At this time Godwinson was in Southern England. He was waiting for an invasion from France by the Duke of Normandy. Duke William was another contender for the English throne. Learning of the Norwegian invasion, Godwinson headed north at great speed with his houscarls and as many thegns as he could gather. He made the journey from London to Yorkshire, a distance of about 190 miles, in only four days. Godwinson learned that the Northumbrians had been ordered to send the additional hostages and supplies to the Norwegians at Stamford Bridge. Godwinson hurried on through York to attack them at this place on 25 September. Until the English army came into view, the invaders did not even know there was an English army anywhere in the vicinity.
No one is certain of the exact location of the battle. There is no abbey, wikt:marker or cross to mark the place. However, an area southwest of the town called "battle flats" may be the actual location of the battle. The Vikings were taken completely by surprise. They were resting in the heat of the day. Hardrada was confident enough that he left one-third of the Viking forces, along with much of the army's armor, at their camp at Riccall. As the English army attacked downhill many of the Vikings were completely unprepared. The main part of the Viking army was on the other side of the bridge. A small Viking force held the approach to the bridge but they were quickly swept aside. According to legend, a single Viking warrior held the narrow bridge against the English for a time. He killed about 40 English warriors before he was killed.
In the fierce fighting that followed, both Hardrada and Tostig were killed. Most of the Vikings at the bridge were killed. Out of the original fleet of 300 ships, there were only enough men left to man 24 ships on the return to Norway. It has been said that before fighting started, Godwinson offered to return his brother's earldom if he would change sides. But Tostig flatly refused.
Stamford Bridge was a major victory for Godwinson. It showed he was a very capable commander. It also demonstrated how well trained his Housecarls were. But Stamford Bridge will always be overshadowed by the Battle of Hastings which took place just under three weeks later. The battle at Stamford Bridge left Godwinson's army very tired and in need of rest. He had lost the forces of his two Earls from the earlier battle. But he received news that Duke William had landed. He quickly marched his tired army down to London, stopping at Waltham Abbey long enough to pray for another victory. On October 12 he was in London trying to find more soldiers to add to his army before facing William at Hastings. On October 14, Godwinson formed his army on the ridge looking down on the battlefield. This started the Battle of Hastings and the end of Anglo-Saxon rule in England.
François Villon
François Villon was a French poet. Villon was born in Paris in 1431, he died after 1463. His real name was likely François de Montcorbier or François des Loges. Today, he is considered the most important poet of the late Middle Ages in France. His parents were poor and died when he was still young; Guillaume de Villon was responsible for his upbringing. In 1455, he changed his name to Villon.
David Gentleman
David Gentleman (born 11 March 1930) is an English artist. He studied at the Royal College of Art and was taught by Edward Bawden and John Nash. He works in watercolour, lithography and wood engraving. Some of his work is very large, such as the platform-length murals for Charing Cross underground station in London. Some of his work is very small, including postage stamps and logos.
His themes include landscape and environmental posters, drawings of street life, and protest placards. He has written and illustrated many books, mostly about countries and cities.
Gampel
Gampel is a village and former municipality in the district of Leuk in the canton of Valais in Switzerland.
On 1 January 2009 the former municipalities of Gampel and Bratsch merged into the new municipality of Gampel-Bratsch.
Gampel-Bratsch
Gampel-Bratsch is a municipality of the district of Leuk in the canton of Valais in Switzerland.
On 1 January 2009 the former municipalities of Bratsch and Gampel merged into the new municipality of Gampel-Bratsch.
Weather vane
A weather vane is a device with a freely rotating pointer used to indicate the direction of the wind. Weather vanes served as simple devices for showing the direction of the wind and its speed for centuries. They were a critical tool for agriculture, travel and shipping. They serve a largely decorative function today. They have been replaced by specialized weather instruments.
To work correctly a weather vane should be at the highest point of a building. It needs to be as far away as possible from other things that might interrupt the wind. The simplest form is a horizontal arrow or other form freely rotating on a vertical rod. When the wind blows, the arrow shows the direction and speed. The earliest known weather was made by the astronomer Andronicus in 48 BC. It sat on top of the Tower of the Winds in Athens. It was between and long and was the shape of a head and torso of a man with the tail of a fish.
The word 'vane' comes from the Old English "fana banner". This is related to the Old High German "fano" (cloth); from the Latin "pannus" (cloth or rag).
Tatar Wikipedia
Tatar Wikipedia is the Tatar language edition of Wikipedia. There are an estimated 5.2 million speakers of Kazan Tatar. Many live in Russia and the countries of the former Soviet republics. Most are concentrated in Tatarstan and in Bashkortostan. There are also Tatar speakers in the cities of Moscow, St.Petersburg and elsewhere in Russia. Tatar is the largest of the minority languages spoken in Russia.
The total number of articles written in this wikipedia edition is 69,865. The number of administrators in this wikipedia is 3. There are about 54 active users of this wikipedia out of a total number of 21,495 users.
Arrector pili
Musculus arrrector pili are muscles found at the end of hair in mammals.
Guttet-Feschel
Guttet-Feschel is a municipality of the district of Leuk in the canton of Valais in Switzerland.
On 1 October 2000 the former municipalities of Feschel and Guttet merged into the new municipality of Guttet-Feschel.
Inden, Switzerland
Inden is a municipality of the district of Leuk in the canton of Valais in Switzerland.
It is on a high plateau and along the road that runs from Leukerbad to the Gemmi Pass.
Leukerbad
Leukerbad (, Walliser German: "Leiggerbad") is a municipality of the district Leuk in the canton of Valais in Switzerland.
Oberems, Switzerland
Oberems is a municipality of the district Leuk in the canton of Valais in Switzerland.
Var (river)
The Var () is a river in southeastern France. It is a right tributary of the Rhône river.It gave its name to the French department of Var. It is a unique case in France of a river not flowing in the department named after it (see Var)
The Var river has a length of , and a drainage basin with an area of .
Its average yearly discharge (volume of water which passes through a section of the river per unit of time) is at Nice (Pont Napoléon III) in the Alpes-Maritimes department.
The source of the Var is in the small town of Estenc, in the "commune" of Entraunes, at an altitude of about , to the south of the Col de la Cayolle, a mountain pass high, in the Alpes-Maritimes department. From here, the Var flows, in general, to the southeast.
The Var flows through the Alpes-Maritimes department for most of its length; it flows through the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department for a short distance, about .
The Var river flows through 1 region (Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur), 2 departments and 31 "communes". It flows through the following "communes", among others:
Finally, it flows into the Mediterranean Sea between Nice and Saint-Laurent-du-Var.
The five main tributaries of the Var river are: