Chapter 2 The Early Middle Ages, 410-1066 39 applying only to men (such as the husband departing by sea or going into a mon- astery), but some egalitarian (such as both spouses in a marriage without children being entitled to leave each other temporarily so they could conceive a child by another partner). In general, women in the Celtic regions were not able to hold property (as did Anglo-Saxon women after the tenth century), but they were usually accorded certain rights of maintenance when widowed, and there are cases of women in Scotland apparently administering their property independently, and sometimes even being allowed to testify in court. In Ireland, the law codes were quite explicit that a woman's “father has charge over her when she is a girl, her husband when she is a wife, her sons when she is a widowed woman with children, her kin when she is a ‘women of the kin’ [when she has no other guardian], and the church when she is a woman of the church.” However, even in this stringent system there were loopholes. A woman could inherit her father's property if there were no sons, and in certain instances, if she was of equal status, she could dissolve a contract made jointly with her husband. Moreover, she was entitled to her own property (items such as spindles, dresses, and needlework implements). ‘The complex social organization of the Celtic regions based on both inherited status and professional training meant that sometimes a woman would inherit the high-status position of her father. (It is unclear whether this was only in cases where there were no sons, or if personal aptitude may have been considered.) References to such professional women are rare in the annals, but there are a handful of women who are noted as ban-file (female high-poets), and literary sources such as the Tain Bo Cualgne refer to female poets (Fedelm, a prophetic poet from Scotland) as well as the female arms-master Scdthan, who teaches Cuchulainn his fighting skills. These references are reminiscent of the Anglo-Saxon female seers mentioned in the collections of healing charms. Religious women were clearly an important part of society in all regions of the British Isles, and in keeping with Continental examples, such women were nearly always of aristocratic background. EDWARD THE CONFESSOR (1042-1066) In 1042 the witan again met to choose a new monarch. Their decision brought back a descendant of the old House of Wessex, Edward the Confessor. Edward was the son of Ethelred the Redeless and Emma. His formative years were spent in Normandy, French, not Anglo-Saxon, was his native language, and French manners and customs came naturally to him. He scarcely knew his father and did not see much of his mother once she married Canute. Edward was brought up by churchmen and became so pious that he acquired the nickname “the Confes- sor” because he regularly confessed his sins. Itwas probably with some reluctance that Edward accepted the English throne, since he had little interest in ruling, Once in England he proved to be more alien than Canute: Edward gave high offices to his Norman friends, thus angering Anglo- Saxon leaders in both church and state. His chief enemies were Godwin, Earl of40 Part! Prehistoric, Roman, and Early Medieval Britain Wessex, and Godwin's sons Harold (Earl of Mercia) and Tostig (Earl of Northum- bria). For a time Godwin was forced into exile for his opposition to Edward's rule. Anglo-Saxon leaders in the church were antagonized when Edward tried to appoint a Norman friend to the archbishopric of Canterbury. Eventually the witan forced the king to accept an Anglo-Saxon named Stigand as archbishop, but the pope never recognized Stigand, and relations between the king and the church remained ac- rimonious. In an attempt to win over the Anglo-Saxons, Edward agreed to marry Godwin’s daughter Edith (or Eadgyth), but he did not love her and the marriage produced no heirs. Edward's reign was generally difficult and unsettled. His chief legacy, and the project dearest to his heart, was the establishment of Westminster Abbey. Built in a marsh adjoining the Thames, near the royal palace west of the city of London, the Abbey was nearly complete when Edward last visited it just before Christmas 1065. He died January 5, 1066. THE EVENTS OF 1066 Because Edward had no children, the witan was once again forced to choose among rival candidates who had minimal connections with the old royal family. ‘Two claimants to the throne were Godwin’s sons, Harold and Tostig. They could assert that their sister (Edith) had been queen, so they were brothers-in-law of the old king, but this did not actually give them royal blood. Harold sought to inherit, the entire kingdom of