S4.06 Harald Hardrada: Biography

Summary

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Rex Factor S4.06 – Harald Hardrada: Biography

Date: June 19, 2026
Hosts: Graham Duke & Ali Hood

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Episode Overview

This episode is the first of a two-part deep dive into the life of Harald Hardrada, legendary king and fierce warrior often dubbed “the last Viking.” The hosts trace Hardrada’s epic journey from his Viking roots in Norway, through dramatic adventures across Europe and the Byzantine Empire, to his momentous (and ultimately doomed) attempt to claim the throne of England in 1066. The tone is lively, humorous, and occasionally irreverent, with the hosts mixing historical detail with an accessible, bantering style.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Introduction & Harald’s Reputation

• Harald Hardrada is introduced as a "legendary Viking king and warrior, often described as the last Viking" [04:47].
• The hosts set the stakes: "If the events of 1066 played out differently, he could have been King of England as well" [04:52].
• "He's easily the biggest name that we've done in the series so far." – Ali [04:12].
• Harald will be covered across two episodes: this one for his biography and next for his Rex Factor review [04:35].

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2. Early Life & Character

• Born circa 1015, son of Sigurd Sir, a petty king in Norway, and half-brother to Olaf, then King of Norway [05:27].
• Name "Hardrada" means "hard ruler"; it is a nickname, not a family name [06:01].
• "We do actually have quite a lot to go on for Harald's character and his life because we have court poets extolling his great deeds. He himself writes poems also celebrating his great deeds." – Ali [06:14].
• Described by Snorri Sturluson as "a handsome man of distinguished bearing...fair haired with a fair beard and long moustaches… five ells tall" (~7 foot 4, but more likely just exceptionally tall for the period) [07:31–08:05].

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3. Warrior Beginnings & First Battles

• At 15, Harald joins his half-brother Olaf’s attempt to reclaim Norway from Canute (who ruled England and Denmark), despite his youth:
  • "If I'm too weak to grip the sword, I know what to do. I shall tie my hand to the hilt. There is no one more eager than I to cause trouble for these farmers." – Harald, as quoted by Ali [08:53].
• Olaf is killed at the Battle of Stiklestad (1030), while Harald escapes wounded into exile, starting a recurring pattern of returning from defeat [09:43–09:54].

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4. Exile and Eastern Adventures

At the Court of Yaroslav the Wise (Kyiv)

• Welcomed warmly in Kievan Rus; quickly rises to lead Yaroslav’s bodyguard, participating in campaigns [11:00–11:20].

In Constantinople & the Varangian Guard

• With 500 men, Harald joins the elite Varangian Guard of the Byzantine Empire [11:20].
• Battles pirates in the Mediterranean and participates in land campaigns in Asia Minor.
• Amasses considerable wealth and status; possibly visits Jerusalem as royal escort during diplomatic pilgrimage [13:16–14:15].
• Becomes entangled in Byzantine palace politics; after a stint in prison, helps overthrow Emperor Michael V and supports Empress Zoe [15:35–16:49].
• Eventually grows weary of Byzantine intrigue and seeks to leave for Norway to claim the throne, escaping by outmaneuvering Constantinople's harbor defenses [18:32–18:49].
  • "That sort of thing isn't really any kind of impediment for somebody like Harold." – Ali [18:26].

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5. The Road to Kingship in Norway

• Returns to Kyiv, collecting the treasure he’s sent there for safekeeping, and marries Yaroslav’s daughter, Elisiev (Elizabeth) in 1044 [19:47–20:37].
  • "The warlike King of Norway won the match of his desire. He gained a king's daughter and a hoard of gold as well." – (Snorri, as quoted by Ali) [20:54].
• Allies with Sven Estridsen (nephew of Canute), aiming for a double coup: Harald to take Norway, Sven Denmark [21:16–21:38].
• Magnus (Harald’s nephew) offers co-rulership of Norway, which Harald accepts, betraying Sven [22:07–22:12].
• The uneasy dual kingship results in tension and posturing, but is short-lived as Magnus dies in 1047—possibly suspiciously ("death by illness… sword to the neck illness," jokes Graham) [24:17–24:23].
• Harald becomes sole King of Norway, immediately setting his sights on Denmark and governance at home [24:56–25:30].

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6. Ruling Norway & The "Hard Ruler"

• Faces resistance from Norwegian nobles loyal to Magnus, particularly Einar Paunch Shaker, whom Harald eventually has murdered, thus earning the moniker “Hardrada” for his ruthless rule [26:02–28:10].
  • "You do one evil thing after another and then you are so frightened that you don't know what to do with yourself." – Finn Arneson rebuking Harald [28:36].
• His rule is marked by both brutality to rivals and generosity to loyalists; Norway is generally stable and prosperous, although Harald is dogged by ongoing vengeance and suspicion [29:59].

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7. Endless Wars for Denmark

• Annually attacks Denmark (1048–1064), but never manages to conquer it outright [27:40–33:14].
• Notable battles include:
  • Battle of Nyssa (1062): Epic naval engagement; Harald wins but Sven escapes [31:35–32:28].
  • Eventually makes peace, each ruler retaining their own kingdom after years of costly stalemate [33:37–33:48].

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8. Claim to the English Throne (Timestamps: 35:01–43:31)

• Harald’s claim to England comes via a convoluted agreement between his nephew Magnus and Harthacnut, whereby the survivor would inherit the other’s kingdoms—which Magnus interprets as extending to England, and thereby passes the claim to Harald [35:01–38:23].
• "As far as he's concerned, if there was anything holding him back, that might have been it, but that's now gone." – Ali on how Magnus’s claim passes to Harald [39:14–39:55].
• Actual pursuit of the claim only comes when Tostig Godwinson (Harold Godwinson’s exiled brother) seeks refuge at Harald’s court and encourages him to invade, arguing that he’ll find little support for current king Harold Godwinson [40:19–42:13].
  • "Everyone knows that there has never been in Scandinavia a warrior to compare with you. And it seems to me very strange that you should spend 15 years trying to conquer Denmark and yet be so reluctant to have England when it is yours for the taking." – Tostig persuading Harald [41:22].
• Harald, motivated by personal legacy and glory, accepts this argument, raising a massive invasion force [43:00–43:31].

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9. The 1066 Invasion & Final Campaign

The Invasion Fleet & Early Successes

• Harald assembles a fleet of about 300 ships, potentially 10,000–15,000 troops, and joins Tostig in northern England, plundering the coast and capturing Scarborough after burning it when it refuses to surrender [44:58–45:44].
• York surrenders after the northern army is defeated at the Battle of Fulford (20 Sept 1066) [46:04–47:23].

March to Stamford Bridge (50:05)

• Harold Godwinson, having anticipated an invasion in the south by William of Normandy, is caught unawares by the Viking threat, but reacts swiftly. He regathers his force (possibly by boats, per new historical analysis) and marches to confront Harald [50:05–50:52].

Battle of Stamford Bridge (52:34–58:48)

• Harald and his men, lightly armored and without the full force, are surprised by Godwinson's arrival [52:24–53:49].
  • Parley: Godwinson offers Tostig restoration if he defects, and to Harald, "He will Give King Harald 7ft of English ground, or as much as he is taller than other men, but no more" [53:09].
• Opening phase: a lone Viking heroically defends the bridge, felling over 40 Englishmen until killed from below (mythologically famous scene) [54:40–54:54].
• Shield wall defense; ultimately, Harald, possibly in a berserker rage, breaks out and is killed by an arrow to the throat [57:19–57:33].
• Reinforcements arrive too late; Tostig is killed, and only 25 of the original 300 ships are needed to carry survivors back to Norway [58:48–59:03].
  • "That is the last Viking army that would ever try to conquer England. Sent home." – Ali [59:24].

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "If you're a film producer and someone slips a script that says 'the last Viking' under your nose, you just write the check." – Graham [04:00].
• "This is how Snorri describes Harold: 'A handsome man of distinguished bearing...one of his eyebrows was slightly higher than the other.'" – Ali [07:31].
• On Stamford Bridge:
  • "He will Give King Harald 7ft of English ground, or as much as he is taller than other men, but no more." – Godwinson, relayed by Ali [53:09].
• On the Viking lone defender:
  • "The opening scene of that battle...it's written for you." – Graham [54:54].
• "That is it. That is the last Viking army that would ever try to conquer England. Sent home. And it's the end of Harald Hardrada." – Ali [59:24].

