fleet. He was driven back by a storm, and the two earls returned to London, whereupon Godwin recrossed the Channel and touched at Romney, Hythe, Folkestone, Dover and Sandwich, impressing ships and exacting contributions. As his fleet passed Sheppey, a detachment went up the Swale and ravaged Milton, a royal domain, and its arrival at London was followed by Godwin’s reinstatement and the flight of the Norman favourites who had ousted him.⁶  On Godwin’s death in 1053 Harold succeeded him as earl of Wessex, and in 1057 Leofwine, another of Godwin’s sons, became earl of a new district comprising Kent, Surrey, Essex, and other counties.⁷  When Harold visited Normandy ⁸ and took his famous oath to William, one of its conditions, according to some versions of the story, was that ‘the castle’ of Dover ‘with the well of water in it’ should be handed over to William.⁹
   On Edward’s death in January 1066, Harold was crowned king, and at once began to prepare for William’s expected invasion. But the first enemy who appeared was his own brother Tostig, who ravaged the Kentish coast, impressed some of Harold’s ‘butsecarts,’ or sailors of the royal fleet at Sandwich, and then moved off to the north.¹⁰  Harold called out the local forces for the defence of the coast, and ‘went out with a fleet against William,’¹¹  but had to disband his forces on September 8. He was then drawn to the north by the news of the invasion of Harold Hardrada, supported by Tostig. At the battle of Hastings he was supported by his brother Leofwine, with the men of Essex and Kent, and the men of Kent claimed the right of marching in the van and striking the first blow.¹²  After his victory, it was five days before William moved eastwards to take possession of Dover Castle. He paused at Romney to punish severely the people of the place who had beaten off a Norman squadron that had landed there by mistake.¹³  At Dover the officers in charge of ‘the castle,’ which had been fortified by Harold,¹⁴  at once surrendered it; according to Guy of  Amiens¹⁵  they went out half way to the town to meet him. William thus took peaceful possession, and turned out the English garrison; but his men, disappointed of their plunder, fired and sacked the town, and William ordered proper compensation to be made to the sufferers. He remained eight days at Dover, strengthening its fortifications and receiving reinforcements, as his troops had been attacked by dysentery.¹⁶  On his way to Canterbury he was met by envoys from the city and other places in Kent, bringing hostages and oaths of allegiance. ‘His politic severity at Romney and his no less politic lenity at Dover had done their work.¹⁷  But the story that the people of Kent obtained from him a special confirmation of their ancient rights rests on no good authority.¹⁸ At Canterbury he was
   ⁶ Angl.-Sax. Chron. sub anno 1052.
   ⁷ See Freeman, Norm. Conq. vol. ii, App. G.
   ⁸ This visit has been conjecturally assigned to the year 1064. See Freeman, op. cit.
   ⁹ Eadmer, Hist. Nov. (Rolls Ser.), 7.
   ¹⁰ Angl.-Sax. Chron. sub anno.
   ¹¹ Ibid. MS. E.
   ¹² Wace, Roman de Rou, 12957.
   ¹³ Orderic Vitalis, bk. iii,14.
   ¹⁴ Will. of Poitiers, ed. Migne, Patrologia (1849), cxlix, 1237.
   ¹⁵ In Monumenta Hist. Brit. 599.
   ¹⁶ Will, of Poitiers, bc. cit. 1258.
   ¹⁷ Freeman, Norm. Conq. iii, 538.
   ¹⁸ Hasted, Kent, i, p. cxliii; Hist. MSS. Com. Rep. v, App. 532 (MSS. of Corporation of Lydd). But see Freeman, op. cit. iii, 539 n.