward’s progress. He was severely ill, but he did not lapse into unconsciousness until the ninth day of Christmas. This leaves several days where Edward was out of commission and the country must have been ruled by Queen Edith, Earl Harold and Archbishop Stigand according to their realm of influence. What took place during these four days can only be speculated upon.  Harold Godwinson must have been negotiating his succession with the nobles and clergy present at court.

The Twelve Days of Christmas: Day Four: The Feast of the Holy Innocents

 The fourth day of Christmas, 28th December, is the the Feast of the Holy Innocents. In 1065, this day fell on a Thursday.

 

The Holy Innocents are the children murdered by Herod after the birth of Jesus (Matt. 2:16). These were not martyrs like Stephen, who died heroically in a vision of the glorified Christ. They were not inspired like John to speak the Word of life and understand the mysteries of God.

Matthew 2

12     And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they [the wise men] departed into their own country another way.
13     And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him.
14     When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt:
15     And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son.
16     Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the wise men.

Too ill to attend the ceremony  himself, King Edward sent Queen Edith to officiate at the dedication of the new Westminster Abbey. All the leading men of England including Harold Godwinson were present. William of Normandy was not.

From Barlow’s The Life of Edward
“When that celebrated day, which the blessed passion of the Holy Innocents adorns, had come, the excellent prince ordered them to hasten on wth the dedication of the church and no more to put it off to another time. Edward gave himself up to complaints and lamentation that he, being consumed by the fire of his illness, could not attend with the rest. But his consort [Queen Edith], whom he had possesed only in appearence and whose secrets this man of God had not known in the flesh, exerted herself on the orders of the noble king so that the sacrement of the holy consecration should be completed. The pontiffs and nobles of the kingdom were present, the clergy and people worshipped in praise and glory of God, and with new dowry gifts they joined the chaste bride to the Lamb.”

ASC 1065
About midwinter King Edward came to Westminster, and had the minster there consecrated, which he had himself built to the honour of God, and St. Peter, and all God's saints. This church-hallowing was on Childermas-day. [28th December]

Paris’s Lives of Edward
On  the  fourth  day,  which  was  that  of  the  Innocents, 
The  prelates  come,  the  chiefs  come,
To  furnish  whatever  appertains
To  so  great  a  dedication. 
The  king  forces  himself  to  come  there, 
Since  for  it  he  had  a  great  longing ; 
But  so  weak  and  ill  is  he, 
So  much  doubt  has  his  head  and  feebleness  has  his  heart. 
He  cannot  be  according  to  his  wish 
Present,  which  much  afflicts  him. 
But  much  he  commands  and  admonishes 
That  the  feast  should  be  full. 
The  queen,  who  is  courageous, 
Well  conceals  her  grief,  which  is  great,
Much  she  struggles  to  furnish
What  may  please  her  lord ; 
She  is  queen,  he  is  king,  
Both  in  church  and  in  palace.

The Twelve Days of Christmas: Day Three: the Feast of St. John.

 The third day of Christmas, 27th December, is the Feast of St. John, Apostle and Evangelist. 

 St. John the Evangelist, is traditionally thought to be the only one of the twelve disciples who did not die a martyr.  Born in Bethsaida, he was called while mending his nets to follow Jesus. He became the beloved disciple of Jesus. He is traditionally accredited with writing the Gospel of John, the Johannine epistles, and the Book of Revelation. However, the authorship of the Johannine works: has been debated by biblical scholars since at least the 2nd century AD. The debate focuses mainly on the identity of the author(s), as well as the date and location of authorship of these writings.

If King Edward had been warned of his upcoming death by the Legend of the Ring of St John as related in the Life of Edward, then this day must have been of particular significance to him. King Edward was still conscious and capable of speech up to the dedication of the church on the 28th of December. This was the fourth day of his final illness. 

 William the Bastard claimed, post conquest, that King Edward had made him heir to the English throne. If Edward had been sickening since October and had received a prophecy of his upcoming death that had prompted the rush to complete the abbey and dedicate it at Christmas, why was William, as the intended heir, not in attendance?

