The Battle of Gate Fulford, 20th September 1066 (Edexcel GCSE History)

How Significant was the Battle of Gate Fulford? - Timeline & Summary

Reasons Behind the Battle of Gate Fulford

• Harold had betrayed his brother Tostig

  • Harold had ensured King Edward exiled Tostig in November 1065 after the uprising in Northumbria against him

  • In May 1066, Tostig's invasion of England had failed

    • Tostig fled to Scotland. In September 1066, Tostig joined with Harald Hardrada to attack Harold

• Tostig and Hardrada had support in the North of England

  • The North was under Danelaw, with a high number of Anglo-Danish people

    • They would support a Viking king ruling England like King Cnut

  • With 200-300 warships and 10,000 soldiers, Hardrada and Tostig landed at the River Humber

    • They planned to march to York, the capital of the old Viking state

• Harold placed his forces in the South of England

  • Harold heard about Hardrada's invasion on 19th September 1066

    • Harold could not get to the North in time to intercept Hardrada's forces

  • The Earl of Northumbria, Morcar, and his brother, the Earl of Mercia, Edwin, blocked Hardrada's way to York

    • They chose an open battle with Hardrada and Tostig instead of using the fortifications of York

Why did Hardrada win at Gate Fulford?

A map showing how Hardrada and Tostig's forces assembled against Edwin and Morcar's army at the Battle of Gate Fulford

Key events of the Battle of Gate Fulford

• Both sides had to wait until the river was low enough to cross

• Morcar charged at Tostig's forces

  • He believed Tostig was the weakest part of Hardrada's army

• Some of the Viking reserves helped Tostig's forces fight back against Morcar

• Hardrada's soldiers attacked Edwin's forces

  • Edwin ordered his army to leave to York as Hardrada's warriors were much stronger than Edwin's

  • Morcar did not know that Edwin had fled

  • Hardrada flanked Morcar's forces

    • Morcar escaped

Reasons for Hardrada's victory

• Edwin and Morcar were heavily outnumbered

  • Edwin and Morcar only had 6,000 troops. Hardrada and Tostig had around 9,000

• Hardrada had better-trained troops

  • Hardrada had housecarls

    • Housecarls were highly trained troops that protected their lord like a bodyguard

• Hardrada had a stronger battle strategy

  • Hardrada predicted that Morcar would charge at Tostig's forces

    • Hardrada had purposefully placed his weaker soldiers with Tostig

  • Edwin and Morcar assembled their troops by marshland

    • Edwin and Morcar's forces struggled to retreat

    • Hardrada's forces killed many of the retreating English soldiers

      • Hardrada boasted that there were so many dead English soldiers in Germany Beck that the Vikings could cross the stream without getting their feet wet

Harold's Response to Hardrada's Invasion

• It is likely that beacon signals notified Harold of Hardrada's invasion

• In response, Harold took his housecarls to the North

  • He abandoned his southern defences

  • Harold did not know about the Battle at Gate Fulford

• Harold's forces travelled 185 miles in five days

  • Harold's thegns travelled on horseback

  • Harold may have sailed to the North

  • As Harold's housecarls travelled north, he sent messages ahead of him

    • This notified earls and thegns to raise a fyrd to support Harold

    • Harold then collected these forces as he marched towards York

Causes and consequences of the Battle of Gate Fulford

A flow diagram showing the causes and consequences of the Battle of Gate Fulford