Fictional accounts based on the events surrounding

Harold Godwinson Harold Godwinson ( – 14 October 1066), also called Harold II, was the last crowned Anglo-Saxon English king. Harold reigned from 6 January 1066 until his death at the Battle of Hastings, fighting the Norman invaders led by William the ...

's brief reign as king of England have been published.

In drama, film and television

Plays about Harold include the 1778 play ''

The Battle of Hastings The Battle of Hastings nrf, Batâle dé Hastings was fought on 14 October 1066 between the Norman-French army of William, the Duke of Normandy, and an English army under the Anglo-Saxon King Harold Godwinson, beginning the Norman Conquest ...

'' by Richard Cumberland, and the drama ''Harold'', by Alfred, Lord Tennyson, in 1876. The one-act play ''A Choice of Kings'' (1966) by John Mortimer deals with his deception by William after his shipwreck. In the 1982 French/Romanian production ''"William the Conqueror"'' (aka ''Guillaume le Conquérant'' or ''Wilhelm Cuceritorul''), directed by

Sergiu Nicolaescu Sergiu Florin Nicolaescu (; 13 April 1930 – 3 January 2013) was a Romanian film director, actor and politician. He was best known for his historical films, such as '' Mihai Viteazul'' (1970, released in English both under the equivalent tit ...

and Gilles Grangier,

John Terry John George Terry (born 7 December 1980) is an English professional football coach and former player who played as a centre-back. He was previously captain of Chelsea, the England national team and Aston Villa. He was most recently the a ...

played King Harold. Michael Craig portrayed Harold in a 1966 TV adaptation of Mortimer's ''A Choice of Kings'' in the

ITV Play of the Week ''Play of the Week'' is a 90-minute British television anthology series produced by a variety of companies including Granada Television, Associated-Rediffusion, ATV and Anglia Television. Synopsis From 1955 to 1967 approximately 500 episodes ...

series.

In literature

The 1851 poem "The Swan-Neck", by Charles Kingsley is about Harold and his wife Edith. Several novels were published in the Victorian era about Harold Godwinson. These included ''Harold, the Last of the Saxons'' (1848) by Edward Bulwer-Lytton, ''Wulf the Saxon: a story of the Norman Conquest'' (1895) by

G. A. Henty George Alfred Henty (8 December 1832 – 16 November 1902) was an English novelist and war correspondent. He is most well-known for his works of adventure fiction and historical fiction, including ''The Dragon & The Raven'' (1886), ''For The ...

,Ernest A. Baker, ''A Guide to Historical Fiction''. London : G. Routledge and Sons, 1914. (pp. 12-15.) ''The Andreds-weald; or The House of Michelham: a Tale of the Norman Conquest'' (1878) by Augustine David Crake; ''William the Conqueror: An Historical Romance'' (1858) by General Charles James Napier, and ''In the New Forest : A Story of the reign of William the Conqueror'' by

Herbert Strang Herbert Strang was the pseudonym of two English authors, George Herbert Ely (1866–1958) and Charles James L'Estrange (1867–1947). They specialized in writing adventure stories for boys, both historical and modern-day. Both men were ...

and John Aston (1910).

Rudyard Kipling Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English novelist, short-story writer, poet, and journalist. He was born in British India, which inspired much of his work. ...

wrote a short story, included in his 1910 collection, ''

Rewards and Fairies ''Rewards and Fairies'' is a historical fantasy book by Rudyard Kipling published in 1910. The title comes from the poem "Farewell, Rewards and Fairies" by Richard Corbet, which was referred to by the children in the first story of Kipling's ...

'', where an aged King Harold (who survives Hastings) meets and dies in the arms of a Saxon knight. The short story "The Eye of the Hurricane" by

Kevin Crossley-Holland Kevin John William Crossley-Holland (born 7 February 1941) is an English translator, children's author and poet. His best known work is probably the Arthur trilogy (2000–2003), for which he won the Guardian Prize and other recognition. Cros ...

