- Princess of England
- married firstly Drogo of Mantes, Count of Mantes, Valois and the Vexin
- married secondly Eustache II de Boulogne (c1017-1087), a Norman knight.
Goda of England was born circa 1004 in England to Æthelred the Unready (c968-1016) and Emma of Normandy (c985-1052) and died 1049 England of unspecified causes. She married Drogo of Mantes (996-1035) 1035 JL .
Goda of England or Godgifu; (French: Godjifu; the Old English name Godgifu or Godgyfu meant "gift of God", Godiva was the Latinised version; c.1004 – c.1049) was the daughter of King Ethelred the Unready and his second wife Emma of Normandy, and sister of King Edward the Confessor. She married firstly Drogo of Mantes, count of the Véxin, probably on 7 April 1024,[1] and had sons by him:
- Ralph the Timid, earl of Hereford.
- Gautier (or Walter) III, Count of the Vexin (d.1063), married Biota of Maine (d.1063), daughter of Herbert I of Maine, they both died in suspicious circumstances in the captivity of William Duke of Normandy, the future William I of England.
- Foulques (Fulk) de Vexin (d.1068)
She married secondly Eustace II, Count of Boulogne in 1035. This marriage was childless.
Historians disagree about the date of her death. Heather Tanner dates it c.1047 and says that Eustace remarried c.1049,[2] whereas Elisabeth van Houts dates her death c. 1056.[3] According to David Bates, the marriage between Godgifu and Eustace was criticised for unspecified reasons at the Council of Reims in 1049, which was presided over by the Pope. This seems to have resulted in an end to the marriage and her return to England, where she was treated generously by her brother.[4]
After the Norman conquest of England by William the Conqueror, the lands owned by Goda in Buckinghamshire were given to the Flemish-Norman knight Bertram de Verdun, lord of Farnham Royal, and the Breton knight Raoul, count of Fougères.
Children
| Name | Birth | Death | Joined with |
| Ralph the Timid | |||
| Gautier III, Count of the Vexin (d.1063) | |||
| Foulques de Vexin (d.1068) | |||
Siblings
| Name | Birth | Death | Joined with |
| Æthelstan of England (bef993-1014) | |||
| Ecgberht of England (bef993-1005) | |||
| Edmund II Ironside of England (bef993-1016) | 989 | 30 November 1016 | Ealdgyth (c992-aft1016) |
| Eadred Æþeling of England (-c1012) | |||
| Eadwig England (bef997-1017) | |||
| Edgar of England (bef1001-c1012) | |||
| Eadgyth of England (bef993) | |||
| Ælfgifu of England (c987) | 987 | Uchtred, Earl of Northumberland (c955-1018) | |
| Name | Birth | Death | Joined with |
| Edward the Confessor of England (bef1005-1066) | 1005 | January 1066 | Edith of Wessex (c1026-1075) |
| Goda of England (1004-1055) | 1004 England | 1049 England | Drogo of Mantes (996-1035) Eustache II de Boulogne (c1017-1087) |
| Ælfred Æþeling of England (-c1036) | |||
Residences
See Also
- Hynde, Thomas (ed). The Domesday Book: England's History Then and Now. (1995)
- Fit for a King's Sister, British Library
References
- ^ Elisabeth van Houts, 'Edward and Normandy', in Richard Mortimer ed., Edward the Confessor: The Man and the Legend, The Boydell Press, 2009, p. 65.
- ^ Tanner, Heather J. (2004). "Eustace (II) , count of Boulogne (d. c.1087)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/52359. http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/52359?docPos=1. (subscription or UK public library membership required)
- ^ Van Houts, p. 63
- ^ Bates, David (2016). William the Conqueror. New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press. p. 100. ISBN 978-0-300-23416-9.