A Medieval History of England

[Cecasander]

<Reserved for foreword>

[Cecasander]

-- Index --

Prologue part I - Setting the stage

The long way to an unified kingdom
Edward the Exile and Edward the Confessor
King Harthacnut's Peace
Exile and Shipwreck
The Witanagemot

Prologue part II - The fateful year 1066
Change of continuation?
The events leading up to Stamford Bridge
Harald Hardrada’s invasion and the Battle of Stamford Bridge
William the Bastard’s invasion and the Battle of Hastings
Aftermath of the Battle of Hastings and the final months of 1066

Book I - The Godwinson Kings
Harold II Godwinson (1066 - 1072) Part I

[Cecasander]

Prologue____________________
The long way to a unified kingdom

For the story of the Kings of England to begin, we could start as early as the arrival of the Angles, Saxons and Jutes in what was then known as Britannia. For it was then that the first ‘modern’ kingdoms were founded on the isle. One of these kingdoms was founded by a man named Cerdic (1) in 519, after defeating a local British king called Natanleon. Over time this kingdom would grow and become known as Wessex, as it was the western realm of the Saxons, in relation to Sussex (South Saxons) and Essex (Eastern Saxons). Throughout these years, gains over the local Britons and minor Saxon lords made the main kingdoms grow in size. None grew so fast and so prosperous as the central Angle kingdom of Mercia, though. The Mercian kings were able to subdue most of the other kingdoms of England. Wessex, counting as the second most powerful kingdom, would largely remain out of Mercian control. When King Egbert ascended the throne of Wessex in 802, he would turn the tides for his kingdom. Egbert subdued Cornwall and then defeated king Beornwulf of Mercia at the Battle of Ellendun, seizing control over the Saxon realms of Sussex and Essex and the realm of the East Angles. Although his later endeavors against Mercia and Northumbria would eventually be undone, the dominance of the Kingdom of Wessex over southern England was secure, and the line of Cerdic was more powerful than ever.

England around 800

After Egbert’s death, the Danish Viking raids began. And although their force had been defeated once at Alcae in 851, a second Danish invasion fourteen years later took England by storm. In a few years, the Danes overran Northumbria and East Anglia, and they attacked Wessex in 871. The King of Wessex at the time was Alfred, recently crowned, and although he won some victories and prevented the conquest of his kingdom by the Danes, this was very costly, and with the arrival of a fresh Danish force Alfred was forced to pay them tribute to keep them away. Following this, the raiders turned their attention to Mercia and conquered that kingdom. Soon they returned to Wessex however – being the last independent Anglo-Saxon kingdom – and while Alfred would defeat them in 877, a large Danish expedition in the winter of 878 took the kingdom by surprise. Alfred was forced to flee into the remote Somerset Moors. There he raised another army in mere months and defeated the Danes at the Battle of Ethandun. This time the Danes left Wessex alone. Soon after the battle, Alfred signed a peace treaty with the Danish chief Guthrum the Old. This treaty both recognized the independent Saxon kingdom of Wessex, and the area under Danish occupation, which was referred to as the Danelaw. (2)

Wessex and the Danelaw

After the treaty, Danish raids still occurred, but they were minor and Alfred and his son Edward quickly began reforming Wessex in the ways of government, justice, scholarship and defense. The fall of the Kingdoms of Mercia and Northumbria and the rule over Sussex and Essex had made Alfred and his heirs the only remaining Anglo-Saxon kings in England. And while Wessex underwent a sort of ‘renaissance’, the Danish rule slowly began to deteriorate. Mercia, which had been demoted to an earldom, had been seriously weakened by the time Edward took the throne. He would take London and Oxenford in 911, and most of the rest of Mercia and East Anglia between 913 and 918. When the last earl of Mercia died in 918, he personally took possession of the land and thus made sure to leave only one legitimate crown in England; that of his own. Edward’s son Aethestan would conquer Northumbria in 927, finally unifying England under one king, the King of Wessex.

Thus, England would be unified and at peace. That is to say, for as long as these things stay. Between 955 and 959, the kingdom was divided between two brothers; one ruling in Wessex and one in Mercia. Soon the ‘Mercian’ king Edgar again reunited the kingdom. In the latter years of the tenth century Danish raids began to increase in power again. The first series of these raids would escalate in the Battle of Maldon and the sailing up the Thames by a fleet led by the Norse king Olaf Tryggvason. The English king, Aethelred the Unraed (3), was thus forced to pay tribute to the Viking invaders again. Soon again the Danes would be back, of course, raiding the southern coast and collecting more tribute, known as Danegeld. As a repercussion from the endless attack, King Aethelred ordered all Danish men in England murdered on November 13, 1002. This event became known as the Saint Brice’s Day Massacre, and although the Danish population was simply too powerful in some parts of the country, the events took on what would nowadays be considered serious ethnic cleansing.

It so happened, according to the tradition, that a sister of the king of Denmark, Gunhilda, was one of the victims of this massacre. As of such, King Sveyn Forkbeard took the massacre very personal, and he himself would lead several attacks on England, time and again defeating Aethelred’s forces, raiding the English coast and demanding enormous payments of Danegeld. In 1013, however, he decided to take the English throne for his own. King Sveyn was already the king of Denmark and Norway, and he proved once again to be Aethelred’s superior in battle, taking England in August of that year, and forcing King Aethelred to flee to Normandy. Normandy was the home of his second wife Emma, who was the sister of Duke Richard II, future grandfather of William the Bastard. Soon after being crowned King of England, Sveyn Forkbeard suddenly died in February 1014 and his death created a power vacuum. In Denmark, Sveyn’s oldest son Harald was proclaimed king, but his forces in England instead appointed his younger son Cnut as his heir. Meanwhile, a large delegation of earls and thegns (4), who had previously sided with Sveyn, offered Aethelred the English throne back on the condition of becoming a fair ruler and reforming what they had complained about in the past. This agreement between king and subjects was one of the first recorded pacts, and can be seen as a distant prelude to the Great Charter later on.

So, King Aethelred returned to England again together with his son Edmund. Initially, Aethelred had been successful in fighting the Danes of King Cnut, and Cnut had been forced to flee back to Denmark, where he had to ask his brother Harald to sponsor him for another expedition. Amongst other sponsors were the kings of Poland and Sweden. In the summer of 1015 he would then launch a counterstrike with an enormous force, and he would harry England for more than a year. King Aethelred died in April 1016, and Edmund would continue the fight against Cnut, which won him the nickname ‘Edmund Ironside’. Back and forth Edmund and Cnut clashed, but in the end Edmund would finally be defeated at the Battle of Assandun on 18 October 1016. In respect to Edmund’s valorous fight, Cnut agreed to sign a favorable peace treaty, though. In the treaty Cnut would be crowned king, but Edmund would keep Wessex and all the land south of the Thames. Furthermore, they agreed that if one should die, the other should inherit his land. Long Edmund could not enjoy this privilege though. He died one and a half months later to unknown causes, resulting in Cnut inheriting his land and becoming the sole king of England.

-- Footnotes --

(1) Hench the House of Wessex is also known as the House of Cerdic, and Edgar the Aetheling and Edward the Confessor were also called Edgar and Edward Cerdicson.
(2) Which literally means ‘Danish Law’, or in other words, the lands where Danish law is held, rather than Mercian or West Saxon (Wessex) law.
(3) Often mistaken for ‘unready’, the word ‘unraed’ actually means ‘ill-counsel’. Ironically, the name Aethelred means ‘noble-counsel’
(4) They were officially sent by the Witanagemot (also called the Witan), which was originally a council of elders who advised the kings (the name meaning ‘meeting of wise men), but by the eleventh century would slowly take the roll of a true royal council that would slightly begin to resemble what we would call a parliament.

[Auray]

I'll follow. Is Campeador - The story of El Cid still alive?

[RGB]

Nice start, good idea re: cropping their faces out. I'm hoping for a Danish-centric AAR, enough with the Normans and Saxons already

Aethelraed Unraed - proof that the English liked their puns even back then.

But what happened to "The Potter" anyway?

[FlyingDutchie]

Looks interesting so far. Guess you will be playing as Northumbria?

[Cecasander]

Ow, greetings all... I probably should have posted this before, but:

This is my Saxon English history book AAR. It's a long-term project that I recently got out of the mothballs, and that will most likely have an erratic updating schedule. I actually intend to juggle it together with my El Cid AAR after I get back from vacation early next month. Until that, I'll post what I wrote thus far, which is basically a long introduction covering 'the year 1066'.

