Goodwin

"You have no understanding of duty, the loyalty I freely give. His plan for England, for the world, is worth the cost of my life."

―Goodwin to Eivor Varinsdottir, regarding his loyalty to King Alfred, 878.^[src]^-[m]

Goodwin (died 878) was a reeve operating in Wincestre during the reign of King Alfred of Wessex. As Alfred's closest confidant, he was instrumental in helping the king promote and implement his reforms to education and religion in Wessex's most holy city. Secretly, Goodwin also aided Alfred in bringing down the Order of the Ancients by working as his spy.

Biography[]

Helping King Alfred[]

By the 870s, Goodwin had become a reeve of Wincestre alongside Selwyn, answering directly to King Alfred.^[2] In time, Goodwin became Alfred's closest confidant and as such was made aware of his king's secret role as the Grand Maegester of the Order of the Ancients. When Alfred began formulating a plan to eradicate the Order under the pseudonym of "A Poor-Fellow Soldier of Christ", Goodwin readily agreed to assist him, working as a spy to gather intel on various Order members.^[3]

However, Goodwin and Alfred's plan to purge the Order from England was delayed by the island's invasion by the Vikings, a more urgent matter which required the king's immediate attention.^[3] After the Viking Eivor Varinsdottir of the newly-settled Raven Clan helped the Sons of Ragnar depose King Burgred of Mercia in 873,^[4] Goodwin had his spies follow Eivor back to her settlement, Ravensthorpe. There, they learned about Eivor's affiliation with the Hidden One Hytham, and at Goodwin's suggestion, Alfred decided to use his pseudonym to send anonymous letters to Hytham with the whereabouts of Order members in Lunden and Jorvik, in the hopes Eivor would then eliminate them.^[3]

Hunting the Order in Wincestre[]

Goodwin: "I know Aelfred well enough to spot a bloody lie when I hear it. If he did sent you, he was standing tall and proud."

Eivor: "That he was. And you're the man I've come to find, Goodwin. Do you know why?"

Goodwin: "If I had one guess, to find the heretics from The Order of Ancients and bury them so deep, even God would need a shovel."

—Goodwin and Eivor upon their first meeting, 877.^[src]^-[m]

During this time, Goodwin continued his own investigation into the Order and kept all his research at his personal estate in Wincestre. However, his search soon caught the attention of his fellow reeve Selwyn, who was secretly a member of the Order known as "The Gallows".^[2]

ACV The Reeve of Wincestre 19 — Eivor rescuing Goodwin from the garrison

In 877, soldiers working for Selwyn broke into Goodwin's home and captured the reeve while destroying most of his documents. Goodwin was subsequently imprisoned in the Wincestre Garrison until he was saved by Eivor Varinsdottir, who had been personally enlisted by Alfred to purge the Order from Wincestre. After escaping from the garrison, Goodwin told Eivor of his suspicions that Selwyn was a member of the Order and directed her to the town market so she could assassinate him.^[2]

Afterwards, Goodwin, Eivor and Alfred met at The Nun's Minster to discuss their leads on another Order member, "The Quill". Goodwin had learned that the Quill was recruiting the city's children to their network of spies and thieves, providing Eivor with a lead to investigate. Before the Viking departed, Goodwin jokingly advised her to try not to scare the children when she spoke to them, and told her to meet him at a local alehouse once she had eliminated the Quill.^[5]

At the alehouse, Goodwin and Eivor discussed the final member of the Order in Wincestre, Bishop Ealhferth, who was presumed dead. However, Eivor was unconvinced and decided to attend the bishop's funeral to confirm her suspicions that Ealhferth had faked his death. Sure enough, Eivor discovered that Ealhferth still lived and planned to kill Alfred while the king delivered a speech at Witan Hall. Rushing to the hall, the Viking managed to assassinate Ealhferth, who was hidden among the crowd, saving Alfred's life.^[6]

ACV Impaling the Seax 17 — Goodwin gifting Eivor a cross on Alfred's behalf

Following this, Goodwin, who was also in attendance, advised Alfred to retreat to The Old Minster for his own protection. When Eivor joined them at the church shortly after, Alfred offered the Viking a chance to convert to Christianity and live in peace among the Anglo-Saxons before Goodwin gifted her a silver cross. Although Eivor took the cross, she turned down Alfred's offer, prompting the king to tell Goodwin that he had been wrong about Eivor and that she was "beyond saving". Goodwin and Alfred then left the church while Eivor escaped Wincestre after being attacked by the guards.^[6]

Battle of Chippenham and death[]

Eivor: "Aelfred used you, fool. He threw you in my path. For what? He only delays what is inevitable."

Goodwin: "It makes no odds. For here you stand. Bloody and breathless, no closer to my king, no closer to the throne. This island will never be your home, Eivor. You will not subdue her with vicious force, or win her with cocksure words. We Saxons will always stand firm. Shoulder-by-shoulder against thieves and tyrants, whose envious eyes fall upon England."

—Eivor and Goodwin shortly before the latter's death, 878.^[src]^-[m]

In January 878, Goodwin accompanied Alfred to Wareham, where the king met with the Great Heathen Army led by Guthrum to secure a peace treaty, as the Vikings planned to besiege the town and advance towards Wincestre. During the negotiations, Guthrum was joined by Eivor and the two parties got into a heated argument as Eivor recalled Alfred and Goodwin's treachery in Wincestre. In the end, the Vikings were offered a Danegeld and agreed to leave Wareham, though after the king informed them of Ubba Ragnarsson's death at the Battle of Cynwit, Eivor and Guthrum went back on their word and burned Wareham.^[7]

ACV Holy Day 17 — Goodwin confronting Eivor at Chippenham

As the Great Heathen Army planned to attack the village of Chippenham next, Alfred and Goodwin devised a plan to lure the Vikings into an ambush. Their enemies suspected that Alfred would attend a Christian feast in Chippenham and planned to capture him, so the king fled ahead of the attack while Goodwin stood behind to deceive the Vikings and buy Alfred enough time to gather his reinforcements.^[1]

During the Battle of Chippenham, Eivor and her allies Soma and Ljufvina Bjarmarsdottir entered the village's church, expecting to find Alfred, only to be surprised when Goodwin revealed himself and informed them of the king's escape. After Soma and Ljufvina left to join the battle outside, Eivor and Goodwin engaged in a duel and the former ultimately emerged victorious. Upon declaring his undying loyalty to Alfred and his vision for the world, Goodwin either let Eivor execute him or took his own life to prevent the Viking from capturing him.^[1]