The Godwines
Edward spent the next 30 years in exile under the protection of his uncle, Duke Richard II and his successors. Whilst there, he made several friends, among them Eustace of Boulogne and the Breton Ralph the Staller. On his return to England in 1042, as Edward the Confessor, he promoted many of these Frenchmen into positions of influence, as a counterbalance to the overweening power of the Godwine family.
'...a notorious group called the Frenchmen...'
The Godwines had prospered greatly while Edward was away. Under Cnut and his successors, they had amassed so much land that they were second only in power and wealth to that of the King. So when Edward returned after the death of Cnut's son, Harthacnut, he found his position hamstrung by Cnut's old Earls. He tried to offset this by allying himself with Earls Leofric and Siward, the enemies of Godwine, and by promoting his own friends, a notorious group called the 'Frenchmen' who were made up of the Norman and French nobles with whom Edward had shared his young adulthood.
Published: 2001-05-01
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