Auray - El Campeador will hopefully show his Spanish ass again in August. I actually wrote most of the next update until I got double-teamed by a heavy workload and writer's block.

RGB - Thanks Actually, I will be using Veldmaarschalk's excellent 'Before the Conquest' mod, which adds a whole new, deep dimension to Saxon England, including the Godwinsons as an Anglo-Danish family. Also, the story will keep referring to the long competition between the northern and southern European cultures, so there will be Scandinavians aplenty!

Actually, the motivation for this story was an essay I read that basically said that if Harold had won Hastings, the vikings would have kept their colonies in North America (something with warm-water ports and whatnot). That's a possibility I'd love to explore.

The Potter has been put on hold for a while, but I hope to revive it too some day, if only because it has a story that needs wrapping up.

FlyingDutchie - I'll start as the King of England (Harold the Saxon) but I actually do intend to switch dynasties a couple of times, as the possibilities arise.

[Cecasander]

Prologue____________________
The claimants to the throne

Edward the Exile and Edward the Confessor
and Edgar the Aetheling’s claim to the English throne

King Cnut would outlive Edmund by nineteen years. In 1017, he would marry Edmund’s mother (and Aethelred the Unraed’s widow), Emma of Normandy, and he began to eliminate the possible English successors to the throne. The sons Emma had had with Aethelred, Edward and Alfred, were sent back into exile to Normandy. Edmund Ironside’s sons Edward and Edmund were originally sent to Sweden for imprisonment or execution, but were eventually sent to the Kievan Rus and would later end up in Hungary (5). Cnut would become king of Denmark after his brother passed away the next year, and would contest with Olaf Haraldson over the Norwegian throne. When Cnut died in 1035, he was succeeded by his son Harthacnut (also known as Cnut III). Harthacnut was a less successful king than his father, as was certain. His reign began with the succession of Norway by King Magnus, illegitimate son of Olaf Haraldson. The reign over Norway had been a hard victory for his father, and Harthaknut would not allow it to slip so easily. As a result, however, he was forced to relinquish his claim on the English throne temporality. The regent of England, an illegitimate son of his father Cnut, thus was allowed to crown himself as King Harold I, and became known as Harold Harefoot (6).

Harthacnut would eventually strike a peace with King Magnus of Norway. The kings agreed that they would inherit the other’s land, should one die without an heir. After this, Harthacnut was to prepare for taking the throne of England back from his half-brother Harold. Previously, he had been ‘forsaken’ from the throne, for not having visited England at all (7). In 1040, before he could launch an invasion, Harold had died though, and Harthacnut was invited to take the English throne peacefully. While King of England, however, he was not a very popular ruler. For the maintenance of his vast fleet he severely raised taxes, and attacked and burned several towns where tax collectors had been attacked. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle wrote about King Harthacnut that ‘he never accomplished anything kingly as long as he ruled’. One thing that he did do, though, was to call his half-brother Edward back from his exile in Normandy, and make him the heir of the English throne (8). The next year, on June 8, 1042, Harthacnut died. As per agreement, Magnus of Norway would inherit his Danish realm, but Edward would become King of England, and thus would restore the House of Wessex as the Kings of England. Edward was at least much more popular as a ruler than Harthacnut had been to the people of England. As the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle point out, ‘before Harthacnut was buried, all the people chose Edward as king in London.’

Meanwhile, one of the sons of Edward Ironside, now known as Edward the Exile, still survived in exile at the court of the king of Hungary. He was the cousin of Edward the king, of course, and when the king heard that Edward the Exile was still alive, sent for him to return to England (9). King Edward’s reign so far had been very weak. As it could be expected, his reign was questioned by some. Not in the least Edward’s own mother, Emma of Normandy, who instead supported Magnus of Norway’s bid for the English throne. He had after all been the heir of Harthacnut and would by tradition (though not by law) also be his heir to the English throne. Also Edward’s former hosts and relatives in Normandy pushed him, reminding him that he had promised the throne to their duke William, another of Edward’s cousins. And this movement was countered by the domestic movement championed by the Earl of Wessex, Godwin, and his sons. They attempted to counter the Norman movement of the king’s mother and cousin, and in the meanwhile gained tremendous power of their own in the new earldom system that had been set up by Cnut. One such measure to keep the throne Saxon was to marry Godwin’s daughter Edith to Edward, though she bore him no sons.

While the situation was thought to be defused by the arrival of Edward the Exile to England (10), the king’s cousin would die within weeks. It is generally believed he was murdered, given the number of powerful enemies he had. In his stead, his son Edgar, known later as Edgar the Aetheling, would become the legitimate heir to King Edward. But the fact was that Edgar was simply a child when his father died in 1057, and would thus never stand much chance against the sons of Godwin, the Duke of Normandy or the King of Norway. Therefore Edgar and his sister Margaret would remain in exile in Hungary, and would be passed as Edward’s most legal heir after the king died in 1066. In that year, Edgar was about fifteen years old though, and would soon be able to take the throne in his own right, should he be given more time. The fact that he was passed for kingship by the Witanagamot was more due to the power of Earl Harold and his brothers, than it was to Edgar being unfavorable.

King Harthacnut's Peace
and Harald Hardrada's claim to the English throne

The dealings between Denmark and Norway had been going on for many years, with the kings of both kingdoms claiming supremacy over what could be called the North Sea Empire. This area included not only Denmark and Norway, but also (generally) parts of Sweden, England (at least in the ways of the Danelaw) and all the different nominally independent settlements the Vikings had founded over the centuries, which could be found across Ireland, Scotland and her northern isles, and all the way to Iceland, Greenland and Vinland. As mentioned before, the Danish king Cnut had had a hard time in fighting the King Olaf of Norway for supremacy over this realm. After years of fighting, Cnut finally defeated Olaf at the Battle of Helgea, after which many of Olaf’s vassals abandoned him and allowed for Cnut to take the throne. Olaf and his (bastard) son Magnus, as well as Olaf’s half-brother Harald had to flee to Sweden and later went into exile in the Kievan Rus, where the daughter of his friend, Olof of Sweden, was still a queen (11). Olaf would die in exile in 1030, leaving his claim to the throne to Magnus. Magnus remained in Kiev until Cnut died five years later, and the Norwegian nobles would send for Magnus. Norway was meanwhile ruled by Sveyn, one of Cnut’s sons, who ruled in Harthacnut’s name as a regent. He was very disliked by the Norwegian nobles, though, and with their help Magnus was easily able to remove Sveyn from power, and take the Norwegian throne himself.

A long and costly war broke out between Magnus and Harthacnut. Deprived of both Norway and England (which had been taken by Harold Harefoot), Harthacnut’s power was severely weakened though, and he was forced to a compromise peace with Magnus in 1039. Both agreed to keep their own kingdom, and also agreed that they would inherit each other’s realm should one die before the other. This deal, which might seem very alien in our time, was in fact not so strange in the North European culture. After all, in most of these realms lords and kings were elected or appointed by noblemen, rather than automatically inherit their titles from their father. The deal between Cnut and Edward Ironside is one of the best examples of such a deal. Nonetheless, Harthacnut would die in 1042. He had appointed his cousin Edward to the English throne, but Magnus would receive Denmark and what remained of Harthacnut’s Swedish dominions. Magnus was not happy about the situation in England and threatened Edward with invasion, but he was also aware that his claim was very unpopular and that he would likely have little local support. As of such, he postponed such invasion.

Meanwhile, Magnus’ reign at home was also contested. In Denmark he had to take battle against Sveyn, son of Cnut’s sister and therefore pretender to the throne. Magnus’ uncle Harald meanwhile decided to return from exile as well. He had made career in the armies of the Grand Prince of Kiev (whose daughter he would marry) and the Byzantine Emperor as a member of the Varangian Guard. After the death of Harthacnut he petitioned his lord to allow him to leave his service, and when this was denied, he left Constantinople in secret. With the money earned during his service (12) Harald was able to travel to Norway and raise an army there. As a legitimate half-brother of the late King Olaf, Harald clearly saw himself as a more legitimate contester to the Norwegian crown than the bastard Magnus, and very nearly they clashed. Magnus’ advisor was aware of Harald’s power and wealth, and proposed that to the king to share the throne. And thus it became that Magnus and Harald became co-rulers of Norway in 1046. Less than a year later, Magnus suddenly died, and Harald became the sole king of Norway.