England, while Tostig would have been satisfied ifit had been divided into halves, Harold ruling the south and Tostig the north. A third claimant to the English throne was William, Duke of Normandy, the large duchy in northern France just across the Channel from the British coast. Wil- liam was able to put forth a hereditary claim of sorts, for he was descended from the same Duke of Normandy as Emma, the former wife of both Ethelred and Canute. But no English blood flowed in his veins, and his own birth was clouded by the fact that he was an illegitimate son of his father, Duke Robert. William also asserted that he had been promised the English throne by both Edward the Confessor and Harold. This was probably true, but circumstances make the promises of doubtful value. Edward always favored Normans, but he had no right to give away the throne; Harold had sworn an oath not to challenge William, but only under duress, while he was being held prisoner at the Norman court after being shipwrecked on the French coast. In reality the chief factor in William’s favor was simply his own ambition and powerful personality. The witan predictably favored an Anglo-Saxon over a Norman and an older son over a younger one: it declared Harold to be king of England, His rule was challenged almost immediately. Tostig proceeded to form an alliance with the king of Norway, Harold Hardrada, who also believed that he had a claim to the English throne as a result of an earlier treaty, Tostig and Hardrada were able to field a large army in northern England, but King Harold defeated them in the Battle of StamfordChapter 2 The Early Middle Ages, 410-1066 41 Bridge, fought on September 25, 1066. Tostig and Hardrada were both slain on the battlefield. Only three days later, on September 28, Duke William landed on the south coast with a large force of Norman warriors. Harold heard of the invasion and marched his army south as speedily as possible, hardly pausing to sleep or eat. William, following ahigh-minded code of chivalry, waited for the rival force to appear so that a decisive pitched battle could take place. ‘This combat, the Battle of Hastings, began about 9 A.é. on October 14. Harold’s troops formed a shield-wall that held firm throughout a succession of attacks by mounted Norman knights. It began to fail when the Normans feigned retreat, thus causing the English to break ranks and pursue them. Finally, in a characteristically novel and daring ploy, William ordered his archers to shoot arrows high into the air over the Anglo-Saxon line, Bewildered by this unexpected threat from above, the Anglo-Saxon warriors gazed upward and abandoned their formation. Eventu- ally the battle turned into a disorganized melee, every man for himself. A number of Anglo-Saxons were killed by arrows that fell into their eyes—eyes were vulner- able because they were virtually the only part of the body not protected by armor. Harold himself disappeared during the later stages of the combat, but when the fighting was over his body was found on the battlefield, an arrow in his right eye; his disfigured remains were recognized by his wife, Edith Swanneck. Before he left Hastings, William swore that he would build a monastery (called Battle Abbey) on the site of his victory, in memory of the dead on both sides and in expiation of the sin of spilling blood. Harold's death in the Battle of Hastings left William without rivals for the En- glish throne. The witan acquiesced in his election, and on Christmas Day 1066 he was crowned king in Westminster Abbey. His accession ended the Anglo-Saxon period in English history and ushered in Norman rule. INTELLECTUAL AND ARTISTIC LIFE IN THE BRITISH ISLES Despite the unsettled conditions and devastation caused by the Viking inva- sions, the peoples of the British Isles succeeded in maintaining an interest in ed- ucation and art throughout the Anglo-Saxon period. Monasteries and cathedrals formed natural centers of learning in the British Isles, and important libraries of manuscripts were collected at such places as Jarrow, Monkwearmouth, and Dur- ham, all in Northumbria, and at Canterbury. Iona in Scotland and Armagh, St. Pat- rick’s ecclesiastical foundation in Ireland, performed a similar function. The churchmen were also the historians of this period. Saints’ lives were a popular literary form. One of Bede's works is a biography of St. Cuthbert, a seventh- century abbot of Lindisfarne, which served as a model of its kind. Lives of St. Patrick and St. Columba were written in Ireland. Biographies of secular leaders, especially Alfred and Brian Boru, also survive, as do musical manuscripts containing the nota- tion of the chants used in the services of the church.