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Goodwin

Goodwin (died January 878) was a West Saxon Reeve of Winchester during the late 9th century AD. He served as King Alfred the Great's right-hand man and Spymaster during the 870s, helping him root out and destroy the Order of the Ancients in London, York, and Winchester by secretively manipulating the Viking warrior Eivor into doing their work for them. Goodwin ultimately killed himself at the Battle of Chippenham rather than become Eivor's prisoner and lead him to his liege.

Biography[]

Goodwin was born Winchester, Hampshire in the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Wessex. He became a reeve of Winchester and a staunch ally to King Alfred the Great, often working as his representative or proxy. He was instrumental in helping the king promote and implement his reforms to education and religion in Wessex's most holy city, but history lost track of him soon afterwards.

Goodwin 877

Goodwin in 877

Alfred secretly entrusted Goodwin with helping him in his quest to destroy the Order of the Ancients from within, and Goodwin managed Alfred's vast network of spies and was responsible for establishing a connection to the Hidden Ones member Hytham and, through Hytham, to the Viking warrior Eivor Wolf-Kissed of the Raven Clan. He sent letters to the luminaries of York and London to warn them of the Order's plots, and he also ensured that Eivor received letters from "A Poor Fellow-Soldier of Christ" to guide him to those cities to help extinguish the Order there. Goodwin's investigation of the Order in Winchester, however, led to his fellow reeve Selwyn murdering his four informants (publicly executing Hubert) and imprisoning Goodwin at the Winchester Garrison. Goodwin was rescued after Alfred contacted Eivor to come to Winchester and find Goodwin, and Goodwin helped Eivor gather intelligence on the three Order targets in the city. However, he later went along with Alfred's plot to force Eivor to convert to Christianity and stay in Winchester rather than die a pagan on the battlefield; when Eivor refused to convert, Goodwin told Eivor that he should have accepted, and he and Alfred left as the city was placed on high alert and its guards ordered to kill Eivor.

Death[]

Goodwin death

Goodwin's death

In January 878, Goodwin accompanied Alfred to the peace talks with Guthrum and Eivor at Wareham, where he told the Danes that they had one day to evacuate the town before the agreed-upon truce set in. After Alfred told the Danes of Ubbe Ragnarrsson's death, however, Eivor persuaded the Danes to renege on the peace and burn the city. Alfred caught wind of this and decided to leave Goodwin in command of Chippenham, where the Danes expected Alfred would be celebrating Christmas. When the Danes assaulted the town, Eivor confronted Goodwin in the great hall, and, after a short duel, Eivor attempted to convince Goodwin to lead him to Alfred. Goodwin refused, saying that he was a loyal follower, that the Danes would never be welcome in England, and that he was willing to die so that Alfred might live. When Eivor threatened to hand Goodwin over to his warriors so that he would be forced to betray his lord, Goodwin defiantly said that Eivor would not do so, and he then drew a dagger and slit his own throat, killing himself rather than be captured.

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