Housecarl 1066
Registered user
Global user
Registered: 02-2006
Location: Northern-most Saxon border.
Posts: 603
Karma: 1 (+1/-0)
|
|
Reply | Quote
|
|
Fulford Gate - 20th Sept 1066
Memoriam of a great but tragic battle...
The mighty Norse king Hardrada ('ruthless') left between c.3000 of his 12,000 strong Norse fleet - veterans of over 20yrs of bitter and savage internecine warfare- at Riccall to guard the precious treasures and longships, and with the rest of his c.6,000 men he marches inland towards York (maybe half-expecting a submissive welcome from the Norse descendants at York, as Tostig had promised- esp. as English remnant armies had been brushed aside down the N.East coast during the past few days).
Hardraada's army marched towards York without their chainmail (due to the unseasonably hot September weather) soon finds it's path blocked by the huge army under Earls Edwin (Mercia) commanding the Saxon right (opposite Hardraada and his Norsemen) and Morcar (N'bria)the left (opposite his nemesis Tostig and the Flamish)
When he encountered the defenders, Harald quickly lined up his army to oppose them, as was the custom.
Huscarls & fyrdsmen lined up across the road and fields, 2m South of York -Earl Waltheof had perhaps also joined the brother Earls Edwin (Mercia) and Morcar (Northumbria)- with his own retinue, maybe altogether totalling 7-9,000.
The Saxon position was flanked to the left by higher ground (marshy below) & it's right by the wide River Ouse.
Why didn't the young Earls shut up inside the walls of York, holding out until their erstwhile brother-inlaw Harold could come?
* Pride(?)- keen to show that as teenagers they could match the heroic achievements of their experienced brother-inlaw, Harold, thus overruling their advisers?
* Did they make an error of judgement and underrated Hardrada (in their youthful exuberance & hatred for Tostig?)
* Did they think that Harold was too busy preparing for William 190m away, and so acted 'on their own'?
Hardraada sent his least experienced troops to his right (Flemish under Tostig included?). He expected little of these troops. Indeed the ground was so boggy that it was difficult for them to move in. But once they had waded into position they would certainly not be able to run away.
Harald kept his veteran troops near the riverbank where the land was much firmer. He could either force a way through to York or turn the defender and force them back to the swamp.
It is worth contemplating what battle was like for a warrior.
He could wade in wielding his axe, sword or spear for 10 minutes before pausing for breath. A Roman cohort would only be expected to fight for 15 minutes before being relieved- they would try to attack in little groups with a swordsman and shields at the front.
At c.10am a fierce English charge across the shallower frontal marshes by Morcar's English at Tostig's right flank over the ford cut a deep swathe into Harald's army & almost carried all of the Norse right(Tostig and his Flemish) before it (less marshy on that flank) whilst Edwin's flank successfully held off Viking attacks.
Hardrada had deliberately kept his main strength on his left flank- near the river; and, at the well-chosen moment, when the tumult was at its height and the English (esp. the left) was busy engaging, he personally led a fierce charge of warriors from the Norse left around the English rear and routed the saxon right, enfolding the English and driving them back into the ditch itself, then eating into the centre and left, slowly surrounding the Saxons.
The fighting was protracted and bloody; but, as time wore on, the English found themselves in desperate straits. The English fyrdsmen, seeing Vikings coming from behind, broke in panic and a terrible rout ensued.
The rout. The fleeing saxons were butchered as they fled and many 100's panicked and veered into the quicksand marshes & were sucked under and/or drowned in the clogged-up Ouse, whilst commanders Ed & Morcar (& Waltheof?) retreated to York, trying to rally their disordered army.
Meanwhile Harald, having routed the Saxon right, turned inwards & met his opposite Viking right also they pincered inwards to meet Harald (having driven the Saxons from the higher ground, though many fought around the village & road).
The remaining and surviving English were now almost completely surrounded- men panicked as they saw the norsemen blocking their rearward escape.