Denmark Magnus had promised to Sveyn, though, something Harald had not agreed on. As a result, a new fifteen year war between Norway and Denmark broke out. Neither kingdom managed to get the upper hand, and in 1062 Harald was forced to sign a white peace with Sveyn. The war had taken its toll on the land, though, and the increased war taxes caused severe uprising, especially in the northern area of Trondelag. The force and brutality with which he brought down these uprisings gave Harald the nickname Hardrada, meaning ‘hard ruler’. With his subjects subdued through force, and the throne of Denmark out of reach, Harald turned to England. His claim to the English throne was a weak one, and originated from the deal his predecessor Magnus had made with King Harthacnut. The claim was especially weak as Harald has been Magnus’ uncle rather than his son, and the agreement had been one made between two individual rulers. Nonetheless, while Magnus had not acted on the claim as he feared he would lack local support, Harald hoped to be able to gain backing of his claim from local rulers. He would eventually find his ally in the person of Tostig Godwinson, one of the brothers of the powerful Earl of Wessex, Harold Godwinson. But we will come to this alliance later.

-- Footnotes --

(5) They had been sent to the Swedish king Olof Skötkonung (who was likely Cnut’s half-brother) to be murdered, but King Olof sent them to the court of his daughter Ingigerd instead, who was the wife of the Kievan prince. They later moved to Hungary with Ingigerd’s son-in-law King Andras of Hungary.
(6) In fact, another contester to the English throne in 1035 was Aethelred and Emma’s son Alfred, Edward’s brother. It was the Earl of Wessex, Godwin, who deceived Alfred and delivered him to Harold Harefoot. Alfred would be blinded, and died soon afterwards.
(7) Which in 1037 had allowed Harold Harefoot to take the throne legally in the first place.
(8) Don’t forget that Edward was the youngest son of Aethelred the Unraed, and their mutual mother had been Emma of Normandy, who had first married Aethelred and then Cnut.
(9) King Edward by 1053 must have realized he would not have a son of his own though his marriage (and he was too pious to force a divorce), and he ordered Stigard, the Archbishop of Canterbury, to find a proper heir. Stigard found out Edward the Exile still lived, and sent Ealdred, Bishop of Worchester (who would later become the Archbishop of York) to Hungary to find him.
(10) He had the most legitimate claim to the throne after all; blood ties rather than just a verbal agreement.
(11) Indeed the very same Queen Ingigerd (see footnote 5) who had taken Edward the Exile and his brother in. It’s not unlikely that Edward would have met Olaf and Magnus in Kiev.
(12) Not necessarily his wage as a soldier and an officer, but most likely battle loot as well as money granted every time a new Emperor took the throne to insure the loyalty of the Varangian Guard. Most of this money would be kept safe by his father-in-law, the Grand Prince of Kiev.

[Cecasander]

Prologue____________________
The claimants to the throne

Exile and Shipwreck
and William of Normandy's claim to the English throne

The relations between the Duchy of Normandy and the Kingdom of England originate from the early years of the reign of King Aethelred the Unraed. In that time Danish raids on the English coast increased after a dew decades of relative quietness. They would be aided by the Normans, who were kinsmen after all, and eventually Duke Richard would actually back the raids. This practice eventually became known to Pope John XV, who forced the duke to dissolve the hostilities between Normandy and England in 991. Aethelred would secure this peace by marrying Richard’s daughter Emma in 1002, at which time Richard II had become duke. And while Aethelred and his son Edmund Ironside would not survive the invasions of the Danish kings Sveyn and Cnut, Aethelred’s son by Emma of Normandy would. This son, Edward, would remain in exile at the court of the Dukes of Normandy, and would thus grow up in the Latin-Norman culture. Emma of Normandy would marry Cnut after Aethelred’s death and bore him a son; Harthacnut, who would also become king of England like his father Cnut. He also allowed his half-brother Edward to return from exile and to join his English court, even going so far as to proclaim him as his heir for the English throne. When King Edward came to power in 1042, the throne of England was occupied by a man who was probably more Norman than Saxon.

In those same years, a power struggle had been going in Normandy. Duke Robert the Devil (13) had died in 1035, on his way back from a pilgrimage to the Jerusalem. He had no legitimate children, but he had made his bastard son William his heir before his departure. However, William was only eight at the time of his father’s death. The young duke had to struggle with several rival noblemen, whose plots meant the death of three of his guardians. William did have the support of his liege, King Henry of France, though. By the time William became of age, he had managed with the help of Henry to destroy opposition to his rule, which formally ended after the Battle of Val-ès-Dunes in 1047 and the following Truce of God. To further strengthen his rule, he visited and befriended his cousin King Edward of England, whom had been a friend of his father as well. He also married Matilda, daughter of the powerful Count of Flanders, in 1053. His former friend and patron, King Henry, felt threatened by William’s growing power though. Twice would Henry try to invade Normandy. Likewise, when Henry died in 1060, William saw his chance to expend his own power and would take the lands of Maine, south of his own.

Another key event happened in 1064. The Earl of Wessex, Harold Godwinson, had been sailing on the Channel (14), but a storm swept his ship away and he found himself shipwrecked in northern Normandy. The local count, Guy of Ponthieu, had learned of the shipwrecked earl and arrested him, presumably to keep him hostage. News of this reached Duke William, though, and he immediately rode to Ponthieu, demanding his vassal to release Harold. William also forced Harold to swear fealty to him for his rescue. Harold did so light-hearted, only to realize the box he swore his oath on actually contained sacred relics, making such an oath binding ‘in the eyes of God.’ Despite being tricked, Harold would join William into a war with William’s rival Conan of Brittany, and he would be knighted by William afterwards, essentially binding the vassalage.

As of such, when Harold was crowned King of England, William quickly pointed out that Harold was in fact, legally his vassal, further strengthening William’s claim to the throne. (15) This claim was also rooted in the common ancestor with King Edward, who was a cousin of William through Emma of Normandy. And finally, and also most dubious, William claimed that Edward had promised him the English throne during his visit to England in 1052. This claim is considered especially dubious by the fact that King Edward had recalled Edward the Exile from Hungary five years later, and intended for him to inherit, which would indicate that the king had changed his mind.

The Witanagemot
and Harold Godwinson's claim to the English throne

The story of the House of Godwin begins with Godwin himself. It is not certain who his father was (16), but it is known that he was a powerful though fairly low nobleman (a thegn) who had been one of the supporters of Edmund Ironside’s struggle against King Cnut. With Cnut’s victory, and the death of Edmund, Godwin was one of the surviving Saxon nobleman and he swore fealty to the new king. He quickly rose in the retinue of King Cnut, and would be made the Earl of Wessex in 1019. This essentially made him one of the most powerful men in Danish-ruled England. With the death of Cnut, the Danish empire collapsed of course. While Cnut’s son Harthacnut held the main claim to the throne, Harold Harefoot was crowned king in 1037. He was able to do so because of the support of Godwin, who had taken Harold’s main contestant into custody (17). When Harold died and Harthacnut came to power, Godwin supported him, and when Edward inherited the throne, he too had Godwin’s support. It remains to the reader to decide whether Godwin was either just a loyal vassal, or an opportunist whose loyalty followed the victors.

Godwin’s power allowed him to marry his daughter Edith to King Edward in 1045. This was apparently meant to cement the relationship between the earl and the king. However, Edward began to invite more and more Normans to his court. Normandy had been his home for more than thirty years, and he hoped to build his own power basis, outside the Saxon earls. This did not sit well with the earls, though, and an anti-Norman sentiment arose amongst the Saxon nobility that would be championed by Godwin himself. These feelings came to surface in 1051, when the town of Dover revolted against the visiting Count of Boulogne. Godwin had been tasked by Edward to punish the people of Dover. But Godwin refused to attack his own countrymen for attacking a foreign nobleman. Needless to say, Edward was not pleased. He gained the support of the earls of Mercia and Northumbria, and he exiled Godwin and his family to Normandy. The next year Godwin and his sons Harold and Tostig returned with an army, though. They landed in Wessex and gained the support of the fleet and a much of the burghers and peasants, who also shared the earl’s dislike of the Norman influences. Faced with civil war, Edward then gave Godwin his earldom back.

