An Army of 4,000 Men Marched Out to Rescue a Fort - But Many Would Never Return

In my last Tudor post, we followed the Spanish Armada of 1597, which was scattered by storms before it could reach Cornwall. While Elizabeth I was dealing with the threat from Spain, she was also fighting a war in Ireland. One of her main opponents was Hugh O'Neill, the Earl of Tyrone, who had at one time been on good terms with the English government but was now leading a rebellion.

O'Neill had spent years building up his position in Ulster, and by 1598 he had become a serious problem. His men were besieging an English fort on the River Blackwater, where the garrison was running short of supplies. The authorities in Dublin decided that something had to be done, and an army of around 4,000 men was assembled under Sir Henry Bagenal.

Bagenal and O'Neill already knew one another, although they were certainly not friends. In 1591, O'Neill had married Bagenal's sister, Mabel, despite her brother's strong objections. The marriage had caused a great deal of ill feeling between the two men, and their differences had only grown worse over the following years.

On the 14th of August 1598, Bagenal left Armagh with his army and headed towards the Blackwater fort. Unfortunately for him, O'Neill knew he was coming and had prepared for his arrival. Along with his allies, including Red Hugh O'Donnell and Hugh Maguire, he had positioned his men along the route and prepared obstacles to make the march more difficult.

The English army had trouble moving through the uneven, boggy ground, particularly once the fighting began. Irish musketeers fired on the advancing soldiers, and the different sections of Bagenal's force became separated. Bagenal was shot and killed during the battle, while an explosion among the army's gunpowder supplies made matters worse.

The surviving soldiers eventually withdrew to Armagh, having suffered heavy casualties. The attempt to relieve the fort had failed, and the garrison surrendered soon afterwards. The battle became known as the Battle of the Yellow Ford, and it was one of the worst defeats suffered by Elizabeth's forces during the war in Ireland.

O'Neill's victory encouraged further rebellion, particularly in Munster, and Elizabeth's government now had an even bigger problem on its hands. The following year, she sent Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex, to Ireland with a large army and instructions to bring the rebellion under control.

Essex had been one of Elizabeth's favourites for years, but his time in Ireland would do little to improve their relationship.

Had you heard of Hugh O'Neill and the Battle of the Yellow Ford?

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Image info:

Hugh O’Neill, Earl of Tyrone. Engraving by William Holl (before 1871). Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

William the Conqueror Surrounded the English Rebels at Ely - But Hereward Escaped

In my last medieval post, we followed Hereward and his men as they attacked Peterborough Abbey in June 1070, burning its buildings and taking its treasures. The Danes who had been helping the English rebels eventually returned home, but Hereward stayed in the Fenlands. He was still fighting against William the Conqueror.

By 1071, Ely had become a place where Englishmen who opposed William could take refuge. It was surrounded by marshes and waterways, quite unlike the countryside we see there today. Anyone trying to reach the island had to find a way through the wet, difficult ground, and the local men knew the area far better than the Normans.

Several important Englishmen had made their way to Ely, including Earl Morcar, whose brother Edwin had been killed by his own followers. Bishop Æthelwine of Durham and Siward Barn were there too, along with many other rebels. William had been king for almost five years, yet there were still plenty of men who had no wish to be ruled by him.

William had already spent years putting down rebellions, and he now brought his army to Ely. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle tells us that he also gathered a fleet of ships and had a bridge built across the marshes. The very landscape that had protected the rebels was no longer enough to keep his soldiers away.

Eventually, Morcar, Bishop Æthelwine and many of the others surrendered. William took their ships, weapons and treasures, and the bishop was sent to Abingdon, where he died later that year. Morcar was taken prisoner, but Hereward had somehow managed to escape with some of his men.

I would love to know exactly how Hereward got away, but unfortunately the Chronicle gives us very little detail about it. Stories written much later describe him using disguises and all sorts of tricks to escape the Normans. They make interesting reading, but we have no way of knowing how much really happened.

Ely had been one of the last places where a large group of English rebels could still hold out against William. With its surrender in 1071, their resistance had suffered another serious defeat. Hereward was still free, but we know very little for sure about the rest of his life.

Do you think Hereward was brave to keep fighting, or should he have surrendered with the other rebels?

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Image info:

William the Conqueror, British School (artist unknown), c. 1618–1620. Oil on oak panel. Dulwich Picture Gallery, London, via Wikimedia Commons. Public domain.

They Claimed They Loved the Abbey - Then They Burned Its Buildings and Stole Its Treasures

In my last medieval post, we followed William the Conqueror's difficult march to Chester in early 1070, when some of his own soldiers threatened to abandon him. By Easter, William had returned to Winchester, but elsewhere in England, resistance to Norman rule was continuing.

Among those still fighting William was a man named Hereward, later known as Hereward the Wake. He had connections to southern Lincolnshire and the surrounding Fenlands, where the rivers and marshes made it difficult for Norman forces to operate. Danish warriors had also arrived in the region, and many English people hoped their presence might help them drive William out of England.

At Peterborough Abbey, the monks were facing changes of their own. Their abbot, Brand, had died in 1069, and William had appointed a Norman named Turold to replace him. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle described Turold as a stern man, and his appointment caused resentment among those opposed to Norman rule.

Hereward and his followers decided to act before the new abbot arrived. The monks received a warning that the abbey was going to be attacked, and one of the church officials secretly removed valuable religious items before travelling to Turold.

On the 2nd of June 1070, Hereward's men approached Peterborough by boat. According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, the monks initially refused to allow them inside. The attackers responded by setting fire to the buildings and forcing their way through a gate. The monastery buildings and almost the entire town were destroyed by fire.

Once inside, the raiders carried away valuable treasures, including religious ornaments, books and precious objects belonging to the monastery. The Chronicle records that they claimed to have acted out of loyalty to the church, presumably because they did not want its treasures falling into Norman hands.

The monks were understandably less than impressed by this explanation. Although the abbey church itself survived, the surrounding buildings and much of the town had suffered terrible damage.

Hereward's followers took the stolen treasures to Ely, where Danish forces had gathered. However, the English rebels were soon disappointed. William reached an agreement with the Danish king, Sweyn, and the Danes eventually left England, taking the treasures from Peterborough with them.

Our account of these events comes largely from the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, which was written down at Peterborough decades after the attack. The monks had their own reasons for remembering what happened, so we cannot be certain whether Hereward genuinely wanted to protect the abbey's treasures from Norman control or simply saw an opportunity to seize them.

Hereward remained in the Fenlands, and during the following year, the Isle of Ely would become the centre of another serious challenge to William's authority.

What do you think? Was Hereward trying to protect Peterborough Abbey or was it an excuse to steal from it?

