Battle of Stamford Bridge The Battle of Stamford Bridge took place at the village of Stamford Bridge , East Riding of Yorkshire in England on 25 September 1066 , between an English army under King Harold Godwinson and an invading Norwegian force led by King Harald Hardrada of Norway ( Old Norse : " Haraldr harðráði " ) and the English king ' s brother Tostig Godwinson . After a bloody and horrific battle , both Hardrada and Tostig along with most of the Norwegians were killed . Although Harold Godwinson repelled the Norwegian invaders , his victory was short - lived : he was defeated and killed by the Normans at Hastings less than three weeks later . The battle has traditionally been presented as symbolising the end of the Viking Age , although in fact major Scandinavian campaigns in Britain and Ireland occurred in the following decades , notably those of King Sweyn Estrithson of Denmark in 1069 – 70 and King Magnus Barefoot of Norway in 1098 and 1102 – 03 . Background . The death of King Edward the Confessor of England in January 1066 had triggered a succession struggle in which a variety of contenders from across north - western Europe fought for the English throne . These claimants included the King of Norway , Harald Hardrada , who assembled a fleet of 300 ships , probably carrying about 15 , 000 troops , to invade England . Arriving off the English coast in September he was joined by further forces recruited in Flanders and Scotland by Tostig Godwinson . Tostig was at odds with his elder brother Harold ( who had been elected king ) , having been ousted from his position as Earl of Northumbria and exiled in 1065 , and had mounted a series of abortive attacks on England in the spring of 1066 . In the late summer of 1066 , the invaders sailed up the Ouse before advancing on York . Outside the city they defeated a northern English army led by Edwin , Earl of Mercia and his brother Morcar , Earl of Northumbria at the Battle of Fulford on 20 September . Following this victory they received the surrender of York . Having briefly occupied the city and taken hostages and supplies from the city they returned to their ships at Riccall . They offered peace to the Northumbrians in exchange for their support for Harald ' s bid for the throne , and demanded further hostages from the whole of Yorkshire . At this time King Harold was in Southern England , anticipating an invasion from France by William , Duke of Normandy , another contender for the English throne . Learning of the Norwegian invasion he headed north at great speed with his houscarl s and as many thegns as he could gather , travelling day and night . He made the journey from London to Yorkshire , a distance of about 185 miles , in only four days , enabling him to take the Norwegians completely by surprise . Having learned that Northumbrians had been ordered to send the additional hostages and supplies to the Norwegians at Stamford Bridge , Harold hurried on through York to attack them at this rendezvous on 25 September . Until the English army came into view the invaders remained unaware of the presence of a hostile army anywhere in the vicinity . Location . There was no village at Stamford Bridge in 1066 and not even in 1086 when the Domesday Book was compiled . The name is locative and descriptive of crossing points over the River Derwent being derived from a combination of the words stone , ford and bridge i . e . stoneford and bridge . At the location of the present village , within the river bed , there is an outcrop of stone over which the river once flowed as a mini - waterfall . At low water levels one could easily cross over the river at this point , either on foot or horseback . One mile to the south along the River Derwent at Scoreby lies the site of a 1st to 4th century Roman settlement known as Derventio . The town runs for two and a half miles east / west alongside a Roman road . Occupying both east and west banks of the river , the town was connected by the construction of a bridge which carried the road . There is no archaeological evidence for a Roman bridge construction at or near the present site of Stamford Bridge . Whether there is any validity in the story of the huge Viking who stood his ground on a bridge against the might of Harold Godwinson ' s army we will never know , but the fact is that a bridge was mentioned in both Manuscript C of the " Anglo - Saxon Chronicle " and again in its extended 12th century version . It is possible that there may have been a two - pronged attack by Godwinson on Hardrada ' s army , making use of both the ford and perhaps the remnants of the earlier Roman bridge one mile to the south , information of which , and of the two road routes to the location from York , could have been gathered from Godwinson ' s earlier occupation of the city of York . Topographically , on the east bank of the river from the bridge crossing point , the land rises sharply up to 100 feet at High Catton . This is the only high ground around and a good defensive