The battles of Fulford, Stamford Bridge and Hastings

The battles of Fulford, Stamford Bridge, and Hastings were pivotal conflicts in 1066 that shaped the course of English history, marking the transition of power from the Anglo-Saxons to the Normans.

Harold was waiting for William’s army on the south coast
Harold’s spies had told his about William’s plans and so he quickly went to defend his country
Harold raised more taxes than any previous king, using the money to pay for the fyrd and build ships to defend the coast
By June 1066, thousands of soldiers were waiting on the south coast for William however no invasion came
By September, the army was running out of food and were needed to return back to collect the harvest; believing that William would also need to collect the harvest, Harold disbanded the fyrd
Harold’s brother Tostig who was angry about having lost his earldom, encouraged Harald Hardrada to attempt to take the throne

The Battle of Fulford

Harold exiled his brother Tostig in 1065 as the people of Northumbria refused to accept him as their earl as he was hated for harsh rule and refusal to consider the people’s concerns. In exile, Tostig gained support for his bid to return to power in England. Harald Hardrada ( king of Norway) assembled his army of 10,000 and sailed to the coast of the North East of England with Tostig.

20 September 1066, two armies met at Fulford in York
Major defeat for Harold who had expected the northern earls to defeat the Norwegians whilst he wated for William however he would have to finish the job himself
Harald Hardrada captured the city of York and camped his army 15 miles south at Stamford Bridge to wait for Edwin and Morcar to send money and hostages

The Battle of Stamford Bridge

In two days, Harold assembled an army of 15,000 men including 3,000 elite housecarls
Harold led his army mostly on foot across 185 miles in four days
Only six days after the Battle of Fulford, the English forces achieved a great victory against Hardrada after launching a surprise attack
The Norwegians surrendered and Tostig and Hardrada were killed in battle
Harold lost a third of his forces and led his army back only four days later on another exhausting march to confront William

The Battle of Hastings

Duke William finally landed in England after months of preparing an invasion of 9,000 men and 700 transport ships
The Normans landed in Pevensey bay in Sussex on 28 September and immediately built a motte and bailey castle
William’s forces used the base to raid the south of England and prepared for the battle
Harold marched back from Stamford Bridge with and exhausted army with a third of his men dead and another third left behind as they could not keep up
His army consisted partially of the fyrd who were not fully trained soldiers
Harold’s army consisted of 7,000 men
October 14th 1066:
Harold attempted to catch the Norman army by surprise however Norman scouts had warned William of his advance
Harold’s men chose the position of defence on a small hill and formed a shield wall
William and his men rode out of their castle to fight at 9am
William ordered archers to fire at the army however the shield wall prevented any real damage and so William later sent in his infantry but they were again forced back by the shield wall
William’s cavalry failed to break the wall and some men began to retreat after rumours of William’s death
William rode to the front of his army and lifted his helmet to show that he was alive and led another attack on the shield wall
In the late afternoon, William’s cavalry tried to move the English away from their defensive position by feigning a retreat causing the inexperienced infantry to leave the shield wall and try to attack the Normans who they believed to be retreating
The Norman cavalry turned around the Normans broke the shield wall as more of Harold’s army came down to join the battle
At around 5pm, an arrow hit Harold in the eye and on hearing his death the army lost all discipline and were massacred