End of the Vikings: Battle of Stamford Bridge

On September 25, 1066, the last great Viking invasion of England ended in a single afternoon at a river crossing near York. Many historians mark the Battle of Stamford Bridge as the end of the Viking Age. The Norse didn’t vanish, of course; their languages, laws, and place names are still with us, and one Danish king, Harald Bluetooth, even lent his nickname to modern wireless technology. But after Stamford Bridge, no Scandinavian army would seriously threaten to conquer England again.

Battle of Stamford Bridge

King Harald Hardrada of Norway, a veteran of wars from Sicily to the Byzantine court, landed in northern England in September 1066. His ally was Tostig Godwinson, brother of the newly crowned King Harold II of England (Harold Godwinson, not to be confused with Norway’s Harald), who had been driven out as Earl of Northumbria the year before after a rebellion against his harsh rule.

The presence of the Viking warriors and the danger they represented forced the newly crowned Harold II and his army to march 185 miles to meet the invading force. They reached Stamford Bridge in four days and surprised the Vikings.

The two armies met with Harold II having the upper hand early. Hardrada was able to gain control of the battle, and the Vikings appeared to be favored for the victory. However, an arrow to the throat killed Hardrada.

According to Snorri Sturluson’s saga of Harald, written some 150 years later, Harold II offered terms after Hardrada fell, and Tostig and the Norwegians refused. Reinforcements under Eystein Orri ran up from the ships, still in their mail and exhausted by the run. In the fighting, Tostig and Orri were both killed and the Norwegians were routed. English chroniclers say the invaders had come in some 300 ships; the survivors needed only 24 to go home.

The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle tells of a lone Norwegian who held the bridge against the English army at the start of the fight. He appears in our post on berserkers.

The Viking Decline Was Not One Event

Stamford Bridge punctuated the end of the Viking era, but it didn’t cause it alone. Three days after the battle, William of Normandy (himself descended from Viking settlers) landed in the south, and Harold’s exhausted army lost at Hastings on October 14. Across the North, kingdoms were becoming centralized, Christian, and better organized; settlers in England, Ireland, Scotland and Normandy had married into local families; and Scandinavia itself was becoming part of mainstream medieval Europe. The age of the raid had opened at Lindisfarne in 793, and it was over. Both dates, 793 and 1066, anchor our Viking Timeline.

The Viking Age ended, but its stories didn’t. Asgard Alaska exists to keep them alive, with history-centered experiences for Alaskans of all ages. Join our newsletter to follow along.

To read more about the ships that carried the invasion, see Viking Ships: How the Longship Changed Norse Seafaring. For how sagas like Snorri’s shape what we know, see How Do We Know? Vikings in Writing.