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Image info:

Hereward the Wake fighting the Normans, from Cassell’s Illustrated History of England, 1865. Wikimedia Commons.

William's Soldiers Had Had Enough - But He Refused to Turn Back

In my last medieval post, we followed the Harrying of the North during the winter of 1069-1070, when William the Conqueror's forces destroyed settlements and food supplies in an attempt to prevent further rebellion. The suffering was terrible, but William still faced resistance elsewhere in England.

By early 1070, William returned to York after he had been campaigning further north. English and Welsh forces had threatened Shrewsbury, and parts of western Mercia still remained troublesome. William decided to lead his army towards Chester, but some of his soldiers had dealt with more than enough.

The chronicler Orderic Vitalis, writing several decades later, described how the soldiers from Anjou, Brittany and Maine complained about their service. They had already been through exhausting winter campaigns, and now William expected them to march through another difficult region. Some of them demanded to be released from service, arguing that his orders were unreasonable and almost impossible to carry out.

William was not prepared to abandon his plans. According to Orderic, he refused to persuade the soldiers with fresh promises and just ordered those that were willing to follow him to continue. He reportedly dismissed the men threatening to leave as cowards.

The journey was extremely difficult. Orderic described the army travelling across mountains, through deep valleys and over dangerous marshy ground. Heavy rain and hail made conditions worse, while horses became trapped and died in bogs. At times, the soldiers were reportedly forced to eat the flesh of the dead animals.

Orderic also claimed that William sometimes walked ahead of his men, helping others through particularly difficult stretches of the journey. It is an interesting description of a king who was determined to continue, although we should remember that the chronicler was writing long after the events.

Eventually, William's army reached Chester, where he brought the remaining resistance under control. In 1070, he established a castle overlooking the River Dee. It provided a permanent Norman stronghold close to the Welsh border. The original fortifications were built using earth and timber, which is quite different from the later stone castle.

The castle was an important part of William's plans for England. Rather than have to rely entirely on armies marching from one rebellion to another, permanent fortifications allowed him to station troops, protect important routes and strengthen Norman authority.

But what happened to the soldiers who had complained?

According to Orderic, William rewarded the men who had endured the campaign and eventually released them from service. Those who had threatened to desert him were treated differently. As punishment, he reportedly kept them in service for another 40 days after their comrades had been dismissed.

By Easter 1070, William was back in Winchester. His western campaign was over, but opposition to Norman rule had not disappeared.

What do you think of Williams leadership? Do you think he should have listened to the concerns of his soldiers?

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Image info:

Bayeux Tapestry, Scenes 55-56, showing William the Conqueror lifting his helmet during the Battle of Hastings in 1066. Photograph by Myrabella, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.

William Had Retaken York - Then His Army Began Destroying the North's Food Supplies

In my last medieval post, we followed the rebellion at York in 1069, when English and Danish forces captured both of William the Conqueror's castles. William marched north and recovered the city, but the trouble was far from over. The Danish fleet remained in the Humber, and there was every possibility that his enemies would rise against him again.

Over the winter of 1069-1070, William's soldiers destroyed settlements and food supplies across parts of northern England, particularly Yorkshire. Homes were burned, livestock killed and stores of grain destroyed. This became known as the Harrying of the North.

William wanted to make further rebellion more difficult, but the people who suffered were not necessarily those who had taken up arms against him. Ordinary families depended on their harvests and animals to survive the winter. Losing those supplies could mean facing months without enough food, and there were accounts of people fleeing their homes as famine affected the region.

The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records that William laid waste to Yorkshire and that he was in York on Christmas Day in 1069. It was a particularly harsh time of year to carry out such a campaign, with families already depending on whatever food they had managed to store.

Orderic Vitalis, writing several decades later, described just how terrible he believed the suffering had been. He condemned William's actions and claimed that more than 100,000 people died from starvation. Historians question this figure, and we have no reliable way of knowing how many people actually died. Even so, there is evidence that people suffered terribly.

When the Domesday Book was compiled in 1086, many Yorkshire properties were recorded as 'waste'. This could refer to land producing no recorded surplus value for its lord, rather than necessarily being completely destroyed or abandoned. Historians still debate how much of this was caused by William's campaign and how much resulted from other upheavals during the conquest.

I can understand why William wanted to prevent another rebellion, but I find it difficult to imagine what this must have been like for families who had no part in the fighting. They could lose their homes, animals and food, with the winter still ahead of them.

Do you think William believed he had no other choice after the rebellions in York, or did his punishment of the northern population go too far?

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Image: Bayeux Tapestry, Scene 47, showing a house being burned during the Norman invasion of 1066. An 11th-century embroidery, not a depiction of the Harrying of the North in 1069. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

William Built Two Castles to Hold York - But His Enemies Captured Them Both

William Built Two Castles to Hold York - But His Enemies Captured Them Both

In my last medieval post, we followed Edwin and Morcar as they challenged William the Conqueror in 1068. The two earls eventually submitted, and William continued north, building a castle at York to strengthen his control. But their surrender did not bring an end to resistance in northern England.

In January 1069, William’s newly appointed Earl of Northumbria, Robert de Comines, arrived at Durham with his soldiers. He had been warned about the hostility awaiting him, but went into the city anyway. Northumbrians rose against the newcomers, killing Robert and many of his men.

The trouble soon reached York. Edgar Ætheling, the young English prince who had been considered for the throne after Harold’s death, joined opponents of William’s rule, including Gospatric and Merleswein. The Norman commander William Malet was forced to seek help as rebels threatened the castle.

William marched north and drove the rebels away. Before leaving York, he ordered a second castle to be built across the River Ouse. With Norman soldiers stationed in both fortifications, he hoped to keep the city under control.

Later that year, however, an even greater threat appeared. A Danish fleet sent by King Sweyn II arrived in England and joined northern English forces. Edgar Ætheling, Gospatric and Waltheof were among those associated with the alliance, which advanced on York in September.

As the danger grew, Norman defenders set fire to buildings near the castles, fearing they could be used against them. The flames spread through York and engulfed St Peter’s Minster, the church that stood before the present cathedral.

The English and Danish forces overwhelmed the garrison. Both castles fell, and many Norman soldiers were killed. It was a remarkable victory, especially considering that William had defeated Harold at Hastings only three years earlier.

William returned north with another army. The Danish forces withdrew towards the Humber, allowing him to recover York. He also used payments to secure their withdrawal. Yet recovering the city was only the beginning of what followed. During the winter of 1069–1070, William’s campaign across the north would bring terrible suffering to its inhabitants.

I find it striking how quickly William had to return to York. Even his castles and their Norman garrisons had not been enough to keep the city securely under his control.

