The battle of Stamford Bridge as depicted by Matthew Paris.
Eystein was betrothed to King Harald's daughter by Elisiv of Kiev, Maria and according to Heimskringla was "best beloved by the king of all the lendermen". Eystein was among those to accompany Harald in his invasion of England in 1066.
Harald and his army first encountered resistance at Scarborough, where the townsfolk refused to surrender. Harald resorted to burning down the town and this action led to other Northumbrian towns surrendering to him. The army sailed further down the Humber until they disembarked at Riccall. Harald's army then encountered the earls Morcar and Edwin; they fought against Harald's invading army two miles (3km) south of York at the Battle of Fulford on 20 September. The battle was a decisive victory for the invaders, and led York to surrender to their forces on 24 September.[1]
Early on 25 September, King Harald and Tostig left for York again, leaving a third of their forces behind. Eystein, along with Prince Olaf were among those left behind at Riccall to protect the ships, however a messenger came back calling for reinforcements as the English had intercepted the Norwegians at Stamford Bridge. Eyestein was able to reach his comrades, however King Harald had already been killed. Some of Eyestein's men were said to have collapsed and died of exhaustion upon reaching the battlefield. These men, unlike their comrades, were fully armed for battle.[lower-alpha 1] Their counter-attack, described in the Norwegian tradition as "Orre's Storm", briefly stalled the English advance, but was soon overwhelmed and Orre was slain. With the Norwegian army routed and pursued by the English army, some of the fleeing Norsemen drowned in the rivers.[2]
Notes
↑ The day was very hot, Harald and his men therefore laid aside their armour and left it with their ships.
1066 (MLXVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar.
Harold Godwinson, also called Harold II, was the last crowned Anglo-Saxon king of England. Harold reigned from 6 January 1066 until his death at the Battle of Hastings, fighting the Norman invaders led by William the Conqueror during the Norman conquest of England. His death marked the end of Anglo-Saxon rule over England.
The Battle of Hastings was fought on 14 October 1066 between the Norman-French army of William, the Duke of Normandy, and an English army under the Anglo-Saxon King Harold Godwinson, beginning the Norman conquest of England. It took place approximately 7 mi (11 km) northwest of Hastings, close to the present-day town of Battle, East Sussex, and was a decisive Norman victory.
The Danelaw was the part of England in which the laws of the Danes held sway and dominated those of the Anglo-Saxons. The Danelaw contrasts with the West Saxon law and the Mercian law. The term is first recorded in the early 11th century as Dena lage. The areas that constituted the Danelaw lie in northern and eastern England, long occupied by Danes and other Norsemen.
Harald Sigurdsson, also known as Harald of Norway and given the epithet Hardrada in the sagas, was King of Norway from 1046 to 1066. Additionally, he unsuccessfully claimed both the Danish throne until 1064 and the English throne in 1066. Before becoming king, Harald had spent around fifteen years in exile as a mercenary and military commander in Kyivan Rus' and of the Varangian Guard in the Byzantine Empire.
The Battle of Stamford Bridge took place at the village of Stamford Bridge, East Riding of Yorkshire, in England, on 25 September 1066, between an English army under King Harold Godwinson and an invading Norwegian force led by King Harald Hardrada and the English king's brother Tostig Godwinson. After a bloody battle, both Hardrada and Tostig, along with most of the Norwegians, were killed. Although Harold Godwinson repelled the Norwegian invaders, his army was defeated by the Normans at Hastings less than three weeks later. The battle has traditionally been presented as symbolising the end of the Viking Age, although major Scandinavian campaigns in Britain and Ireland occurred in the following decades, such as those of King Sweyn Estrithson of Denmark in 1069–1070 and King Magnus Barefoot of Norway in 1098 and 1102–1103.
The Norman Conquest was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Normans, Bretons, Flemish, and men from other French provinces, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Conqueror.
Tostig Godwinson was an Anglo-Saxon Earl of Northumbria and brother of King Harold Godwinson. After being exiled by his brother, Tostig supported the Norwegian king Harald Hardrada's invasion of England, and was killed alongside Hardrada at the Battle of Stamford Bridge in 1066.
Magnus Haraldsson was King of Norway from 1066 to 1069, jointly with his brother Olaf Kyrre from 1067. He was not included in official Norwegian regnal lists until modern times, but has since been counted as Magnus II.
The Battle of Fulford was fought on the outskirts of the village of Fulford just south of York in England, on 20 September 1066, when King Harald III of Norway, also known as Harald Hardrada, and Tostig Godwinson, his English ally, fought and defeated the Northern Earls Edwin and Morcar.
Edwin was the elder brother of Morcar, Earl of Northumbria, son of Ælfgār, Earl of Mercia and grandson of Leofric, Earl of Mercia. He succeeded to his father's title and responsibilities on Ælfgār's death in 1062. He appears as Earl Edwin in the Domesday Book.
Riccall is a village and civil parish situated in the Selby District of North Yorkshire, England, lying 3.5 miles (6 km) to the north of Selby and 9 miles (14 km) south of York.
Events from the 1060s in England.
Elisiv of Kiev was a Princess of Kiev and Queen Consort of King Harald III of Norway.
The military history of Norway commences before the Viking Age with the internal wars fought between regional kings to obtain the supreme kingship of the whole of Norway. The most famous period of Norwegian history and thus military history is the Viking Age, but the early Middle Ages was the era when Norwegian military power in Europe reached its peak. Since then the Norwegian military has experienced long periods of neglect, but also rearmament and victories.
Invasions of the British Isles have occurred throughout history. Various sovereign states within the territorial space that constitutes the British Isles have been invaded several times, including by the Romans, by the Germanic peoples, by the Vikings, by the Normans, by the French, and by the Dutch.
Viking activity in the British Isles occurred during the Early Middle Ages, the 8th to the 11th centuries, when Norsemen from Scandinavia travelled to Great Britain and Ireland to settle, trade or raid. Those who came to the British Isles have been generally referred to as Vikings, but some scholars debate whether the term Viking represented all Norse settlers or just those who raided.
The Battle of Niså was a naval battle fought on 9 August 1062 between the forces of Norwegian king Harald Hardrada and king Sweyn II of Denmark. Harald had claimed the Danish throne since 1047, and had launched raids into Denmark ever since. With his invasion in 1062, he wanted to decisively defeat the Danes, and thus finally be able to conquer Denmark. The battle was won clearly by the Norwegians, but since many Danes managed to escape, including Sweyn, it proved indecisive in Harald's attempt to conquer Denmark.
Maria Haraldsdotter was a Norwegian princess, as the daughter of Harald Hardrada and Elisiv of Kiev. She is the first known Norwegian to have been named Maria.
Orre may refer to:
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