Another year later, in 1053, Earl Godwin had a stroke during the royal Easter banquet and died. He was succeeded by his son Harold, who had previously been the Earl of East Anglia. Harold’s power allowed him to put his brother Tostig down as Earl of Northumbria in 1055. The two brothers put pressure on King Edward to exile Aelfgar, the son of Earl Leofric of Mercia which had been given East Anglia after Harold had inherited Wessex. Aelfgar Leofricson returned with an army like Godwin had done three years prior, though, aided by the Welsh king Gruffyd. He defeated the Earl of Herefordshire, but was then defeated by Harold Godwinson. He was allowed to keep his earldom, and would inherit Mercia after his father’s death in 1057. Though when he died, the Earldom of East Anglia was passed to another brother of Harold; Gyrth. The new Earl of (a reduced) Mercia, Aelfgar’s son Edwin, was out for revenge though. He again prepared an attack together with Gruffyd, who by this time had married Edwin’s sister Edith to sign the Mercian-Welsh alliance. Thus in 1063, Gruffyd attacked Herefordshire (which was now part of the Earldom of Wessex), but was again defeated by Harold and Tostig. Upon defeat, Gruffyd was lynched by his own men. To put some more salt in the wounds, Harold would take Gruffyd’s widow Edith of Mercia, Edwin’s sister, and married her in 1065. This would finally bind Mercia to the will of the Godwinsons.

In the same year, problems arose in the north. Earl Tostig Godwinson of Northumbria had never been a popular ruler since he received the earldom in 1055. He had serious problems with the local Danish population in the area, which formed a majority in large parts of Northumbria. They in return were not accustomed to having a ‘southern’ earl rule. As a result, Tostig’s rule was very heavy-handed and more than once he had influential Danish families executed. Tension grew even bigger when the war with the Welsh demanded higher taxes from the Danish population (18). To add insult to injury, due to his unpopularity, Tostig was unable to properly raise levees in defense against Scottish raiders. This, coupled with hid friendship with the King of Scots, Malcolm III, allowed the Scots to raid most of Northumbria and even would reach into Mercia. In October 1065, the noblemen of Northumbria attacked Tostig’s tax collectors and outlawed the earl for violating the Danelaw. The rebellious nobles then invited the brother of the Earl of Mercia, Morcar Leofricson, as their new earl. An army of Northumbrian nobles marched south to personally deliver their complaint to King Edward. They were joined by Edwin Leofricson, the Earl of Mercia. Harold Godwinson and a small unarmed retinue had meanwhile been sent north by the king to meet with the rebels, and he met them at Northampton.

Being aware of both Tostig’s unpopularity as an earl, and the fact the rebels were backed by Earl Edwin, Harold came to the conclusion that his brother would not be able to hold onto his earldom in any case. He thus suggested the king to accept the rebels’ demands. Not doing so would mean a civil war in which Harold’s loyalty to his brother and his king would be tested, and in which the kingdom would be ripped apart. Harold above anyone else was aware of the threat that William of Normandy posed to the royal throne, and knew that a civil war would be an excellent opportunity for the duke to seize. It’s no surprise that Tostig felt very much betrayed by both his king and his own brother and ally. He refused his disposition and would therefore be outlawed by King Edward. Then Tostig had no other choice to leave the kingdom and go into exile in the county of Flanders, which was ruled by his father-in-law Baldwin. Morcar Leofricson would become the new Earl of Northumbria, and peace returned to the north. A few weeks later the elderly King Edward became ill and fell into coma.

The claim of Harold Godwinson on the English throne was simply based on power. In the past decade, Harold had been the most powerful man in the kingdom, safe King Edward himself (and even that is debatable). He had been the king’s right hand, acting as grand commander as well as ambassador. It would not be exaggerated to say that the reign of King Edward was built on the support and power of Harold Godwinson. And surely the old king knew that himself. According to the stories, he would have pointed at Harold on his sickbed, telling the others to put England’s fate in with the earl’s. Other stories say that Harold was even in Edward’s final will, although this was never found. Nonetheless, Harold and his brothers ruled half of the country, and had subdued Edwin and Morcar Leofricson who ruled the other half. And this must not be underestimated in the light of succession to the throne. Because whatever Edward might have promised either William of Normandy or Edgar the Aetheling in person, or what Harald Hardrada might see as his right through shady agreements between Viking kings, there was only one sole institution in the whole world that could decide who would become King of England. And that was the Witanagemot, the royal council. The Witans, the old and wise counselors, magistrates and scholars of this council were also very aware of the might of Harold Godwinson, and knew they would not be able to go around him. They also knew that none of the earls, neither Godwinsons nor Leofricsons, would support a foreign king. And as of such, the choice for Harold Godwinson was made fairly easily. And he therefore had the strongest claim on the English throne, when King Edward passed away on January 5, 1066.

-- Footnotes --

(13) He had gained this nickname from the suspicion that he had killed his elder brother Richard III in order to succeed him. His other, more illustrious nickname was ‘the magnificent’.
(14) It is not clear why he was sailing there. Most reliable stories state that he was either merely on a fishing trip, or was on his way to bail out some of his family members who had been taken hostage when his father Godwin and his family had been forced into exile to Normandy.
(15) Harold would of course denounce his oath due to the fact that he had been tricked into taking it over relics.
(16) It is believed that his father was a lower nobleman known as Wulfnoth Cild, who had lost his land after having led a section of the royal fleet to piracy. This apparently had not damaged Godwin’s stature, though. If Wulfnoth Cild was indeed Godwin’s father, it would mean he was a (illegitimate) descendant of Alfred the Great’s brother King Aethelred I and thus the old Kings of Wessex
(17) See footnote 6; Aethelred and Emma of Normandy’s son Alfred.
(18) Which it was not accustomed too. The Danes of Northumbria especially mostly considered themselves to still be under the Danelaw. And as a result, they paid fewer taxes.

[RGB]

Very thorough explanation, and these guys are total globetrotters.

Also, capturing wrecked nobility and forcing them to swear fealty is a great way to build kingdoms...too bad it wouldn't fly these days

Please do not forget to vote in the AARland Choice AwAARds!

[SplendidTuesday]

This is a fantastic AAR. I'm especially enjoying the citations and explanations, Cecasander. I already knew most of this information, but it's nice to see it laid out so concisely.

Keep up the good work, and since this is a pre-Conquest AAR, I'm curious to see who wins. I once saw NONE of them win, and Tostig Godwinson surviving and becoming King of Norway, which was interesting.

I hope Harold wins, in any case.

[Enewald]

How hard is it to FINISH AN AAR?

Nevermind, I will be reading this anyway...
Damn you!

[Cecasander]

RGB - Thanks It's weird how much those people traveled in that day and age. I also love how Kiev neatly fits in all this. And I haven't even discussed Anna of Kiev yet, who's the daughter of Ingegred and Prince Yaroslav and who is the mother and regent of Philip of France, William's overlord!

SplendidTuesday - My point of devergence is the battle of Hastings, so I killed off a couple of people (Harald Hardrada, Tostig and Leofwine, and... someone else ) as the story warrants it.

For some reason, it's always Philip rather than William or whatever surviving son that takes the English throne if it comes to a war. My Tostigs generally end up as useless Flemish courtiers but his sons also usually do very well up in Norway

Enewald - Pretty hard, something you knew if you'd try it yourself sometimes. But yeah, I admit I do have a short attention span. Still, good to have you on board.

[Cecasander]

Prologue__________
The fateful year 1066

Change or continuation?

Many would consider the year 1066 to be a pivotal year in the history of England, indeed even the history of Europe. After all, after more than fifty years, a native king who had the support of the majority of his nobles had taken the English throne, and had thwarted both the plans of the ambitious Duke of Normandy as well as the King of Norway. This would have bigger results than you might think. Because where some historians consider the events and aftermath of 1066 to be a continuation of the old - that is to say, the reign of the old Wessex kings, as well as remaining of England in the ‘northern’ sphere – it was also a complete turnaround. Yes, there was again a Saxon king of the throne, and it was even said that he had ancestral ties with the House of Cerdic. But the House of Godwin was a whole new dynasty altogether. King Harold and his brothers had ancestry that was both Saxon and Danish (1), representing a hybrid between the kingdom’s two main ethnic groups. This differentiated Harold’s reign from that of the old Saxon kings like Aethelred and the Norman-inspired reign of Edward the Confessor. His reign might have been more like that of King Cnud, but again it was the native factor that gave Harold strength. This is the second turnaround that can be observed after 1066. Before that year, England had to the Danes and Norse always been mostly a source of income. After all, during most of the Viking era the main interest the people east of the North Sea had in England was its loot. It was probably raided and extorted longer, more vigorous and more successful than any other kingdom in Europe. Eventually the raiders and their kin settled in England, but they always kept their ties to their homeland and would not integrate into the (then more numerous) Anglo-Saxon society. On later dates, when the Norse and Danish kings themselves took interest in England, they too would consider it a subjugated land. The only one to consider England more than just an extension to his Danish empire was King Cnud again. Cnud, after all, resided in England for much of his reign. It was also him who reorganized the earldoms and the army (after Danish example) and allied local lords like Godwin and Leofric. In many ways, Harold’s reign could again be considered a continuation of Cnud’s rule, after an intermezzo of thirty years. England was now independent from Danish and Norse kings though (after having defeated Harald Hardrada at Stamford Bridge) and would under King Harold become a full member of the ‘northern sphere’ by its own right.