(in the 1969 book ''Wordhoard: Anglo-Saxon Stories'' by Crossley-Holland and

Jill Paton Walsh Gillian Honorine Mary Herbert, Baroness Hemingford, (née Bliss; 29 April 1937 – 18 October 2020), known professionally as Jill Paton Walsh, was an English novelist and children's writer. She may be known best for her Booker Prize-nominated n ...

) depicts Harold fighting in the

Battle of Hastings The Battle of Hastings nrf, Batâle dé Hastings was fought on 14 October 1066 between the Norman-French army of William, the Duke of Normandy, and an English army under the Anglo-Saxon King Harold Godwinson, beginning the Norman Conque ...

. In the posthumously published Robert E. Howard story "The Road of Azrael" (1976), Harold survives the battle and escapes to the Middle East. Modern novels have included ''The Golden Warrior'' (1949) by Hope Muntz, '' The Fourteenth of October'' (1952) by

Bryher Bryher ( kw, Breyer "place of hills") is one of the smallest inhabited islands of the Isles of Scilly, with a population of 84 in 2011, spread across . History The name of the island is recorded as ''Brayer'' in 1336 and ''Brear'' in 1500. Ge ...

, ''Harold Was My King'' (1970) by

Hilda Lewis Hilda Winifred Lewis (nee Maizels, 1896–1974) was a British writer of historical and children's fiction. Biography She was born Hilda Winifred Maizels in Whitechapel, London in 1896. Her father, Joseph Maizels, was a Jewish jeweler and silv ...

, ''The Wind From Hastings'' (1978) by

Morgan Llywelyn Morgan Llywelyn (born December 3, 1937) is an American-Irish historical interpretation author of historical and mythological fiction and historical non-fiction. Her interpretation of mythology and history has received several awards and has ...

, ''Lord of Sunset'' (1998) by

Parke Godwin Parke Godwin (January 28, 1929 – June 19, 2013) was an American writer. He won the World Fantasy Award for Best Novella in 1982 for his story "The Fire When It Comes". He was a native of New York City, where he was born in 1929. He was the g ...

, '' The Last English King'' by

Julian Rathbone Julian Christopher Rathbone (10 February 1935 – 28 February 2008) was an English novelist. Life Julian Rathbone was born in 1935 in Blackheath, south London. The son of Christopher and Decima Rathbone he was a member of the Rathbone famil ...

, and ''The Handfasted Wife'' (2013) by Carol McGrath. ''Rite of Conquest'' (2003) by

Judith Tarr Judith Tarr (born January 30, 1955) is an American fantasy and science fiction author. Life Tarr was born in Augusta, Maine on January 30, 1955. She is the daughter of Earle A. Tarr, Jr. (a waterworks manager and salesman of real estate), and ...

and ''God's Concubine'' (2004) by

Sara Douglass Sara Warneke (2 June 1957 – 27 September 2011), better known by her pen name Sara Douglass, was an Australian fantasy writer who lived in Hobart, Tasmania. She was a recipient of the Aurealis Award for best fantasy novel. Biography A ...

are both fantasy novels that feature Harold as a character. ''The Rhyme of King Harold'' (2014) by Ian Macgill is a

verse novel A verse novel is a type of narrative poetry in which a novel-length narrative is told through the medium of poetry rather than prose. Either simple or complex stanzaic verse-forms may be used, but there will usually be a large cast, multiple voi ...

about Harold's life. ''After Hastings'' (2020) by Steven H. Silver is an alternate history novel where Harold defeats Williams at Hastings, and subsequently comes into conflict with the

Papacy The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

Radio

Christopher Eccleston played Harold in the 2001 radio play ''Bayeux'' by

Simon Armitage Simon Robert Armitage (born 26 May 1963) is an English poet, playwright, musician and novelist. He was appointed Poet Laureate on 10 May 2019. He is professor of poetry at the University of Leeds. He has published over 20 collections of poetr ...

and Jeff Young, based on the Bayeux Tapestry."Classic Serial:"Bayeux"

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

, . Retrieved 18 October 2021.

Citations

{{Cultural depictions of English and British monarchs