Why was William surprised to receive the news of Edward's death and King Harold's coronation?  There was sufficient time during the twelve days of Christmas for messengers to travel to Normandy with news of Edward's decline and for William to rush to his bedside. Why did this not happen? The post-conquest accounts do not address this, they give no explanation for William's absence or for the failure of King Edward to call for his so-called heir.

 

The Twelve Days of Christmas: Day Two: St Stephen’s day

 The second day of Christmas, 26th December, is ‘St Stephen’s Day.’  It is also known as Boxing Day.

“St Stephen is traditionally venerated as the protomartyr or first martyr of Christianity, and was, according to the Acts of the Apostles, a deacon in the early Church at Jerusalem who angered members of various synagogues by his teachings. Accused of blasphemy at his trial, he made a speech denouncing the Jewish authorities who were sitting in judgment on him and was then stoned to death. His martyrdom was witnessed and participated by Saul of Tarsus, also known as Paul, a Pharisee and Roman citizen who would later become a Christian apostle.”  [from Wiki]

December 26 is the feast of St. Stephen—a traditional day for giving leftovers to the poor (as described in the carol “Good King Wenceslas”). As one of the first deacons, Stephen was the forerunner of all those who show the love of Christ through their generosity to the needy.  

Good King Wences'las looked out,
on the Feast of Stephen,
… "Bring me flesh, and bring me wine,
bring me pine logs hither:
Thou and I shall see him dine,
when we bear them thither."

 

Acts 7:  Stephen the Martyr
54     When they heard these things they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed at him with their teeth.
55    But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God,
56    and said, “Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!”
57    Then they cried out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, and ran at him with one accord;
58    and they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul.
59    And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God and saying, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”
60    Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not charge them with this sin.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep.

It was on boxing day that King Edward retired from the festivities. See the Life of Edward.

“But on the morrow, when he could hide it no longer, he began to rest apart, and sent messengers to bid his court be of good cheer and to carry out the dedication of his monestery through fitting persons.”
“But after the banquet he sought the privacy of his inner bedchamber, and bore with patience a distress which grew severer day by day. The close ranks of his vassals surrounded him, and the queen herself was there, in her mourning foretelling future grief.”

 

The Twelve Days of Christmas: Day One: Christmas Day

 The first day celebrates the birth of Christ, in Bethlehem.

 

The great events leading up to the death of King Edward, the consecration of his church at Westminster, the subsequent coronation of King Harold at Epiphany and the coronation of King William a year later, all take place over the twelve days of Christmas. Exactly what the practices of the church over this period were in 1065/1066 is unclear. We can however, look at the twelve days and their significance as they are understood now.  We will follow the calendar for one year beginning with Edward’s death and ending with William’s coronation.

According to The Life of Edward, the king called for the consecration of his new church to take place at Christmas. 

“Meanwhile all the things necessary for the dedication of such a great building were prepared at the royal charge, as was right, and from the whole of Britain men assembled there, assembled, I say, as at Christmas for a royal court or for consecrating a famous church to Christ.”

But on Christmas Eve, Edward’s illness worsened and he was eventually forced to withdraw and leave the consecration of his church to his wife, Queen Edith.

“For on Christmas eve itself the most kindly king began to get worse. Concealing the fact, however, he spent Christmas day both in the church and in the palace rejoicing with his nobles.”
[On Christmas day] “The glorious King Edward was afflicted with an indisposition, and in the palace the day’s rejoicing was afflicted with fresh calamity. The holy man disguised his sickness more than his strength warranted, and for three days [24th-26th] he was able to produce a serene coutenance. He sat at table clad in a festal robe, but had no stomach for the delicacies which were served. He showed a cheerful face to the bystanders, althugh an unbearable weakness oppressed him.”

 

Prophecy of King Edward’s death

At the end of 1065, King Edward was hunting with Tostig Godwinson, when news came that Tostig’s earldom in Northumbria had revolted against him. Tostig was eventually replaced by Earl Morcar and was forced to flee to Flanders. Following this, in the months that led up to Christmas 1065, King Edward fell ill with grief at the loss of his favourite.
Florence of Worcester tells us “ Thereupon he [Tostig] went, accompanied by his wife, to Baldwin, earl of Flanders, and passed the winter at St. Omer.  After this, king  Edward  fell into a lingering  sickness,  but  he held  his court at London during Christmas as well as he was  able.”

