Battle of Stamford Bridge

The death of King Edward the Confessor of England in January 1066 had triggered a succession struggle in which a variety of contenders from across north-western Europe fought for the English throne. These claimants included the King of Norway, Harald Hardrada. According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle Manuscript D (p. 197),^[4] the Norwegians assembled a fleet of 300 ships to invade England. The authors, however, did not seem to differentiate between warships and supply ships. In King Harald's Saga, Snorri Sturluson states, "it is said that King Harald had over two hundred ships, apart from supply ships and smaller craft".^[5] Combined with reinforcements picked up in Orkney, the Norwegian army most likely numbered between 7,000 and 9,000 men. Arriving off the English coast in September, Hardrada was joined by further forces recruited in Flanders and Scotland by Tostig Godwinson.^[6] Tostig was at odds with his elder brother Harold (who had been elected king by the Witenagemot on the death of Edward). Having been ousted from his position as Earl of Northumbria and exiled in 1065, Tostig had mounted a series of abortive attacks on England in the spring of 1066.^[7]

In the late summer of 1066, the invaders sailed up the Ouse before advancing on York. On 20 September they defeated a northern English army led by Edwin, Earl of Mercia, and his brother Morcar, Earl of Northumbria, at the Battle of Fulford, outside York. Following this victory they received the surrender of York. Having briefly occupied the city and taken hostages and supplies from the city they returned towards their ships at Riccall. They offered peace to the Northumbrians in exchange for their support for Hardrada's bid for the throne, and demanded further hostages from the whole of Yorkshire.^[8]

At this time King Harold was in Southern England, anticipating an invasion from France by William, Duke of Normandy, another contender for the English throne. Learning of the Norwegian invasion he headed north at great speed with his housecarls and as many thegns as he could gather, travelling day and night. He made the journey from London to Yorkshire, a distance of about 185 miles (298 km), in only four days, enabling him to take the Norwegians completely by surprise. Having learned that the Northumbrians had been ordered to send the additional hostages and supplies to the Norwegians at Stamford Bridge, Harold hurried on through York to attack them at this rendezvous on 25 September.^[9] Until the English army came into view the invaders remained unaware of the presence of a hostile army anywhere in the vicinity.^[10]

Manuscripts C, D and E of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle all mention Stamford Bridge by name. Manuscript C contains a passage which states, "Then Harold, king of the English, came upon them beyond the bridge by surprise; and there they joined battle and were fighting very hard long in the day".^[11] Though often interpreted to mean the main battle took place east of the Derwent River after the English army had crossed the bridge, Charles Plummer explains that the phrase “beyond the bridge” must be viewed “from the point of view of the enemy. To the English coming from York, they [the Norwegians] would be on the hither [near] side of the bridge”.^[12] According to Henry of Huntington, after many "fearful assaults on both sides," the English superiority in numbers forced the Norwegians "to give way but not to flee. Driven back beyond the river, the living crossing over the dead, they resisted stoutheartedly".^[13] Like the Chronicle account, Henry's description suggests the main battle may have been fought west of the bridge.

The exact location of the battle site is not known for certain. Sources indicate that it took place along the Derwent River, where a wooden bridge crossed the water. There are indications of a meadow on the west side of the river and higher ground on the eastern side. The original bridge no longer exists, and no archaeological traces of it remain. The traditional locating of part of the battle at Battle Flats is based on no contemporary references. Statements that in the 18th-century skeletons and weapons were found there have not been corroborated by modern finds.^[14]

 

According to Snorri Sturluson, before the battle a single man rode up alone to Harald Hardrada and Tostig. He gave no name, but spoke to Tostig, offering the return of his earldom if he would turn against Hardrada. Tostig asked what his brother Harold would be willing to give Hardrada for his trouble. The rider replied "Seven feet of English ground, as he is taller than other men" (implying that both Hardrada and his army would be killed and buried on English soil). Then he rode back to the Saxon host. Hardrada was impressed by the rider's boldness, and asked Tostig who he was. Tostig replied that the rider was Harold Godwinson himself.^[15] According to Henry of Huntingdon, Harold said "Six feet of ground or as much more as he needs, as he is taller than most men."^[16]

The sudden appearance of the English army caught the Norwegians by surprise.^[17] The English advance was then delayed by the need to pass through the choke-point presented by the bridge itself. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle and the Chronicle of Henry of Huntingdon has it that one of the Norwegians (possibly armed with a Dane Axe) blocked the narrow crossing and single-handedly held up the entire English army. The story is that this Viking alone cut down up to 40 Englishmen and was defeated only when an English soldier floated under the bridge and thrust his spear through the planks in the bridge, mortally wounding the warrior.^[18][19] His name was not preserved in the aftermath of this battle.

