| Battle of Fulford | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Viking invasions of England and the Norman Conquest | |||||||||
 The Battle of Fulford by Matthew Paris | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
| English rebels | |||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
|
Harald Hardrada Tostig Godwinson |
Morcar of Northumbria Edwin of Mercia | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
| ~10,000 (6,000 deployed) |
~3,000 from Northumbria ~1,800 from Mercia | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| <1,000 | Unknown, purportedly heavy losses. | ||||||||
The Battle of Fulford was fought on the outskirts of the village of Fulford,[1] just south of York in England, on 20 September 1066, when King Harald III of Norway, also known as Harald Hardrada,[a] a claimant to the English throne and Tostig Godwinson,[b] his English ally, fought and defeated the Northern Earls Edwin and Morcar.[3][4]
Hardrada's army consisted of allies from Orkney and a contingent with Tostig, as well as those coming from Norway. They crossed the sea in a fleet of ships and made their base east of York at Ricall. On 20 September 1066 the Vikings advanced towards York. The largely inexperienced Saxon army led by Morcar at York and Edwin at Tadcaster moved to block the invaders. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle says that the opposing armies met on the left bank of the River Ouse and that initially the Saxons caused heavy losses on the Viking army. Ultimately, the Norse army overwhelmed the Saxon army although the earls themselves survived this defeat. After winning, the victorious Norwegians entered York, gathered supplies, and asked for hostages.[5]
- ^ DeVries 2003, p. 255.
- ^ Howarth 1977, p. 29.
- ^ "Battle of Fulford". UK Battlefield's Resource. The Battlefields Trust. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
- ^ DeVries 2003, pp. 255–259.
- ^ Jones 2011, pp. 197–214.
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