Godwulf
Compilation by D. A. Sharpe
Godwulf was born about 80 AD. He heads the longest genealogical
line recorded in my records, covering 67 generations. That shows easily that a generation
averages about 29 years. That is
the time between a person's birth and the first child given issue by that
person.
Source:http://www.smokykin.com/ged/f002/f54/a0025416.htm
Various royal genealogies of
the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, collectively referred to as the Anglo-Saxon
royal genealogies, have been preserved in a manuscript tradition based in the
8th to 10th centuries. The genealogies trace the succession of the early
Anglo-Saxon kings, back to the semi-legendary kings of the Anglo-Saxon settlement
of Britain, notably named as Hengest and Horsain Bede's Historia ecclesiastica
gentis Anglorum, and further to legendary kings and heroes of the
pre-migration period, usually including an eponymous ancestor of the respective lineage and converging on Woden. In their fully
elaborated forms as preserved in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles and the Textus Roffensis, they continue the pedigrees back to the biblical
patriarchs Noah and Adam. They also served as the basis for pedigrees that
would be developed in 13th century Iceland for the Scandinavian royalty.
Godwulf seems to be the 34th great
grandfather of the 26th great grand uncle of Betty Westmoreland and the 28th
great grand uncle of my Westmoreland grandchildren. Betty is the mother of Steven O.
Westmoreland, my son-in-law. Godwulf's
descendants travel down through the Westmoreland family line.
Through my fatherŐs Sharpe family
line, my relationship to Godwulf is that Godwulf is the 34th great
granduncle of Sir Thomas Southworth, the first husband of Alice Carpenter, my
seventh great grandmother. My
descending is through Alice and her second husband, Plymouth Colony Governor
William Bradford.
This very long genealogical line
ties into my most lengthly genealogical line, the one
going back to Halfdan Vanha Sveidasson, the Earle of the Uplands in Norway. Halfdan Vanha Sveidasson was a Viking
born about 750 AD. Halfdan Vanha
Sveidasson is my 34th great grandfather.
Halfdan Vanha Sveidasson's family line and Godwulf's family line came
together in the person of French born English King Henry II. King Henry II came from the
Plantagenet (pronounced planTAJ uh niht), which was the family name of a line of kings that
ruled England from 1154 to 1399.
These kings descended from the
marriage of Matilda, daughter of King Henry I, to Geoffrey, Count of Anjou,
France. Geoffrey was nicknamed
Plantagenet, because he wore a sprig of the broom (genet) plant in his cap. Numerous historians also call these
kings Angevins, meaning from Anjou. The
Plantagenet dynasty began with Henry II, son of Matilda and Geoffrey. Henry is my 9th cousin, 24 times
removed, as well as the 14th great grandfather of the first husband of Alice
Carpenter, my seven times great grandmother.
Henry II is the 10th great grandson of Halfdan Vanha Sveidasson and the
35th great grandson of Godwulf.
Godwulf's birth occurred just months
following the event of Mount Vesuvius erupting on August 24, 79 AD, burying the Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum in
volcanic ash. An estimated
20,000 people died.
Source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Vesuvius
Godwulf came about on this earth in
the days that the Biblical New Testament were being completed. The concluding book of the Bible,
"The Revelation of Jesus Christ,"
was written by the Apostle John, "the disciple whom Jesus loved,"
when Christians were entering a time of persecution. The two periods most often mentioned
are the latter part of Nero's reign (54-68 AD) and the latter part of Domitian's
reign (81-96 AD). Most scholars
date the book by the Apostle John about 95 AD. A few suggest a date during the reign
of Vespasian: 69-79 AD." Other
New Testament writings were being wrapped up in the era of Godwulf's birth. John is thought to have written this
last book of the Bible while a political and religious prisoner on Pastmos, a rocky island used as a Roman prison off the
western coast of Asia Minor, near Ephesus (modern day western Turkey).
Source: "The New International
Version Study Bible," editor Kenneth Barker, Zondervan, publishers, Grand
Rapids, Michigan 49530, 1984,page 1,522
The Gospel of Jesus Christ was
beginning to grow across the world. However,
it would be the 17th generation from Godwulf before Christianity came into this
family line.
Of course, one of the most famous
Post Biblical events to occur to the Israelite nation was the destruction of
the Temple at Jerusalem in 70 AD, just a decade prior
to Godwulf's birth.
In Godwulf's lifetime, when Trajan
was Emperor of Rome (98-116), the Roman Empire reached its greatest
geographical extent.
Source:"The Timetables of History," Bernard Grun, a
Touchstone Book, published by Simon & Schuster, New York, 1975 ISBN
0-671-74919-6, page 26
Not much is known about Godwulf, the
man. It is said that he is from
Norse traditions. Norse
is of or relating to medieval Scandinavia or its peoples, languages, or
cultures. It is of or relating
to Norway or its people, language, or culture. Norse is relating to, or being the
branch of the North Germanic languages that includes Norwegian, Icelandic, and
Faroese. All of this is a
pre-Christian time for this part of the world.
Source:http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Norse
An extensive discourse is posted
about the people of Godwulf and his descendants at this URL:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norse_mythology
Be aware, in this context, that the
term, "mythology" means experiences of human kind encountering the
Devine. That would include the
God (and Trinity) of the Bible, as well as the false deities of what is called
by various names, such as "Greek mythology." A myth is a traditional or legendary
story, usually concerning some being or hero or event, with or without a
determinable basis of fact or a natural explanation, especially one that is
concerned with deities or demigods and explains some practice, rite, or
phenomenon of nature.
Source:http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/myth
Other reports which account events
of 80 AD or close to it:
#Year 80 was a leap year starting on
Saturday of the Julian calendar.
# The Emperor Titus inaugurates the
Colosseum with 100 days of games.
# The earliest stage of Lullingstone
Roman villa is built (approximate date).
# The Roman occupation of Britain
reaches the River Tyne-Solway Firth frontier area (approximate date).
# The original Roman Pantheon is
destroyed in a fire, together with many other buildings.
# The Eifel Aqueduct is constructed
to bring water 95 km (60 miles)from the Eifel region
to Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensum (modern Cologne).
# The first African enters the Roman
Senate
#The aeolipile, the first steam
engine, is invented by Hero ofAlexandria.
#The Gospel of Luke and Acts are
written (approximate date), as well as the three letters of the Apostle John
and his Book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ.
#The Gospel according to Matthew is
translated into Greek.
#Saint Timothy, bishop of Ephesus
died in 80 A.D. (traditional date)
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/80
This series of
genealogical and historical events have been compiled for the information and
enjoyment of interested persons. Obviously, dates and facts claimed to
have ancient origins, chiefly prior to the 1600s, are often not considered
reliable by serious historians. However, they do reflect ideas and
notions people researching history have felt likely took place. It is in
those senses that I hope the reader enjoys this effort.
For those interested
in a more complete genealogical report of descendants in these 67 generations,
here is a 377-page report:
http://www.dasharpe.com/Genealogy/GodwulfDesc.pdf
To see a genealogical
chart of my relationship to Godwulf through my fatherŐs Sharpe family line,
here is a link:
http://www.dasharpe.com/Genealogy/Charts/GodwulfRelaDA.pdf
Compilation by:
805 Derting Road East
Aurora, TX 76078-3712
817-504-6508
Facebook: Dwight
Albert Sharpe