Hello, welcome to history here at Oak National Academy.

I'm Mr. Newton, and I'll be your teacher for today guiding you right to the end of the lesson breaking down any tricky concepts we may encounter along the way.

Right, let's get started.

Over the next few lessons we will be thinking about our big inquiry question.

Why did the Normans conquer England in 1066? This is the question we will use to investigate the immediate events leading up to the successful Norman invasion of England.

We know that King Edward died without an heir, and this triggered a succession crisis.

There were four claimants to the throne.

At this point, Harold Godwinson was king and he had stationed his army on the southern coast awaiting a Norman invasion.

However, he soon got the unexpected news of a Viking invasion in northern England.

By the end of this lesson, you'll be able to explain why the battles of Gate Fulford and Stamford Bridge are significant.

Before we begin, there are a few keywords we need to understand.

The fyrd was an army which consisted of part-time soldiers called up by thegns and earls when ordered by the king.

A fleet is a group of ships or all of the ships in a country's navy.

Casualties are the people injured or killed in a war or in a specific battle.

A hostage is someone who's taken as a prisoner by an enemy in order to force the other people involved to do what the enemy wants.

Today's lesson is split into two parts.

First, we will look at the Battle of Gate Fulford before moving on to the battle of Stamford Bridge.

Right, let's look at that first battle.

Have a look at the image.

It's a detail from the Bayeux Tapestry showing Harold Godwinson's coronation.

And we can see Harold Godwinson in the centre seated on his throne.

After Harold's coronation, he knew an invasion from Duke William of Normandy was likely to follow.

Harold quickly raised the fyrd to defend the southern coast and waited all through the summer of 1066.

Have a look at the map.

We can imagine Harold and the fyrd on the South coast looking out across the English channel, waiting for an expected invasion from Duke William of Normandy.

It was a challenge to keep thousands of soldiers stationed away from their homes for long periods of time, so at some point they would need to return home to harvest their crops.

Therefore, on the 8th of September after weeks of waiting, Harold gave the order to send the fyrd home.

Right, let's have a check for understanding.

What action did Harold Godwinson take in anticipation of an invasion by Duke William of Normandy? Is it A, declared war on Normandy? B, raise the fear to defend the southern coast? C, travel to Normandy for negotiations? Pause the video.

Have a think and come right back.

Okay, great.

Welcome back.

Well done if you knew it was B, raise the fear to defend the southern coast.

Unfortunately, days after sending the fyrd home, Harold received the unexpected news that there had been a Viking invasion in Northern England led by his own brother, Tostig Godwinson and the king of Norway, Harold Hardrada.

On the map there we can imagine Hardrada and Tostig with their fleets of ships making their way from Norway to the north coast of England.

With a fleet of over 300 ships, Hardrada and Tostig began to plunder the area around York.

Have a look at the map.

We can see where the Viking fleet landed on the north coast.

They then began to plunder the area around York.

Earls Edwin and Morcar gathered their troops and met the Viking invaders at Gate Fulford.

Have a look at this battle map.

This is the formation that two sides took at the Battle of Gate Fulford.

We can see Edwin and Morcar's troops in red and Hardrada's and Tostig's troops in blue.

Both sides took heavy casualties in the battle, but the Vikings stood their ground and defeated the Earls.

The Vikings were experienced warriors.

Hardrada strategically placed Tostig's weaker troops in a position to draw the English troops towards them.

Have a look at the map.

Tostig's weaker troops were positioned here on the right side of the battlefield.

Edwin and Morcar believing that they had identified a weak point in the Viking Army attacked Tostig's weaker troops.

Then Hardrada and his experienced warriors swooped in.

Have a look at the map.

Hardrada's experienced warriors attacked the left side of the battlefield, taking out the English soldiers there.

Edward and Morcar were young and inexperienced.

They had positioned their army in a place surrounded by marshland, and when their soldiers needed to escape, they were trapped.

Have a look at the map.

After Hardrada had finished off the English troops on the left, he swooped in behind the rest of the trapped English army.

The English army were now vulnerable, and the Vikings defeated the English army.

Earls Edwin and Morcar fled to save their lives.

Okay, let's check for understanding who launched the Viking invasion of Northern England.

Select two correct answers.

A, Edwin? B, Harold? C, Morcar? D, Tostig? Pause the video, select two correct answers and come right back.

Okay, great.

Welcome back.

Well done if you knew it was B, Harold and D, Tostig.

Okay, let's move on to task A.

What I want you to do here is working with a partner, identify and describe three features of the Battle of Gate Fulford.

Now, you could hold this as a discussion or you could write your thoughts down on a piece of paper.

