- Three men would lay claim to the English throne; three men would go to war to have it.
Only one could be victorious...
When Harold Godwinson took the English throne in January of 1066, he knew challenges to his authority would soon manifest themselves. Both William of Normandy and Harald Hardrada had eyes for the crown and were in positions to act on their ambitions at any time. Godwinson did his best to prepare for aggression, but he may have been surprised at who struck the first blow.
In May, the Isle of Wight was attacked by Godwinson's own brother, Tostig. Resentful over the loss of the earldom of Northumbria and determined to pay Harold back for allowing it to happen, he harried the south coast of England, then sailed north to the Humber and raided there until he was stopped by Morcar and Edwin. Tostig then fled to Norway and allied himself with King Harald Hardrada.
Godwinson had little time to spare for his brother and the Norwegian king. He knew William was preparing to invade, and he assembled an army of his own, a portion of the Anglo-Saxon fyrd, which he augmented with his huscarls and deployed along the southern coast. Unfortunately, he could not foresee exactly when William would invade; Harold's army was ready by Easter, and they waited all summer for nought.
William did assemble a fleet and recruit an army, making preparation to sail in August; however, contrary winds delayed his departure. This delay was to prove troublesome for Harold. The Anglo-Saxon king could no longer afford to keep his army assembled nor his fleet at the ready. In mid-September, he disbanded the fyrd, retaining only his huscarls.
Then he received word that England had been invaded.
Fulford Gate
King Harald Hardrada had sailed south from Norway and begun his attack on Northern England. With Tostig and his followers supplementing Hardrada's considerable army, the combined force headed for the city of York, more than 200 miles away from where Harold Godwinson had just disbanded his army. The northern fyrd, led by Earls Edwin and Morcar of Mercia and Northumbria, met Hardrada's army two miles south of the city at Fulford Gate, on September 20.
The subsequent battle raged for most of the day, and at the end the fyrd broke and Edwin and Morcar, sorely beaten, fled. But rather than destroying the city of York, Hardrada spent some time savoring his victory; he may also have thought to gather York residents of Scandinavian descent to his army. Whatever his motivations, he left York almost immediately after entering the city (possibly confident in the possession of important citizens who offered themselves up as hostages) and made arrangements to accept the city's surrender at Stamford Bridge on September 25th.
Stamford Bridge
Godwinson had no word of Hardrada's victory when he rushed to reassemble the fyrd and began to push them toward York. Covering the distance in a mere 5 days, the army arrived in the city late on the night of September 24th, exhausted but determined to defend their kingdom. Harold quickly learned of the surrender that was to take place the next morning. Through luck or cunning, he chose to advance to Stamford Bridge where he was able to take Hardrada's forces completely by surprise.
The Battle of Stamford Bridge was a great victory for Godwinson and the Saxons. Both Hardrada and Tostig were killed, and when at last the Norwegians surrendered and were allowed to leave England, the force that had arrived in 300 war vessels left in a mere 24 ships. But it was a victory that would ultimately cost Godwinson dear, for while he was occupied defeating the forces of the last Viking invasion on English soil, William was able to cross the channel and make landfall unopposed.
Continued on page two.
Guide note: This feature was first posted in December, 1999 and was updated in October, 2007.
