Godwin, Earl of Wessex

Godwin, Earl of Wessex (c.1001 – 15 April 1053) was one of the most powerful lords in England under the Danish king Canute the Great and his successors.

Misattributed

 * Sir king, I have been often accused of harbouring traitorous designs against you, but, as God in heaven is just and true, may this morsel of bread choke me if even in thought I have ever been false to you.
 * The Chronicle of Henry of Huntingdon (trans. Thomas Forester), Book VI
 * Godwin supposedly said this just before he choked to death on a piece of bread at the table of King Edward "the Confessor", but the story is very doubtful.