Earl Sweyne

Also known as: Swevne / Sweyn / Sweyn the earl / Sweyne · Role: earl · First appears: A.D. 1046–1047

In 1046, Earl Godwin’s son Sweyne went to Wales with Griffin, and hostages were delivered to him. At Leominster he had the abbess brought to him, then let her go home. He came to Bosham with seven ships, where Edward son of Ethelred granted him protection and promised him what he had previously possessed. That year, Sweyne’s men seized Beorn, his uncle’s son, and carried him by ship to Exmouth, where he was slain.

In 1049, Sweyne returned to England and offered to submit to Edward son of Ethelred, but the king refused him everything. Sweyne asked Beorn for help and land; despite their kinship, he had him bound and taken by ship to Dartmouth, where he was slain and buried. The king and army proclaimed Sweyne an outlaw; in 1050 his outlawry was reversed.

In 1051, Sweyne gathered forces alongside Earl Godwin and his brother Harold son of Godwin, ready to fight the king unless their demands were met. After the king proclaimed Godwin and his sons outlaws, Sweyne left with his father and brothers, and he and Godwin went from Bosham overseas seeking Earl Baldwin’s protection. In 1052, Sweyne again assembled with Godwin and Harold against the king; Sweyne was outlawed, and the king and army declared Godwin and all his sons outlaws.