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The Battle of Gate Fulford - Coggle Diagram
The Battle of Gate Fulford
September 1066
Harald Hardrada and Tostig launched their attack. Hardrada's fleet numbered around 200-300 warships, carrying around 10000 Vikings.
Landing at the River Humber, they marched up to York which had been the capital of a Viking state only a generation before
Their way was blocked by an army led by Morcar and his elder brother, Edwin, the earls of Northumbria and Mercia, at a place called Gate Fulford.
The brothers had decided on open battle to defend York rather than staying behind the security of the city's heavy fortifications
20th September 1066
Gate Fulford was a crushing defeat for Edwin and Morcar.
Edwin and Morcar may have been outnumbered: it is thought they had 6,000 troops against perhaps 9,000 for Hardrada and Tostig (we know some thousands stayed with the ships).
Hardrada and his housecarls were battle-hardened veterans, and he used a clever strategv in the battle He positioned Tostig's weaker troops on one wing and, when the English rushed at them, he was able to hit them with his best troops from the side.
Edwin and Morcar stationed their army with marshland at their backs. This meant their troops had
nowhere to go when they were pushed back
The outcome was a decisive victory for Harald Hardrada. He captured the city of York and camped his army 15 miles south at Stamford Bridge to wait for Edwin and Morcar to send money and hostages.
English army vs Vikings
The English army broke and tried to run away into the marsh, but they got stuck in the swampy ground.
English army: 5000 deployed soldiers, 0 reserve soldiers, 1000 casualties
Viking army: 6000 deployed soldiers, 4000 reserve soldiers, 600 casualties
Tostig
Tostig Godwinson was forced into exile in 1065 by his brother Harold because the people of Northumbria refused to accept Tostig as their earl.
Tostig was hated for his harsh rule and his repeated refusal to consider the concerns of the Northumbrians. Morcar, the brother of Edwin Earl of Mercia, eventually replaced Tostig as Earl of Northumbria
Tostig did not go into exile quietly, he travelled to Scotland, Normandy and finally Norway to gain support for his bid to return to power in England. Harald Hardrada, the King of Norway, assembled an army of 10,000 Norwegians and together with Tostig sailed to the coast of north-east England. The English resistance to Tostig and Hardrada was led by earls Edwin and Morcar. The two armies met at Fulford in York on 20 September 1066.