Liveblogging 1066: September 20, 1066: Battle of Fulford
Tostig... Harold Godwinson's banished brother... had allied with King Harald of Norway... but history has left us no record of what role Tostig saw for himself if the invasions were successful.... The earls of York could have hidden behind the walls of their city but instead they met the Viking army across a river. All day the English desperately tried to break the Viking shield wall but to no avail....
The Anglo-Saxon king Edward the Confessor died on 5 January 1066.... On... 6 January Harold Godwinson, the Earl of Wessex, rushed to London, where he was crowned king.... Two powerful earls, brothers Edwin of Mercia and Morcar of Northumbria, challenged his authority... he secured their loyalty by marrying their sister, Edith, the widow of Griffith of Wales....
[Harald] Hardrada, like Tostig, William of Normandy, and King Harold Godwinson, was another claimant.... Hardrada set sail for England in September 1066, picking up supplies in the Orkneys and was reinforced with Tostig, who brought soldiers and ships. They sailed together along the River Ouse towards the city of York.... They arrived at the mouth of the Humber on 18 September. Having disembarked from their ships, their armies quickly moved towards York. On 20 September 1066, they were confronted by Godwinson's earls, Edwin and Morcar....
The English struck first, advancing on the Norwegian army before it could fully deploy. Morcar's troops pushed Harald's back into the marshlands, making progress against the weaker section of the Norwegian line. However, this initial success proved insufficient for victory to the English army, as the Norwegians brought their better troops to bear upon them, still fresh against the weakened Anglo-Saxons.... The invaders were outnumbered, but they kept pushing and shoving the defenders back.... Outnumbered and outmaneuvered, the defenders were defeated. Edwin and Morcar however, managed to survive.... York surrendered to the Norwegians under the promise that the victors would not force entry to their city, perhaps because Tostig would not want his capital looted.... The Norwegian army retired to Stamford Bridge, 7 miles (11 km) east of York....
Because of the defeat at Fulford Gate, King Harold Godwinson had to force march his troops 190 miles (310 km), from London to York. He did this within a week of Fulford...
