The Battle of Stamford Bridge took place only five days after the Battle of Fulford Gate. The Viking army, under King Harald Hardrada of Norway had won what appeared to be a decisive victory, destroying the Saxon’s Army of the North. Its leaders, the brothers Eorl Edwin of Mercia and Eorl Morcar of Northumbria had escaped with their lives but little more. Hardrada appears to have believed that he had a period in which he could rest his troops. It is probable that he had not expected to fight a pitched battle at Fulford Gate, it was more normal for the Saxons to retire behind their defensive walls and withstand a siege. Things had, apparently gone the way of the Vikings, however.

On the morning of the 2nd September 1066, King Hardrada set out from Riccall, where he had moored his fleet, for Stamford Bridge. He expected to meet with the men of York there who were due to hand over more supplies and hostages. It seems that Hardrada’s men were so relaxed that a large number of them chose not to wear their armour. The late summer of 1066 was very warm and had delivered a bumper harvest.

King Harold Godwinson had been in London when his embittered younger brother, Tostig, had invaded Northumbria with King Hardrada as his ally. A year earlier Tostig had been the Eorl of Norhumbria but the people had revolted against him. King Edward had ordered Harold, then Eorl of Wessex, to return Tostig to power but Harold counselled against this. Instead, he supported calls to have Tostig replaced by Morcar of Mercia. King Edward followed Harold’s advice and exiled Tostig, who never forgave his elder brother for this betrayal. Tostig would later claim that Harold was removing an able competitor, a fact seemingly verified when Harold married Morcar’s sister after becoming the King of England.

Unseasonal storms were blowing through the English Channel and keeping the Normans bottled up in port. On hearing of the fall of York King Harold decided on a bold plan of action. He marched north with the core of an army, huscarls and theigns, and called other Saxons to join him as he advanced. Traditionally, Saxons forces were raised locally to fight locally, but King Harold’s new idea seems to have worked, by the time he reached York, only five days later, he had command of some 10,000 men.

The Viking army was itself considerable. It also numbered 10,000 and was considered the largest ever to set foot in England. On the day, however, King Hardrada marched with only 7,000, leaving the rest to protect the fleet back at Riccall.

The arrival of King Harold with such a powerful force caught King Hardrada totally by surprise. It may have been one of the few times when an enemy had so completely out-manoeuvred him. Hardrada had a long and distinguished military career that stretched from Norway, through Russia, to the Holy Land. It was said that he had never lost a battle, except the first one he ever fought in but then he had been only a boy.

It is not clear if King Harold first moved on York or how he learned of King Hardrada being at Stamford Bridge. It is certain that the Vikings had no idea that an equal Saxon army was in their immediate vicinity.

Although the Saxons had the element of surprise the Vikings had a good defensive position, being placed on high ground with a river to the front that could be safely crossed only by means of a single bridge. This feature gave rise to the popular story of the Viking giant who was said to have held it against the advancing Saxons while his fellows formed their shieldwall on the high ground behind him. The Saxons did capture and cross the bridge, forming their lines at the foot of the hill.

King Harold ordered the attack. The Saxons had to fight hard to surmount the hill, but the Vikings suffered due to the lack of their armour. Also, King Hardrada, the most famous Viking of his day, was killed by an arrow to the throat. It is said that a mutual break in the fighting occurred when the king’s death was realised. Hostilities assumed when a Saxon offer of a truce was spurned. Harold’s men attacked with renewed vigour and even the arrival of the Norse reinforcements from Riccall proved too little too late. The slaughter that followed was terrible. The huge Viking army was cut to pieces. It had arrived in England with 300 ships, but it left using only 30.

King Harold accepted the surrender of the survivors, who included Prince Olaf, Hardrada’s son. They were allowed to go free after giving their oaths never to set foot in England again.

The Battle of Stamford Bridge was the greatest victory enjoyed by the Saxons over their ancient enemies, the Vikings, but it is rarely celebrated. As I have written previously, a visit to York would have you believe that the Norse were all conquering and the dominant peoples of the area, but they were not. The Saxons were the victors. Perhaps if they had not needed to fight another battle in 1066 then Stamford Bridge would rightly be seen as a great moment in British history?