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Important Timestamps

• 04:47 – Introduction of Harald Hardrada and the scope of the episode
• 07:31 – Physical and character description from Snorri Sturluson
• 09:43 – First battle and Olaf’s death
• 13:16 – Harald's adventures with the Byzantines
• 18:32 – Harald’s daring escape from Constantinople
• 21:16 – Harald allies with Sven Estridsen against Magnus
• 24:17–24:23 – Magnus’s death and Harald as sole King of Norway
• 27:40 – Campaigns against Denmark
• 31:35 – Battle of Nyssa naval victory
• 35:01–43:31 – Harald’s claim to England and influence from Tostig
• 46:04–47:23 – Battle of Fulford and entry into York
• 52:34–58:48 – Detailed account of the Battle of Stamford Bridge and Harald’s death
• 59:24 – End of the Viking age in England and Harald’s legacy.

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Tone & Style

Friendly and witty; the hosts riff off each other's jokes, often skewering the oddities of medieval politics and human nature, while drawing modern parallels. They also poke fun at dramatic or melodramatic moments in the sagas—with a running joke about why this story isn’t already a film, and the importance of legacy in Viking culture.

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Summary

This episode chronicles the larger-than-life saga of Harald Hardrada, from his teenage exploits in Norway and wild adventures across the east to his tragic end at Stamford Bridge in 1066. The hosts highlight his courage, ambition, ruthlessness, and appetite for glory—as well as his pivotal role in ending the Viking age in England. It is an engaging, often funny, and insightful biography of one of history’s most storied “nearly monarchs.”

The story sets the scene for the next episode—where the hosts will judge whether Harald Hardrada deserves the coveted Rex Factor.

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Transcript

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[Graham Duke]

welcome to Rex Factor. This week Harold Hardrada biography with your hosts Graham Duke and Ali Hood.

[Ali Hood]

Hello, hello and welcome to Rex Factor. Reviewing all the nearly monarchs of England and the United Kingdom, from Ethelwold to Albert Victor. These are the people who could or should have become monarch but for the intervention of fate.

[Graham Duke]

When did you decide on that opening monologue? Because you must before you had to sort of run in and before you got used to it. And this time you. Because the structure's so set, you must have known a whole extra different one. Yeah, yeah.

[Ali Hood]

Whenever I think about it in advance, I still think about the last series.

[Graham Duke]

Yeah.

[Ali Hood]

And saying that, oh, I'm glad the

[Graham Duke]

roles are this way around.

[Ali Hood]

Well, what are we doing? What are we doing? I've got an hour.

[Graham Duke]

That's literally the hurdle it would fall at. That's it.

[Ali Hood]

Now, if you'd like some more information about the podcast, go to rexactpodcast.com to find links to all our social media sites and our email address. And you can sign up to join the Privy Council and get more bonus content from us, including an ad Free version of this main podcast and over 450 bonus [e-mail] RexFactor and you can now watch the podcast on Spotify or YouTube.

[Graham Duke]

Do you pay for stuff like this?

[Ali Hood]

Well, no. As a creator, I kind of get it all for free, really. I mean, if anything, it really doesn't even go on if I don't do it. Other podcasts I feel like I should because there are ones that I do listen to and feel like I really should be giving more.

[Graham Duke]

I pay for. We have ways. But not to get rid of the adverts because you just skip those.

[Ali Hood]

Yeah, no, it's for extra bits and to show support.

[Graham Duke]

But we've got loads of extra bits, haven't we, Discord? I mean, is that for these guys?

[Ali Hood]

Well, if you sign up on Patreon, then it's.

[Graham Duke]

Yes, that's. That's the real potato.

[Ali Hood]

That's how you do a cell. Hang on, hang on. Do these guys get that thing? Because otherwise I'm not going to even mention it.

[Graham Duke]

The special place. There is actually a special place within the special place.

[Ali Hood]

Now, as you'll have heard at the start this week, we are covering Harald Hardrada, legendary Viking king and warrior, often describ as the last Viking. And he could have the events of 1066 played out differently, being King of England as well.

[Graham Duke]

If you're a film producer and someone slips a script that says the last Viking under your nose straight in, you just. You just write the check. Yeah. Right. So how does the movie play out?

[Ali Hood]

Well, I mean, that is going to very much play out for us in the sense that there's so much on him. He's easily the biggest name that we've done in the series so far.

[Graham Duke]

Yeah.

[Ali Hood]

Immediately, I think most people have heard of how Hard Rod, even though you don't necessarily know a lot about him. So we're gonna do two episodes on Howard. He's our first double header of the series. So today we're gonna do full episode just on his biography and his life story, which is pretty epic.

[Graham Duke]

Yeah.

[Ali Hood]

And then next time we will review him.

[Graham Duke]

It's just a shame. I mean, Last Viking. I think I've worked out where the producer picked up the last Viking. Wicked. What's his name? Hardrada. Yes, it's his first name. Harold. What? Just. Couldn't he be called Hairy Hardrada or something?

[Ali Hood]

I don't know if that's better. It makes him sound kind of like a little cartoon character.

[Graham Duke]

Yeah. Harry's the hardest name I could come up with.

[Ali Hood]

I mean, I thought fluffy at first, but no, that's working. You want to keep the. The alliteration.

[Graham Duke]

So, yeah, I was. I was definitely working with the alliteration. I think that is. So it's got a write in, I suppose, if we have a hard name beginning with H. Byzantium.

[Ali Hood]

Harald Hardrada was born in about 1015 in Rigorik, Norway, the son of Sigurd Sir, a petty king in the uplands, and Auster Gudbrandsdatter, whose son Olaf by previous marriage. So Harald's half brother became Harald's half brother. Let's not bring half the Canute into this or it'll get all sorts of confusions.

[Graham Duke]

Yeah, exactly.

[Ali Hood]

Yes. This son Olaf by previous marriage becomes King of Norway pretty much at the time the Harald is born. Oh, so he's half brother of the King of Norway.

[Graham Duke]

Is that where he gets the name from? Is it actually half brother?

[Ali Hood]

Oh, no, it's not hard ruler. No. So Hardrada is a soubriquet. So it's not a family name or anything, but it probably means hard ruler.

[Graham Duke]

Yeah. That's cool. Yeah. Yeah. Is it?

[Ali Hood]

Which, as we all see, does pretty much fit with his character and his approach to life. And indeed, we do actually have quite a lot to go on for Harold's character and his life because we have court poets extolling his great deeds. He himself writes poems also celebrating his great deeds.

[Graham Duke]

Oh, dear.

[Ali Hood]

And he's featured in various Viking sagas, including being the subject of his own saga within the larger Heimskringla, which is his great.

[Graham Duke]

His what?

[Ali Hood]

Heimskringla.

[Graham Duke]

That is brilliant name.

[Ali Hood]

Which is a great historical work by the Icelandic writer Snorri Sturluson. So like all sagas, they can be a bit exaggerated in the telling, but at the same time are important historical sources for us.

[Graham Duke]

Are they like caricatures are to a photograph? Like they're based on a real image and they would be recognizable as something that happened. But there's also lots more giant squids.

[Ali Hood]

Yeah. Or indeed simply like, this is the Hollywood. This is the. The book of the film. Rather than the strict, you know, book. This is the book after they've done all the embellishments and making it a bit more dramatic and having some action

[Graham Duke]

scenes with the film star on the front cover. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I get it.

[Ali Hood]

The proper book.

[Graham Duke]

Proper book, yeah.

[Ali Hood]

So this is how Snorri describes Harold. A handsome man of distinguished bearing. He was fair haired with a fair beard and long moustaches. One of his eyebrows was slightly higher than the other.

[Graham Duke]

Brilliant.

[Ali Hood]

He had long, well shaped hands and feet. He was five ells tall.

[Graham Duke]

This is the most accurate description we've had of anyone yet, but unfortunately, what on earth is an L?

[Ali Hood]

Well, basically without going into measurement details, that would have made him about 7 foot 4 inches tall.

[Graham Duke]

Big lad then.

[Ali Hood]

Yeah. So unlikely that he is that tall. But other sources, not just sargons, other sources do all state that he is exceptionally tall. So even if he's not quite that tall, we assume a big intimidating chap.

[Graham Duke]

I posed, I ran ahead of the family this weekend and went and put my waded into the river so I could stand next to this sign that had clearly been cut too low. So it started at two feet. So when I stood next to it I looked like I was 8ft tall.

[Ali Hood]

Harold first appears on the scene in 10:30 when he was just 15 years old. So Canute. So that's the Canute, the one that rules England and Denmark, etc. He had forced Harald's half brother Olaf into exile in 1028. So Canute has conquered Norway.

[Graham Duke]

Right.

[Ali Hood]

So Olaf is going to try and get it back in 10:30. And despite suggesting to Harold that at 15 he's maybe a bit young to fight, Harold insisted Henry II shall certainly take part in the battle. And if I'm too weak to grip the sword, I know what to do. I shall tie my hand to the hilt. There is no one more eager than I to cause trouble for these farmers. I intend to be with my men.

[Graham Duke]

Oh gosh. It's. What? How have they brought those children up? Like absolute psychopaths.

