After the death of Edward the Confessor, there were no heirs to the throne. In the king's place Harold Godwinson was chosen to rule England. Harold was not alone in wanting this position. His brother, Tostig the ex ruler of Northumbia, had joined forces with the Norwegian king Harold Hardrada.
Hardrada and his Norse followers were skilled warriors, and had no problem with the invasion and occupation of the town of Riccall, near the City of York. Here, Hardrada's army marched south, until they reached York itself. A few days before, at Fulford on September 20 the the Norsemen met a small army led by Morcar and Edwin, lords of Mercia and Northumbia, respectively. The lords were not able to hold off the vikings, and were consequesntly slaughtered.
Hardrada, in Southern England, had no choice but to force march his army to York. This march would only take the Englishmen 4 days and would cover 180 miles. However, this hindered Harold's fighting ability and weakened his men greatly. Also, a large part of his army were free men who had completed their two months of military service, and had left to go home. Despite these setbacks, Harold headed towards York.
The Norsemen intended to trade hostages with the city at the nearby Stamford Bridge. On this feild the Norsemen releaved themselves by removing their armor, which nobody wanted to wear on a hot day. On September 25, 1066 the Norsemen learned just how dangerous laziness is. On the other side of the bridge, a large Saxon army appeared.
The Norsemen scrambled to throw on their gear and gather in formation at the site of this opposing force. Thanks to some heroics by a few outposts the English were delayed long enough for Harold to gather his force. One such heroic was an unknown viking who held a bridge by himself, unitl he was stabbed with a pike from a Saxon hiding under the bridge.
The Norse force numbered around 10,000 infantry with no cavalry force known. The Saxon army was made up of 3,000 well trained mounted infantry known as house-carls, along with any troops Harold Godwinson picked up along the way. On the feild outside Stamford and York 10,000 Norsemen formed a triangle sheild wall. This presented a narrow front, and provide two sides at which a counter strike is possible. The Saxons didn't fair well at first, falling under the might of the Norsemen infantry.
Sadly for the vikings, an arrow found its mark on Harold Hardrada'a eye, killing him instantly. Tostig tried to rally the men, but the tide turned against the Norsemen. They were defeated, and the Saxons forced the vikings back towards the sea, where 24 of 200 ships sailed back to Norway.
Battle Phun: Before the battle, Godwinson said that all the land Harold Hardrada would get would be "only seven feet of English soil"