It is September of the year 1066. King of Norway, Harald Hardrada, defeats the English troops in the Battle of Fulford and captures York, making his claims to the English throne far more serious. While Hardrada rested after the battle and awaited the hostage gathering, King of England, Harold Godwinson was rushing north and assembling his army while on the move in order to challenge the unsuspecting Viking invaders. The great battle marking the end of an era was about to commence on the flats east of York. It is January of the eventful year of 1066. Harold Godwinson steps up to the English throne after the death of the childless Edward the Confessor. As a powerful Earl of Wessex, and highly experienced commander, Godwinson had the support of the Witan and English nobles, but this sudden coronation brought the attention of two other strong candidates willing to fight for the English crown. Both Duke William of Normandy and King Harald Hardrada of Norway had good reasons to invade England and challenge the new king. Being aware of the possible threats coming from two directions, Godwinson decided that leaving the south unprotected would be the more risky and dangerous option, especially upon hearing that William was building a fleet of ships along the French coastline. Godwinson started to assemble an army using the manpower of southern shires to prepare for the anticipated Norman Invasion. But spring and summer passed by, and there was no sign of Norman ships on the horizon. Harold Godwinson couldn't wait any longer. With his supplies and funds dwindling and harvest time approaching, he dismissed his troops in early September and got back to London. Then, one week later, another invasion actually reached English shores. On the 18th of September, King Harald Sigurdsson of Norway landed in Yorkshire, leading an army 10, 000 men strong, in order to hack his way to the English throne. He had the support of Tostig Godwinson, Harold Godwinson’s exiled brother, former earl of Northumbria, who sought the possibility of reclaiming his previous position. Upon hearing the news, Harold Godwinson swiftly reassembled housecarls - well armed and trained professional soldiers of Danish origin who had served the English monarch since the reign of King Canute, and were the strong backbone of Anglosaxon armies. Knowing that there was no time to waste, he departed London heading north. He gathered the fyrd units from the shires they passed along the way, mobilizing all the men available to join his army. It's good to know, that Harold Godwinson was the best England could have at that moment. He spent many years as an earl mounting fast and effective assaults against the troublesome Welsh, and the sudden Norse invasion was a perfect moment to utilize this experience. It's a hard task to evaluate the exact numbers of Godwinson’s men enlisted for the battle, but rough estimates range between 7,000 and 15,000 men. But, impatient young earls of Mercia and Northumbria decided to face the Norsemen before the King's arrival, fearing the south couldn’t provide a timely help. Their combined forces tried to fend off the Norsemen, but were beaten by Hardrada in the Battle of Fulford, which is also covered on this channel. Hardrada captured York, and set a camp some miles east of the city, near Stamford Bridge, where he waited for the hostage and supply arrival from around the region. On the south, the English army was racing north on the old Roman roads, having travelled more than 180 miles in just 4 days. They reached Tadcaster, near York on the 24th of September, where Godwinson commanded a brief rest for his exhausted troops. Upon receiving scout reports, that the majority of Hardrada's units were camping some miles east of York, he mustered his men and departed Tadcaster in the early morning of the next day, heading east, hoping to seize the element of surprise. The 25th of September of 1066 was very warm, and many of the Norsemen left their armour on the ships anchored some miles away on the river Ouse, near Riccall. Their army was scattered: some were keeping the watch on the west bank of river Derwent, while the bulk of the invasion was forced to camp on the east bank. A few thousand men were also ordered to guard the fleet. Hardrada probably assumed that Harold Godwinson would not leave the south of England, being as it was under constant threat of pending Norman Invasion. The next hours just proved to him how disastrously wrong he was. Then, he saw clouds of dust and glittering weapons of the first Anglosaxon soldiers appearing on the horizon, marching directly to the bridge. He probably couldn't believe that the English were able to form a standing army and move it hundreds of miles in a matter of a few days. The Norsemen were totally unprepared for the unexpected encounter, yet they didn't just sit and wait for slaughter. While the watch on the west bank struggled to delay the English crossing as long as possible, fighting to their death to do so, the bulk of the Norse troops on the east side formed the battle line, hastily preparing for the upcoming attack. Hardrada's detachment on the west side was quickly overwhelmed by the large numbers of the opponent, but Anglo-Saxon chronicles state that the narrow crossing through the bridge was blocked by a lone Viking axemen who single-handedly blocked the advancement of the entire army. Hewing his long Dane axe, he was able to cut down up to 40 Englishmen, who dared to challenge him. He was finally defeated when one of the English soldiers got under the bridge and stabbed his spear upwards into the Viking's groin, thus opening the crossing for Godwinson’s troops. This could be myth, we don't know for sure, but it creates a good image of how fierce and skilled Hardrada's soldiers were. With the crossing now open, English units poured over the bridge and formed the line to oppose the Vikings. Norsemen formed a traditional shield wall, and strove to withstand the English charge. Ferocious hand-to-hand combat began and lasted for hours. Both sides lost many good men in this bloody struggle, with neither side strong enough to gain the upper hand. Even English housecarls had serious difficulties breaking Hardrada's lines, despite their superior numbers and armor, because of the negative effects of the long, tiresome march which Gondwinson’s army had endured over the last few days. On the other hand, Viking forces could only regret leaving their armor behind, in what turned out to be a significant disadvantage that couldn't be compensated for by their extraordinary skills, training and experience. When Hardrada, cheering his people on and cutting down enemies savagely, took an arrow in his throat, odds began to tip in favor of the English. Eventually the Scandinavian shield wall began to fracture, and the English managed to push back the Vikings, adding numbers to the already high death toll. Harold Godwinson's brother, Tostig, died shortly after the Norse King. Eventually, the troops left behind to guard the ships, led by Hardrada's prospective son-in-law, Eystein Orri, arrived on the battlefield fully equipped and armed, and immediately struck the remaining English forces in a frantic charge which initially checked Godwinson’s victory. But, despite the immediate response, the attack of the relief forces, celebrated in Norse sagas as "Orri's Storm”, was too late to change the fate of the battle. Exhausted Vikings were soon decimated by the Anglosaxons. Victorious English chased the surviving Norse soldiers straight to their ships, where Harold Godwinson offered mercy to Hardrada's youngest son Olaf, allowing him to sail home free of ransom provided the Norsemen swore to never invade England again. Casualties on both sides were very heavy. With more than half of the Anglosaxon force lost through injury or death, the loss of men on the Viking side was much more significant as their army was virtually wiped out. They needed only 24 ships from the initial 300 to sail back to Norway, all that was required to carry away the survivors. Although England suffered one more Norse invasion a few years later, the death of Harald Hardrada, who is often called „The Last of the Vikings” is traditionally seen as marking the end of the Viking Age in England. The Battle of Stamford Bridge was one of the greatest English military victories against a formidable foe led by an even more formidable leader. Harold got back to York to treat the wounds and celebrate the hard-earned victory. Three days later, bad news struck the depleted English army. 270 miles to the south Duke William of Normandy finally started his long prepared invasion, and landed at Pevensey Bay in Sussex. Another chapter of the story was yet to be written.
Thanks for the tip!
I might as well recommend Historia Civilis to anyone who might have missed it - similar concept.
Wow that was really well animated!
Right down the the units fracturing when defeated and everything.
Yea this guy is super underrated.
Great, thx!
saved for the future