Do you think the English rebels had a genuine chance of driving William out once the Danish fleet arrived?

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Image info:

York Castle in 1644, engraving by W. H. Toms after Francis Place. A later depiction of Clifford’s Tower, on the site of William the Conqueror’s original castle at York. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

THEY HAD ACCEPTED WILLIAM AS KING. BUT TWO POWERFUL ENGLISH EARLS WERE ABOUT TO TURN AGAINST HIM

THEY HAD ACCEPTED WILLIAM AS KING. BUT TWO POWERFUL ENGLISH EARLS WERE ABOUT TO TURN AGAINST HIM

By the summer of 1068, William the Conqueror had been King of England for more than a year. But he was having difficulty establishing his authority. He had recently had to deal with resistance at Exeter, and trouble was starting in the Midlands and the north.

It was two brothers that were causing it. Edwin, Earl of Mercia, and Morcar, Earl of Northumbria. Both had been important before the Norman Conquest. They had led English forces against the Norwegian invasion at the Battle of Fulford, near York, in September 1066.

Following Harold Godwinson’s defeat at Hastings, the brothers had accepted William. They had even accompanied him to Normandy in 1067, along with several other leading English nobles. But accepting William did not mean they were happy.

The arrival of Norman lords and the redistribution of English lands were already starting to change the balance of power. 

There may also have been a more personal grievance. The medieval chronicler Orderic Vitalis wrote that Edwin had been promised marriage to one of William’s daughters, but the marriage had not happened. We can’t be sure how much this actually influenced Edwin’s decision to rebel, but it may well have added to his growing dissatisfaction.

In 1068, Edwin and Morcar challenged William’s rule. They were not the only English nobles who were unhappy with the situation. Edgar Ætheling, who had been considered for the throne following Harold’s death, remained a possible rival to William.

William gathered his forces and marched north, establishing a castle at Warwick as he advanced. Faced with the king’s army, Edwin and Morcar eventually submitted again, and the immediate rebellion ended without a major battle between them.

William continued through Nottingham and on to York, establishing castles and leaving soldiers behind to hold these important locations.

When we think of Norman castles, we usually imagine enormous stone buildings. But many of William’s earliest castles were much simpler structures, built using earth and timber. They had defensive ditches, banks and wooden palisades, and could be built relatively quickly.

These castles allowed Norman soldiers to maintain a presence in towns and surrounding areas, even after William had moved on with his army.

York was especially important because it had long been a major centre of power in northern England. Establishing a garrison there was an important part of William’s attempt to bring the region under his control.

Their rebellion had ended, but the troubles in northern England were far from finished. In 1069, William would have to face another challenge. This time his response would have terrible consequences for the people living there.

Do you think Edwin and Morcar were right to submit again, or do you think they should have continued to resist William while they still had the chance?

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Image info:

 Warwick Castle, engraving by William Miller after Clarkson Stanfield, 1844. A later view of the castle established by William the Conqueror in 1068. Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

WILLIAM HAD WON THE CROWN - THEN HE LEFT ENGLAND

WILLIAM HAD WON THE CROWN - THEN HE LEFT ENGLAND

On the 25th of December 1066, William of Normandy was crowned King of England at Westminster Abbey. He had defeated Harold Godwinson at Hastings and secured the submission of leading English figures, but his hold over much of the country was still uncertain.

Yet in March 1067, only a few months after his coronation, William sailed back to Normandy.

He was still Duke of Normandy, with responsibilities and interests across the sea. His return also gave him the opportunity to celebrate his victory, and before sailing from Pevensey, he appears to have made a show of rewarding some of the men who had helped him conquer England.

Before leaving, William had attempted to reach an understanding with several leading English nobles. Earls Edwin, Morcar and Waltheof had initially been allowed to keep their lands and titles. Edgar Ætheling, whom English leaders had chosen as king following Harold’s death but who had never been crowned, had also received favourable treatment.

However, William did not leave these powerful men behind in England.

Edgar, Edwin, Morcar and Waltheof all accompanied him to Normandy, along with Stigand, Archbishop of Canterbury. Keeping them close meant that some of the most influential English figures were away from their own supporters during William’s absence.

Back in England, the king left his half-brother Odo, Bishop of Bayeux, and William fitzOsbern, one of his closest supporters, to oversee the government of his new kingdom.

Although some English officials remained in their positions, the changes brought by the conquest were already being felt. Lands belonging to Harold’s family and others who had fought against William were being confiscated, while Norman castles and garrisons helped the new rulers establish their authority.

And while William was away, resistance began to emerge.

In Kent, Eustace, Count of Boulogne, who had fought alongside William at Hastings, joined forces with English opponents of Norman rule. Together they attempted to capture Dover Castle, but the attack was repelled by its garrison.

Further west, Eadric the Wild joined forces with Welsh allies and attacked the Norman defenders at Hereford. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records that they inflicted considerable harm on the castle’s men.

William returned to England in December 1067, but the unrest was far from over. In 1068, he faced further resistance at Exeter, where the inhabitants held out against him before eventually surrendering after a siege.

It is easy to think of the Battle of Hastings as the moment England was conquered. But William’s departure and the fighting that followed show just how much remained unsettled.

He had been crowned King of England, but the struggle to bring the country under Norman control would continue for years.

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Image info:

The South-East View of Pevensey Castle, Sussex, engraving by Samuel and Nathaniel Buck, 1737. Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

William Was Crowned King - Then Panic Broke Out at Westminster Abbey

William Was Crowned King - Then Panic Broke Out at Westminster Abbey

By Christmas Day 1066, William of Normandy had won at Hastings, received the submission of leading English figures at Berkhamsted and entered London.

On the 25th of December 1066, he was crowned king at Westminster Abbey.

The ceremony was performed by Ealdred, Archbishop of York. Ealdred presented William to the English-speaking congregation, while Geoffrey, Bishop of Coutances, addressed the Normans in French. Both groups loudly expressed their approval.

Outside the abbey, some of William’s Norman guards misunderstood the noise and apparently believed that trouble had broken out inside.

They reacted by setting fire to buildings nearby.

Smoke began to rise around Westminster. People rushed from the abbey and panic spread through the crowd.

Inside, however, the coronation continued.

According to a later account, William himself was left trembling as the ceremony was hurriedly completed.

It was hardly the calm beginning to a reign that William might have hoped for.

Only a little over two months earlier, Harold Godwinson had been killed at Hastings. William had then spent weeks strengthening his position in southern England and forcing leading figures to submit.

The coronation gave him the crown, but it did not mean that the whole country had accepted Norman rule.

Resistance remained in several parts of England, and major uprisings would follow as William tried to secure his new kingdom.