[Ali Hood]

Well, in the privy chamber we'll have a bit more on this, but there is an anecdote about him and his other brothers and that the other brothers are kind of quite gentle, farm minded people, whereas Harold is always very much. This is where I will build my army. Hmm. It's just in, in his.

[Graham Duke]

It's just a bit of fun. Yeah, it's just a bit of fun.

[Ali Hood]

Now, unfortunately it's not all that fun because Olaf suffers a terrible defeat in the ensuing battle of Stiklestad and is killed. And Harald, though wounded, manages to escape across the mountains to Sweden thinking, oh,

[Graham Duke]

me, my big mouth, my big mouth.

[Ali Hood]

And then he heads on into exile to the court of Yaroslav the Wise and Kevan Russ. Oh, we may recall from a previous episode, Edward the exile is probably where he ends up as well. So as we said, this is where people in the sort of Scandinavian basin find themselves exiled from Canute that.

[Graham Duke]

That there's. There's an. There's a comparable in real life these days. I can't quite put my finger on it. Is it like you've fallen out of. You can't make it in the uk, so you go and try and crack America? Yeah, or something like that.

[Ali Hood]

Yeah.

[Graham Duke]

A rival court or something.

[Ali Hood]

Yeah, a rival court, but also one that is sort of operating separately. It's connected, but also operating in its own kind of rules. It is sort of disconnected at the same time.

[Graham Duke]

Yeah.

[Ali Hood]

But you could easily build up strength there and then come back to the real world.

[Graham Duke]

I sort of. Why? I don't understand how I'm so familiar with that concept yet. Can't think of the single example, but, yeah, indeed.

[Ali Hood]

Harald's brother Olaf had been an exile there after he first lost the throne in 1028. So very much a familiar environment for the Vikings to be going into. So Harald seems to have been given a very grand welcome at Yaroslav's court and reportedly becomes head of Yaroslav's bodyguard and takes part in various military campaigns over the next few years.

[Graham Duke]

Wow.

[Ali Hood]

However, after a few years of doing that, he decides to go his own way and he takes around 500 men to Constantinople to join the Varangian Guard of the Byzantine Empire.

[Graham Duke]

I mean, you'd think it was. You think you were taking liberties doing this film, wouldn't you? All right, so now we've got a Viking and what looks, to all intents and purposes, like Rome.

[Ali Hood]

I mean, so the Varangian Guard is an elite unit of the Byzantine army, established in the late 10th century as a sort of imperial bodyguard.

[Graham Duke]

Yeah.

[Ali Hood]

When the Emperor couldn't really trust the native Byzantine soldiers. So he wants an external source. And they are primarily made up initially of soldiers from Rus, but also then predominantly Scandinavia. Vikings.

[Graham Duke]

Brilliant.

[Ali Hood]

Harold presents himself to the new emperor, Michael iv, who'd been installed as emperor by his lover, the Empress Zoe. And Harold apparently requests that he be able to maintain his men as a separate company. So he can be a commander, he can lead them, but he would just put the badge on.

[Graham Duke]

Oh, okay.

[Ali Hood]

So a bit like sharp.

[Graham Duke]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Ali Hood]

Follow orders. But essentially, this is my troop, we just do our own thing.

[Graham Duke]

That's a good agreement to come to, isn't it? All of the official stuff, but none of the responsibility.

[Ali Hood]

So he's immediately put to work in the Byzantine fleet. So he's responsible for clearing Arabian pirates out of the East Mediterranean, isn't.

[Graham Duke]

It's gone. Yeah. It's navy now. Yeah.

[Ali Hood]

Because Again, makes sense. Vikings, obviously, a lot of sea experience, so it's a natural fit. So he clears the Mediterranean of pirates and then transfers to a land campaign to pursue them and their supporters in Asia Minor.

[Graham Duke]

I mean, it's a long way from a bodyguard role, isn't it?

[Ali Hood]

Yeah, it sort of. It starts as a bodyguard and then really it just develops into a useful mercenary force.

[Graham Duke]

Yeah, like flash. Brilliant.

[Ali Hood]

Now, these adventures all have made Harald very rich because he got to keep some of the captured booty. Also, of course, Raesus is standing the imperial court. So in about 1036, Harold and his men went to Jerusalem. Now, Snorri Sturluson suggests that he conquered the city, noting that wherever he went in Palestine, all the towns and castles were surrendered to him.

[Graham Duke]

Is that more like when the Beatles went to America, that they conquered America?

[Ali Hood]

Well, yeah, that sort of thing. It's not completely ahistorical, but he definitely doesn't conquer Jerusalem. Probably he goes to Jerusalem, but it's more likely that he's part of a royal escort for pilgrims because there's been a recent deal to kind of reopen the city and also to rebuild the

[Graham Duke]

Church of Holy Sepulchre, because this is pre.

[Ali Hood]

Pre Crusade.

[Graham Duke]

Yeah. Okay.

[Ali Hood]

So he's there escorting, you know, perhaps even someone like Empress Zoe, but probably people either from high nobility or the royal family.

[Graham Duke]

Yeah.

[Ali Hood]

In Constantinople. But it's still as a pilgrimage route, it'll be beset by bandits and robbers. So there are accounts of him slaying robbers along the way. And that probably is true.

[Graham Duke]

I mean, you got, you got. That's mad, isn't it? When you, you can't grow an economy when your, your trade routes are closed.

[Ali Hood]

But if you've got a Viking with you.

[Graham Duke]

Yeah, that's what we need then.

[Ali Hood]

But thus all of the. The towns and castles being open to him, it's like. Well, yes, because they were like, oh, yeah. Hi, come in.

[Graham Duke]

God, imagine seeing a Viking come running at you and you're, you're. Someone is desperate in Asia Minor to do robbery and suddenly you have this sort of Norse Viking running at you. All right.

[Ali Hood]

Now back into full military action. He participates in a campaign to reconquer Sicily from Arabian forces. Captures several towns along the way. And then his last Commission is in 1041, to fight in an army led by Emperor Michael IV himself to put down a rebellion in Bulgaria, after which Harold receives various honours from the emperor. But unfortunately, the emperor dies at the end of the year. And then for unknown reasons, Harold falls out of favor with the new emperor, Michael V, his son, nephew.

[Graham Duke]

Right.

[Ali Hood]

And he ends up being imprisoned.

[Graham Duke]

Okay.

[Ali Hood]

However, there's a revolt against Michael V's rule because he's generally very unpopular. Quickly turns out into a full out revolution and there's a battle outside the palace. Around 3,000 people killed. Michael flees to take holy orders in a monastery just in a bid to stay alive. Harold is then released from jail, rejoins the Varangian Guard and leads them in support of the forces against Michael. So they drag the Emperor out of the monastery and have him blinded.

[Graham Duke]

I don't, I mean I. It's going back a bit but I don't remember that at all from university

[Ali Hood]

this being. Because without wanting to, you know, set you up for a fall, this is an area which you have a certain amount of familiarity. It's pre Crusade, so backgroundy stuff.

[Graham Duke]

Yeah. So what the other fellow's dead though he hasn't got the previous. Michael is dead. He can't put him.

[Ali Hood]

No. So he's not to put him back. It's really just to overthrow this one. So I think it's. I think technically that the Empress Zoe is actually the one who's kind of got the claim.

[Graham Duke]

Yeah, I remember her.

[Ali Hood]

Whoever she marries and there are quite a few people that she marries is the person that ends up being the Emperor with her.

[Graham Duke]

Okay. So actually they're not really slaying blinding the Emperor, they're not blinding the true power. Alright, what becomes of them?

[Ali Hood]

Well, so he's overthrown, there'll be a new person coming in. But Harold is now basically decided that he's done with Byzantium, probably done with the internal politics. But also more pressing from his perspective is the fact that with the death of, well, Canute, but then Canute's son, Hartle Canute, he does get a mention. The Knut Empire has now fallen. So all those different bits of England, Denmark, Norway, bits of Sweden that were all ruled by one person. It's now separated again and Harald's young nephew Magnus has become first king of Norway in 1035. But now with death of half the Knutes, King of Denmark as well. And Harald thinks that he himself probably is more deserving of those kingdoms than his nephew. So he wants to go home and just be king.

[Graham Duke]

He feels. It feels a bit like a tax exile though, doesn't he? He feels like he deserves it. Why?

[Ali Hood]

He's well, he's older than Magnus and he was half brother to Olaf. So he maybe feels like. Well, if once the exile was done once Canute was done, surely.

[Graham Duke]

And it's just a power thing, isn't it? If I turn up and win, then just I've won.

[Ali Hood]

And also basically it's like, well, my. My teenage nephew is just sort of in absence of anybody else, become the king whilst I'm like dealing with pirates and I'm.

[Graham Duke]

Yeah. And I. I am in absence, but I'm no longer.

[Ali Hood]

Unfortunately, though, Empress Zoe and her new husband Constantine deny him permission to leave.

