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The rival claimants for the throne (The Battles of Gate Fulford and…
The rival claimants for the throne
Rules of succeeding the throne
Succeeding to the throne of England was not simply based on being a blood relative of the king
A claimant could be nominated by the king or be accepted by the nobles
A claimant was expected to be able to defend the realm, be an adult and be acknowledged by the other leaders not only in his own land but also abroad
Key terms
Accession= Coming to the throne
Laying waste= Destroying completely
Realm= A kingdom
Key individuals
Edgar Aethling= Great- nephew of King Edward. The word Aethling means throneworthy
Harald Hardrada= King of Norway 1046-66. He was related to King Cnut, who had ruled England 1016-35
Stigand= Leading Anglo-Saxon cleric. He was Archbishop or Canterbury 1052-70
William of Normandy, Hardrada and Edgar
William of Normandy
William said that Edward had promised him the throne in 1051 and that Harold Godwinson had confirmed the promise on his visit in 1064
William said that Harold had promised he would help him secure the throne when Edward died
On hearing of Harold's coronation, William claimed it was not legal because Harold had been crowned by Archbishop Stigand. Stigand had been declared corrupt by Pope Alexander
William had proved himself a strong ruler of Normandy
Harald Hardrada
Harald Hardrada's claims to the throne of England stemmed from an agreement made in 1402.
Harald wanted to acquire more land and England was a rich country
He was encouraged to claim the throne by Tostig
Edgar Aethling
Edgar Aethling was only 14 in 1066 and few earls supported him, despite his blood claim
After the death of Harold at Hastings, the Witan chose Edgar as his successor
The Witan and the reign of Harold Godwinson
Harold was the strongest English Claimant
The Witan chose Harold to succeed Edward and Harold was crowned in Westminster Abbey on 6 January 1066
There seemed to be some haste in crowning Harold- on the day after Edward's death- and some historians believe Harold acted swiftly to deter other claimants and great himself legitimacy
On hearing of Harold's accession to the throne, William of Normandy began making his plans for invasion. In his mind, Harold had broken his promise to help his claim to Edward's throne
Harold went to the north to deal with his opponents there
Harold marries Edith, sister of earls Edwin and Morcar. This cemented his position as king and secured alliances with the two powerful earls
Tostig began attacking the east and south coasts of England
Harold had gathered forces to guard against invasions by William and Tostig but disbanded many of them in early September so that the men could return home and help with the harvest
The Battles of Gate Fulford and Stamford Bridge
Harald Hardrada and Tostig sailed up the River Humber and then the Ouse, camping outside York
They defeated the forces of Edwin and Morcar at the battle of Gate Fulford on 20 September
The victorious forces then moved a few miles south east to Stamford Bridge to meet the army of King Harold
Harold had to gather his forces and march from the south coast because he had been expecting William of Normandy to invade
Harold and his army marched about 200 miles in 5 days and met Hardrada's forces at Stamford Bridge on 25 September
Harold defeated Tostig and Hardrada. Both men were killed and Harold removed two rivals for the throne in one go
Shortly afterwards. Harold learned that William of Normandy had landed in the south at Pevensey and was laying waste large areas of land. Harold now had to take his army south again and prepare to meet William's forces
Hardly any of Edwin and Morcar's forces were able to move south with Harold's tired army