King Edward of England died on January 5, 1066, after a reign of 23 years. He left no heirs, Edward's passing ignited a three-way war for the crown that culminated in the Battle of Hastings and the destruction of the Anglo-Saxon rule of England. The leading pretender was Harold Godwinson, the second most powerful man in England and an advisor to Edward. Harold and Edward became brothers-in-law when the king married Harold's sister. Harold's powerful position, his relationship to Edward made him a logical successor to the throne. His coronation took place the same day as Edward's burial. With the placing of the crown on his head, Harold's troubles began. Across the English Channel, William, Duke of Normandy, also laid claim to the English …show more content…
From William's perspective, when Harold donned the Crown he not only defied the wishes of Edward but had violated a sacred oath. Harold's violation of his sacred oath enabled William to secure the support of the Pope who promptly excommunicated Harold, consigning him and his supporters to an eternity in Hell. The third rival for the throne was Harald Hardrada, King of Norway. His justification was even more tenuous than William's. Hardrada ruled Norway jointly with his nephew Mangus until 1047 when Mangus conveniently died. Now with Mangus and Edward dead, Hardrada asserted that he, as Mangus's heir, was the rightful ruler of England. When he heard of Harold's coronation, Hardrada immediately prepared to invade England and crush the upstart. Hardrada of Norway struck first. In mid September, Hardrada's force landed on the Northern English coast, took out a few coastal villages and headed towards the city of York. Hardrada was joined in his effort by Tostig, King Harold's nere-do-well brother. The Viking army overwhelmed an English force blocking the York road and captured the …show more content…
The speed of Harold's forced march allowed him to surprise Hardrada's army on September 25, as it camped at Stamford Bridge outside York. A fierce battle followed. Hand to hand combat flowed across the bridge. Finally the Norsemen's line broke and the real slaughter began. Hardrada fell and then the King's brother, Tostig. What remained of the Viking army fled to their ships. So devastating was the Viking defeat that only 24 of the invasion force's original 240 ships made the trip back home. Resting after his victory, Harold received word of William's landing near
Another cause for his unpopularity was the question of benevolences. When he was crowned Richard promised to stop the use of benevolences as this was particularly disliked by the nobles. However because of the war with Scotland , the threat of Henry and rebellions Richard had to later ask for benevolences once again. This made him even more
The Great Heathen Army was the name of a coalition of Norse armies from the Scandinavian region; Denmark, Norway, and possibly also Sweden in approximately 865CE, and ending in approximately 875CE with the defeat of the Viking army by King Alfred ‘The Great’ of Wessex. There were multiple possible motivations for this invasion, including (but not limited to): revenge for the death of legendary Ragnarr Lodbok, the expansion of Norse control into the British Isles, and the need for fresher lands for agriculture. There are two main sources that tell us about the Great Heathen Invasion; The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle by various authors and Life of King Alfred by Asser, which will be evaluated to determine their reliability as primary sources for the
The Loss of the Throne by Richard III There are many views as to whether Richard III lost his throne, or if it was a mainly Tudor advance which secured it. Overall I think that Henry Tudor did not actively gain the throne decisively, in fact Richard III lost it from making key mistakes throughout his reign, and at Bosworth. Richard weakened his grasp on the throne by indulging in a vast plantations policy which gave too much power to Northerners and inevitably made him dependant on these few. The fact that Northerners were given such a huge dependence enraged the South, and rid Richard of many possible backers during a war. Richard had also been so determined to suppress any rebellions and secure Henry Tudors downfall that he spent vast National funds on these ventures.
Nobody dared to stop the bravest man in all the land known as Beowulf. Beowulf is the strongest warrior from Geatland. When Beowulf hears about the Danes and Hrothgar’s struggle to keep his men safe, he offers to help. The Danish king, Hrothgar, accepts Beowulf’s request to kill Grendel and his mother. Beowulf proves his strength and becomes famous when he defeats Grendel in a battle using nothing but his bare hands in Herot. He keeps Grendel’s arm as a symbol of his victory. Grendel’s mother looks for revenge, but she is also killed by the brave warrior. Beowulf becomes the King of Geatland after the king’s son, Heardred, is killed. Beowulf rules for 50 years and he is very successful in keeping peace across the land and Geatland becomes very prosperous. Beowulf later dies after a final fight against a dragon. The Geats build a tower strong and tall just as Beowulf requested so that sailors could find it from far and wide. Beowulf perfectly embodies the Germanic heroic ideal.
King Hrothgar had no solution to the conflict it was described that “All were endangered; young and old were hunted down by that dark death-shadow who lurked and swooped in the long nights on the misty moors” (Heaney 219). Grendel took over and established a kingdom. Grendel established a terrorizing fear in all the danes, until Beowulf comes along. Beowulf is immediately praised “There was no one else like him alive. In his day, he was the mightiest man on earth, high-born and powerful”, the Danes after seven years have found how to defeat this monster. (Heaney 222) Beowulf travels to another country and is one of kind, no one compares to his might and power. This proves how brave he is to travel to another country to defeat a monster that has had repeatedly attacked Danes. Beowulf emphasizes his bravery even more by declaring ““I hereby renounce sword and the shelter of the broad shield, the heavy war-board: hand-to-hand is how it will be, a life-and-death fight with the fiend”. This boastful attitude gives Beowulf the bravery to step up and fight using his barehands. The average warrior would use a shield and sword but, Beowulf is not average he shows that he is a hero and will fight Grendel as if he was invincible. Beowulf defeats Grendel by ripping of his arm and it signifies that he is not a fraud, but a man of his word. Beowulf pride gives himself an
William conquered England out of anger towards King Harold and the Witan (a committee that backed the kingship of Harold). He used anger and clever strategies to fight the Saxons in England and take over in the Battle of Hastings. In source 9, it shows the Normans charging the Saxon ranks with extreme force and anger. This validates that William I was conquering England with anger and force.