Hastings had given William a decisive victory and, by Christmas Day, he had the crown.

But the struggle to control England was far from over.

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Coronation of William I, 13th-century illustration from Flores Historiarum, attributed to Matthew Paris. Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

William Had Won at Hastings - But England Had Not Surrendered

William Had Won at Hastings - But England Had Not Surrendered

On the 14th of October 1066, Harold Godwinson was dead and his army had been defeated at the Battle of Hastings.

But William of Normandy was still not King of England.

Winning the battle had removed Harold, but William still had to secure recognition as England’s king.

In London, the English did not immediately surrender.

With Harold dead, leading figures turned to Edgar Ætheling. The young grandson of Edmund Ironside was chosen as king, although he was never crowned.

Edgar was probably only in his early teens and had little military experience, while William had an experienced army already operating in the south.

William took Dover, where the town was burned and fortifications were established. From there, he moved on through Canterbury, but London itself was not yet his.

After encountering resistance at Southwark, William turned west and began a much wider march around London.

His army devastated areas of the countryside as it went, increasing the pressure on those still considering resistance.

William eventually crossed the Thames at Wallingford.

By then, Edgar’s position was becoming increasingly difficult. William had survived Hastings, secured important territory and shown that his army was prepared to continue the campaign.

According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, Edgar Ætheling, Archbishop Ealdred of York and the powerful earls Edwin and Morcar were among those who submitted to William at Berkhamsted.

After the submission there, the way was open for William to enter London and prepare for his coronation.

Less than three months after landing in England, he had gone from Norman duke and claimant to the throne to the man preparing to be crowned King of England.

But even his coronation would not go entirely according to plan.

It took place on Christmas Day 1066, and what happened outside Westminster Abbey during the ceremony caused panic inside.

Do you think things might have been different if Edgar Ætheling had been crowned immediately after Hastings?

Image: William the Conqueror depicted in the Bayeux Tapestry, 11th century. Public domain/CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.

For Hours, Harold’s Shield Wall Held. Then the Battle of Hastings Turned

For Hours, Harold’s Shield Wall Held. Then the Battle of Hastings Turned

On the morning of the 14th of October 1066, Harold Godwinson and William of Normandy finally faced one another.

Harold positioned his army on high ground near what is now Battle in East Sussex. His men fought on foot, packed closely together behind overlapping shields. At the centre were Harold’s housecarls, experienced warriors armed with heavy two-handed axes.

William had a different sort of army. He could use archers, infantry and mounted knights, but to reach Harold’s men they had to attack uphill.

The battle appears to have begun at around nine o’clock in the morning.

Norman archers fired towards the English position before infantry and cavalry moved against the shield wall. William launched successive attacks, but the English line continued to hold.

At one point, part of William’s army began retreating and a rumour spread that William himself had been killed. According to Norman accounts, William rode forward and showed his face to reassure his men that he was still alive.

Some English soldiers left the safety of the ridge to pursue the retreating Normans. William’s men turned on them.

Norman accounts describe later retreats being used deliberately to tempt more Englishmen away from their defensive position. It did not immediately destroy the shield wall, but after hours of fighting Harold’s army was gradually being worn down.

The fighting continued for most of the day, which in itself shows just how difficult the English position was to break.

Late in the day, William’s army launched another fierce assault.

Harold was killed during the final stages of the battle, although exactly how he died remains uncertain. The famous story that an arrow struck him in the eye is only one version of his death and cannot be treated as certain.

With Harold dead and the English line finally breaking, survivors began to flee.

By the end of the 14th of October, William had won the Battle of Hastings, but he had not yet been crowned King of England. His path from the battlefield at Hastings to Westminster was another part of the story.

If Harold’s men had stayed completely behind their shield wall, do you think the result might have been different?

Bayeux Tapestry, Battle of Hastings: Norman knights and archers, 11th century. Public domain/CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.

William Had Landed -Then He Waited for Harold to Come to Him

William Had Landed -Then He Waited for Harold to Come to Him

By the time Harold Godwinson began making his way south, William of Normandy was already establishing himself in Sussex.

William had landed at Pevensey on the 28th of September 1066, just three days after Harold’s victory at Stamford Bridge. His men established a temporary fortification within the old Roman defences there before William moved east towards Hastings.

At Hastings, another castle was established and the town became William’s base. From there, his army began taking provisions from the surrounding countryside. An invading force needed huge amounts of food. Thousands of men had to be fed, horses needed fodder and supplies brought across the sea could only last for so long.

The countryside around Hastings suffered badly. Farms were plundered and property was destroyed as William’s army secured what it needed. Historians have suggested that this destruction may also have helped provoke Harold into coming south and confronting the invaders.

William certainly had good reason to want a battle sooner rather than later. Remaining in Sussex for weeks would have brought its own dangers. Supplies could begin to run short, and sickness might spread through the army.

Harold was in a very different position. He was fighting in his own kingdom and had the possibility of gathering more troops if he waited.

After defeating Harald Hardrada and his own brother Tostig at Stamford Bridge, Harold returned south and paused in London, where more men joined him. English accounts suggest that Harold had not assembled all the forces potentially available to him before confronting William.

By the evening of the 13th of October, the two armies were close to one another.

Less than three weeks earlier, Harold had defeated another invading army in Yorkshire. Now another claimant to the English throne was waiting for him in Sussex.

On the morning of the 14th of October 1066, the Battle of Hastings was about to begin.

Do you think Harold should have waited longer for more men, or was confronting William quickly the right decision?

Image: Detail from the Bayeux Tapestry, 11th century. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

Harold Was Dead - But England Had Not Yet Accepted William as King

Harold Was Dead - But England Had Not Yet Accepted William as King

Harold Godwinson was dead, his army had been broken at Hastings, and William of Normandy had won an extraordinary victory. But England had not surrendered.

After the battle on the 14th of October 1066, there was still another possible king: Edgar Ætheling, a teenage descendant of the old royal house of Wessex.

Edgar was probably only around fourteen years old and had little political experience, but his bloodline mattered. He was the grandson of Edmund Ironside and the last surviving male member of the old royal house of Wessex. In London, support quickly gathered around him.

The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records that Archbishop Ealdred and the people of London wanted Edgar as king, while the powerful earls Edwin and Morcar promised to support him. Hastings had therefore not settled the question of who would rule England.

William now had to turn military victory into control. His forces secured Dover and Canterbury, while London remained resistant. William continued his campaign through south-east England, his forces ravaging territory as they advanced.

But the support behind Edgar did not develop into an effective military response. With Harold dead and the English leadership divided, Edgar's position weakened.