The northern and southern cultures. Lighter shade indicates less influence

Which brings us to the final and most far-fletched turnaround, which was the breaking of the Norman influences. Now, this influence was indeed very new, being brought in from his former home to England by Edward the Confessor. However, it had opened the gate between the settled northern Saxon society, and the Latin society that was dominant in Normandy and in extend, in France. The two distinct cultures of Europe obviously originate from respectively the Roman Empire in the south and the Germanic tribes in the north. In the early eleventh century, the northern sphere we discussed earlier stretched all the way from Greenland and Vinland, over Iceland and the British Isles, Scandinavia, the Baltic basin and Russia. The southern sphere at this time had been rather limited, mostly due to Arab and Slavic conquests in previous centuries. By the middle of the eleventh century it was limited to the Spanish kingdoms, France and Italy. Germany (and by extend, Poland and Hungary) could also technically considered Latin, but only reluctantly so. Northern Germany especially was under northern influence. The difference between north and south is too complex to discuss in this book (2), but a few pointers will be given that are relevant to the story. First, the northern mindset was more individualistic, more enterprising and more practical-minded than the south. These characteristics had been the reason for the Viking raids, trade, exploration and colonization to emerge. And in fact, had been the reason why the Angles and Saxons had left their ancestral homes six centuries earlier to settle in Britannia. As results of this, colonies like on Iceland, Greenland and Vinland are considered to be the first modern democracies (3). In the homelands rulers were present, but also here they were powerless without the consent of their subjects. There have been uprisings and tax disputes, but unlike in the south these were more often than not settled with diplomacy or concession rather than force. The case of Tostig Godwinson being removed as Earl of Northumbria in 1065 is in fact a prime example of the power of the ‘common man’. Of course the commoners were subjects to their lords in the north as well.. But here too significant differences with the south existed. Perhaps most prominent was that fact that although there were ‘serfs’ (usually called bondsmen) like the ones in the south, but their lords were forced strict concessions by law. These included allowing free days, land for the serfs to grow their own food on, and protection against harsh treatment. Furthermore, it was also a fairly common practice for northern bondsmen to buy their freedom, or to have it granted to them (sometimes at the death of their master), and this happened much more frequent than in the south. In the same line, free servants of lords were bound by legal contracts rather than just their ‘honor’ as was practice in the south. These contracts allowed servants like housecarls to leave service after a short period (often a year), which in return required the masters to provide sufficient payment and proper treatment of his vassals. As of such, the relationship between ranks was never a very strict one, and in fact social mobility was quite possible in the north.

The events leading up to Stamford Bridge

But we digress; let’s go back to the matters at hand. In the late autumn of 1065, not long after Tostig Godwinson had been disposed as the Earl of Northumbria, King Edward fell ill. The king was 65 years old, ancient for that time, and it was expected that he would die soon. This sentiment was strengthened when the king fell into a coma in early December. Recovery from a coma was very unlikely in the eleventh century. Harold Godwinson took onto himself the role of regent during this period, a role for which he was supported by the Witanagemot. He was England’s most powerful noblemen, after all, not to mention the king’s right hand. Across the Channel, William of Normandy began steering. He had been waiting for the old king to die for a very long time, after all. So when the news reached Normandy that King Edward had died on January 5, 1066, William immediately set his carefully and long-prepared plans in motion. Previously, he had sent to Pope Alexander II the request for backing his claim on the English throne (4). As a response the pope had sent him a large consecrated blue banner. Backed with papal support, William began to gather forces. He had a large number of vassals and armies under his direct command, but he gathered more men and support by promising land and possessions in England to allied nobles. As a result, more than a third of his forces were Breton or Flemish, and there were a great deal of mercenaries and even some men from the Norman lands in southern Italy. The army gathered at Dives-sur-Mer, north of Caen. Meanwhile he had ordered the building and confiscating of as many ships as possible. According to the stories, he would eventually have a fleet of 700 ships under his command, a gigantic armada in that time. Soon, he was ready to strike, as soon as the winds became favorable. Meanwhile Harold wasn’t sitting on his hands, though.

11'th century depiction of a king amongst the Witanagemot

The day after King Edward’s death, the Witanagemot agreed to crown Harold Godwinson as the next King of England. The prime reasons for this we already covered; he was the most powerful Saxon nobleman in England, and he was a staunch opponent of the Norman claim to the throne. Furthermore, according to the story, King Edward himself had appointed Harold as his heir on his deathbed. Whether this was before he got into a coma, or awoke shortly before dying, is not made clear as different sources say different things. Nonetheless, Harold was crowned on January 6, 1066. He was the first king to be crowned in Westminster Abbey, in fact (5). He was crowned by the Ealdred, the Archbishop of York, as the customary Archbishop of Canterbury, Stigand, had been excommunicated for holding the office against the wishes of the papacy (6). A few weeks after his coronation, Harold married his daughter Gunhilda to Earl Edwin of Mercia to secure the loyalty of the earl and along that line, in an attempt to keep Morcar in line. Harold was also very aware of the threat William of Normandy posed. When the news reached London that William was assembling an army, he himself raised an army and headed off to the Isle of Wright, where he expected William to land. Meanwhile the royal fleet was preparing to secure the southern coastline.

It so happened that the spring and the summer of 1066 were some of the stormiest in decades and constant northern and eastern winds prevented William’s fleet simply to set sail. Thus, the great waiting began for both William and Harold. Meanwhile, Tostig Godwinson, Harold’s exiled brother, showed up. He had been in hiding at the court of his father-in-law, the count of Flanders. There he had been given a fleet, with which he began raiding the south-eastern coast of England (apparently unharmed by the unfavorable winds), going as far as the Isle of Wright where his brother stayed. Tostig had originally wanted to make a deal with William, but the Norman duke had shown no interest. After being forces to retreat by the royal fleet, Tostig then set his eyes on the coast of East Anglia. Here his brother Gyrth was Earl, whom he tried to persuade to join his attacks on their brother, the king. Gyrth refused though, after which Tostig began to raid East Anglia. After a few weeks of cat and mouse games, he and his Flemish force were eventually defeated by the Leofricson brothers. He narrowly escaped capture by Earl Morcar, and fled north. There he found refuge at his old friends, King Malcolm III of Scotland, where he stayed the whole summer.

At the end of the summer, the standoff between Harold and William was beginning to take its toll. Harold especially was running low on supplies. He had been keeping his army standing for half a year without fighting, and due to service laws which prohibited a king to have levies and vassals in arms for longer than a month without paying them, this endeavor was also getting very expensive for him. The levies themselves were getting bored and longed to go back home, where the harvest season was about to begin. Backed with the prospect that the weather might remain windy for a while, Harold disbanded his army on 8 September, and returned to London to discuss a new defensive strategy with his advisors and the Witanagemot. He also recalled the royal fleet to London, believing the coast to be safe for a while since Tostig had been defeated.

Around the same time, Tostig did find himself on a ship crossing the North Sea again. But this time he was alone, and on his way to the court of King Harald Hardrada of Norway. His friend, King Malcolm, had not wanted to support Tostig with an army. At the Scottish court he came into contact with an envoy from the Earl of Orkney, who informed him of Harald Hardrada’s claim on the English throne. So he sailed to Norway. According to the stories, King Harald was not very motivated in taking the crown, as he had just ended a decade of fruitless warfare with Denmark. But Tostig had been successful in impressing the king and his nobles and motivating to them that England would likely require only one large expedition as the kingdom suffered from war fatigue. King Harald, with renewed enthusiasm and now also with a native ally, prepared for invasion. Tostig in the meanwhile sent a message to his father-in-law, requesting additional Flemish mercenaries for what he believed to be his final breakthrough.

Harald Hardrada’s invasion and the Battle of Stamford Bridge.

On September 13, 1066, Harald Hardrada landed on the coast of Northumbria. He had brought 300 longboats and as much as 15.000 men in total, which also included Flemish and Scottish mercenaries that had been arranged by Tostig Godwinson. The fleet sailed up the Humber river and the invaders raided and burned the town of Scarborough before marching to York. York was of course they key city of Northumbria, being by far the biggest city in northern England. It also very much considered a Norse city, so Harald hoped that the city would aid a Norwegian claim to the English throne. Meanwhile, the Leofricson brothers, the earls of Mercia and Northumbria, had raised an army to meet Harald before he could reach the city. The two armies met at Fulford. The English army was hastily raised was outnumbered by Harald three to one. The swampy lowland around Fulford and the Ouse River prevented Harald to use the full potential of his army though, as he would be unable to properly outflank the English. Thus the following Battle of Fulford was mostly undecided, with Harald and his army gaining free passage to York, but with most of the English army – including the two earls – routed but still alive.

