em. The name of the Confessor by which he was afterwards
known was given him on account of his piety, but his piety was not of
that sort which is associated with active usefulness. He was fond of
hunting, but was not active in any other way, and he left others to
govern rather than himself. For some years the real governor of
England was Earl Godwine, who kept his own earldom of Wessex, and
managed to procure other smaller earldoms for his sons. As the Mercia
over which Leofric ruled was only the north-western part of the old
kingdom, and as Siward (see p. 84) had enough to do to keep the fierce
men of North-humberland in order, Godwine had as yet no competitor to
fear. In =1045= he became the king's father-in-law by the marriage of
Eadward with his daughter, Eadgyth. Eadward, however, did his best for
his Norman favourites, and appointed one of them, Robert of Jumieges,
to the bishopric of London, and afterwards raised him to the
Archbishopric of Canterbury. Between Godwine and the Normans there was
no goodwill, and though Godwine was himself of fair repute, his eldest
son, Swegen, a young man of brutal nature, alienated the goodwill of
his countrymen by seducing the Abbess of Leominster, and by murdering
his cousin Beorn. Godwine, in his blind family affection, clung to his
wicked son and insisted on his being allowed to retain his earldom.

[Illustration: Hunting. (From the Bayeux Tapestry.)]

14. =The Banishment of Godwine. 1051.=--At last, in =1051=, the strife
between the king and the Earl broke out openly. Eadward's
brother-in-law, Eustace, Count of Boulogne, visited England. On his
return his men made a disturbance at Dover, and in the riot which
ensued some of the townsmen as well as some of his own men were slain.
Eadward called on Godwine, in whose earldom Dover was, to punish the
townsmen. Godwine refused, and Eadward summoned him to Gloucester to
account for his refusal. He came attended by an armed host, but
Leofric and Siward, who were jealous of Godwine's power, came with
their armed followers to support the king. Leofric mediated, and it
was arranged that the question should be settled at a Witenagemot to
be held in London. In the end Godwine was outlawed and banished with
all his family. Swegen went on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem and died on
the way back.

15. =Visit of Duke William. 1051.=--In Godwine's absence Eadward
received a visit from the Duke of the Normans, William, the bastard
son of Duke Ro