1.2.1 Battle of Stamford Bridge

Question 1

When did the Battle of Stamford Bridge take place?

Answer 1

25th September 1066

Question 2

How did the Battle of Stamford Bridge start? (2)

Answer 2

• The loss at Fulford Gate meant that Harold Godwinson had to move quickly. He reassembled his army and marched 306km (190 miles) in four days, gathering more troops as he went.
• The Anglo-Saxons reached Tadcaster, on the outskirts of York, on 24 September and the following morning they launched a surprise attack on the Viking camp

Question 3

Describe what happened at the Battle of Stamford Bridge

Answer 3

The battle was centred around the undefended Stamford Bridge and was a long and bloody one. The Vikings were scattered and not ready for battle but still fought hard. Hardrada and Tostig were both killed; Harold Godwinson had destroyed the Viking threat and removed a major rival to his throne

Question 4

What happened three days after Harold’s victory?

Answer 4

Word reached him that William’s fleet had finally landed in the south

Question 5

What were the short-term causes of the Battle of Stamford Bridge? (3)

Answer 5

• The Battle of Stamford Bridge happened because of Harold II’s decision to march his army from the South to the North. This happened to defeat Harald Hardrada and to support the army of Morcar and Edwin, the Earls who had been defeated at Gate Fulford
• The Vikings were reportedly unprepared at Stamford Bridge, so it may have been an opportunistic decision to attack the Vikings
• A medium-term cause of the battle was Harald Hardrada’s decision to invade England, and many historians think that the disputed succession could be to blame for this

Question 6

State the significance of the Battle of Stamford Bridge (3)

Answer 6

• Harold’s army killed his brother Tostig
• The English army was concentrated in the North after Harold’s decision to march towards York
• The Viking threat to Harold II’s succession of Edward the Confessor was defeated