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King '''Harold II of England''' (ca. 1022 - [[October 14]], 1066) was the last crowned Anglo-Saxon king of England. He was the son of Earl Godwin of Wessex, succeeded St. [[Edward the Confessor]] to the throne of England, but served as its king for less than a year, dying on the field of battle at Hastings in southern England in 1066, when England was invaded by William the Bastard ("the Conqueror"), Duke of Normandy. He ruled from [[January 5]], 1066 to [[October 14]], the day of his death. He Though he has never been formally canonized, he is regarded by many some Orthodox Christians as a [[passion-bearer]] or even [[martyr]] and as the last Orthodox king of England.
[[Image:Harold.jpg|right|frame|Harold II Godwinson of England<br>(Bayeux Tapestry)]]
After Harold had returned from his brilliant defeat of Harald of Norway in the north of England, he learned quickly of the Norman invasion. He'd been suspecting it for some time, but it fell hard on the heels of victory at Stamford Bridge that he would have to defend his country in the south, as well.
Upon his return to southern England, he soon received word from William's forces that he had been excommunicated by the Pope and that the Normans carried papal blessing to invade England. All evidence suggests that this news utterly demoralized King Harold. While he had been a powerful commander against the Norsemen, upon hearing news of the alleged [[excommunication]], he declared, "May the Lord now decide between William and me" (Howarth, p. 164), and before going to battle, "the terrible rumour was starting to spread that the King was excommunicated and the same fate hung over any man who fought for him" (ibid., 165).
Records of how the battle actually went suggest that instead of the dynamic fighting force Harold had inspired just days before, the English mainly stood in one place and were slaughtered. Harold had been transformed by his betrayal by the Pope, and his defeat by William (which from a purely military standpoint was by no means assured) marked the end of the ecclesial distinctiveness of the English church and its subsequent capitulation to Rome under Norman rule. Lanfranc himself, as Archbishop of Canterbury, led the Latinization and Normanization of the English church, while William brutalized the English people.
[[Category:Saints]]
[[Category:Saints of the British Isles]]
[[Category:Pre-Schism Western Saints]]
[[Category:Rulers]]
[[Category:Featured Articles]]
[[Category: 11th-century saints]]
[[ro:Harold al Angliei]]