Pause the video, have a go at the task, and then come right back.

Okay, great.

Welcome back.

Let's check those answers.

Now, you may have slightly different answers to mine, but hopefully some of yours will overlap with what I've got here.

You could have mentioned the battle was between Hardrada and Tostig on one side and Edwin and Morcar on the other side, or that Hardrada and Tostig won the battle using superior strategy.

Both sides took heavy casualties.

Or you may have had that Edwin and Morcar's troops got trapped by marshland.

Okay, great.

We've reached the halfway points.

We are now onto the second part of the lesson.

The Battle of Stamford Bridge.

After sending his southern troops home, Harold Godwinson and his housecarls, his elite soldiers travelled north as fast as they could.

Harold arrived in Yorkshire four days after the Battle of Gate Fulford having covered 185 miles, gathering an army as he did.

It was then that he first heard the news of Edwin and Morcar's defeat against the Vikings.

By now, Hardrada and Tostig had negotiated an alliance with the people of York.

Have a look at the image.

It's an illustration of the Vikings and English negotiating.

Both sides agreed to the mutual handover of hostages at a place called Stamford Bridge.

The Vikings carried their weapons to the meeting, but many decided not to wear their armour because of the warm weather.

The Vikings were unaware that Harold had rushed north and was now only 10 miles away.

Hearing the plans for the hostage exchange in the exposed location of Stamford Bridge, Harold launched a surprise attack.

Have a look at the map.

We can see that Stamford bridge was a few miles away from York.

It was an exposed location, which was harder for the Vikings to defend.

Okay, let's have a check for understanding.

What was remarkable about Harold Godwinson's journey to Yorkshire? A, he travelled alone without any guards? B, he covered the distance in an unusually short time? C, he used a new route never travelled before? Pause the video, have a think and come right back.

Great.

Welcome back.

Well done if you knew it was B, he covered the distance in an unusually short time.

Another savage battle ensued, which again resulted in heavy casualties on both sides.

However, the Vikings were caught by surprise without their armour and with their force split.

Have a look at the map.

We can see Hardrada and Tostig's troops in blue.

Not expecting to be attacked, they are scattered either side of the river, which runs through the centre of the map.

We can also see the wooden bridge.

This is Stamford Bridge.

Notice how some of the Viking army are on the west side of the bridge, but most of the Viking army is on the east side of the river.

Harold's troops in red had rushed to this location to launch a surprise attack.

Harold defeated part of the Viking army before crossing the river to confront the disorganised Hardrada and Tostig.

Harold had a resounding victory.

His brother Tostig and the fearsome Hardrada were both killed in battle.

When the Vikings realised that they had lost their leaders, they tried to escape back to their ships.

But only a third made it back.

Okay, let's have a look at some reasons for the English victory at Stamford Bridge.

Firstly, Howard Godwinson launched a surprise attack.

Howard had made it north with remarkable speed, which allowed him to have the elements of surprise.

This was probably the most important factor in its victory against a battle hardened Vikings, although they were already weakened by the battle they had fought five days earlier.

Secondly, many Vikings had to fight without their armour.

They decided to leave their armour in York because of the warm weather.

Furthermore, the Viking force was split into two.

They were in a location which was very difficult to defend from an attack and split either side of the river.

Also, Tostig had misled Hardrada about the level of support.

Tostig had convinced the Vikings that many people would welcome the return of Viking rule.

Okay, let's have a check for understanding.

What were important factors for Harold's victory at Stamford Bridge? Select two correct answers.

A, Harold's surprise attack? B, Harold's army never crossed Stamford Bridge? C, the Vikings were not all wearing armour? D, the Vikings had no weapons? Pause the video, select your two correct answers and come right back.

Okay, great.

Welcome back.

Well done if you knew it was A, Harold's surprise attack and C, the Vikings were not all wearing their armour.

So the battles of Gate Fulford and Stamford bridge are significant.

Harold Godwinson had shown military skill and strength.

Furthermore, Harold could command and lead the kingdom as a whole.

The Earls, the thegns, and the fyrd had all fought loyally for him.

Three days after the battle at Stamford Bridge, Duke William of Normandy landed on the south coast of England.

Have a look at the image.

It's a detail from the Bayeux Tapestry showing Harold Godwinson hearing the news of the Norman's landing.

Harold would now have to march his surviving battle weary troops south and raise a new army.

The timing of the Viking invasion with Harold having to march north and fight and then march South again would prove a great challenge in the coming battle with the Normans.

Okay, let's have a check for understanding.