[Graham Duke]

Oh.

[Ali Hood]

He won't let him go. Obviously. That sort of thing isn't really any kind of impediment for somebody like Harold.

[Graham Duke]

Yeah.

[Ali Hood]

So he just takes two ships and they make their way across the Bosphorus Strait, albeit having to maneuver his way over the great iron chain that they put in place to stop, but nevertheless he's able to. He able to get over it and sails back across the North. The Black Sea.

[Graham Duke]

Wow. How did he get over the chain?

[Ali Hood]

I will do that in battleiness.

[Graham Duke]

Okay.

[Ali Hood]

Quite a cool moment.

[Graham Duke]

Right. How. How is this? I'm. I think there could be Rex Factor. Bingo. With every single episode. And the cheapest tile on the board will be. How is this not a film?

[Ali Hood]

Oh, I know.

[Graham Duke]

Unbelievable.

[Ali Hood]

You've got the title.

[Graham Duke]

Yeah. Yeah. You could do a whole bit. You could even keep. It's a three parter. You've got your first bit, the early days. Battles. Lovely. Keep it all very pure and Viking. So it sets you up as the Viking. Second one. Empire Strikes Back. You got your Byzantine adventure. Third one. Well, we all know what happens.

[Ali Hood]

I mean, we're actually technically on the second one, are we?

[Graham Duke]

Norway.

[Ali Hood]

So before heading to Norway, he actually goes first back to Kyiv. Oh, and Yaroslav. So apparently Harald had been sending all of his treasure and booty back to Yaroslav to keep it safe for him. Yeah. I mean, I don't know whether Yaroslav took a cut of it as a kind of patron, but yeah, essentially he's using him as a bank safe and trusted authority who will keep the treasure safe.

[Graham Duke]

Okay.

[Ali Hood]

But also might have been connected the fact that apparently Harald wanted to marry Yaroslav's daughter, Elisiev.

[Graham Duke]

Okay.

[Ali Hood]

She's sort of Elizabeth. If we were to westernize that. And indeed, poems that he composes on the way back from Byzantium suggest he's previously sought her hand, but been turned down because he hadn't had enough life experience in standing. But now, glories and riches abounding, he can press his zoom all successfully. And they are married in 1044.

[Graham Duke]

Jaroslav's daughter.

[Ali Hood]

So he's got Kievan princess as his bride. And Snorri gives us a good sense of Harald's priorities in the marriage. The warlike King of Norway won the match of his desire. He gained a king's daughter and a hoard of gold as well.

[Graham Duke]

Hey, is there any idea that he might be the King of Kyiv ever?

[Ali Hood]

No, I don't think that's on his. On his list. Okay, but he's got a list now. He's not yet, of course, King of Norway, despite what Snorri says there. So in 1045, with wife, treasure and soldiers in tow, he sets off not for Norway, but for Sweden.

[Graham Duke]

Okay.

[Ali Hood]

Because if he's going to have a campaign to conquer Norway, he needs some allies and he finds one in Sven Estridsen. Now this is a nephew of Canute and he is in exile after failing to take Denmark from Magnus. So we've got Sven, who wants Norway and. Sorry, Harald who wants Norway, Sven who wants Denmark. Let's study up and get rid of Magnus.

[Graham Duke]

And Magnus keeps nothing.

[Ali Hood]

Well, yeah, in there, in the ideal world. So Harald and Sven make an alliance against Magnus, swore pledges of friendship and embarked on a campaign against Denmark, plundering Zealand and Fin Island. However, Magnus then offers Harald a share of Norway in which they would both be king. So they'll be co rulers, albeit with Magnus having seniority whenever they're together. Right now this puts Harold in something of a bind because obviously he's sworn an oath to ally with Sven.

[Graham Duke]

Yeah.

[Ali Hood]

But such niceties don't really apply to Harald. So he just ditches Sven and accepts Magnus offer to become co king of

[Graham Duke]

Norway in 1046 and then kill Magnus.

[Ali Hood]

Well, that's the thing. Cancer rule really work. So they don't divide the kingdom. It's not like an England Danelaw sort of thing. So they are both king of the whole country, share the economic gains and they have the same royal titles. Quite a big sacrifice of Magnus's part. But war would be dangerous and expensive and he's quite lacking in money. Whilst Harold is of course mega rich from his time in Byzantium and shares his treasures with Magnus.

[Graham Duke]

Right.

[Ali Hood]

Which all sounds very cordial.

[Graham Duke]

Yeah.

[Ali Hood]

In reality though, they very much keep separate courts and whenever they do come together there are tensions over precedence and.

[Graham Duke]

Yeah, he's gonna be. He will be. He would find that unbearable, would Harold?

[Ali Hood]

Well, it seemed, if anything, it seems to be the other way that Magnus is the one who's feeling like he has to. Which perhaps you can also See as well that Harold is being a little bit flexible and a bit relaxed about precedent. I. He doesn't always show it.

[Graham Duke]

Yeah.

[Ali Hood]

And Magnus is very up on it because he knows that Harold's the.

[Graham Duke]

That's the only thing he's got.

[Ali Hood]

Yeah.

[Graham Duke]

And for Magnus, he's. It feels like for Harold, it's part of a plan on the way up. Magnus. Either he sorts that out or it's a plan for the way down.

[Ali Hood]

Exactly. So there's one example where Magnus brings his ships into a royal berth and finds that Harold's already moored his ships there. So Magnus has his men armed themselves until Harold orders his men to move the ships to avoid a conflict, because obviously Magnus feels he should have precedence as the senior king, whereas Harold thinks, well, this only applies if we arrive together and you weren't here, so parked it there.

[Graham Duke]

Oh, it's, it's. It's ripe for hair. For lethal. Hair splitting, isn't it?

[Ali Hood]

Harold rather patronizingly told Magnus that he would dismiss. Magnus outburst is no more than a mark of youth.

[Graham Duke]

Oh, God, they're baiting each other.

[Ali Hood]

But it's an ominous start.

[Graham Duke]

It's a what start?

[Ali Hood]

An ominous start.

[Graham Duke]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Ali Hood]

Conveniently, however, it's not a long term problem because the following year in 1047,

[Graham Duke]

Magnus dies of death by illness. Sword to the neck illness.

[Ali Hood]

Well, it does seem a tad suspicious, but even hostile sources for Harold don't suggest that he murders him. So the suggestion seems to be the Magnus does just die.

[Graham Duke]

I thought he was about 15.

[Ali Hood]

Oh, yeah. He is younger than Harold. I think he's a bit older than that, but. No, he is younger. But I mean, some people suggest that he fell off his ship and drowned. Others that he's taken ill on board ship. Another one that he fell off a horse. So it's not necessarily naval. Unless the horse was on the ship. But regardless, Harald is now sole King of Norway.

[Graham Duke]

Okay.

[Ali Hood]

He doesn't have to worry about Magnus.

[Graham Duke]

It's still. It's got to be a step down from Sicily.

[Ali Hood]

Well, he wasn't King of Sicily. Oh, you just mean the weather. No, general living.

[Graham Duke]

I. I don't own the flat that I'm gonna rent in Spain, but it feels nicer than home, doesn't it?

[Ali Hood]

But he's a Viking. It's used to cold.

[Graham Duke]

Yeah, yeah, it's got too much of a sort of shaggy coat.

[Ali Hood]

So Harald is now King of Norway, but not Denmark.

[Graham Duke]

Yeah.

[Ali Hood]

Which Magnus, when he dies, leaves to Sven. Now, of course, Harald feels like this is his due as well. So immediately starts gathering his forces and announces that he will travel to the Vyborg assembly to declare himself King of Norway and Denmark before immediately heading off on a campaign to make that claim. Good.

[Graham Duke]

Didn't he ever deal with this fellow?

[Ali Hood]

Yeah, but he ditched him before to become co. King of Norway.

[Graham Duke]

Yeah.

[Ali Hood]

Alright. Now, unfortunately, not everyone is so keen on the idea, and indeed several leading nobles still feel quite a certain amount of loyalty to the memory of Magnus and retain a suspicion of Harald. Chief among these is the magnificently named Ainor Paunch Shaker.

[Graham Duke]

Oh, sounds like a Victorian bicycle.

[Ali Hood]

It does. I think it's mean he's got a big tummy. And he tells Harold there's a more pressing need to bury Magnus's body before they go off and invade Denmark.

[Graham Duke]

I'm not sure he's gonna have anything to do with that, is he?

[Ali Hood]

Well, no, but. Well, I guess what they're saying is we kind of need to have quite a big deal of a royal funeral to the king.

[Graham Duke]

Right.

[Ali Hood]

I think Harold really is like, literally like, let's go now. Soon as he finds out Magnus is dead, he's like, great, Now Denmark.

[Graham Duke]

Yeah, yeah. No time like the present.

