After Edward the Confessor, the King of England, died in 1066 without leaving a direct heir, the throne of England was passed over to Harold of Wessex. However, Harold did not get to enjoy a peaceful rule, since right after the coronation, his own brother Tostig, who was exiled out of England for disobeying orders, persuaded the legendary Viking warrior Harald Hadrada of Norway to invade England.

Harald set sail on 300 transport ships with a force of 9000 men to conquer the land. Learning of the Norwegian invasion Harold headed north at great speed with his houscarls and as many thegns as he could gather, travelling day and night. He made the journey from London to Yorkshire, a distance of about 185 miles, in only four days, enabling him to take the Norwegians completely by surprise. Until the English army came into view the invaders remained unaware of the presence of a hostile army anywhere in the vicinity.

The Vikings were at an enormous disadvantage. Their army was divided in two; with some of their troops on the west side of the River Derwent and the bulk of their army on the east side. They were not expecting English intervention, and since it was an unseasonably warm day for late September, they left their armour behind at their ships. Firstly, the English army defeated the force on the west side of the river. However, afterwards, they had to cross the bridge. A later folk story tells of a single Norse axeman, who held the bridge on his own, killing 40 men and allowing the bulk of the Norse army to form a shieldwall to face the English. However, even this did not save the disadvantaged Norse army. Both Hadrada and Tostig were slain in the battle. In fact, so many died in an area so small that the field was said to have been still whitened with bleached bones 50 years after the battle.

And to celebrate this glorious victory, we would like to give everyone their own personal hero Harold Godwinson (trusty helmet included), to lead the troops into battle and ensure victory!