When news was received that the earls had been defeated by Harald Hardrada, the city of York had no choice but to surrender, but immediately sent a messenger to London to inform King Harold of the invasion. The Norwegian and Flemish forces entered the city and occupied it briefly, but King Harald and Tostig knew the city was of more value to them intact. They took supplies and hostages from the city and then headed back to their base camp at Riccall somewhat further downstream the Ouse River. A day later Tostig and some of his retainers returned to York to demanded more supplies and hostages, and offered that the city would be spared further if it (and the rest of Northumbria) would support Hardrada’s claim to the English throne. Meanwhile, King Harold was force-marching his army from London north in just four days, gathering additional men as he went along.

25 September 1066 was an exceptionally warm autumn day (7). Harald Hardrada, Tostig Godwinson and about half their forces were stationed at Stamford Bridge, a small village built around a bridge over the river Derwent, a couple of miles east of York. It was there Tostig and the magistrate of York had agreed the supplies and prisoners would be brought, where they would be escorted back to the ships by the soldiers. It was supposed to be a simple escort mission, and most of the soldiers were only present to that they would immediately be supplied (that is to say, get fed). In fact, most soldiers had left their warm, heavy chain mail at the base camp that day, and carried only a personal weapon. So when suddenly the English army came marching down the road instead of Yorkshire supply carts, the Norwegians were surprised and very ill-prepared. According to one story, before the two armies met, a single rider approached Harald and Tostig. The rider told Tostig that the king would give him back his earldom if he would abandon Harald. Tostig asked the rider what King Harold would give Harald Hardrada then, for his troubles. The riders famously replied that Harald Hardrada would be given six feet of ground or as many as he would need, for he was taller than most men. King Harald was impressed at the rider’s bravery and asked Tostig if he knew the man. Tostig nodded, and told Harald that that rider had been his brother, King Harold Godwinson himself.

Nonetheless, Tostig stayed at Harald’s side as the battle began. Immediately the English were at a major advantage as they had used the element of surprise and were simply better armed and armored. The Norwegian army was divided in two by the River Derwent that Stamford Bridge spanned. Soon after the battle started, the English had managed to defeat or rout the Norwegians west of the bridge. The bridge itself proved to be a choke point, however. Some stories say that the bridge had been blocked by a single Norwegian warrior keeping the English back with his battle axe. The delay allowed the bulk of the Norwegian army, under Harald and Tostig, to regroup and form a shieldwall formation. King Harold and his forces, after they crossed the bridge, interlocked their shields and did the same, thus creating the setting for a typical northern shieldwall battle. The battle lasted for several hours, where each side more or less tried to push the other side from the battlefield while trying to stab between their opponents’ shields. Eventually King Harald received reinforcements from his base camp, but by this time the tides had already turned decisively in the English’ favor. The English had been slightly at the advantage regarding the number of men on the battlefield, but the real penalty the Norwegians had was the fact they wore little or no armor, nor any heavy weapons like battle axes or long spears. Eventually the Norwegian shieldwall began to fracture as they lost more men. The English took this opportunity to force their way through and break up the shieldwall. In the following chaotic open battle the English attacked with brute force, killing thousands of disoriented Norwegians. Amongst these were King Harald Hardrada and Tostig Godwinson themselves. The Norwegians that survived fled to the camp, but the English chased them and would then also attack the soldiers that had stayed at the base camp and had been completely unprepared for an attack. Just before sunset the Norwegians had no other choice but to surrender.

The surviving Norwegian commanders had been Harald Hardrada’s son Olaf and Paul Thorfinnsson, the Earl of Orkney. They made an agreement with King Harold that they and the rest of the survivors were allowed to leave in peace, with the promise never to attack England again. The number of casualties had been so big on the Norwegian side, that they had only required 24 of their 300 ships to sail home (8). The Norwegians sailed north to Paul Thorfinnsson’s home at the Orkneys, where the survivors stayed through the winter. In the spring of 1067, Olaf Haraldson sailed back to Norway with his men and would share the Norwegian throne with his brother Magnus, whom Harald had left as a regent during his absence. King Harold would have another hurdle to take before he would go home in peace though.

-- Footnotes --

(1) Earl Godwin’s wife had been Gytha Thorkelsdottir, daughter of a Danish nobleman who claimed to be a descendant of Harald Fairhair.
(2) Plenty of works discuss the differences and relations between the ‘Latin’ and ‘Germanic’ cultures. Works from my esteemed college Thorim Lackfield of the University of Edinburgh would be especially well-recommended, as well as “The Eternal Limes” by Helge Karlson.
(3) Originally being a collective of farmers working together with no overruling leadership, they established public meetings, or ‘Things’ to discuss government together. These ideas are seen in most Viking colonies, and would in fact slowly rub off on the homelands as well.
(4) His prime reason appeared to be that Harold Godwinson had sworn fealty to him on sacred relics, an argument that was received very well by the pope, of course. The pope might also be swayed in William’s support by the fact that Harold was supported by the excommunicated Archbishop of Canterbury, Stigand, who had been a thorn in the eye of the papacy for decades.
(5) The Abbey was rebuilt in stone by King Edward, in fact, as part of Westminster Palace. King Edward was also the first king to be buried there. Another interesting detail is that the stone Westminster Abbey was consecrated only on December 28, 1065, so about a week before Edward’s burial and Harold’s coronation.
(6) He had been granted the office in 1052, after successfully mediating between King Edward and Godwin of Wessex. The previous archbishop, a Norman named Robert, was outlawed and exiled, but against the wishes of the pope, who thus considered Stigand as an unlawful usurper. The issue of kings rather than popes appointing bishops would later result in the Investiture Controversy, of course. His excommunication was renewed by future popes for also holding the office of Bishop of Winchester (his previous office), a practice which was opposed by the papal reformist movement.
(7) Don’t forget that this was during the Medieval Warm Period, and north-western Europe as a whole had a warmer climate than it has now.
(8) Of course, casualty numbers in that time can only be guessed. Most reliable estimates put the number of Norwegian casualties around eight or nine thousand out of a total of ten thousand, and the English casualties around two thousand out of about eight thousand.

[Enewald]

Bastards incoming!
Use the Norwegian ships to counter Williams fleet?

[RGB]

I just thought much as Enewald...if the fight could take place on the ships, William doesn't have advantage in cavalry or archers.

Latin vs. Germanic (and to be honest early Baltic/Slavic cultures shared a lot with the Germanic even if you ignore very obvious direct agents of influence like the Rurikids) - you know, it should be obvious, but I never thought of it that way.

The reasons for the victory at Stamford bridge are much clearer now too. Excellent as always.

[Cecasander]

I'm back! Update should be done tomorrow at the latest.

Enewald - You make a valid point, I must I didn't even consider that. And apparently the real Harold Godwinson didn't either. Truth to be told, there are no accounts of in what state the Norse left the remaining boats. And it might have taken a while to get those ships ready for sea again, not to mention finding a few hundred sailors at such short notice. Aw man, CK needs naval combat

RGB - Thanks It's interesting to see that this divide has persisted throughout the ages, starting back in the antiquity of course, but still clearly existing in the modern age. England somehow got back to the 'Germanic' culture somewhere along the way, but has maintained some strong 'Latin' influences (in it's language most obviously, but also religious, i.e. the Anglician Church). Would be interesting to see how things would evolve without such influences.

[SplendidTuesday]

Awesome, things seem to be going as they did in real life, but I'm sure that's going to soon change, yes?

Oh, and by the way; both Harald Hardrada AND Duke William's claims are fully illegitimate. Because of the Witanagemot, England is not a regular, feudal, hereditary monarchy. The Witan elects the new King, and even if it had always been a scion of the house of Cerdic before now, it does not have to be.

Sure, William and the Norse Harald had claims to the House of Cerdic; but they did not have claims on the Kingship of England. At Harold Godwinson's coronation, the claims of the Normans and Norse should have been ignored, for they were based on feudalism, not elective monarchy.

