y still lingered about
the king, and there was another voice ever at the royal ear, ever ready
to poison the royal mind against the people of England and their leader.
It was the voice of a foreign monk, Archbishop Robert. Godwine and three
other earls summoned their followers and demanded the surrender of
Eustace, but the frightened king sent for the Northern Earls Siward,
Leofric, and Ralph, bidding them bring a force strong enough to keep
Godwine in check. Thus the northern and southern sections were arrayed
against each other.

There were, however, on the king's side, men who were not willing to see
the country involved in civil war. Leofric, the good Earl of Mercia,
stood forth as the champion of compromise and peace, and it was agreed
that hostilities should be avoided and that the witenagemot should
assemble at Michaelmas in London.

Of this truce King Eadward and his foreign advisers took advantage to
collect an army, at the head of which they appeared in London. Godwine
and his son Harold were summoned to the gemot, but refused to appear
without a security for a safe conduct. The hostages and safe-conduct
were refused. The refusal was announced by Bishop Stigand to the earl as
he sat at his evening meal. The bishop wept; the earl sprang to his
feet, overthrew the table, leaped on his horse, and, with his sons, rode
for his life all that night. In the morning the king held his
witenagemot, and by a vote of the king and his whole army, Godwine and
his sons were declared outlaws, but five days were allowed them to get
out of the land. Godwine, Swegen, Tostig, and Gyrth, together with Gytha
and Judith, the newly-married wife of Tostig, set sail for Bruges in a
ship laden with as much treasure as it would hold. They reached the
court of Flanders in safety, were honourably received by the count, and
passed the whole winter with him.

Two of Godwine's sons, however, sought another refuge. Harold and his
younger brother Leofwine determined on resistance, and resolved to seek
shelter among the Danish settlers in Ireland, where they were cordially
received by King Diarmid. For the moment the overthrow of the patriotic
leaders in England was complete, and the dominion of the foreigners over
the feeble mind of the king was complete. It was while Godwine dwelt as
an exile at Bruges, and Harold was planning schemes of vengeance in the
friendly court of Dublin, that William the Bastard, afterwards known as
William the Conq