This delay had allowed the bulk of the Norse army to form a shieldwall to face the English attack. Harold's army poured across the bridge, forming a line just short of the Norse army, locked shields and charged. The battle went far beyond the bridge itself, and although it raged for hours, the Norse army's decision to leave their armour behind left them at a distinct disadvantage. Eventually, the Norse army began to fragment and fracture, allowing the English troops to force their way in and break up the Scandinavians' shield wall. Completely outflanked, and with Hardrada killed with an arrow to his windpipe and Tostig slain, the Norwegian army disintegrated and was virtually annihilated.^[20]

In the later stages of the battle, the Norwegians were reinforced by troops who had been guarding the ships at Riccall some 25 km away, led by Eystein Orre, Hardrada's prospective son-in-law. Some of his men were said to have collapsed and died of exhaustion upon reaching the battlefield. The remainder were fully armed for battle. Their counter-attack, described in the Norwegian tradition as "Orre's Storm", briefly checked the English advance, but was soon overwhelmed and Orre was slain. The Norwegian army were routed. As given in the Chronicles, pursued by the English army, some of the fleeing Norsemen drowned whilst crossing rivers.^[2]

So many died in an area so small that the field was said to have been still whitened with bleached bones 50 years after the battle.^[21][22]

 

King Harold accepted a truce with the surviving Norwegians, including Harald's son Olaf and Paul Thorfinnsson, Earl of Orkney. They were allowed to leave after giving pledges not to attack England again. The losses the Norwegians had suffered were so severe that only 24 ships from the fleet of over 300 were needed to carry the survivors away.^[2] They withdrew to Orkney, where they spent the winter, and in the spring Olaf returned to Norway. The kingdom was then divided and shared between him and his brother Magnus, whom Harald had left behind to govern in his absence.^[23] The casualties are referred as so high in both sides in many sources, an English-born Norman historian Orderic Vitalis reports half a century later that the battle ground was still "easily recognizable by the piles of bones that still bear witness to the heavy losses on both sides".^{[citation needed]}

Harold's victory was short-lived. Three days after the battle, on 28 September, a Norman invasion army led by William the Conqueror landed in Pevensey, Sussex, on the south coast of England. Harold had to immediately turn his troops around and force-march them southwards to intercept the Norman army.^[24] On 14 October, Harold, leading an army of between 5,000 and 13,000 troops, confronted the Norman army at the Battle of Hastings. There, he was decisively defeated and killed in action, allowing for William to march on London and take control over all of England as part of the Norman Conquest.^[25]

 

 

Two monuments to the battle have been erected in and around the village of Stamford Bridge.

The first memorial is located in the village on Main Street (A116) to the east of Church Road.^[26] The monument's inscription reads (in both English and Norwegian):

THE BATTLE OF STAMFORD BRIDGE
WAS FOUGHT IN THIS NEIGHBOURHOOD
ON SEPTEMBER 25TH, 1066

SLAGET VED STAMFORD BRU BLE UTKJEMPET I DISSE TRAKTER DEN 25. SEPTEMBER 1066

The inscription on the accompanying marble tablet reads:

THE BATTLE OF STAMFORD BRIDGE
KING HAROLD OF ENGLAND DEFEATED
HIS BROTHER TOSTIG AND KING
HARDRAADA OF NORWAY HERE ON
25 SEPTEMBER 1066

A second monument is located at the battlefield site, at the end of Whiterose Drive. It has memorial stone and plaque that shows the events and the outcome of the battle.^[27]

• The Battle of Stamford Bridge by Michael C. Blundell
• Description of battle by Geoff Boxell
• The Battle of Stamford Bridge
• Saga of Harald Hardrade
• The Battle of Stamford Bridge, BBC "In Our Time" 2 June 2011
• Old Norse description of the battle, with translation