King Harold may have lost England by backing the wrong pope
A forgotten fragment of a lost papal letter is offering a surprising new explanation for the Norman Conquest. England may have backed the wrong pope during a bitter religious power struggle, giving Pope Alexander II a political reason to support William the Conqueror’s invasion. The discovery suggests Harold’s downfall in 1066 was shaped by intrigue in Rome as well as bloodshed at Hastings.
A lost papal letter may rewrite history on how King Harold's support for the wrong pope contributed to England's loss in the 1066 Battle of Hastings. University of East Anglia's research, published by Yale University Press, indicates that England's political decisions and alliances in Rome during a bitter conflict between two popes could have shifted the outcome of the Norman Conquest.
The findings challenge the traditional view of the conquest as solely a dynastic crisis following Edward the Confessor's death, suggesting a broader religious and political struggle in medieval Europe.
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