[Ali Hood]

So Einor tells Harold, better to follow King Magnus dead than any other king alive.

[Graham Duke]

What?

[Ali Hood]

Well, I. I'd rather follow Magnus body than you living.

[Graham Duke]

Really.

[Ali Hood]

That's my priority. That's my first loyalty is to the body of the dead king than to whatever else.

[Graham Duke]

Oh, dear. Burn.

[Ali Hood]

Now, reluctantly, Harold is forced to abandon. Abandon his campaign and go with them. Fine, we'll bury him first.

[Graham Duke]

Yeah, we're talking a couple of days. Right.

[Ali Hood]

He doesn't give up on Denmark though. So the following year, 1048 until 1064, he undertakes pretty much annual campaigns against Sven and Denmark. But he would also need to assert himself over his opponents within Norway. People like Einar. So it's in this period that he acquires his super cave. Hardrada.

[Graham Duke]

Right.

[Ali Hood]

So he demands total adherence to his authority and adopts a brutal response to anyone who fails to comply.

[Graham Duke]

Mmm.

[Ali Hood]

Einar's the most threatening, having a strong following in Northern Norway. So he speaks against some of Harald's orders in public assemblies, even raises a large force around himself whenever Harald is in town.

[Graham Duke]

Yeah, very insensible.

[Ali Hood]

Well, yes. Eventually, of course, Harold takes matters into his own hands, arranges for them to meet in person and discuss their differences, but instead, obviously just has Einar and his son murdered as soon as they enter his hall.

[Graham Duke]

Yeah, that's so well worn that that's so? Well, it's so naive of Ainur.

[Ali Hood]

Yeah. I don't know why everybody is so cross. What did you expect?

[Graham Duke]

I might as well have put that on the invitation. Frankly, yes.

[Ali Hood]

I'm going to kill you.

[Graham Duke]

Oh, Harold, this is funny. Look, there's Louis down there. I even told him.

[Ali Hood]

Now, one of Harold's men, Finn Arneson, is infuriated by the hornet's nest of murdering Einar stirs up in that part of the country. So he despairs to Harold. What a hopeless scoundrel you are. You do one evil thing after another and then you are so frightened that you don't know what to do with yourself.

[Graham Duke]

Sounds like Trump.

[Ali Hood]

Harold seems to have been amused by this, which wasn't the intention, so laughs and then charges Finn with going and finding a peaceful resolution to another ongoing dispute. Somebody is annoyed. A chap called Harken Iverson.

[Graham Duke]

Right.

[Ali Hood]

So Finn convinces Harkin to come to terms with Harold. Harkins only condition is that he wants a marriage to the daughter of King Magnus.

[Graham Duke]

Okay.

[Ali Hood]

And a nice diary. Harold agrees, but says only if she accepts and when she doesn't, because Harkonne isn't an earl and thus it's beneath her. And Harold asks if he can become an Earl. Harald says no. So that infuriates Finn and Harkonne again, who think he did that on purpose. They storm off to join Sven.

[Graham Duke]

Yeah, obviously.

[Ali Hood]

However, Harold can be forgiving. So when Harkon does return, he does then promote him and Harkonne gets his marriage.

[Graham Duke]

It is Trumpian, isn't it? You have complete one way traffic and you know.

[Ali Hood]

Although highly autocratic, Harold also shows great loyalty and generosity to those who do follow him without question. Outside of certain personal disagreements, Norway is largely prosperous and stable in this time. So Harold is able to pursue his prime objective, which is conquering Denmark. So as I said, From 10:48 it's pretty much annual attacks on Denmark. Mostly quick coastal raids, rather than full on campaigns of conquest. Some years are more intense than others though. So in 1048 he plunders Jutland for the entire summer, but was unable to establish a permanent foothold. In 1049 he agreed with Sven to fight a proper battle at Gota River.

[Graham Duke]

So weird, isn't it?

[Ali Hood]

Like a football match, except that Sven doesn't show up. So Harold sends basically half of his troops home and then the rest they just go plundering.

[Graham Duke]

Oh, Sven should have attacked him then.

[Ali Hood]

Well, on his way back, Harald's way back, Sven does intercept him with the full army.

[Graham Duke]

Yeah, Clever Sven.

[Ali Hood]

So Harald is forced to abandon all of his booty and provisions so they can escape back to Norway.

[Graham Duke]

Yeah. Always fell in love and war, my loves.

[Ali Hood]

1051, Harald makes peace with Finn's brother Kaathe Arneson, who'd been avoiding Harald's wrath because he's one of the people that killed Olaf right at the start.

[Graham Duke]

Okay.

[Ali Hood]

So Howard has him lead an assault on the island of Funen in another campaign against Denmark. Harold was going to follow close behind in support, but it seems that he just deliberately waited until Kaathe was exposed and killed by the Danes and then he arrived to mop things up.

[Graham Duke]

Yeah, we've learnt from Sven a bit.

[Ali Hood]

This is a final straw for Finn, having persuaded his brother. No, no, it's definitely okay. It's definitely all right. So he now goes off and allies with Sven.

[Graham Duke]

God, Finn has been loyal above and beyond. He's been protested.

[Ali Hood]

He is. The annual Campaigns continue, but 1062 is when it all really comes to a head where we have the Battle of Nyssa. So in very similar circumstances to 1049. Again, Harald gives Sven a time and a place to do battle, sends half his men home and Sven is a no show. And then upturns Sven with his whole army.

[Graham Duke]

Eek. Yeah.

[Ali Hood]

This time, however, Harald stands his ground, so to speak, because he's on a boat.

[Graham Duke]

Oh, right, yeah.

[Ali Hood]

And we have an epic naval battle, lasts for most of the day because it starts late in the afternoon, goes on into the night. They're fighting in the darkness on the ships. But Harold and his men win an overwhelming victory over the Danes, but not a knockout blow because Sven Estridsen is able to escape.

[Graham Duke]

What about the other fella, Sven? He didn't turn up.

[Ali Hood]

No, as I'm saying, Sven Estridsen is able to escape because he's the other.

[Graham Duke]

Oh, that's who we're fighting. Sorry, I thought we're talking about Finn.

[Ali Hood]

Ah, well, no, Howell does capture poor old Finn, right. Teases him for a while and then just sends him back. Really? Yeah.

[Graham Duke]

So, you silly sausage.

[Ali Hood]

And off you go back to Sven, back to Denmark, because he wants.

[Graham Duke]

I think he wants another go, doesn't he?

[Ali Hood]

Yeah, I think it's just quite. It's like a cat. You just quite enjoy playing with this particular mouse.

[Graham Duke]

It's like.

[Ali Hood]

No, no, no, no, go on now.

[Graham Duke]

I don't want to have another go and hit me. Go and do it again. What a weird, weird chap.

[Ali Hood]

However, war of course is expensive. So in 1064, Harold finally gives up on Denmark and seeks peace.

[Graham Duke]

Will he never really? Okay, so maybe, maybe. Where has he got Holland? Not Holland, Norway. Norway was always his prize.

[Ali Hood]

Yeah, he always had Norway and he just wanted a bit extra.

[Graham Duke]

Well, maybe he just was using the. That bit to ensure that Norway itself was fine.

[Ali Hood]

So they agree that they will each retain their respective kingdoms with former borders. No repayments of reparations on either side, Just simple. Yeah. Should we just stop? Yeah.

[Graham Duke]

Feel like I've actually just grown up over the last five, 10 years. Yeah. Oh, my God.

[Ali Hood]

But also, perhaps Harold might have had his eye on another kingdom.

[Graham Duke]

Yes.

[Ali Hood]

So just a quick message to say that Rex Factor are going to be doing a live show at the Ludlow assembly rooms on Friday 21st August at 7 o' clock pm. We're going to be looking at the four main contenders for the throne in 1066. Harold Godwinson, William the Conqueror, Harold Hardrada and Edgar the Atheling. And we're going to ask the audience who comes to the show to decide who should have become the king. We've had lots of fun, we've been to Ludlow in previous years and we've really loved getting the chance to meet Rex Factor fans in person. So if you are able to, then please do come along to join us on Friday 21st of August at the Ludlow Assembly Rooms. You can get tickets directly from the Ludlow Assembly Rooms website or we will have a link to it on our website, rexfactorpodcast.com hopefully we'll get to see you there.

[Graham Duke]

Tomorrow morning is knocking.

[Ali Hood]

Stock your fridge now. How about a creamy mocha Frappuccino drink? Or a sweet vanilla smooth caramel, maybe? Or a white chocolate mocha? Whichever you choose, delicious coffee awaits. Find Starbucks Frappuccino drinks wherever you buy your groceries.

[Graham Duke]

England.

[Ali Hood]

Now, of all the claimants to the throne in 1066, Harold's is probably, it's fair to say, the most tenuous.

