Harold the Unlucky of England was faced with two invasions in 1066: one by William of Normandy that he defeated and the second by Harald of Norway, which defeated him. Harald of Norway well earned his epithet of 'Hard Ruler' as he was highhanded in his dealings with both the Nobles and the Church. The Catholic Church was still powerful, and Harald's anti-papal leanings squandered any possible advantage he could have gained from the Pope's dispute with Stigand and the Anglo-Saxons.
Moreover, his clemency was simply not trusted, he made nice with men only until he could defeat them and broke any deal he felt he could afford to. The result was a brutal series of rebellions and sacks. Areas of Southeast England did not recover for decades, and the English nobles were replaced with foreigners. The new jarls were largely Norwegians, but also Harald increasingly gave out English land to Welsh and Scottish under-kings, in order to tie them into his realm and break any potential ties with English rebels which was staggeringly unpopular. By the time of his death in 1075, England was simply not willing to endure another Scandinavian king.
Tostig Godwinson, the Yarl of Wessex, was the first to make his move, declaring himself king before Olaf could return from Norway, but he was too clearly associated with foreign rule to be accepted by the English rebels. Morcar, the exiled Earl of Northumbria, returned to England in order to challenge both Tostig and Olaf. Olaf landed in the Humber shortly afterwards. The Norwegian Anarchy had begun, and it would last for six more years as pretenders and invaders reduced Harald's North Sea Empire to rubble and ashes.
1079 would be the critical year.
Tostig and Morcar were both killed in 1076 and 1078 respectively, and the Danish invasion from Scania had been defeated in 1077. Dublin had been lost in 1078, and the Welsh front was going badly, but by 1079 Olaf must have seen peace, if not complete victory, as achievable. There was just the problem of Northumbria. Morcar's death at Ligeraceaster had left Edgar the Ætheling in a vulnerable position, but Northumbria remained firmly in rebellion. For Olaf to claim all of England, he needed to capture Yerk and Edgar's court.
But Edgar, unknown to the Norwegians, had made his famous devil's bargain with the Kings Harald and Malcolm of Denmark and Scotland, respectively. As Olaf approached Yerk, he found himself greeted by a united army of his enemies that far outnumbered him. In a mirror of Brunanburh, the famed founding battle of Anglo-Saxon England, the Norwegians formed into a shield wall, but the axemen of the Allied Army flanked it and broke it. The feared Norwegian army, outnumbered and tired, was routed. Crucially, Olaf himself was trampled down by a cavalry brigade and killed.
In a day, any chances of the Norwegian Empire surviving had been lost. Norway proper, having lost their king, would face two more years of anarchy as the farmers' rebellions in Norway reached a critical point while the royal family struggled to agree on the new king. The retreat of Scandinavian power from the North Atlantic in the aftermath of the Norwegian Anarchy benefited all the British kingdoms. England and the Orkneys gained full independence, the Irish Kingdoms were able to enjoy some measure of respite from foreign invasion, and Wales entered a mini golden era under Caradog ap Gruffydd and his sons. But the main benefactor was Scotland. The High Kings of Scotland extended their influence and power farther than any had before. The Kings of the Isles and Mann were firmly confirmed as under-kings and the Bretons of Strathclyde as far south as Westmorland were also brought into Scottish orbit. Moreover, Edgar's devil's bargain with King Malcolm had seen Northumbria partitioned and the old kingdom of Bernicia resurrected as a Scottish vassal.
Note: William the Conqueror had originally aimed to cross the Channel before the arrival of Harald Hardrada, but bad weather delayed him. It is more than possible for him to cross first and lose to the English, with the Norwegians taking advantage.
Provine's Addendum
Scotland's growth of influence over the coming centuries brought a new weight to the delicate balances of power in Europe. England was a constant battleground during the "Hunner Years War" over its territory between Scotland and France. As the Medieval Warm Period began to cool, Scotland faced longer winters and thicker ice in the Highlands. Many Scots migrated southward, finally affirming control of Britain by population. By the 1500s, Scottish merchants followed suit of their Spanish and Portuguese counterparts by establishing colonies overseas. At first, the Scottish Empire had only small holdings more on par with the Dutch and Swedish, but vast natural resources in Britain of coal and iron drove the Scots to become one of the great world powers following the Industrial Revolution.
Tostig Godwinson, the Yarl of Wessex, was the first to make his move, declaring himself king before Olaf could return from Norway, but he was too clearly associated with foreign rule to be accepted by the English rebels. Morcar, the exiled Earl of Northumbria, returned to England in order to challenge both Tostig and Olaf. Olaf landed in the Humber shortly afterwards. The Norwegian Anarchy had begun, and it would last for six more years as pretenders and invaders reduced Harald's North Sea Empire to rubble and ashes.
1079 would be the critical year.
Tostig and Morcar were both killed in 1076 and 1078 respectively, and the Danish invasion from Scania had been defeated in 1077. Dublin had been lost in 1078, and the Welsh front was going badly, but by 1079 Olaf must have seen peace, if not complete victory, as achievable. There was just the problem of Northumbria. Morcar's death at Ligeraceaster had left Edgar the Ætheling in a vulnerable position, but Northumbria remained firmly in rebellion. For Olaf to claim all of England, he needed to capture Yerk and Edgar's court.
But Edgar, unknown to the Norwegians, had made his famous devil's bargain with the Kings Harald and Malcolm of Denmark and Scotland, respectively. As Olaf approached Yerk, he found himself greeted by a united army of his enemies that far outnumbered him. In a mirror of Brunanburh, the famed founding battle of Anglo-Saxon England, the Norwegians formed into a shield wall, but the axemen of the Allied Army flanked it and broke it. The feared Norwegian army, outnumbered and tired, was routed. Crucially, Olaf himself was trampled down by a cavalry brigade and killed.
In a day, any chances of the Norwegian Empire surviving had been lost. Norway proper, having lost their king, would face two more years of anarchy as the farmers' rebellions in Norway reached a critical point while the royal family struggled to agree on the new king. The retreat of Scandinavian power from the North Atlantic in the aftermath of the Norwegian Anarchy benefited all the British kingdoms. England and the Orkneys gained full independence, the Irish Kingdoms were able to enjoy some measure of respite from foreign invasion, and Wales entered a mini golden era under Caradog ap Gruffydd and his sons. But the main benefactor was Scotland. The High Kings of Scotland extended their influence and power farther than any had before. The Kings of the Isles and Mann were firmly confirmed as under-kings and the Bretons of Strathclyde as far south as Westmorland were also brought into Scottish orbit. Moreover, Edgar's devil's bargain with King Malcolm had seen Northumbria partitioned and the old kingdom of Bernicia resurrected as a Scottish vassal.
Note: William the Conqueror had originally aimed to cross the Channel before the arrival of Harald Hardrada, but bad weather delayed him. It is more than possible for him to cross first and lose to the English, with the Norwegians taking advantage.
Provine's Addendum
Scotland's growth of influence over the coming centuries brought a new weight to the delicate balances of power in Europe. England was a constant battleground during the "Hunner Years War" over its territory between Scotland and France. As the Medieval Warm Period began to cool, Scotland faced longer winters and thicker ice in the Highlands. Many Scots migrated southward, finally affirming control of Britain by population. By the 1500s, Scottish merchants followed suit of their Spanish and Portuguese counterparts by establishing colonies overseas. At first, the Scottish Empire had only small holdings more on par with the Dutch and Swedish, but vast natural resources in Britain of coal and iron drove the Scots to become one of the great world powers following the Industrial Revolution.
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