In the end a fearful slaughter ensued, culminating in a rout through the almost closed gap. Some ran upstream, some down; but a great company died along the ditch, and there were so many bodies when it was finished that the invaders were able to go ‘dry foot over the fen.’
c.1pm, But a large, defiant close-knit group of about c.500 beleaguered huscarls still tried to fight their way out of the maelstrom, but, overwhelmed by greater numbers, they were massacred fighting to the death.
Fighting does continue sporadically by pockets of stubborn English along the river and at Heslington(1m west of Fulford) but the Norsemen had won.
Maybe 3000(?) English died. But an overconfident Hardraada was soon to be totally outwitted militarily...unknown to him, a mighty king was already on his way northwards with a huge mounted army of tough and feared huscarl warriors...
|
|
9/19/2008, 8:13 pm
|
Send PM to Housecarl 1066
Blog
|
mousteriana
Registered user
Global user
Registered: 03-2005
Posts: 935
Karma: 6 (+6/-0)
|
|
Reply | Quote
|
|
Re: Fulford Gate - 20th Sept 1066
Housecarl:
I believe Fulford Gate was pretty "shocking" to Harold and the English once they heard about it. And it got Harold into action right away; the next step was Stamford Bridge, where Harald Hardraada was killed, along with Harold's brother Tostig(who, as you are probably aware, had by that time sided with Hardraada). Too bad this, ultimately, didn't do Harold any good.
Anne G
|
|
9/20/2008, 4:04 am
|
Send Email to mousteriana
Send PM to mousteriana
|
WilliamtheRed Forum1
Registered user
Global user
Registered: 10-2007
Posts: 121
Karma: -3 (+0/-3)
|
|
Reply | Quote
|
|
Re: Fulford Gate - 20th Sept 1066
Housecarl thats a good write up on the battle but you state:
* Pride(?)- keen to show that as teenagers they could match the heroic achievements of their experienced brother-inlaw, Harold, thus overruling their advisers?
* Did they make an error of judgement and underrated Hardrada (in their youthful exuberance & hatred for Tostig?)
* Did they think that Harold was too busy preparing for William 190m away, and so acted 'on their own'?
All of the above are valid questions and in our view constitute feeder sources to the answer which for our Forum is that they did not trust the Usurper.
They were the Sons Of Aelfgar remember who the Usurper had treated abominably.Only the intervention of Magnus of Norway engendered Aelfgar's return from the outlawry imposed on him. The other key factor is that The Witan was effectively the fiefdom of the House Of Wessex and had been since Egbert established its ascendency over all the other Angle-Saxon kingdoms during the 820's and 830's.It is our view that Angleland was never the same again after Egbert's unification campaign.
Edwin and Morcar had a decision imposed on them by the Usurper and his clan albeit fatally weakened by the defection of Tostig(time to reopen the posting on the 'best Godwineson'?) Proof of this distrust is not only evident in the aftermath of Gate Fulford but in the fact that the Sons Of Aelfgar did not fight at Stamford Bridge or Senlac.We would contend strongly that they, were post-Gate Fulford, in alliance with Hardraada and Tostig in the light of the prospective division of Angleland between Norway and Normandy(which could have seen the mercurial Tostig change sides again since his interview with the Conqueror before declaring for Hardraada should never be forgotten). This can also be seen in the post-Senlac events where their support for Edgar Aethling (the true heir via the House Of Wessex to rule in Angleland)was premised on the belief that the Conqueror would not seek to unify Angleland to include Mercia and Northumbria, a view which they may have acquired from Hardraada and Tostig post-Gate Fulford.
Fighting a war on two fronts is no easy matter but neither is it insuperable as Stephen proved in the Civil War 1137-54 with his victory at the Battle Of The Standard where without taking the field himself due to him preparing for a potential pro-Mathilde invasion by Geoffroi Plantagenet,he delegated power to Archbishop Thurstain and his baronial supporters.Edwin and Morcar were not Thurstain and supporters and by the same token the Usurper was not Stephen. In our view its a remarkable case of turning history on its head that the Usurper was this Arthurian-style bold king last-of-the line ruler of a dynastic period and Stephen was a weak ruler.Although Stephen was not part of The Norman Revolution,those descriptions are the wrong way around.