[Cecasander]

Prologue__________
The fateful year 1066

William the Bastard’s invasion and the Battle of Hastings

Three days after the Battle of Stamford Bridge, William of Normandy landed in England. As mentioned before, William had been waiting and preparing for such an invasion for some time, but bad weather and bad wind prevented his massive fleet from crossing the Channel. On 12 September the wind turned favorably and the Norman fleet set sail, but a storm blew up when the ships were halfway and William was forced to seek shelter at Saint-Valery-sur-Somme. Then on 27 September the wind turned again, allowing William to sail across the Channel safely. He landed in a bay near Andrechester (9) and then he marched further inland to Hastings. At Hastings he had a fortress constructed (according to some stories, it had been pre-fabricated in Normandy), which he would use as his base of operations. Here he also learned of Harald Hardrada’s failed invasion, and the fact King Harold was marching south to meet William already. Knowing the king would come to him, and he would tire his troops out while doing so, William was in no haste to meet Harold’s army. Instead he prepared his armies and began raiding the countryside for additional supplies.

King Harold would momentarily stop at London where he was joined by the forces of his brothers Gyrth and Leofwine. On 13 October he left the city and marched towards Hastings. Knowing that the king was approaching, William finally marched to meet him. Although he had much better scouts than Harald Hardrada had had, he too underestimated the English marching speed. When the two armies met, William found Harold already in a strong defensive position along the London-Hastings road. Before we continue with the battle itself, it might be interesting to have a brief look at the two different armies, and how the terrain played such a big roll in the battle.

The English army was a very one-dimensional army, as it is called. It was made up entirely out of infantry. The English did know horses of course, and in fact rode to a battle on horseback, but they always dismounted before a battle. The English elite forces were the housecarls, and they formed the backbone of the army. These were professional soldiers who formed the standing army of the kingdom (10), and had sworn personal loyalty to fight to the death for the king. Local rulers and commanders, the Earls, also were allowed a number of housecarls as body guards (hirths), but they also often acted as tax collectors or officers of the law. Besides the housecarls were the thegn, considered to be lower nobility retainers, and the fyrd, which were essentially levied militiamen. Both the thegn and the fyrd were to arm themselves, carrying axes, swords or spears, and wearing chain mail or leather armor, in addition to a large shield. As we discussed at the Battle of Stamford Bridge, the shield was an essential part of the English shieldwall tactics. These tactics were largely borrowed from the Viking armies (it had been in fact King Cnut to reform the army as such), which meant to literally push the enemy from the field with a wall of interlocked shields, which would provide cover from arrow and javelins but would allow soldiers to attack with swords or spears from between the shields. The shieldwall tactic therefore created exactly what its name implies.

The Norman army instead was a very multi-dimensional army. It was modeled after what most armies on the continent had become by the eleventh century, employing three key units.
First there were the archers. These were mostly professionals or trained levies, who trained for years to fire bow and arrow. They were used by the continental forces as a first wave of attack, aiming to soften up the enemy from a distance. Secondly there was the infantry, which also formed the bulk of the army. These were also mostly professional soldiers (mercenaries, often) who were in fact not necessarily better armed than their English counterparts. They were used as the second attack wave, after the archers had taken out some enemies and hopefully lower their defenses. Contrary to the English infantry, they were simply used as a charging force, and would generally not employ elaborate defensive stances like shieldwalls. Third were the knights, in other words, the cavalry. These were the nobles and their retainers, rich enough to buy a horse. They fought with both a lance and a sword. They forced the third attack wave. After the infantry had charged the enemy, it was their task to flank the enemy and attack them from the side or the rear, in other words their undefended position. This made ‘Latin’ cavalry the most effective, but also the most risky form of weapon (and thus the most glorious, in the eyes of the nobility). William and his retainers, in fact the Norman knights as a whole, were considered to be the best knight in the Latin world.

William’s hesitance of meeting Harold’s army earlier, and his underestimation of the English marching speed had allowed King Harold to pick the battlefield, however. He had picked Santlack Hill, a short ridge that the road between London and Hastings crossed. There he prepared to set up his shieldwall. Now, Santlack Hill had several advantages for the English army. First was the obvious one; the height advantage. This meant that Harold had a better view over the battlefield than William. It also meant that the Normans would have to charge upwards, slowing such a charge down. And finally, combined with the shieldwall, the height would seriously limit the effect of the archery barrage on which William had relied as a first strike. Then there were flanks. As the English army was on a hill, cavalry charges would be quite ineffective. This was even enforced by the fact that these flanks were protected by a swamp on one side, and the great Weald (11) on the other. This would thus also limit the greatest strength William had; his strong knights. Given the fact that both armies had about eight thousand men, it could be well-said that William was in the disadvantage. Regretful for William, he had not recognized this disadvantage well enough.

As we saw before, Harold’s forces had been able to use his early arrival at the battlefield to his full advantage. His army closed off the main road to London for William. London was of course the key city for William to conquer, should he ever want to take the English throne. When William saw the English army on top Sandlack Hill as he crossed Telham Hill, there was also no chance to retreat and try his chances elsewhere. Although Harold clearly had put himself to the defense, turning your back in retreat to an army your size was bordering suicide. So William had no choice but to deploy his forces at the base of Sandlack Hill, his only advantage being that the English didn’t carry archers and knights themselves.

Around noon, William ordered his archers to open fire onto the shieldwall. The archers fired uphill. Due to the height and the fact the shields blocked clear view it had been hard for them to reach them at all. It was also unclear whether men were hit in the first place, as again the shieldwall blocked sight. Unknown to William at the time, the large English shields limited the casualties to perhaps a few dozen. Believing to have at least softened up his enemy a little, the duke then ordered his footmen to charge the English. Unable to use his knights in flanking, they too were to charge the shieldwall in a second wave. The infantry and cavalry charge was again uphill and this severely slowed any chance of seriously rushing the enemy. Furthermore it allowed the English to throw javelins (and in fact whatever they could find; rocks, small weapons) at the unprotected charging force, creating heavy casualties to the Norman forces. Realizing the arrow barrage had had no effect on the English, and they would not falter soon, William sent his knights to the front lines, aiming to have them rush through the wall of shields. His cavalry soon learned the English also carried a large number of spears, causing the (well-trained) Norman warhorses to stagger and kept away from the shieldwall.

The Tapestry of Winton (12) depicts Norman knights clashing into the English shieldwall

An hour into the battle, the Breton forces on William’s left flank broke and fled downhill. The heavy loss on the Norman side, as well as the now-exposed left flank caused chaos and panic in the remaining Norman army. Soon after the Bretons, the Norman and Flemish footmen also broke and routed, fleeing downhill. The chaos was complete when suddenly Duke William’s warhorse was killed right under him, plummeting the duke into the ground. This caused the rumour that the duke was dead, causing the remaining forces to rout. But as a result, the shieldwall also broke, as English fyrd charged downhill to chase the Norman footmen. King Harold’s brother Leofwine and Gyrth were amongst those men, despite Harold calling them back into ranks. The fyrd had not taken into account the power of knights on flat ground though, so when they reached the base of Sandlack Hill, Norman knights charged over the scattered militiamen, now of course unprotected by the shieldwall. Leofwine Godwinson was one of their first victims. Surprised and distraught by the counterattack, Gyrth Godwinson tried to command what remained of the group back uphill, but he too was struck by a Norman lance. Gyrth was lucky, though; the shield on his back shielded his most vital parts and he could swiftly be carried uphill by his men.

Norman knights charging through the fyrd that broke rank and kill Leofwine Godwinson (Tapestry of Winton)

At the same time, Duke William appeared on the battlefield again. He had not been killed earlier, and although wounded, was fit enough to mount a spare warhorse. Immediately he rode up to and rallied his troops, taking his helmet off to show his face so that they would see their lord was still alive. And although a great number of men (including most of the Bretons) had left the battlefield, William’s remaining forces quickly reformed and prepared for a second attack. On the other side of the battlefield, Harold Godwinson was also reforming his shieldwall. Now, the battle had actually turned more in William’s favor. True, most of his enemy’s army still stood. The English losses at this point might have been around 1500, whereas William’s force had been at least halved. Besides, the English shieldwall was almost intact. However, it was still weakened and simply narrower now due to the lower number of soldiers. It would no longer cover the entire breadth of Sandlack Hill, thus allowing potential flanking maneuvers. Furthermore, the new shieldwall was situated almost at the bottom of the hill, mostly negating its previous advantage of steep ground and better sight of the battleground, as well as less protection against Norman archers. To this effect, William ordered his archers onto the slopes of Telham Hill opposite Sandlack Hill, which would give them a better chance of shooting over the shieldwall.

