Note 911 — Chapter VIII · THE EARLY YEARS OF WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR.[497] A.D. 1028–1051. (continued 3)

When we come to Florence’s account of Harold’s election and coronation, we shall see how carefully every word is weighed, with the obvious intention of excluding some Norman misrepresentation or other. The fables about Harold seizing the crown, about his crowning himself, his being crowned by Stigand, and so forth, are all implicitly denied; so is Eadward’s alleged last bequest to William; but there is not a word to exclude either an earlier promise on the part of Eadward or an oath on the part of Harold, Both these subjects are avoided.