Harald Sigurdsson's Invasion of England in 1066

The Last of the Vikings and the Battle of Stamford Bridge

Aug 26, 2009

1066 is remembered for the wrestle between Harold and William for the English throne. But there was a third combatant for the crown: Harald Sigurdsson.

Sigurdsson, also known as Harald III of Norway, or Harald Hardrada - Harald the Ruthless - or even ‘The Last of the Vikings’ was the son of a Norwegian chieftain, and became King in 1045.

He was by all accounts a rather striking Viking: seven feet tall, blonde haired, mustachioed and with one eye-brow higher than the other.

In The Enigma of Hastings Edwin Tetlow describes ‘a career of outrageous but mostly pointless violence’ and it was entirely in keeping with this that Sigurdsson decided to invade England in 1066 despite having little or no claim to the throne.

Tostig and Harald Sigurdsson and the Sacking of Scarborough

Sigurdsson sailed for England having hooked up with Tostig Godwinsson, brother of Harold and former controller of Northumbria before his rank unpopularity forced his sibling to take action and expel him. Tostig had flailed around for support in gaining revenge against his brother, conspiring with King Duncan of Scotland (defeater of Macbeth) and William in Normandy before heading for Norway and joining Sigurdsson.

In the autumn of 1066 Sigurdsson and Tostig arrived off the North East coast and set about reaping havoc in the traditional Viking fashion: sacking, plundering and pillaging.

The Battle of Gate Fulford

Moving inland the invaders met their first real resistance outside York at the battle of Gate Fulford, where they won a decisive victory against the principal Anglo-Saxon barons of the North. The York civic administrators agreed to abject terms of surrender and accepted Sigurdsson as their King.

The fall of York handed the control of the North of England to Sigurdsson and Tostig, and signalled convincingly that this was no series of Viking raids: it was a genuine invasion. Harold Godwinsson had however guessed as much, and was already galloping northwards with his Housecarls (his personal bodyguard and the most fearsome warriors in England) to address this latest threat to his sovereignty. Harold arrived in Tadcaster just days after the Battle of Gate Fulford and sealed off the town to keep news of his presence from Sigurdsson. The very next day the York administrators were due to prostrate themselves before their new Norwegian monarch at Stamford Bridge, but on Harold’s appearance they performed a swift U-turn and re-swore their allegiance to the King they had deserted the week before.

The Battle of Stamford Bridge

So it was that Sigurdsson and Tostig arrived at Stamford Bridge still blissfully unaware that Harold had even left London. They were expecting the resigned and submissive burgers of York, but were instead met by a daunting military force outnumbering them two-to-one.

The battle that followed was bloody and prolonged. The actual facts are sketchy, largely because the only war correspondent present was a Norwegian scribe who was less interested in reporting what actually happened than in promoting his paymaster Sigurdsson. On this occasion then, history was written by the losers. This scribe, Snorri, tells a swashbuckling tale of a single Viking defending the bridge to the battle field, killing forty Englishmen before someone wisely crept under the bridge and stabbed him from below. This probably did not happen, but no doubt the Norse resistance was brave and determined, for all that they had come to the field unarmed and under strength expecting a peace conference, they did not yield quickly, and many of Harold’s Housecarl’s were killed or wounded before Sigurdsson and Tostig fell and their followers were quelled. Hardrada had all his close relations with him, and so with his defeat at Stamford Bridge came the end of the Scandinavian threat to the English crown.

The copyright of the article Harald Sigurdsson's Invasion of England in 1066 in Norman History is owned by Jonathan Squirrell. Permission to republish Harald Sigurdsson's Invasion of England in 1066 in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.