What happened at the Battle of Stamford Bridge? We take a look at the other 1066 battle
There was more than one battle in 1066. Many soldiers in King Harold’s army at the Battle of Hastings were fighting their third major battle in less than a month. Far to the north, more than 300 ships led by the Norwegian king, Harald Hardrada invaded the city of York.
Like Duke William of Normandy, the king of Norway was pressing his claim to the English throne, which had been grabbed by Harold Godwinson – a powerful earl, but not a member of the Anglo-Saxon royal house – following the death of King Edward the Confessor without a recognised heir in January 1066.
Who won the Battle of Stamford Bridge?
The Viking army defeated the northern English earls at Fulford Bridge just south of York, but five days later were surprised and overwhelmed by King Harold’s army at the Battle of Stamford Bridge, a few miles to the east of York.
Harald Hardrada was killed in the fighting and only 25 of his ships escaped to tell the tale. Today, the precise location of the battle is unknown, though local tradition locates it to the aptly named Battle Flats east of the River Derwent.
King Harold’s triumph was emphatic but short-lived. Just three days later Duke William landed at Pevensey, and Harold’s army began a headlong dash southwards to confront this new foe at Hastings, marching nearly 300 miles in just 13 days.
Discover more about Britain’s bloodiest past
- Medieval slaughter: the site of Britain’s bloodiest battle remains an evocative place to visit
- Brutal massacre at Battle of Culloden. The bloody final clash that crushed the Jacobite Rebellion
- Decisive clash at Naseby: How one battle changed the fate of the English Civil War and the way the country was governed forever