By December, Edgar, Archbishop Ealdred, Edwin, Morcar and other leading figures had submitted to William at Berkhamsted. Edgar was never crowned.

On the 25th of December 1066, William was crowned king at Westminster Abbey.

Harold's death at Hastings had removed the king who had led the English army against William, but England was still not securely under Norman control. The submission at Berkhamsted brought William much closer to the crown, although resistance to Norman rule would continue for years. Even after the coronation, the conquest was far from complete.

What do you think might have happened if England's leaders had managed to unite behind Edgar Ætheling?

The coronation of William I by Ealdred, Archbishop of York. Later medieval depiction by Matthew Paris, Chronica Majora. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

Harold Had Won in the North. Now William Was Waiting in the South.

Harold Had Won in the North. Now William Was Waiting in the South.

On the 25th of September 1066, Harold Godwinson won a crushing victory at Stamford Bridge. Harald Hardrada and Harold’s own brother Tostig were both killed, and the Norwegian invasion was effectively broken. But within days, another threat had appeared more than 200 miles away.

William, Duke of Normandy, had landed at Pevensey on the 28th of September and soon moved his army towards Hastings. The earliest Harold is likely to have heard of William’s landing was around the 2nd of October, giving him very little time to recover from the campaign in Yorkshire before turning south again.

Harold headed back towards London, although we do not know exactly how many of the men who had fought at Stamford Bridge travelled south with him, or precisely how they made the journey. It is tempting to imagine the same exhausted army simply marching all the way from Stamford Bridge to Hastings, but the evidence does not allow us to say that.

What we can say is that Harold moved quickly. He reached London, where he paused to gather more troops before continuing towards Sussex. Even allowing for a short stay in the capital, those travelling overland may have covered roughly 200 miles from Yorkshire to London in about seven days. Another journey of around 50 miles still remained before they would meet William.

Meanwhile, William was strengthening his position around Hastings. His men constructed a wooden fortification, gathered supplies and raided the surrounding countryside. The Bayeux Tapestry shows a fortification being prepared at Hastings and later depicts a house being burned.

The raids brought in supplies and may also have helped draw Harold into battle before he had time to gather a larger army.

By the evening of the 13th of October, Harold’s army had reached the area near what is now Battle.

The following morning, the two armies would meet.

Would Harold have been better waiting for more men, or did he have little choice but to face William quickly?

For subscribers, I’ve gone into this story in much more depth, including Harold’s journey south, what William was doing around Hastings, and the difficult decisions facing Harold before the battle.

If you’d like to read the full extended post, you can subscribe by tapping the Subscribe button at the top of my Facebook page.

Bayeux Tapestry, Scene 48, showing Norman knights leaving Hastings and moving towards battle. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

Three Days After Stamford Bridge, William’s Fleet Appeared off the Sussex Coast

Three Days After Stamford Bridge, William’s Fleet Appeared off the Sussex Coast

On the 28th of September 1066, William, Duke of Normandy, landed at Pevensey in Sussex. Three days earlier Harold Godwinson had been at Stamford Bridge, near York, fighting Harald Hardrada and his own brother Tostig. Both were killed and the Norwegian invasion was broken.

William had been ready to cross for weeks. His fleet gathered near the mouth of the River Dives during August, but sailing depended upon the wind and for about a month it was against him. A storm on the 12th of September drove the ships east towards Saint-Valery at the mouth of the Somme, which meant more waiting.

 

They eventually sailed on the 27th.

William’s own vessel was the Mora, given to him by his wife Matilda. Around it sailed hundreds of other ships carrying the invasion army, its horses and equipment. We cannot put an exact number on the fleet. Medieval writers disagreed and some produced enormous figures; English Heritage puts the likely number somewhere between 700 and 1,000.

They crossed during the night and reached Pevensey before dawn.

Pevensey looked rather different from the place we see now. The Roman fort stood much closer to the sea, with marshland around it, and its great walls had already survived for centuries. William’s men made use of what was already there, creating a temporary fortification within the Roman enclosure, repairing sections of the walls and cutting a ditch across the peninsula.

The Bayeux Tapestry also gives us some of the practical details of the invasion. Men are shown unloading armour and equipment, horses are brought from the ships and food is prepared. William had brought far more across the Channel than soldiers alone.

Pevensey was only the first stop. On the following day the Normans moved towards Hastings and established themselves there. William’s men took supplies from the surrounding countryside and there was burning and pillaging in the area while they waited.

Harold and his family held extensive lands in Sussex, so William had landed in a part of England closely connected with the English king.

The news reached Harold more than 200 miles away after what had already been a punishing campaign. English Heritage records that he had travelled more than 200 miles in the space of a fortnight before Stamford Bridge. Some of those same men had then fought a major battle.

Harold came south again, stopping in London and collecting more troops before travelling on towards Sussex.

There were only nineteen days between Stamford Bridge on the 25th of September and Hastings on the 14th of October.

Harold and many of his men had covered an enormous distance and fought one major battle before they ever faced William’s army.

What do you make of Harold’s decision to head south so soon after Stamford Bridge?

Bayeux Tapestry, Scene 38, showing William’s fleet crossing the Channel and arriving at Pevensey. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

The Battle Harold Won Before Hastings

The Battle Harold Won Before Hastings

 

On the 25th of September 1066, Harold Godwinson defeated Harald Hardrada at Stamford Bridge. Less than three weeks later, he would be facing William of Normandy at Hastings.

 

Image info:

The Battle of Stamford Bridge, Peter Nicolai Arbo (1831–1892). Public domain via Wikimedia Commons. 

When we talk about 1066, it is usually Hastings that gets most of the attention. Today I want to go back a few weeks and look properly at what had been happening in the north of England before William’s army arrived.

 

Edward the Confessor had died in January and Harold was crowned soon afterwards. His succession was challenged by William, Duke of Normandy, who was preparing an invasion across the Channel. There was also a threat from Norway. Harald Hardrada intended to pursue a claim to the English throne and found an ally in Harold’s own brother, Tostig.

 

Tostig had once been Earl of Northumbria, but a rebellion against his rule in 1065 had driven him into exile. Earlier in 1066, he had already led an unsuccessful invasion of eastern England before eventually joining Hardrada. The Norwegian king brought considerable military experience with him, and in September their combined force entered northern England.

 

On the 20th of September they met the armies of Earls Edwin and Morcar at Fulford, near York. The English earls were defeated, leaving York exposed. The city submitted and hostages were arranged, with a meeting to take place at Stamford Bridge.

 

Harold was a long way from Yorkshire. He had spent much of the summer preparing for the Norman invasion expected on the south coast, even keeping troops and ships ready for William’s arrival. The northern attack forced him to change his plans and travel north with his forces. In less than a fortnight, he had reached Yorkshire.