According to the miracle story in Matthew Paris’s ‘The Lives of Edward the Confessor,’ King Edward’s death was prophecised by a visit from St John the Evangelist. Tostig’s expulsion is not mentioned.
see:  https://archive.org/details/livesofedwardcon00luar/page/278/mode/2up?view=theater
and the illustrations in the manuscript can be seen at the Cambridge Library website
http://cudl.lib.cam.ac.uk/view/MS-EE-00003-00059/59

The  king  was  at  the  service,
where there was dedicated  the  church
Of  Saint  John,  who  to  God  was  dear,

Firstly King Edward wished to give charity to a poor man but as he had nothing else to hand, he gave him a ring from his own finger. But the poor man was really St John.

Looks  at  his  hand,  and  remembers  
That  on  his  finger  he  had  a  cherished  ring  
Which  was  large,  royal  and  beautiful  ;  
To  the  poor  man  he  gives  it  for  the  love  
Of  Saint  John,  his  dear  lord ;  

 
Later, two palmers of English birth were in Syria where they were assisted by a mysterious old man. He claimed to be John the Evangelist and gave them a ring and a message for King Edward, and then he vanished.

You  shall  go  to  King  Edward,  
Salute  him  from  me,  
And  that  you  attempt  not  a  falsehood  
To  say,  you  shall  carry  proofs —  
A  ring,  which  he  will  know,
Which  he  gave  to  me  John,  
When  he  was  at  the  service.  
Where  my  church  was  dedicated ;

And  let  King  Edward  know  well.  
To  me  he  shall  come  before  six  months  (are  over)  
And  since  he  resembles  me.  
In  Paradise  shall  we  be  together ;  
And  that  of  this  he  may  be  confidently  assured  

King Edward, knowing that his death was coming within six months, prepared by giving away his possessions and by seeking the completion and dedication of his own church and burial place.

When  King  Edward  knew  
That  he  should  die  within  six  months,  
He  gives  largely  of  his  treasure,  
He  retains  nothing  of  gold  nor  silver.   
In  tears  is  he  and  in  prayers.  
Almsgiving  and  devotion.  
In  disciplines  and  vigils.  
So  much  that  every  one  wonders.  
But  of  one  thing  he  is  very  thoughtful ;  
Much  longs  he  while  he  is  alive  
That  his  church  should  be  dedicated,  
To  which  he  had  given  so  much  thought,
And  where  espoused  by  oath
He  was  to  Almighty  God.

The Building of Westminster Abbey

 

  

From Barlow’s: The Life of Edward p44-45

“Outside the walls of London, upon the river Thames, stood a monastery dedicated to St Peter, but insignificant in buildings and numbers, for under the abbot only a small community of monks served Christ. … The king, therefore, being devoted to God, gave his attention to that place, for it both lay hard by the famous and rich town and also was a delightful spot, surrounded by fertile lands and green fields and near the main channel of the river, which bore abundant merchandise of wares of every kind for sale from the whole world to the town on its banks. And, especially because of his love of the Prince of the Apostles, whom he worshipped with uncommon and special love, he decided to have his burial place there. Accordingly he ordered that out of the tithes of all his revenues should be started the building of a noble ediface, worthy of the Prince of rhe Apostles; so that, after the transient jounrey of this life, God would look kindly upon him, both for the sake of his goodness and beause of the gift of lands and ornaments with which he intended to enoble the place. And so the building, nobly begun at the king’s command was successfully made ready; and there was no weighing of the costs…”

In Matthew Paris’s ‘Life of Edward the Confessor’, the building of the abbey was brought about by the vision of a hermit of St Peter, who gave him a message for King Edward.
Edward, he said, would be pardoned for all his sins if he built a monastery dedicated to St Peter at Thorney on the Thames [Westminster]. St Peter himself promised to consecrate the spot.

 

 

The hermit wrote a letter and sent it to King Edward. Following miraculous confirmations of the hermit’s vision, and happy to be pardoned for his sins, King Edward gave orders for the restoration of the monastery.

see https://archive.org/details/livesofedwardcon00luar/page/242/mode/2up?view=theater
Lives of Edward the Confessor : Images by Matthew Paris
http://cudl.lib.cam.ac.uk/view/MS-EE-00003-00059/70