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The Battle of Stamford Bridge took place near the village of Stamford Bridge, East Riding of Yorkshire, in England. On September 25th, 1066, an English army under King Harold Godwinson fought an invading Norwegian army led by King Harald Hardrada.[1]
| Battle of Stamford Bridge | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Viking invasions of England | |||||||
 | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| Kingdom of England |
Kingdom of Norway
| ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Harold Godwinson |
Harald Hardrada † Tostig Godwinson † | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| ~15,000[source?] |
9,000 (of which 3,000 engaged late in battle) 300 transport ships | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| unknown | ~8,000+ dead | ||||||
Harold's brother Tostig Godwinson joined Hardrada's forces.[1] After a bloody and brutal battle, both Hardrada and Tostig, along with a large number of Norwegian warriors, were killed, and Godwinson's army achieved a complete victory.[1] The battle marks the end of the Viking Age in England.[2] Less than three weeks later, Godwinson's English army was defeated by William the Conqueror at the Battle of Hastings.[3]
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King Edward the Confessor of England died in January 1066 without having left an heir.[4] This caused a struggle over who would be king after him.[4] A number of claimants from across northwestern Europe thought that they should be the next king and included the King of Norway, Harald Hardrada. According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, the Norwegians assembled a fleet of 300 ships to invade England.[5] The Norwegian army numbered about 11,000 men.[6] Arriving off the English coast in September, Hardrada was joined by forces recruited in Flanders and Scotland by Tostig Godwinson.[7] Tostig was angry with his older brother Harold, who had been elected king by the witan on the death of Edward. Tostig lost his position as Earl of Northumbria and was exiled in 1065.[8] Tostig had mounted a series of attacks on the Sussex coast of England in the spring of 1066.[9] The king believed Tostig's raid on the coast was a sign that William, the Duke of Normandy, was about to invade England.[9]
In the late summer of 1066, the Norwegian-led invaders sailed up the Humber River, then the River Ouse, before they advanced on York. They landed at Riccall after Godwinson had first learned of their invasion.[10] On September 20th, they defeated a northern English army led by Edwin, Earl of Mercia, and his brother Morcar, Earl of Northumbria, at the Battle of Fulford.[10] After the victory, they received the surrender of York.[10] They briefly occupied the city and took hostages and supplies from the city. Then they returned to their ships at Riccall.[10] Hardrada offered peace to the Northumbrians in exchange for their support for his bid for the throne.[10] Then, he demanded more hostages from all of Yorkshire.[10]
At this time Godwinson was in southern England.[3] He was waiting for an invasion from France by the Duke of Normandy.[3] Duke William was another contender for the English throne. Learning of the Norwegian invasion, Godwinson headed north at great speed with his houscarls and as many thegns as he could gather.[11] He made the journey from London to Yorkshire, a distance of about 190 miles, in only four days.[11] Godwinson learned that the Northumbrians had been ordered to send the additional hostages and supplies to the Norwegians at Stamford Bridge.[11] Godwinson hurried on through York to attack them at this place on 25 September.[11] Until the English army came into view, the invaders did not even know that there was an English army anywhere nearby.[12]
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No one is certain of the exact location of the battle.[13] There is no abbey, marker or cross to mark the place.[13] However, an area southwest of the town called "battle flats" may be the actual location of the battle.[12]
The Vikings were taken completely by surprise.[11] They were resting in the heat of the day. Hardrada was confident enough that he left one third of the Viking forces, along with much of the army's armor, at their camp at Riccall.[11] As the English army attacked downhill many of the Vikings were completely unprepared.[14] The main part of the Viking army was on the other side of the bridge. A small Viking force held the approach to the bridge but they were quickly swept aside.[11] According to legend, a single Viking warrior held the narrow bridge against the English for a time.[10] He killed about 40 English warriors before he was killed.[11]
In the fierce fighting that followed, both Hardrada and Tostig were killed.[14] Most of the Vikings at the bridge were killed.[14] Out of the original fleet of 300 ships, there were only enough men left to man 24 ships on the return to Norway.[14] It has been said that before fighting started, Godwinson offered to return his brother's earldom if he would change sides,[15] but Tostig flatly refused.[15]
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Stamford Bridge was a major victory for Godwinson.[13] It showed he was a very capable commander.[13] It also demonstrated how well trained his Housecarls were.[13] However, Stamford Bridge will always be overshadowed by the Battle of Hastings, which took place just under three weeks later. The battle at Stamford Bridge left Godwinson's army very tired and in need of rest.[15] He had lost the forces of his two earls from the earlier battle.[15] However, he received news that Duke William had landed.
Harold quickly marched his tired army down to London and stopped at Waltham Abbey long enough to pray for another victory.[15] On October 12 he was in London trying to find more soldiers to add to his army before facing William at Hastings. On October 14, Godwinson formed his army on the ridge looking down on the battlefield.[15] That started the Battle of Hastings and the end of Anglo-Saxon rule in England.
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