Stamford Bridge is, in fact, more than just the name of a bridge. And it is no coincidence that the name was chosen to give the home ground of the football club of the English Premier League - Chelsea. Although this role has so far tarnished its true values, the brightest lights associated with the Stamford Bridge landmark will certainly never be mere trophies on the pitch. Stamford Bridge, from its roots, is a landmark of history.
On September 25, 1066, two armies faced Skull 3D each other at Stamford Bridge, west of Yorkside.
Many sources claim it to be a village, but in fact, according to the World History Encyclopedia, the site is a broad grassland east of the Derwent River, and across the river is a wooden bridge called Stamford Bridge - named after That was set for this battle, and this neighborhood.
The first army
according to Britanica, consisted of about 5,000 men in the Viking fleet commanded by the Norwegian king Harald Hardrada, led by Tostig Godwinson - an English aristocrat. The second army was led by the then English (Anglo-Saxon) king Harold Godwinson, with a size ranging from 15,000 to 20,000 men (both infantry, archers and cavalry).
The reason they faced each other there was none other than the British throne. And Tostig was none other than Harold's brother.
In January 1066
the first English king Edward the Confessor died without leaving a direct heir. This resulted in successive succession claims from all over Northwestern Europe.
Harold Godwinson, Earl of Wessex, King Edward's brother-in-law, was personally summoned by Edward on his deathbed to hand over the kingship, but the context is still considered "unclear" and lacks legitimacy, due to lack of witness and recognition by representatives of the majority of the aristocracy.
So, very quickly
Harold found himself in the middle of a pincer. In the south, from viking outfit France, Duke William of Normandy, living on a vain promise when Harold was captured in France in 1051, assembled an expeditionary force. In the north, the Norwegian king Harald Hardrada is also ready for a conquest true to Viking tradition.
It didn't take long for the Norwegians to cross the North Sea, sail along the Orkneys, and land at Riccall, near York, with a force of perhaps 10,000 men. The king, their commander, Harald, was by no means an easy opponent for anyone. Before entering England, Harald spent many years fighting as a mercenary general, for the newly created Kievans Rus courts in the ancestral land of modern Russia. Before that, he was a member of the elite Varangian Guard of the Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantine), participated in the campaigns against Messina and Syracuse that the Muslim Arabs occupied on Sicily (in 1038. ).