William I, better known as William the Conqueror, began his medieval and political career at a young age when his father left him to go on a crusade. Effectively William became the Duke of Normandy. He had to fight against other members of the Norman royalty who desired William's land and treasure. William learned at an early age that the men who ruled Europe during the middle ages were primarily interested in their own greed at the expense of all else, including the concepts chivalry and honor. He soon became a feared military commander, conquering all in Normandy who would oppose his interests. Also an excellent statesman, William planed a visit across the channel to England, so that he might meet with the elderly King Edward the Confessor, who had no obvious successors to his throne. It is hard to say what actually transpired during that meeting, due to a lack of historical records. However, what we do know comes down to us from the magnificent Bayeux tapestry. Believed to have been commissioned by Bishop Odo of Bayeux, it is in fact not a tapestry at all, but a long (230 feet long, 20 inches wide) embroidery. The Bayeaux tapestry is a pictorial history of the events leading up to and including William's victory at the battle of Hastings in 1066. At any rate the tapestry tells us that William was given the consent of Edward the Confessor, King of England, to rule the country after Edward's death. Furthermore, the tapestry also shows scenes of the Earl of Wessex Harold, swearing, on relics, before William, that he would not take the throne of England. Edward died and Harold took the throne, in spite of any prior arrangement with William of Normandy. William, gathered his armies and set...
But Buckingham knows what to do. He tells Richard to take two priests with him, since the people are very religious and will follow the priest's’ actions. After doing as if he was denying the request for being the king, the crowd tried to persuade him. Because of doing as if he didn’t want the crown, the crowd thought they could trust him more, and begged him to be the king. Eventually he said yes, and finally became king of England. He orders Buckingham to kill prince Edward, but Buckingham refuses to. He asks for his Earlship, but Richard gets mad and dismisses him. He knows he also has to get rid of Buckingham now, since he is not loyal to him anymore. He hires a murderer called Tyrrel to kill the princes and finally he got rid of
King Hrothgar once again looks toward Beowulf to take care of another monster. To get ready for this battle Beowulf wears armor and uses the Horting sword which has never lost in battle. Once again Beowulf shows his courage by deciding to go to the bottom of the monster filled swamp and fight alone. Fighting off monsters on his way down, Beowulf reached the bottom where he was met by Grendel 's mother. He tried to cut her head off with Horting, but she is too strong. Beowulf takes a sword made for giants off the wall, and uses his super strength to cut the mother 's head off. As a trophy of this battle Beowulf finds the body of Grendel in a corner and decides to take his head back to the mead hall. Hrothgar celebrates another victory by once again throwing a large celebration where they gave more gifts to Beowulf and the Geats. After two battles, Beowulf decides it is time for him and his men to head back to their homeland. Continuing to show courage, honor, and strength Beowulf states that if the Danes ever have anymore problems with monsters he will help protect
William was very powerful being the Duke of Normandy, and as soon as he was knighted at the a...
William, the Duke of Normandy, led an army into England. He won this battle and
This feud resulted in the Percy’s allying with King Henry and his wife Margaret of Anjou and the Neville’s allying with Richard, Duke of York and The Earl of Salisbury. This rivalry became extremely personal between Queen Margaret and Richard of York as Richard believed Margaret was planning his self-destruction. Margaret was “seeking to act as king. In this she was driven by her total focus on her son and the need to protect his inheritance” (Goodwin, 112). This conflict between two enemies eventually lead to the first battle of St. Albans in 1455, where the death of Henry’s cousin, Edmund Beaufort (Duke of Somerset), was killed and Henry was captured.
Edward V and his brother so that he could be next in line for the crown. But that is not true for Richard really didn’t do it.
Due to the fact that Harold Godwinson overlooked the dead king's wishes. Edward the Confessor, sworn his loyalty to William of Normandy when he died not to Harold. Harold Godwinson promptly had himself proclaimed king. It was only a matter of months before William, Duke of the large and powerful duchy of Normandy in France, paid Harold a visit to bring to his remembrance his own claim to the throne. William raised an army of Normans by promising them land and wealth when he came into his rightful kingship.
William was a better leader because although Harold had the upper hand in the battle and they were losing, William managed to outwit and defeat the English. In the Bayeux Tapestry there is a scene depicting that in the days preceding the Battle of Hastings, the wind direction changed and William and his army took this opportunity and managed to cross the Channel while Harold was still in the North. When they arrived, they made a fortified camp. William fed his troops, arranged them carefully and used them well in battle. Whilst in battle, William’s troops were getting killed because Harold’s troops had a strong position. Then he made a plan – he made his troops look like they were retreating and Harold and his army followed them, leaving their strong position on the hill, enabling William to defeat them as they walked into his trap.