England Invaded!
The long wait, which would determine England’s fate!
Patience………., William certainly needed it. The wind stubbornly refused to change direction all summer long. The wind was a problem, thought William, but boy was he wrong!
The wind direction that brought William so much frustration,
would play a big part in winning control over the English nation!
Harold, expecting a visit from his Norman neighbour sometime during the summer had his reception committee, the fyrd, as the Saxon army was called, camped out along the southern coast throughout the summer months. As autumn drew close, the members of the fyrd were anxious to go home in order to bring in the harvest.
But from William, at summer’s end, no show!
Harold decided it was time to let his army go!
With the evenings drawing in, a relieved Harold withdrew from the coast and headed back to London. He would not expect to deal with William until sometime in 1067. A leisurely autumn beckoned, with perhaps a spot of stag hunting around the county of Sussex before the snows descended in winter.
He could also look forward to romantic evenings at his manor in Bosham with the love of his life, Edith Swan Neck. Then, of course, the great feast of Christmas was but months away. William could wait. Unfortunately for Harold there was someone else, who couldn’t. This threat came in the form of a gigantic, fearsome warrior ruler who lurked among the icy fjords of Scandinavia and whose reputation for military prowess stretched as far east as the arid climes of Egypt and Asia Minor. A man who stalked the inner recesses of the north like some Neanderthal alpha male and to whom the concepts of patience and diplomacy were entirely unknown.
Yet another threat from a Viking warrior host!
The Norwegian king has landed on England’s northern coast!
This was Harald Hardrada, the 6 feet 6 inches tall king of Norway. He felt that he too had a claim to the English crown, and he decided it was time to come across to collect! He was supported by king Harold’s own brother Tostig, who in a fit of unbrotherly love had aligned himself with the formidable Hardrada.
A coin depicting an image of Harald Hardrada, King of Norway.
Hardrada and Tostig had landed on Humberside in September and swiftly defeated the local forces at the battle of Fulford. Hardrada then intended to march south to face king Harold.
King Harold and his army work fast with their feet!
They are in a hurry, for they have a bunch of Vikings to beat!
Harold, learning of the presence of this unwelcome visitor to his kingdom, reacted swiftly. He decided to force march his army northwards, along the old Roman roads at breakneck speed with a view to surprising Hardrada at York. The Saxon army included Harold’s elite bodyguards known as the housecarles. The housecarle tradition was Scandinavian in origin but had been introduced to England during the earlier years of Viking rule. They were the 11th century equivalent of the SAS, or US Special Forces, and their savagery was legendary. They could always be relied upon to get a lot more than a pound of flesh from any foe that they might encounter. The problem was, Hardrada had a full stable of precisely the same type of warrior.
The Battle of Stamford Bridge.
King Harold completely surprised Hardrada and his Norwegian host. The Saxons pounced on the astonished Norwegians at Stamford Bridge and swiftly defeated them. It was not a battle but an orgy of slaughter. Hardrada himself was slain.
Despite a rapid march, Harold’s army did not falter!
At Stamford Bridge, they made great slaughter!
As he waited at the port of Saint Valery in Normandy, William would have been aware of Hardrada’s excursion into England. However, he would have been unaware of the events at Stamford Bridge. Which of the two formidable warriors would he face; Harold or Harald? Food for thought. Suddenly the wind changed an William was ready to sail.
The Norman fleet leaves Saint Valery on September 27th.
