The Battle of Stamford Bridge
September 25 , 1066
Stamford Bridge, Yorkshire
Saxons under Harold, King of England vs. Norwegians under Harald Hardrada
and Earl Tostig
When Edward the Confessor died he left no direct heir, and the throne
of England passed to Harold of Wessex. Harold's brother Tostig influenced
the legendary Viking warrior, King Harald Hardrada of Norway to invade
England.
While a second claimant to the throne of England, William of Normandy,
labored to launch his own invasion fleet, the Norwegians sailed by
way of the Orkneys and landed at Riccall, near York with a force probably
numbering 10,000 men.
Harold had been well aware of the dual threats to his new kingdom,
and he called out his levies. These were free men from the shires
who owed two months of military service each year. By September the
two months were up and rations were low, so Harold reluctantly released
these irregular troops. This left him with a trained force of about
3000 mounted infantry known as house-carls. When the news came of
the Norwegian landing, Harold quickly marched his men north by the
old Roman road known as Watling Street.
The Earls of Northumbria and Mercia, Morcar and Edwin, advanced their
men from York and met Harald Hardrada at Fulford on September 20.
The experienced Norwegian commander completely routed the earls, depriving
King Harold of valuable allies for the fatal battle with the Normans
which lay ahead.
The Norsemen appointed Stamford Bridge as a meeting place for an
exchange of hostages with the city of York. The confident victors
of Fulford were relaxing in the meadows surrounding this crossroads
12 miles from York when to their shock they saw a fresh Saxon army
streaming up from the South.
Well, perhaps "fresh" is too strong a word, for Harold
had just pushed his men an amazing 180 miles in 4 days, and they were
doubtless exhausted. The Norsemen were caught completely off-guard;
most had discarded their mail shirts and helmets in the hot sun. They
were soon to pay for their carelessness.
The Battle
A desperate delaying action by the Norwegian outposts kept the Saxons
from crossing the Derwent while the main army frantically donned their
gear and took up position. One anonymous Norwegian held the bridge
alone until he was stabbed from beneath the planks of the bridge with
a long spear.
The Norse formed a shield wall in the shape of a triangle, to present
a narrow front. The Saxons battered at the wall in a fierce hand to
hand fight that lasted all day, before the legendary Harald Hardrada
was felled by a Saxon missile. Earl Tostig tried vainly to rally the
demoralized men, but the Norse resistance crumbled and the battle
became a rout.
The Vikings fled, to be pursued all the way back to their fleet at
Riccall. Only 24 ships out of an initial 200 or more made the return
to Norway. Before the battle Harold swore that the Norse leader would
get "only seven feet of English soil" for his invasion,
and he kept the vow, though Harald's remains were later taken back
to Norway. As for Tostig, he was buried in York.
The Results
Stamford Bridge ended the long Viking threat to England. Although
Stamford Bridge was a great triumph for Harold and the Saxons, their
strength was sadly depleted by the fight. And now they faced an even
greater foe as news arrived that Duke William of Normandy had landed
in Sussex. The weary Saxons turned south once more and marched back
as quickly as they had come. They met the Normans at the fateful Battle
of Hastings.
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