[Graham Duke]

Well, the primary school version is that it's just another Viking coming in. It's not even a claim as far as I know.

[Ali Hood]

Well, no, he does have a claim and he does consider it a valid claim. So it dates from an agreement made between Harold's nephew, King Magnus of Norway, and Canute's son, Hartha Canute.

[Graham Duke]

Yeah.

[Ali Hood]

So Hatha Canute was trying to restore Danish control over Norway, whilst Magnus launches a campaign against Denmark. So they're both weirdly sort of trying to capture each other's kingdoms. They both feel that actually this should be part of our empire.

[Graham Duke]

Yeah.

[Ali Hood]

In the end, they agree to a peace. And the peace is that whichever of them dies first will inherit the other's kingdom.

[Graham Duke]

Yeah.

[Ali Hood]

Which we see quite a few times. Like Knut and Edmund Ironside made that.

[Graham Duke]

Yeah.

[Ali Hood]

Over England. Whichever one of us dies first will be king of the whole lot. Now, pretty clearly this is meant to apply to Denmark and Norway. Those are the two countries that they're fighting over. So clearly that's the deal. And indeed, it's only because of this piece that Harthur Knute was even able to become King of England because he was previously too busy fighting Magnus to actually make his claim Right back in England, which is why his half brother, Harold Hereford became king. However, after half the canute dies in 1042, Magnus chose to interpret the deal as applying to order all of their respective kingdoms, and thus England as well.

[Graham Duke]

Wow.

[Ali Hood]

He said what? Whichever dies first inherits that of the others.

[Graham Duke]

Okay.

[Ali Hood]

England is yours, therefore it's now mine.

[Graham Duke]

Right.

[Ali Hood]

That's what we agreed.

[Graham Duke]

People are going to die for this.

[Ali Hood]

Well, he writes, this is why Harold Hardrada is the last Viking, because the others are starting to get a little bit too rational. Magnus writes a letter to Edward the Confessor, who has become king, informing him of his intention to invade and says, he who will, he will then govern it. Who wins the victory.

[Graham Duke]

Right, yeah, a bit of chivalry there. Meet me on the battlefield. Okay.

[Ali Hood]

The English just seem to basically ignore him.

[Graham Duke]

Yeah.

[Ali Hood]

And they provide support to Sven Estridsson, who thus fights with Magnus. So Magnus is too busy dealing with Sven in order to do anything about England.

[Graham Duke]

Is there a chance they could have. I mean, the same logic meant that they could have provided support to Harold if he was fighting Magnus.

[Ali Hood]

Yeah, yeah, if Harold will come on a bit later. I mean, the difference is that Sven is the nephew of Canute. They sort of have ties with Sven to a certain extent, in the way they don't with Harald and they don't with Magnus. So Sven is logical in the Godwyns are linked to Sven by marriage as well. So there are closer ties. But yeah, in theory, they could have given support to Harald as well, but basically they'd just keep Magnus busy by backing his enemies in Viking land.

[Graham Duke]

And so he never actually can claim that nonsense. Exactly.

[Ali Hood]

But nevertheless, there is that claim, and Magnus does formally make that claim. So as far as Howard is concerned, when he becomes King of Norway, that passes to him.

[Graham Duke]

He's inherited that rubbish claim. So it's even less, because as far

[Ali Hood]

as he's concerned, it was not an agreement between Magnus and Harthac and it was an agreement between the King of Norway and the King of Denmark and he is now the King of Norway. So it's his claim. Now he doesn't ever seem to have considered challenging Edward the Confessor for the throne.

[Graham Duke]

Right. Why?

[Ali Hood]

Well, I guess he maybe recognizes there's a slightly spurious element to it.

[Graham Duke]

Right.

[Ali Hood]

But maybe because Edward's King of England when Harold becomes King of Norway, so maybe he's like, well, okay, we'll just sort of accept the status quo for now. But with Edward the Confessor not having any children, with Edward the Exile dying, who was the senior? Maybe at that point Harold thinks, well, okay, well, there's not really anyone else worth shouting about who's got a claim. I've got this gentleman's agreement.

[Graham Duke]

Would he have ever met Edward the Exile out in Byzantium?

[Ali Hood]

Yeah, so yes, you almost. Not in Byzantium, in, in Kyiv. Yes, almost certainly. And we also mentioned how there's this weird possibility, depending on the parentage of Edward the Exile's wife, that they could even have been brothers in law.

[Graham Duke]

So maybe he knew that ultimately Edward was going to go and he only did his claim afterwards.

[Ali Hood]

And it's 10:57 when Edward the Exile dies. So that.

[Graham Duke]

Yeah, you know, and especially then he's got, he's trying to. Does he ever say anything about being related to Edward the Elder? Because. No, I mean that would. You would. If he was, you would have used that to back up the claim. Right.

[Ali Hood]

But nevertheless, as far as he's concerned, if there was anything holding him back, that might have been it, but that's not gone. So he now thinks, well, okay, put Denmark to one side, England. Now, whether or not he would ever have ultimately acted on his claim we don't quite know. So some have pointed to an expedition sporting a Welsh Rebellion in 1058 led by Harold's son as a way of testing the waters.

[Graham Duke]

Right.

[Ali Hood]

And also that follows time wise because that's obviously the year after the exile dies again. More likely, though, Howell probably hasn't considered actively pursuing his claim until the arrival at his court in 1066 of Tostig Godwinson.

[Graham Duke]

Oh yes, he's a naughty boy, isn't he?

[Ali Hood]

Tostig is a younger brother of Harold Godwinson and he's been exiled, so he was the Earl of Northumbria. They don't like him, kick him out. And Harold backs the rebels rather than his brother. Yeah. So tensions there. Apparently initially Tostig is hoping that Harold will make him, I.e. tostig, King of England.

[Graham Duke]

Yeah.

[Ali Hood]

But Harold says that the Norwegians won't fight for an Englishman.

[Graham Duke]

Yeah, yeah.

[Ali Hood]

So after a little bit of goading at Harald's failure to conquer Denmark, Tostig argued that Harald would find support in England.

[Graham Duke]

Hang on, Tostig goaded Harald Hardrada saying that he couldn't conquer Denmark? Yeah, well, he's silly.

[Ali Hood]

Well, he makes a bit of an art, to be fair. He makes a rational argument that says, look, there's a reason that you never managed to become king of Denmark and that other people succeeded or other people fail. Basically saying that the people there didn't want you to be king. There was no support for you there. That's why it never happened. If you go to England, nobody loves Harald. I'm better than Harold. People respect you. It's there. So he says, a bit of flattery as well comes in. Everyone knows that there has never been in Scandinavia a warrior to compare with you. And it seems to me very strange that you should spend 15 years trying to conquer Denmark and yet be so reluctant to have England when it is yours for the taking. So basically saying, look, nobody likes Harold. He hasn't got a claim. You'd be accepted. People would be happy to see you King of England.

[Graham Duke]

That's not true though, is it?

[Ali Hood]

Well, I don't know if it's. It's not true in this necessarily in the sense that there's a whole lot of people expecting Harold to come and they really want him. But I guess he's saying, look, the reason you didn't succeed in Denmark is because actually they saw Sven as their king and why would they want you? People don't see Harold as their rightful king. So there's a open goal, basically. So it's not necessarily that they really want you to come so much as there's no loyalty to the person who

[Graham Duke]

is there and your claim is as crap as his.

[Ali Hood]

Exactly, exactly.

[Graham Duke]

Yeah.

[Ali Hood]

So you might as well. Harold thought over Tostig's works and agreed with his assessment of Anglo Scandinavian politics and loyalties and decided that he had a great desire to win this kingdom because, you know, this will be the pinnacle of his career. This will put him on a parent with, you know, Canute, Sven Forkbeard.

[Graham Duke]

He's been sweet talked into. He's been. He's so responsive to flattery.

[Ali Hood]

He is. And of course, you know, this is a man who's got his own poet, he writes own poetry. He's. He is all about history and legacy and legend, etcetera. It's a big part of the culture.

[Graham Duke]

Yeah.

[Ali Hood]

For the Vikings, that, you know, you

[Graham Duke]

have these lasting legacy.

[Ali Hood]

Exactly. That is literally.

[Graham Duke]

Yeah.

[Ali Hood]

What will be driving him. He's driven by a need for glory and he thinks. Yeah, this. This would be the ultimate.

[Graham Duke]

Yeah.

[Ali Hood]

So Harold sends words throughout Norway and by September has raised an enormous fleet. Knowing the danger of the campaign, he has one of his sons proclaimed as king in Norway to make sure that the succession will be smooth in case he gets it, he doesn't come back. Yeah. Harold makes his way across the North Sea. Tostig is already in England, raiding from the Isle of Wight to Sandwich. So the east coast. Before going up to Lindsey in Lincolnshire, plunders the local population, does a bit of press, ganging to boost his forces, but then is seen off by the earls of Mercia and Northumbria, the brothers Edwin and Morcar.

