Gytha (fl. 1022–1042)

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Gytha (fl. 1022–1042)

Countess of Wessex. Name variations: Agatha. Born in Denmark; flourished around 1022 to 1042; died after 1069 in Flanders; daughter of Thorgils Sprakalegg; granddaughter of Thyra of Denmark (d. 1000); great-granddaughter of Harald Bluetooth, king of Denmark (r. around 940–985); married Godwin (b. around 987), earl of Wessex, before 1042 (died 1053); children: Harald or Harold II Godwineson (c. 1022–1066), king of the English (r. 1066); Tostig (c. 1026–1066), earl of Northumberland; Edith (c. 1025–1075), queen of England; Sveyn, earl of Mercia; Gyrth (d. 1066), earl of East Anglia; Leofwine (d. 1066), earl of Kent; Alfgar (monk at Rheims); Wulfnoth; Edgiva; Elgiva (d. around 1066); Gunhilda (d. 1087, a nun at Bruges or St. Omer in France); and possibly Driella (who married Donnchad, king of Munster).