 

When Harold reached Stamford Bridge on the 25th of September, Hardrada’s entire force was not together. Men had been left with the fleet several miles away, while later Scandinavian accounts suggest that some of those at Stamford Bridge had not brought all of their armour with them.

 

There are several stories from this point in the battle that have been repeated for centuries. According to later accounts, Harold offered Tostig terms if he abandoned Hardrada. Tostig then asked what would be offered to the Norwegian king, and Harold supposedly replied that Hardrada could have seven feet of English ground, with a little more because he was taller than most men.

 

It makes a good story, although it was recorded after the event and we do not know what, if anything, was actually said between the brothers.

 

A later addition to one version of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records another memorable incident. A Norwegian warrior reportedly defended the bridge against Harold’s advancing men and prevented them from crossing until an English soldier managed to attack him from underneath.

 

The English eventually crossed and the main battle continued. Hardrada was killed during the fighting by a wound to the throat, possibly caused by a spear or an arrow. Tostig also died on the battlefield.

 

Some of the Norwegian troops who had remained with the fleet came to reinforce the army under Eystein Orre. They had covered several miles at speed before reaching the fighting, and the Norse sagas describe the men arriving exhausted. The reinforcements were unable to prevent the Norwegian defeat.

 

Hardrada and Tostig were both dead, and the surviving Norwegians were allowed to return home after giving pledges of peace.

 

What happened immediately afterwards is easy to lose among the much better-known events at Hastings.

 

William’s fleet reached the Sussex coast on the 28th of September, just three days after the fighting at Stamford Bridge. Harold was still in Yorkshire, and news of the landing first had to reach him before he could begin bringing his forces south.

 

We do not know exactly which men who fought at Stamford Bridge also fought at Hastings, and historians have long discussed how much the northern campaign affected Harold’s army. What we do know is that the two battles fell astonishingly close together.

 

Harold reached London and then continued into Sussex. On the 14th of October, his army met William’s near Hastings.

 

There were only nineteen days between Stamford Bridge and Hastings.

 

For me, knowing what happened during those nineteen days changes the way I picture Harold’s final campaign. The man who arrived in Sussex had spent the previous weeks responding to events at opposite ends of his kingdom, and Stamford Bridge deserves to be remembered as a major battle in its own right.

 

Next I’ll look at William’s landing at Pevensey and what his army did after reaching England.

 

Were you taught much about Stamford Bridge, or did most of your school lessons about 1066 concentrate on Hastings?

 

 

 

The Battle of Stamford Bridge: The Victory That Nearly Cost Harold Godwinson England

The Battle of Stamford Bridge: The Victory That Nearly Cost Harold Godwinson England

Harold Godwinson had just won one of the most decisive victories of 1066. The Viking army of Harald Hardrada had been shattered, his own brother Tostig was dead, and the threat from the north appeared to be over. But while Harold was still dealing with the aftermath of the battle, another invasion force was preparing to change England forever.

The Battle of Stamford Bridge, Peter Nicolai Arbo, 1870. Public domain. Via Wikimedia Commons.

Today I want to look at the Battle of Stamford Bridge, fought on the 25th of September 1066, because it was not simply a dramatic victory for Harold. It It was also a battle that may have left part of Harold’s army exhausted and battle-weary less than three weeks before he would face William of Normandy at Hastings.The crisis had begun when Harald Hardrada, King of Norway, invaded northern England with a large fleet. He was supported by Harold Godwinson’s own brother, Tostig, who had been exiled from England the previous year after losing his position as Earl of Northumbria. Tostig had turned against Harold and was now helping a foreign king challenge him for the English throne.

Hardrada was not a minor rival. He was one of the most experienced warriors in Europe, a man who had fought across Scandinavia, eastern Europe and the Byzantine world. His claim to England rested partly on earlier agreements involving Scandinavian rulers, and in September 1066 he arrived with a substantial invasion force.

On the 20th of September, Hardrada and Tostig defeated the northern English earls Edwin and Morcar at the Battle of Fulford, just outside York. York surrendered soon afterwards, and the invaders appeared to have secured a major foothold in the north.

Harold Godwinson was in the south of England when the news reached him. For much of the summer, he had been watching the Channel, expecting William of Normandy to invade. Instead, the first major attack came from the opposite direction.

Harold responded with remarkable speed.

He gathered his forces and marched north from London towards Yorkshire. Without modern transport, moving an army such a distance was a considerable undertaking. Men carried weapons, armour and supplies, while horses, carts and pack animals moved with them. Yet Harold appears to have covered roughly 180 to 200 miles in around a week.

Hardrada and Tostig were probably not expecting him so soon.

On the 25th of September, the Norwegian army was gathered near Stamford Bridge, east of York. According to later accounts, many of the Norwegians had left their armour at the ships. They were expecting hostages and provisions rather than the sudden arrival of Harold’s army. 

Then Harold’s army appeared.

Harold is also said to have offered his brother Tostig the return of his earldom if he abandoned Hardrada. Tostig is said to have asked what Harold would give the Norwegian king. Harold supposedly replied that Hardrada could have “seven feet of English ground”, or as much more as he needed because he was taller than most men.

It is a famous story, although it comes from later Scandinavian sources and should not necessarily be treated as a word-for-word record of what was actually said. What we do know is that negotiations failed.

The battle that followed was ferocious.

One of the most famous stories describes a single Norwegian warrior defending the narrow bridge over the River Derwent, holding back the English army while the rest of Hardrada’s forces prepared for battle. According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, the warrior killed a number of Englishmen before one of Harold’s soldiers finally managed to get beneath the bridge and strike him from below.

Whether every detail happened exactly as later writers described it is impossible to know, but the story reflects just how fierce the fighting became.

Once the English crossed the bridge, the main battle began. Hardrada’s men formed a defensive shield wall, but Harold’s army repeatedly attacked. Hardrada himself was eventually killed, traditionally said to have been struck by an arrow in the throat.

Tostig continued the fight.

Reinforcements arrived from the Norwegian ships, led by Eystein Orre, but they had marched rapidly towards the battlefield and were already exhausted. Scandinavian tradition later remembered their desperate attack as “Orre’s Storm”.

It was not enough.

Tostig was killed and the remaining Norwegian army collapsed. The scale of the defeat appears to have been enormous. Later tradition claimed that the invasion fleet had arrived in hundreds of ships but that only a small fraction were required to carry the survivors home. The exact figures are uncertain, but there can be little doubt that Hardrada’s invasion had been decisively crushed.

Harold Godwinson had achieved something extraordinary. In only a matter of days he had marched an army across England, surprised one of the most feared warrior kings of the age and destroyed a major invasion force.