[Graham Duke]

Oh, yeah. Yeah.

[Ali Hood]

So Tostig and Harold then both converge on Scotland because Tostig seems to have links to Malcolm iii, King of Scots. Harold lands in Shetland and then moves on to Orkney, where he supplements his army further, which includes the earls of Orkney, Paul and Elrond, who are the sons of Thorfinn the Mighty.

[Graham Duke]

Yeah.

[Ali Hood]

Sets off again, leaves his wife and daughters on Orkney because they've come with him that far. But he leaves them to wait for him to return.

[Graham Duke]

Right.

[Ali Hood]

At Orkney. Not entirely clear if he links up with Harold on the Scottish mainland at Malcolm's court or if they meet at Tynemouth in the northeast of England.

[Graham Duke]

God, it's a hell of a. Just think about Orkney in a. In a Viking longship. Goodness gracious. I suppose. Would they be safe there? Is that way left in there.

[Ali Hood]

Yeah.

[Graham Duke]

Yeah. Okay.

[Ali Hood]

Because that is still. That still Vikings rule these islands at this point. That's not Scottish. Sort of quite a while longer. So, yes, that's very much right. His territory at that point. Either way, they. They definitely are together on the northeast coast, whether or not they start there. How to have had around 300 longships in his fleet, which would equate to somewhere between 10,000 to 15,000 troops for the invasion.

[Graham Duke]

Wow.

[Ali Hood]

So it's a big force. They pillage Cleveland and receive numerous submissions as they make their way down the coast without any resistance till they get to Scarborough, where they refuse Harold's call for surrender. After which there's some fierce fighting. Scarborough's overpowered and burnt to the ground. And then all the subsequent towns do surrender at once.

[Graham Duke]

Right, Sorry, not funny. But yeah, yeah.

[Ali Hood]

Now they could at this point have marched directly onto York. But Harold being a Viking, seems that he preferred a boat. Yeah, so they said they sail around and land on the banks of the river Ouse and set up camp at Rickel, which is about 10 miles south of York. York being obviously effectively the capital of the north. They once taken York and you can

[Graham Duke]

sail up river to it.

[Ali Hood]

Harold does now march on York, but on the 20th of September, he meets serious opposition for the first time at a place called Fulford, which is a couple miles south of York. And Edwin and Morcar are back and lying in wait of the northern army in York. Well, Fulford is a couple of miles away, so just outside of York to stop him getting to York.

[Graham Duke]

Yeah.

[Ali Hood]

English have a strong position. So they're lined up along the top of a ditch, sort of a bank. And it's flanked on one side by the river and on the other side by a swamp. So basically the Vikings are gonna have to wade across and then up the ditch into a shield wall. And they can't go around the sides.

[Graham Duke]

That's perfect.

[Ali Hood]

It's a great position, very hard fought battle. The English resist for a long time, but Tostig's troops, who of course the ones that filled with mercenaries and people that he press ganged from the raids, break first, as you might imagine. And when they start to retreat, Morcar's men who are facing them, rush after them in pursuit.

[Graham Duke]

Okay.

[Ali Hood]

And of course this opens up things for Harold, so he immediately, with his battle hardened troops, and they're not going to break, sweeps around, surrounds Morcar. There's a gap on the ditch to get into the shield wall. English troops are separated and surrounded and slaughtered.

[Graham Duke]

Okay.

[Ali Hood]

So with the northern army defeated, York doesn't offer any further resistance. So it opens its gates to Harold. And likewise Harold has taken heavy losses and he knows that he's going to need local support in order to fight Harold Godwinson in the south.

[Graham Duke]

Oh, so he's going to have to recruit from York as well.

[Ali Hood]

Exactly. So this is what Sven Forkbeard and Canute did. They not in York, but they landed sort of further north where there was more support, more Scandinavian population, build support and recognition there and then move south, growing their forces.

[Graham Duke]

So he needs to go into York and give out a load of free stuff.

[Ali Hood]

Exactly. So he forbades any plundering or bloodshed in the city, offers generous terms as well. So he receives the submission of York, leaves 150 men in the city as a sort of garrison. Takes an equal number of citizens as hostages. And then he arranges that he will receive some more hostages the following day.

[Graham Duke]

Oh, so it's tense.

[Ali Hood]

Well, tense. But equally, you know, it's not a kind of a bloodthirsty massacre of everybody. He's being structured about this. He's got the support. He's basically king of the north at this point. And then he's going to use that to support his campaign south.

[Graham Duke]

Yeah.

[Ali Hood]

So the following day he's going to receive some more hostages. Very, very hot day. So we're in September at this point. So he leaves a third of his men at Rickel with the ships, takes the rest of the army armed but without armor to go and receive the hostages. And they're going to do it at a meeting place at a bridge over the river Derwent, a place called Stanford. So the stone ford or Stamford Bridge.

[Graham Duke]

So that they were on their way to. They were doing some admiration. It wasn't like the army was ready and.

[Ali Hood]

Okay, it was a chill day.

[Graham Duke]

Yeah.

[Ali Hood]

Now, Howard Hardrada's invasion seems to have come as a complete surprise to Harold Godwinson, who spent the entire summer on the south coast waiting for William Duke of Normandy to invade.

[Graham Duke]

Yeah.

[Ali Hood]

And then he'd actually sent the levies home on 8th September, which is pretty much the very day that Harold first comes onto the northeast coast.

[Graham Duke]

What do you mean levies?

[Ali Hood]

Levies are the sort of the, the temporary army that he's called. So it's like it's your time to serve, call you up. And he has them there for the entire slammer, sends them home on the very day that Hardrada arrives in the north. Yeah.

[Graham Duke]

To do their harvesting and all that

[Ali Hood]

jazz back to the farm. So as soon as Godwinson hears of the invasion, he has to regather all of these people, levy them back up again. So he's probably got about 3,000 of his own house Carls, his elite private army. And then he's got the more difficult task of bringing everybody, as he said, bringing everyone back.

[Graham Duke]

How did you do that?

[Ali Hood]

Well, send out a letter. Yeah, Just pin up a notice. The town square.

[Graham Duke]

Where do you. It's just the, the, the logistics of that just boggle the mind.

[Ali Hood]

Now, it's usually said that Godwinson then undertakes this astonishing four day march to York, so, so 200 miles with an army which he's kind of growing along the way. Now, very, very recently in the news, Professor Tom Lysons has argued that actually the sources have been completely misinterpreted and he didn't do this. He actually went by boat.

[Graham Duke]

That was. It's Monday today and literally, I read that over the weekend.

[Ali Hood]

Yeah.

[Graham Duke]

Hang on, didn't he come back by boat?

[Ali Hood]

Well, probably both.

[Graham Duke]

Oh.

[Ali Hood]

Now, serendipitously, we had, before that came out in the news, already arranged to do an interview with Tom Weisson. So we're gonna be speaking to him in a few episodes time. Primarily, we're gonna talk about the succession and what Edward the Confessor's plans are, but obviously we'll also get to talk to him about a bit more about this. So either way, whether or not he quick marched or went by boat, Harold got there very quickly and took them completely unawares. Harold Godwinson. So the first that Hardrada and Tostig knew of Harold Godwinson's approach was when they are there at Stamford Bridge, chilling out, waiting for the prisoner exchange. And then they see in the distance the cloud of dust raised by the horse's hooves and below it the gleam of handsome shields and white coats of mail. The closer the army came, the greater it grew. And their glittering weapons sparkled like a field of broken ice.

[Graham Duke]

What did they do?

[Ali Hood]

Well, realising obviously it must be Godwinson, Tostig suggests returning to Rickell. Get the rest of the men, get the armour.

[Graham Duke]

Oh, yeah. It's the first sensible thing you've said all day. Toss.

[Ali Hood]

So essentially, should we. I'm not saying run away, but not stay here. Now that sounds.

[Graham Duke]

There is a difference. Let's go.

[Ali Hood]

Harold obviously doesn't see a distance difference, so he is determined to fight. So instead he sends three men on the fastest horses he's got. Back to Rickell, tell the others, come quick as you can.

[Graham Duke]

Bring her clothes.

[Ali Hood]

Bring the clothes. Yeah. We've got a battle to fight here.

[Graham Duke]

Bring my war clothes.

[Ali Hood]

Yeah. And then they will fight and hold out until the rest of the army gets there.

[Graham Duke]

That's silly.

[Ali Hood]

Now, according to Snorri Sturluson, Godwinson then approaches them incognito. So with his helmet and stuff on, though Tostig recognizes him, obviously, in order to parley. So Tostig refuses his brother's offer of being restored to Northumbria and all of his lands in return for not fighting.

[Graham Duke]

Yeah.