Why was the battle of Stamford bridge significant in the context of the subsequent events in 1066? A, it led to an uprising against Earl Tostig of Northumbria? B, it weakened Harold's influence over the Witan? C, it weakened the English forces just before Williams's invasion? Pause the video, have a think and come right back.

Okay, great.

Welcome back.

Well done if you knew it was C, the Battle of Stamford bridge was significant 'cause it weakened the English forces just before William's invasion.

Okay, let's move on to task B.

What I want you to do here is starting with the earliest, sort these events into time order.

And you can see I've given you a list of four events, which I want you to place into the boxes on the right in the correct time order.

Pause the video, have a think about the task, and then come right back.

Okay, great.

Welcome back.

Let's check the correct time order then.

So the first event you should have placed into the box was Harold gave the order to send a fyrd home.

If you remember, Harold was waiting on the south coast expecting a Norman invasion, and yet he had waited the whole summer of 1066 and no invasion came and he was forced to send the fyrd home to harvest their crops.

And the next event, Harold receives news of a Viking invasion.

And this was days after he'd sent the fyrd home.

And the third event, Harold defeats Hardrada at the Battle of Stamford Bridge.

Obviously, Harold had to rush North.

Surprise attack on the Vikings, and he defeats them with Hardrada and his brother Tostig both being killed in battle.

And then the final event there is Harold learns that Normans have landed on the South Coast.

Again days after the Battle of Stamford Bridge, he now gets the news that the Normans have finally invaded on the South Coast.

Very unlucky timing for Harold indeed.

Okay, let's move on to the second part of task B.

What I want you to do is explain why the battles of Gate Fulford and Stamford Bridge are significant.

You must write one paragraph on each of the following.

The Battle of Gate Fulford and the Battle of Stamford Bridge.

Okay, so we're looking for a paragraph for each of those battles, and I want you to use all of the knowledge from today's lesson and pack in as much detailed information about those battles, which explains why the battles were significant or important.

Pause the video, have a go at the task, and then come right back.

Okay, great.

Welcome back.

Let's check those answers.

Now, you could have answered this in many different ways.

Now clearly you won't have exactly as I have here, but nonetheless, hopefully this will give you an idea of what you could have written.

So my first paragraph was on the Battle of Gate Fulford.

The Battle of Gate Fulford was significant 'cause it showed Harold could depend on the loyalty of earls Edwin and Morcar.

So clearly this is going to be the one of the points raised in the paragraph.

Let's see if I've got some detailed information to back that up.

Harold was caught by surprise by the Viking invasion in the North.

He had been expecting an invasion by William in the South.

King Harold depended on Edwin and Morcar to defend the north in the Battle of Gate Fulford.

This gave Harold time to travel north and face a weakened Viking army at the Battle of Stamford Bridge.

Okay, so you can see there the paragraph successfully gives a reason for the significance of Gate Fulford 'cause it showed Harold could depend on the loyalties of Earls Edward and Morcar.

And then gives some further explanation to show how that loyalty was exercised and how that helped Harold.

Okay, let's have a look at the next paragraph.

The Battle of Stamford bridge was significant because it demonstrated that Harold Godwinson was the strong military leader that England needed after Edward the Confessor.

And as you may remember, one of the reasons the Witan had chosen Harold to be king was that he was a strong military leader.

So these battles were significant because they demonstrated that Harold could back this up and be a strong military leader when England required it.

So let's look further into the paragraph to see if there's some detailed information which will support that fact.

Harold and his army would have had a big morale boost after defeating the famous Viking warrior Harold Hardrada and saving England from a huge invasion, a 300 strong fleet.

However, three days after the battle, Duke William of Normandy landed on the south coast of England.

Harold would now have to march his surviving battle weary troops south to face another battle.

So the supporting information was given to back up that first point, and you can see the paragraph ends raising another significant factor of the Battle of Stamford Bridge was because Harold would now have to face another battle directly after this one.

Okay, great.

Let's summarise today's lesson, the Battles of Gate Fulford and Stamford Bridge.

Harold Godwinson waited in southern England for a potential Norman attack.

When none arrived, he sent the fyrd home.

A few days later, Harold Hardrada and Tostig Godwinson launched an invasion in northern England.

They successfully fought against earls Edwin and Morcar at the Battle of Gate Fulford.

Harold rushed North with remarkable speed.

He surprised and defeated the Vikings at the Battle of Stamford Bridge on the 25th of September, 1066.

Harold's forces were victorious, but weakened by battle and now had to face the Normans in the south.

Well done on a brilliant lesson.

Thank you for joining me as we unfolded these battle formations and sequences.

I will see you next time when we continue our inquiry into why the Normans conquered England in 1066.

See you in the next lesson.