But the victory came at a terrible moment.

Just three days after Stamford Bridge, on the 28th of September 1066, William of Normandy landed at Pevensey on the Sussex coast.

Harold now faced the situation he had feared all summer. England had been invaded from the south, but his army was hundreds of miles away in Yorkshire after fighting one of the bloodiest battles of the year.

There was no long period to recover, reorganise or replace the men who had been killed and wounded. Harold had to turn around and march south again.

Less than three weeks after Stamford Bridge, he would stand on another battlefield near Hastings.

The victory at Stamford Bridge removed one claimant to the English throne, but it may also have weakened Harold at exactly the moment William needed him to be weakest. That is what makes the battle so important. Harold won brilliantly in the north, but the struggle for England was far from over.

The Boy Chosen to Be King of England -But Never Crowned- Edgar Ætheling

The Boy Chosen to Be King of England -But Never Crowned- Edgar Ætheling 

Edgar Ætheling, detail from a late 13th-century manuscript, British Library, via Wikimedia Commons. Public domain. 

He was born into England’s royal family with perhaps the strongest hereditary claim to the throne, only to watch another man become king instead. Then, just months later, that king was killed and the leading men of England finally turned to him. There was only one problem: the man who had defeated him was already advancing towards London.

Today I want to discover more about Edgar Ætheling, one of the most easily forgotten figures in the struggle for England in 1066. Harold Godwinson had power and experience, William of Normandy had an army and Harald Hardrada had a formidable reputation. Edgar had something rather different: royal blood.

Edgar was probably born around 1052. His father was Edward the Exile, the son of King Edmund Ironside, which made Edgar a great-grandson of King Æthelred II and a member of the old English royal house. His title, Ætheling, mattered because it marked him out as someone of royal blood who could potentially inherit the crown.

By ancestry, Edgar’s claim was extremely strong, but medieval kingship was not quite as simple as following a family tree. A king also needed powerful supporters, political experience and, particularly in the dangerous world of 1066, the ability to defend the kingdom. Edgar had the bloodline, but he did not yet have the experience.

His father had spent much of his life abroad after the Danish conquest of England. In 1057, Edward the Exile returned to England with his family, but died soon afterwards. Edgar was still young, and suddenly the young boy was left as one of the last male representatives of the old royal line.

When Edward the Confessor died on the 5th of January 1066, Edgar was probably only around fourteen years old. England was facing the very real possibility of invasion, and the country’s leading men instead turned to the powerful and experienced Harold Godwinson, who was crowned on the 6th of January.

For Edgar, it must have been an extraordinary situation. He had royal ancestry, but ancestry alone was not enough to put a crown on his head, especially when England needed a ruler who could command armies and deal with rival claimants.

Then 1066 became even more chaotic. Harald Hardrada invaded from Norway, Harold Godwinson raced north and defeated him at Stamford Bridge, and shortly afterwards William of Normandy landed in southern England. Harold then turned his army around and marched south to face him.

On the 14th of October 1066, Harold was killed at the Battle of Hastings. England suddenly needed another king, and this time Edgar’s name came forward. In the aftermath of the battle, leading English nobles in London proclaimed the young Ætheling as king.

At last, the boy whose royal blood had not been enough in January appeared to have inherited the throne. But Edgar was never crowned.

William had won at Hastings, but England had not simply dropped into his hands. He began moving towards London while English leaders tried to decide whether they could continue resisting him. Edgar was still very young and had never commanded an army, while William was an experienced military leader who had already defeated England’s king.

Gradually, the resistance collapsed. Edgar and other leading English nobles submitted to William, and on Christmas Day 1066, William was crowned King of England at Westminster Abbey. Edgar Ætheling had come astonishingly close to becoming king, but his chance was gone almost as quickly as it had appeared.

His story did not end there. Edgar later became involved in resistance against Norman rule and was connected with rebellions in northern England. His family eventually found refuge in Scotland, where his sister Margaret married King Malcolm III and became Queen of Scots.

Edgar himself survived the dangerous politics of the Norman Conquest and lived for decades afterwards. Remarkably, the boy who had been passed over for the crown in January 1066, recognised as king after Hastings and then pushed aside by William was still alive well into the 12th century.

There is something rather sad about Edgar’s place in the story. Harold Godwinson wore the crown, Harald Hardrada died trying to take it and William of Normandy conquered it. Edgar Ætheling may have had the strongest hereditary claim of them all, but he became the king England chose but never crowned.

Had you heard of Edgar Ætheling before, or did you think the struggle for the English crown in 1066 was mainly between Harold and William?

Was William the Conqueror Made by a Childhood of Fear?

Was William the Conqueror Made by a Childhood of Fear?

Was William of Normandy a ruthless invader who stole England’s crown, or was he a man shaped from childhood to believe that if you wanted to keep what was yours, you had to fight for it?

Over the past few posts, we have been looking at the men caught up in the struggle for the English crown in 1066. We have followed Harold Godwinson, the man who actually became King of England, and Tostig, Harold’s own brother, who returned with an invading army.

Now it is time to look at the man most of us immediately associate with 1066: William, Duke of Normandy.

Today I want to look at William before he became “the Conqueror”. He was a child surrounded by violence, rebellion and men who were quite prepared to kill one another for power.

William was born at Falaise in Normandy, probably in 1027 or 1028. His father was Robert I, Duke of Normandy, while his mother, Herleva, was not Robert’s wife, meaning William was illegitimate.

That mattered a lot in the 11th century, and his enemies would later use it against him. He may have been the acknowledged son of a duke, but that did not mean every Norman noble believed he had the right to rule them.

Then, while William was still only a child, everything changed.

In 1035, his father left Normandy on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem after arranging for William to be recognised as his heir. Robert never returned. He died on the journey home, leaving William, at around only seven or eight years old, as Duke of Normandy.

It is difficult to imagine how vulnerable that made him. William held an important title, but he was still a child and had to rely on the adults around him to protect both his position and his life.

Normandy descended into years of instability as rival nobles fought for influence, and several of the men responsible for protecting William were killed. One guardian, Gilbert of Brionne, was assassinated, while another protector, Turold, was also murdered. Later accounts even describe William being moved secretly at night for his own safety.

Some details may have been influenced by later writers, but the wider picture is clear. William grew up in a world where loyalty could disappear very quickly and where powerful men could be killed because somebody else wanted what they had.

I think this gives us a rather different way of looking at the man he eventually became.

We often describe medieval rulers as ruthless without thinking very much about how they became that way. William learned extraordinarily young that a title did not guarantee safety. Family connections did not guarantee loyalty. Promises could be broken, and inheritance meant little if somebody stronger was willing to take it from you.

