1 of 6

Write now Article Tools

In 1066 there was a perilous vacancy on the English throne. Edward the Confessor died without issue and without an unambiguous provision for the succession. Three claimants emerged with enough support to press their claims; only one remained alive at the end of the day on October 14, 1066.

It is generally understood that the Battle of Hastings signaled the conquest of Saxon England by invaders from Normandy; many are even aware that the Vikings were somehow involved in this conflict. In order to understand the situation that created this crisis, however, it is important to realize that England was effectively a Scandinavian country at that time. The English themselves were descended from Germanic tribes that had colonized England about 500 years previously from their continental homes in northern Germany and mainland Denmark. They did not mingle much with the Romanized Celtic populations that preceded them.

The Danish invasion in the 9th century brought England into the arena of Scandinavian politics. A large swath of northeast England was populated by Danes, and this area became the Danelaw. English policy vacillated between acceptance of this state of affairs and conflict with the foreign enclave. When Aethelred "the Unready" actually tried to destroy the Danelaw by killing all Danes in England, he only succeeded in bringing about an overwhelming Danish response. When Aethelred died, he was not succeeded by an English heir; rather, England was ruled directly by the Danish king, Cnut, and then by his sons.

The English royal family was only permitted to restore itself to the throne in 1042. Edward returned from exile in Normandy - itself a Scandinavian enclave in northern France - to assume the throne of a country that now had a heavily Danish component to its character. This was especially true of its nobility, which in many cases had intermarried with the Danes. An important example of this is Earl Godwin, who had made an impression on King Cnut and subsequently married into the Danish royal family. Four of Godwin's six sons have Danish names, most importantly his second son, Harold.

Godwin imposed upon King Edward to marry his daughter Edith; the King and Queen never produced any children, however, and so Godwin failed to merge his family into the royal line. At the same time, that same failure to produce an heir opened up the succession when Edward died just days into the year 1066. Technically, the nearest relative was a nephew named Edgar, but he was too

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• next page >>

Add your voice

Know something about Events that led to the Battle of Hastings?
We want to hear your view. Write now!