The year was 1066 and King Edward the Confessor had died naming Harold, the Earl of Wessex, as his successor with the agreement of the Witan. Harold's brother Tostig had rebelled and travelled to the court of King Harald Hardrada of Norway in order to seek assistance. The King of Norway was at this time the most renown and feared warrior in the whole of Europe. He stood 6 feet 6 tall and had fought and won many battles. Tostig eventually persuaded Harold Hardrada that he could invade England and no one there would have the force to stop him. Meanwhile in Normandy after hearing of the Witan's decision William, the Duke of Normandy, began to put together an invasion fleet. Through his spies Harold knew that William would be coming and gathered together a huge army backed up by the navy on the southern shores of England. Unfortunately the southerly winds which kept the Normans in France were welcomed by Harold Hardrada who immediately set sail for England and landed near York with a massive army of Viking warriors. They were immediately met by the Northern Earls and at the Battle of Fulford Gate the local forces were quickly routed. On the south coast Harold heard the news of the invasion and immediately marched the 200 miles north with his army; completing the entire journey in under four days. The Norwegian army was at this time camped at Stamford Bridge when they first became aware of a dust cloud coming towards them. Not believing that a second English army could have travelled from the south so soon they took no immediate action until Tostig recognised the two banners; the Dragon of Wessex and King Harold's own personal banner "The Fighting Man". King Harold rode out with twenty of his Housecarls and was met by the Norwegian King, his body guards and Tostig. Snorri Sturluson; a Norwegian who was present at the battle later wrote that King Harold rode forward and spoke to Tostig: "Your brother King Harold sends you his greeting, and this message to say you can have peace and the whole of Northumbria as well. Rather than have you refuse to join him, he is prepared to give you one third of his whole kingdom" Tostig replied asking if he accepted this offer what would King Harold offer the Norwegian King. "King Harold has already declared how much of England he is prepared to grant him: two metres of English ground " BATTLE OF STAMFORD BRIDGE page 2/2 With the talking finished both armies formed their battle lines. The Norwegian King asked Tostig who was the man was who had spoken so well and stood so proudly in his stirrups. Tostig replied that, that was his brother King Harold of England. The Norwegian King was annoyed that if he had been told he could have killed Harold there and then. Tostig replied:"That would have made me his murderer and I would rather that he was my killer than I his" At this point battle was joined and the English army fell on the Vikings. According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (SA 1066), the Stamford Bridge was immediately held by a powerful individual Viking who delayed the approaching English; he was finally brought down by a spear from underneath the bridge. This delay gave Harald Hardrada time to form his army in a circle on high ground and let the English approach uphill with their backs to the river. The battle lasted for hours and eventually the Norwegian King was killed. After a stubborn battle with losses on both sides, although particularly bad for the unarmoured Vikings, and despite the arrival of Norwegian reinforcements, in the end the Norwegian army was decisively defeated. Harold offered quarter to Tostig and the remaining Norwegians but they refused this and once again the battle was rejoined until the Norwegian army was eventually destroyed. King Harold accepted a truce with the surviving Norwegians, including Hardrada's son Olaf and they were allowed to leave after giving pledges not to attack England again. This battle marked the end of the era of full scale invasions of England from the Vikings of Scandinavia. Harold had won a stunning victory against a foe that up until now had been considered unbeatable. The Norwegian fleet which had come to England had been 300 ships strong. After a final surrender Harold once again showed mercy to the survivors and allowed the remnants of the army to leave in peace. It took only 20 ships to carry them home. The English had also suffered casualties and many of Harold's Housecarls, the core of the army lay dead on the battlefield. Word soon reached Harold that once again the winds had changed and William had landed at Pevensy Bay in Sussex. After taking his brother's body for burial at York Harold gathered the remnants of his army together and once again force marched the 200 miles to London. Once in London Harold tried to bolster his exhausted army with local levies raised from the surrounding areas. By the 14th October 1066 it was a very different English army that faced the Normans at Hastings from the one that had waited for them just twenty days earlier.

Resources

Top Categories

Product

Company