William had overlooked the limited range of his archers though. So when the archer volleys began as an introduction to the second Norman, most of the arrows would not even reach the shieldwall. By the time they had ran back downhill, in range to the English, William had already ordered his charge onto the shieldwall, thus again negating the potential power of his archers. The clash against armies thus preceded much like the previous one. William’s infantry found itself outnumbered very soon, and his men had been exhausted from the previous rout. The duke had kept his knights back this time, but King Harold had been very aware of the risk of becoming outflanked. Realizing he had thrown his advantage away by not being able to break up the shieldwall from distance, William knew the only way to turn the tide of this battle was with a large concentrated cavalry charge on one flank, aiming to press the English – who were also near exhaustion – and rolling the shieldwall up from the side. Thus he mustered his remaining knights (in fact most of his cavalry was still intact) and charged English shieldwall on its right flank. The fact that over a hundred knights clashed onto the shields at once caused many English fyrd to stagger and created an initial panic from behind the shieldwall.

Attacks on the shieldwall put the English fyrd in a very tight spot (Tapestry of Winton)

Several men fled outright, and more would have routed soon, had it not been for the very fact the remaining Norman infantry began to break and rout as well. Suddenly having a few thousand men free, Harold Godwinson immediately ordered his soldiers to surround the group of knights around his right flank. Within seconds, it had now been the Normans who had been outflanked, and were quickly closed in by a great number of angry fyrd, tossing their heavy shields aside and charging the knights with spears, swords and war axes. Several knights were able to get away before the English had closed in the Normans in three directions. Duke William, realizing he had lost momentum and thus the battle, had nowhere else to flee but towards the wetlands before him as his knights around him were butchered all around him. The English had given the Norman knights no room to maneuver, and their warhorses became a burden. The final stage of the battle thus ended with the brutal killing of most of the noble knights (13). Surviving knights, after hearing about the death of their peers and distraught at the spilling of so much noble blood, would later call the battle the Battle of Sanlac (Lake of Blood), a pun to Sandlack Hill.

The English fyrd kill the Norman knights (Tapestry of Winton)

And as of William, he would not make it through the wetlands. The soft soil made his horse collapsed under him, and although he had meant to escape by foot, housecarls were in pursuit. According to the story, they chased him quite a bit into the wetlands. He would make a brave last stand against half a dozen housecarls, it was said, eventually even discarding his hauberk and shield to climb into a marsh tree, keeping the English off with his sword until he would eventually be struck by a javelin one of the housecarls had carried. He supposedly continued cursing Harold when the housecarls carried him to the king. Fact of the matter was that he had died (probably bled to death) by the time he was brought before King Harold. With Duke William and most of his knights dead and the remaining Norman army routed, the Battle of Hastings was a decisive English victory. The forces that William had kept at his Hastings base had moved back to their ships before Harold reached the castle. Leaderless, they simply returned home – wherever that was.

Aftermath of the Battle of Hastings and the final months of 1066

Harold Godwinson’s decisive victory between Sandlack and Telham Hills had some dire result. The biggest was, of course, the death of William the Bastard and a large number of Norman noblemen. This meant that a large number of noble families lost sons and heirs, and thus power and wealth. William himself would be succeeded by his 12-year old son Robert, and ironically the reign of this young boy was hardly contested because of the damage the other noble families had suffered. Robert’s regents were his mother Mathilde of Flanders and King Philip of France (14). The French king was probably the second victor of Hastings, as the death of William saw his power rise in the north of his kingdom. Not only the king’s regency of Robert and direct involvement in the duchy, but also an influx of French nobility who saw opportunities at the expense of the weakened native nobility, led to the eventual demise of the distinct Norman culture in relation to the ‘metropolitan’ French. In any case, the English had little to fear from the Normans. While Robert technically still had a claim to England’s throne, he was under aged, lacked money and troops, and would not be able to inspire the nobles of Normandy for another English adventure in any case. Only Robert’s regent and overlord, Philip of France, could pose a threat in the future.

Back in England some things had changed too. King Harold’s brothers Leofwine and Gyrth, earls of Kent and East Anglia, had respectively been killed and seriously disabled. This stirred up the political situation, as both brothers did not have sons and would therefore be succeeded by Harold. In addition, Leofwine and Gyrth had been the king’s presumed heirs. But unlike them, King Harold did have three sons; Godwin, Edmund and Magnus. All three were the product of Harold’s union with Edith Swannenhals, who was his ‘common law’ wife for twenty-five years. Harold’s marriage with Edith of Mercia in 1064 had received the blessing of the church though, and was therefore considered the only legal marriage, which legally made Harold’s previous children (the three sons and his daughters Gylfa and Edith) bastards. In practice Harold had always favoured Edith Swannenhals over Edith of Mercia, as the formed had been a marriage of love and the latter one a matter of politics (by binding Edith’s brothers, the northern earls). He also considered his children by Edith Swannenhals as his rightful ones and had previously appointed Godwin and Edmund as shire reefes of Devon and Dorsete respectively. After Leofwine died, Harold picked his son Edmund – which he considered to be the most capable – to be his presumed heir and appointed him as the new Earl of Kent. Though this act of legitimizing a legal bastard was not received well by the pope, it had the support of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Stigand. There was also a practical reason. Although Edith of Mercia was will young enough to give Harold heirs (she was pregnant at the time of the Battle of Hastings, in fact), Harold was already 44 years old and it would not be likely that he would live long enough for any child of that union to reach maturity. Edmund was 22 years old during Hastings and would therefore be fit to reign should his father die suddenly. Harold believed a solid succession would be the key to ward off either a northern rebellion or new invasions from France.

One pretender has not been covered during this episode. The teenage Salic heir to Edward the Confessor, Edgar the Aetheling. It so happened that Edgar and his sister Margaret had been sent for from Hungary by Archsbishop Stigand in the summer of 1066, and they had arrived at the archbishop’s court at Canterbury around early July. The motivations had Stigand to do this were not clear, but many historians believe that he feared William or maybe even Tostig might use Edgar as a pawn should their initial plans failed (for example, if Harold had died, but the northern earls had prevented William from taking London). Fact of the matter is that Stigand initially held their arrival a secret to Harold, being equally aware that the king might use Edgar as a pawn himself, or even have him killed. When the king did learn of Edgar’s presence it was September already and Harald Hardrada had just raided Scarborough, forcing the king to postpone any decision on the matter. He sent Margaret to a nunnery at Winton and Edgar to Rochester, remaining under the guardianship of Stigand but being away from Canterbury. Then somewhere in the period between Harold’s departure to face Harald Hardrada and his victory at Hastings, Edgar the Aetheling disappeared from Rochester and found his way all the way King Malcolm of Scotland’s court at Scone. According to the most popular story, Stigand - still afraid Harold might harm the boy – contacted Badouin of Flanders, who in turn contacted Malcolm (both former allies of Tostig), in order to get Edgar both out of Harold and William’s grasps. Badouin had Edgar kidnapped from Rochester with Stigand turning a blind eye, then had him sailed all the way north to Scone. Another story say Stigand had Edgar escorted to Scone over land on his own accord. The case remained that after Hastings, Edgar Aetheling been safe from Harold’s wrath and had become a pawn of Harold’s northern neighbor Malcolm. It also seems that Harold had no knowledge of Stigand’s involvement (if there has been any), as their relationship did not significantly suffer.

--- Footnotes ---

(9) Ironically, one of the fortresses King Harold had manned in anticipation of a Norman invasion until his disbanding of the army three weeks prior to the invasion.
(10) Known as the Tingalith, this force of two to three thousand professional soldiers was in fact one of the few standing armies on the middle ages.
(11) The Weald, also known as the Andredes Weald – named after Andrechester – was still very large at the time and stretched over a large part of Sussex. According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles, the Weald was at least 120 miles long and 30 wide in the ninth century, and wouldn’t be much smaller two centuries later.
(12) The Tapestry of Winton is an epic tapestry that depicts the reign of Harold Godwinson and is especially a valuable source when it comes to the Battle of Hastings and the Culling of the Northern Earls. It's believed to be commissioned by Harold's son Edmund III around 1080, but it is not mentioned anywhere until around 1125.
(13) For professional soldiers like nobles or mercenaries, killing noble soldiers was a least preferred option as it was believed to be dishonorable, and nobles were often worth a lot of ransom. Peasant levees like the fyrd rarely have such reservations.
(14) King Philip was actually only 14 years old himself in 1066, and he would be a regent in name only, while his mother Anne of Kiev (who was his own regent until 1066) would represent her son’s regency power in Normandy. Two years later, Philip took the mantle of regent himself and continued to repeal Robert’s claim to maturity for several years.

[Enewald]

Archers are useless in battles, only a noble Norman knight could have secured the victory, alas the charge failed as the foreigners abandoned their lord!