Power had to be defended.

By his teenage years, William was beginning to take greater control of Normandy, although opposition to him continued. In 1047, a major rebellion broke out against his rule.

With the support of King Henry I of France, William defeated the rebels at the Battle of Val-ès-Dunes. The vulnerable child duke was gradually becoming a ruler his enemies could no longer easily remove.

Over the following years, William strengthened his authority, defeated rivals and increased his power. He married Matilda of Flanders, connecting himself to one of the most important families in northern Europe.

By the 1060s, the boy who had once depended on others to keep him alive had become one of the most formidable rulers in France.

And then England entered the story.

William later claimed that Edward the Confessor had promised him the English throne. He also claimed that Harold Godwinson had sworn an oath supporting William’s succession after Harold travelled to the Continent.

Exactly what was promised, and what Harold believed he was agreeing to, has been argued over ever since.

What we do know is that Edward died on the 5th of January 1066, and William did not become King of England.

Harold did.

Harold Godwinson was crowned on the 6th of January. To his supporters, there were strong reasons for accepting him. Harold was one of the most powerful men in England, Edward may have nominated him before his death, and the leading men of the kingdom accepted him as king.

But imagine the news reaching William in Normandy.

If William genuinely believed that Edward had promised him England, and that Harold himself had sworn to support his claim, then Harold’s coronation was not just a political disappointment. William may have seen it as a betrayal and, perhaps more importantly, as another moment in his life when somebody appeared to be taking something he believed belonged to him.

This is where his childhood becomes particularly interesting to me.

A man who had spent his earliest years watching rivals challenge his inheritance was now being told that another man had taken the crown he believed had been promised to him.

William responded in the way his life had taught him to respond. He prepared to fight.

But preparing an invasion of England was very different from crushing a rebellion in Normandy. William would need ships, men, money, allies and, perhaps most importantly, a convincing reason why thousands of men should risk their lives for his claim to another kingdom.

In my next Medieval post, I’ll continue William’s story and look at how he turned a disputed claim to the English throne into one of the most famous invasions in history.

But after looking at his childhood, I’m interested to know what you think. Do you think William’s ruthless determination in 1066 was partly shaped by growing up surrounded by violence and threats to his own inheritance- or does that risk making excuses for a man who chose to invade England?

Image info:

Later engraved portrait of William the Conqueror, crowned and holding a sword. Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain.

Tostig Godwinson: The King’s Brother Who Returned With an Invasion Army

Tostig Godwinson: The King’s Brother Who Returned With an Invasion Army

Imagine being driven from one of the most powerful positions in England. You believe your own brother has betrayed you. Less than a year later, that brother is King of England - and you return with a foreign army.

That was the extraordinary position of Tostig Godwinson in 1066.

In our recent Norman Conquest posts, we have looked at the men who believed England’s crown should be theirs.

Today I want to look more closely at Harold’s own brother. Because before Harold faced William at Hastings, he had another enemy to deal with. And that enemy was part of his own family.

Tostig was born into the enormously powerful Godwin family, the son of Godwin, Earl of Wessex, and the younger brother of Harold Godwinson. Like Harold, he rose rapidly through the political world of Edward the Confessor’s England.

In 1055, Tostig was appointed Earl of Northumbria, giving him authority over a vast and important part of northern England.

But Northumbria was not an easy region to govern. It had its own powerful families, traditions and political rivalries, and Tostig appears never to have won the support of much of the Northumbrian ruling elite.

Contemporary and later accounts portray his government as severe, while his opponents accused him of heavy taxation and harsh treatment. Whatever the exact truth- and our evidence for the eleventh century is often incomplete- resentment towards him became extremely serious.

Then, in October 1065, it exploded. Northumbrian rebels rose against Tostig. His officials and supporters were attacked, his property was seized and the rebels chose Morcar, brother of Edwin, Earl of Mercia, as their new earl.

Tostig looked to King Edward the Confessor for help. But another man was sent to negotiate with the rebels. His brother Harold.

And Harold made a decision that would change their relationship forever.

Rather than attempting to restore Tostig by force, Harold accepted that his brother had lost control of Northumbria and negotiated a settlement which recognised Morcar as earl. Tostig was forced into exile.

From Harold’s point of view, there may have been little alternative. Attempting to impose Tostig on the north could have created a much larger civil war at a dangerous moment for the kingdom.

Tostig saw things very differently. He appears to have believed that Harold had betrayed him and may even have suspected that his brother had encouraged the rebellion against him.

The two brothers who had once belonged to the most powerful family in England were now bitterly divided.

Tostig went to Flanders, where he had important family connections through his wife, Judith.

Then everything changed again. Edward the Confessor died on the 5th of January 1066. The following day, Harold Godwinson became King of England.

For the exiled Tostig, his brother was no longer simply the man he blamed for losing his earldom. He was now the king.

In the spring of 1066, Tostig returned. He sailed to the Isle of Wight and then raided parts of England’s coast before moving northwards.

But the attempt went badly. Forces led by Earls Edwin and Morcar drove him away, and Tostig eventually sought refuge in Scotland.

He still had not finished.

At some point, Tostig joined forces with one of the most formidable warriors in Europe: Harald Hardrada, King of Norway.

Hardrada already had ambitions in England. Now he had something else- an English exile with knowledge of the kingdom and every reason to see Harold removed from the throne.

In September 1066, their forces entered northern England.

On the 20th of September, Hardrada and Tostig met the armies of Edwin and Morcar at the Battle of Fulford, just outside York. They won. York submitted. For a brief moment, the invasion appeared to be succeeding.

But Harold Godwinson was already coming.

The English king marched rapidly north with his army, covering an extraordinary distance to confront the invaders.

On the 25th of September 1066, the brothers finally faced one another at the Battle of Stamford Bridge.

By the end of the day, Harald Hardrada was dead. So was Tostig Godwinson.

Harold had defeated the invasion from the north. But his victory came at an enormous cost.

His army had marched hundreds of miles and fought a major battle. And just three days later, William of Normandy landed on the south coast of England.

Harold would now have to turn around and march south again.

Tostig is an interesting figure because it is tempting simply to describe him as the brother who betrayed Harold. The reality was probably more complicated.

Tostig believed that he had been wronged. Harold may have believed that sacrificing his brother’s position was necessary to prevent England descending into civil war.

Whatever their motives, their family dispute became part of something much larger. And in September 1066, two brothers ended up facing one another on opposite sides of a battlefield.

One of them died there. The other would be dead less than three weeks later.

Do you see Tostig as a traitor to his brother and country, or a man trying to reclaim what he believed had been unjustly taken from him?