position for Hardrada ' s army caught out by Godwinson ' s sudden appearance on the skyline , as he rounded the ridge at Gate Helmsley to drop downhill swiftly onto Hardrada ' s unsuspecting army . Battle . The Vikings were at an enormous disadvantage . Their army was divided in two ; with some of their troops on the west side of the River Derwent and the bulk of their army on the east side . They were not expecting English intervention , and since it was an unseasonably warm day for late September ; they left their armour behind at their ships . The English army arrived and annihilated the Vikings who fought a futile defence on the west side of the river . By the time the bulk of the English army had arrived , the Vikings on the west side were either slain or fleeing across the bridge . The English advance was then delayed by the need to pass through the choke - point presented by the bridge . A later folk story has it that a giant Norse axeman ( possibly armed with a Dane Axe ) blocked the narrow crossing , and single - handedly held up the entire English army . The " Anglo - Saxon Chronicle " states that this axeman cut down up to 40 Englishmen . He was only defeated when an English soldier floated under the bridge in a half - barrel and thrust his spear through the laths in the bridge , mortally wounding the axeman . Whatever the delay , this had allowed the bulk of the Norse army to form a shieldwall to face the English attack . Harold ' s army poured across the bridge , forming a line just short of the Norse army , locked shields and charged . The battle went far beyond the bridge itself , and although it raged for hours the Norse army ' s decision to leave their armour behind left them at a distinct disadvantage . Eventually , the Norse army began to fragment and fracture , allowing the English troops to force their way in and break up the Scandinavians ' shield wall . Completely outflanked , Hardrada at this point was killed with an arrow to his wind pipe and Tostig slain , the Norwegian army disintegrated and was virtually annihilated . In the later stages of the battle , the Norwegians were reinforced by troops who had been left behind to guard the ships at Ricall , led by Eystein Orri , Hardrada ' s daughter ' s fiancé . Some of his men were said to have collapsed and died of exhaustion upon reaching the battlefield . These men , unlike their comrades , were fully armed for battle . Their counter - attack , described in the Norwegian tradition as " Orri ' s Storm " , briefly checked the English advance , but was soon overwhelmed and Orri was slain by a Saxon warrior . The Norwegian army routed , pursued by the English army , some of the fleeing Norsemen drowned in the rivers . So many died in an area so small that the field was said to have been still whitened with bleached bones 50 years after the battle . Aftermath . King Harold accepted a truce with the surviving Norwegians , including Harald ' s son Olaf and Paul Thorfinnsson , Earl of Orkney . They were allowed to leave after giving pledges not to attack England again . The losses the Norwegians had suffered were so horrific that only 24 ships from the fleet of over 300 were needed to carry the survivors away . They withdrew to Orkney , where they spent the winter , and in the spring Olaf returned to Norway . The kingdom was then divided and shared between him and his brother Magnus , whom Harald had left behind to govern in his absence . Three days after the battle , on 28 September , the Normans under William II landed on the south coast of England . King Harold had to rush his battered , weary army south to meet the new invasion . Less than three weeks after Stamford Bridge , on 14 October , Harold was defeated and killed at the Battle of Hastings , beginning the Norman Conquest of England , and ending the Anglo - Saxon era . So many English senior Thegn s and lesser noblemen died at Stamford Bridge and Hastings that it was difficult for the Anglo - Saxons to resist their new Norman lords ; there were literally no leaders with standing to rally around . Monuments . Two monuments to the battle have been erected in and around the village of Stamford Bridge . Village Monument . The first memorial is located in the village on Main Street ( A116 ) . The monument ' s inscription reads ( in both English and Norwegian ) : THE BATTLE OF STAMFORD BRIDGE WAS FOUGHT IN THIS NEIGHBOURHOOD ON SEPTEMBER 25TH , 1066 The inscription on the accompanying marble tablet reads : THE BATTLE OF STAMFORD BRIDGE KING HAROLD OF ENGLAND DEFEATED HIS BROTHER TOSTIG AND KING HARDRAADA OF NORWAY HERE ON 25 SEPTEMBER 1066 . Battlefield Monument . A second monument is located at the battlefield site at the end of Whiterose Drive . This monument consists of a memorial stone and plaque detailing the events and outcome of the battle . The plaque points out that : This viewpoint overlooks the site of the Battle of Stamford Bridge , fought by King Harold of England against the invading Norse army of Hadraada .