[Ali Hood]

And then he says, you know, what would you offer to Harald Hardrada? To which Godmison replies, he will Give King Harald 7ft of English ground, or as much as he is taller than other men, but no more.

[Graham Duke]

Oh, dear. And I mean, that's. And thus the James Bond Baddy diamond was born.

[Ali Hood]

After Godwinson rides off, Harold asks Tostig, who was that man who spoke so well? And then, on learning it was Howard, Godwinson said that he wished he told him earlier so he could have had him killed there and then.

[Graham Duke]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Ali Hood]

But he then reflected what a little man that was. But he stood proudly in his stirrups.

[Graham Duke]

Mm.

[Ali Hood]

So no parley. Twill be battle.

[Graham Duke]

And just how. How much were their pants done at the court? They've got no armour on.

[Ali Hood]

They've got. So they do have their weapons. Yeah, but. Yeah, but they don't have, you know, like their chainmail and their proper armour, armor protection and stuff.

[Graham Duke]

And not most of the army.

[Ali Hood]

About a third of the army is. Isn't there? So they're outnumbered and out armored.

[Graham Duke]

It's not gonna go well.

[Ali Hood]

Now, Harold Hardada's initial approach is to hold the footbridge over the river. And then he's got the bulk of his force on the high ground on the other side of the bridge. Obviously he's just trying to delay the Saxons as long as you possibly can till the reinforcements gets there. Godwinson might already have scouted out the reserve force at Rickles, so he probably knows he's got to break them as quickly as he can before they get their reinforcements. According to later English chroniclers, the bridge is held for a very long time by one large heroic Viking with a mighty axe.

[Graham Duke]

Oh, yes.

[Ali Hood]

Who felled more than 40 Englishmen and alone held up the entire English army until 3 o' clock in the afternoon. They had to stop for tea and cake and whatnot. Eventually someone was able, apparently, to sneak under the bridge and dealt a deathly

[Graham Duke]

blow to him from underneath. I've heard this story, I think, again, the opening scene of that battle. It's written for you.

[Ali Hood]

So Goblinson's finally able to get across the bridge and take on the bulk of Harold's force. It's a bit similar to the Battle of Maldon, where they got the causeway, where you've got a very narrow strip and it's like you cannot get to the rest of them until you beat these guys. And it's quite hard when there's like basically individual battles. Yeah, quite hard to actually.

[Graham Duke]

Yeah.

[Ali Hood]

Force that.

[Graham Duke]

It's brilliant.

[Ali Hood]

So Harold's across the bridge. Harold Godwinson has crossed the bridge. So Hardrada then forms a circular shield wall at the top of the hill. The archers inside firing out. And we see, obviously we'll see this at Hastings and elsewhere. The shield walls are incredibly hard to break down. So even if you do have a numerical advantage, it's really hard to break into it, and particularly if you're going uphill as well.

[Graham Duke]

Of course. Yeah, it screams, like, the opportunity for some sort of technological leap that will allow, like a tank.

[Ali Hood]

Yeah, that's if you're doing the Age of Empires. Red alert. Star pressure. I'm just going to put into cheat code. No, I'm not going to do it too much. I'm just going to tick or something. One tank, just one flamethrower, that's all I'm asking. Yeah. So he's got the shield wall. Very, very effective. So lots of Saxon charges can't break through. However, some of the Norwegians perhaps pursuing a feigned retreat or maybe just trying to get a bit of a dynamic moment and push back when they see an opportunity, launch a counter attack down the hill.

[Graham Duke]

It's the same song.

[Ali Hood]

Never leave the shield wall.

[Graham Duke]

But we talked about this maybe 20 minutes ago with that other battle, Fulford. And then we're going to talk about this. Well, we have talked about this. The following battle at 1066. What is it?

[Ali Hood]

Hastings.

[Graham Duke]

Hastings, yeah.

[Ali Hood]

So, of course, they are immediately hacked down and they've left the Viking line now vulnerable. So, seeing this, Harold decides to personally win the Battle of Stamford Bridge. So he now breaks out of the shield wall and charges into the Saxon lines, causing absolute mayhem.

[Graham Duke]

Hang on, who does?

[Ali Hood]

Harold Hardrada. Sorry, Harald Hardrada.

[Graham Duke]

Okay.

[Ali Hood]

Possibly going full on, like, berserker at this point. So this is Harold in full Viking flow.

[Graham Duke]

Is he seeing this as a last throw of the dice?

[Ali Hood]

Yeah, basically he thinks, if I can just through my sheer force of my godlike hands.

[Graham Duke]

Hands him up. We need more violin.

[Ali Hood]

However, of course, he will not be able to change the course of destiny. And he's struck in the throat by an arrow, falling immediately dead to the ground. Godwinson then seeks to parley with Tostig. So we have another pause, but once more they refuse to surrender. And then they are reinforced by the men from Rickell. They get there. Oh, and this leads to even more furious fighting because obviously they're coming in full adrenaline off that. You get a real boost for those who held out. They think, yes, the cavalry's here.

[Graham Duke]

With armor.

[Ali Hood]

With armor, yes. Come on, get it on, get on. It's really. This is why we do this before the battle.

[Graham Duke]

Get your shoes on before we leave the house.

[Ali Hood]

However, obviously the men that have just arrived are exhausted. I mean, some of them literally just drop down through exhaustion because they've Obviously they have just run legged it with full armor.

[Graham Duke]

Yeah.

[Ali Hood]

To get there. The others have been fighting all day, so the Saxons are able to overcome them. Tostig and most of the rest of the army are killed and the battle is lost.

[Graham Duke]

That's gruesome.

[Ali Hood]

Harold Godwinson offers generous terms to the survivors at the ships, which include Harold's son, saying he isn't killed in the battle. Just 25 of the 300 ships are required to return the survivors.

[Graham Duke]

Is that because Harold used them to go south?

[Ali Hood]

No, it's just because everyone's dead.

[Graham Duke]

Okay. But still, he's got a ready supply of ships.

[Ali Hood]

Yeah. You don't need these. Well, we thought we might space it out a bit. No, no, no. Come on, let's get.

[Graham Duke]

You could.

[Ali Hood]

You don't need that many. Come on. Yeah, at least another five. We could get rid of her. Come on, you.

[Graham Duke]

Come on.

[Ali Hood]

But yes, that is it. That is the last Viking army that would ever try to conquer England. Sent home. And it's the end of Harald Hardrada.

[Graham Duke]

That's awesome. What a story. Correspondence corner.

[Ali Hood]

What a story and what a man. So that was Harald Hardrada. As we said, we'll be doing a review episode next time, but head to our website rectorpodcast.com to get all of our links information about the podcast and get in touch. Tell us what you think about him and the other episodes. And if you'd like to support the podcast, be sure to subscribe on whatever podcast provider you use and you can donate monthly to join the Privy Council, get ad free version of the podcast and over 450 additional bonus [e-mail] RexFactor

[Graham Duke]

bonus episodes and all kinds of stuff. Tea.

[Ali Hood]

Yeah. I mean, we don't provide tea.

[Graham Duke]

No. What do we. We've done biscuits.

[Ali Hood]

Oh, a special episode on tea.

[Graham Duke]

Yeah.

[Ali Hood]

No, we. Yes, you can access a special episode on the history of tea. We don't provide tea as part of the Patreon Service.

[Graham Duke]

It is recommended serving suggestion, though.

[Ali Hood]

Exactly. And we have some new Privy councillors to welcome to the fold.

[Graham Duke]

Oh, I do this now.

[Ali Hood]

You do this now.

[Graham Duke]

Welcome Rachel Matz, Janet Kennedy, Ryan McElwee, Ellie G. Of Midgard, Crystal Bond, Charles O', Neill, Vicki Laidlaw, Andrew Hare Tiani Oliver, Steph Bankster, Julia Muench, Gothika Noctua, which is an incredible name. Leah Wharton and Elaine McCullough. I feel like I was trying for a moment trying to do a different voice for each one and then kept bottling it.

[Ali Hood]

So that's all from us today. So next time it will be part two for Harald Hardrada, his review episode where we decide whether or not he gets the Rex factor.

[Graham Duke]

Nice.

[Ali Hood]

See you next time.

[Graham Duke]

Cheerio.

[Ali Hood]

Your next chapter in healthcare starts at Carrington College's School of Nursing in Portland. Join us for our open house on Tuesday, January 13th from 4 to 7pm you'll tour our campus, see live demos, meet instructors and learn about our Associate Degree in Nursing program that prepares you to become a registered nurse. Take the first step toward your nursing career. Save your spot now at Carrington. Edu Events. For information on program outcomes, visit carrington. Edu sci. You can't reason with the sun.

[Graham Duke]

Trust us, we've tried.

[Ali Hood]

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[Ali Hood]

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[Graham Duke]

You're welcome, Columbia.

[Ali Hood]

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