Incidently, has anybody read Charles Jones' book on Gate Fulford? The actual battle site has only recently been discovered we understand.
Pereobu,Paul,Dennis Keel,"Briggs",Bev Morton (all in personal capacity)
|
|
9/20/2008, 12:36 pm
|
Send Email to WilliamtheRed Forum1
Send PM to WilliamtheRed Forum1
|
Housecarl 1066
Registered user
Global user
Registered: 02-2006
Location: Northern-most Saxon border.
Posts: 603
Karma: 1 (+1/-0)
|
|
Reply | Quote
|
|
Re: Fulford Gate - 20th Sept 1066
All
I agree with your pointing out that Harold's and Edwin/Morcar's family histories had not been affable or cordial, but I don't think there's any direct sign that the deeds of their fathers filtered down to these sons, according to the sources?
I also severely doubt that Edwin/Morcar would have in any way 'allied' themselves to Hardraada- but especially Tostig- who aimed to avenge himself upon Morcar, who had replaced him as earl of Northumbria!
We don't know where the brother-earls were after their disaster at Fulford Gate, but perhaps they joined the king at Stamford (and the Malfosse at Senlac?)? Perhaps they withdrew to York, being some of the noble hostages whom Tostig no doubt sought to get his hands upon? Maybe they escaped to regroup and fight on, once the king had arrived?
I haven't seen the Charles Jones book- is it recommended?
|
|
9/20/2008, 8:01 pm
|
Send PM to Housecarl 1066
Blog
|
mousteriana
Registered user
Global user
Registered: 03-2005
Posts: 935
Karma: 6 (+6/-0)
|
|
Reply | Quote
|
|
Re: Fulford Gate - 20th Sept 1066
Housecarl:
I have a vague recollection that there was something about the Jones book on amazon.com, a while back, but I could be mixing it up with somethingn else. If anybody can supply me with the title, I'll look it up and see what Amazon has to say, for starters. I'll let everyone judge for themselves whether it's a worthy addition to the personal library, though.
Anne G
|
|
9/21/2008, 11:22 pm
|
Send Email to mousteriana
Send PM to mousteriana
|
Albert51
Registered user
Global user
Registered: 06-2008
Posts: 5
Karma: 0 (+0/-0)
|
|
Reply | Quote
|
|
Re: Fulford Gate - 20th Sept 1066
I had mentioned (on the Anglo-Norman forum) that there was a very negative customer review of the Charles Jones book on the Amazon USA site. Here's a link:
http://tinyurl.com/fulford
This page is for the hardcover edition; there's no customer review on the Amazon page for the paperback edition, which is why I gave the link to the former.
I emphasize that this is just ONE person's review, and I wouldn't want to rely on that alone for deciding whether to read the book. Unfortunately, it's the only review I've found available. If anyone knows of others, I'd be interested to read them.
Albert51
|
|
9/22/2008, 12:42 am
|
Send Email to Albert51
Send PM to Albert51
|
mousteriana
Registered user
Global user
Registered: 03-2005
Posts: 935
Karma: 6 (+6/-0)
|
|
Reply | Quote
|
|
Re: Fulford Gate - 20th Sept 1066
Albert:
Of course you wouldn't want to go by just one review. Trouble is, reviews can sometimes be useful, especially if you can't decide whether or not to spend money on it.
Anne G
|
|
9/23/2008, 2:42 am
|
Send Email to mousteriana
Send PM to mousteriana
|
Add a reply
Powered by AkBBS 0.9.5b - Link to us
- Blogs
- Hall of Honour
- Chat
Click here to get your own free message board
|
You are not logged in (login)
Board's time is: 11/25/2009, 2:20 am
|
|
|
