Mercians or the men of Yorkshire or East Anglia. Godwin, the Earl of Wessex, now the most important man in England, alone championed his cause strongly. Nor were the men of Norway willing to bow to Svein. Knut's arrangements, therefore, fell to the ground except in Denmark, and the upshot was that the English witan at Oxford, led by Leofric, the son of Earl Leofwine, who had now become Earl of Mercia, declared for Harold Harefoot, the younger son of Aelfgifu of Northampton, who was in England; while the Norwegians set up Magnus the son of their old national champion Olaf the Stout, and recovered their independence. This settlement of the succession persisted, so far as it affected England, for five years, despite Harold's worthlessness and the strong opposition of Queen Emma and Archbishop Aethelnoth. For Harthacnut remained in Denmark, fully occupied in heating off attacks from Magnus, and Godwin with his partisans, disappointed at his non-appearance in England, deserted his cause. There is nothing, however, to record concerning Harold's reign (1035-1040) except a number of acts of cruelty, the most notable being the murder of Alfred, Queen Emma's eldest son by her first husband King Acthelred, who with his younger brother Edward had been living peaceably in Normandy during the seventeen years of Knut's rule. This young prince landed in England in 1035 with a small following, perhaps to make a bid for the throne, but was seized by Godwin at Guildford and then handed over to Harold, who had him blinded with such barbarity that he died. For this act Godwin got nearly all the blame. Meantime Queen Emma took refuge at Bruges with the Count of Flanders, and it was only in the autumn of 1039 that she at last succeeded in stirring up her son Harthacnut to collect a fleet of some 60 ships for an attack on his half-brother. Before he could reach England, Harold died, whereupon Harthacnut was offered the crown peaceably. He landed at Sandwich in June 1040, but soon shewed himself a bloodthirsty tyrant. He began by imposing a heavy tribute on his new subjects to pay the crews of his fleet. This led shortly afterwards to the harrying of Worcestershire for impeding the king's hus-carls in the collection of the tax. A little later he slew Eadulf, the Earl of Northumberland, by treachery and gave his earldom to Siward, the Earl of Yorkshire. He also took to selling vacant bishoprics. Luckily his reign lasted less than two years, terminating with his sudden death in June 1042 at a wedding banquet "as he stood at his drink."
Once more the English magnates had an opportunity of selecting a king, uninfluenced by pressure from an invading army. The choice lay between a Danish or an English succession. If the Danish line was to be maintained, the most promising heir was Knut's nephew Svein, the son of his sister Estrith and the murdered Ulf, whom Harthacnut had left as viceroy in Denmark to contend with Magnus; but if the English line was to be restored, the only possible candidate was Edward, the surviving son of Emma and Aethelred, whom Harthacnut had allowed to return to England. As Earl Godwin was married to Gytha, Ulf's sister, and had been concerted
