Well it looks as though the Hardruler has triumphed and England once again rests under a Norse king. So, here’s the preliminary history of the Norse conquest of England and the related history that followed the victory in the areas affected by it. Namely this solely includes France, Scandinavia, and England. Assume all other regions are currently at the historical status quo for the period of 1066 to 1100. Just in case the first few paragraphs seem familiar, I did use the base Wikipedia article as a starting point for this one.
The full region list on the front page will be updated as soon as I can get started on generating it. For those interested, I’m using Crusader Kings 2 as the basis for the borders/starting map as it’s probably the easiest reference guide available. Attempts to find a good map on the internet have been less than helpful, so if anyone can do up a better map than me, I’d appreciate a good base.
As I’ve stated previously, this is a collaborative history building (within reason) and what is below is also functioning as the precursor for the way the typical update in this thread will be conducted. Your duties at this point are to read what has been wrote, and to provide criticism and commentary to what I’ve established as the base. This can be elaboration (in the form of stories or other development) upon what has been written, suggestions for revision (I reserve the right to ignore if you can’t back up your suggestion with context-relevant evidence), or additions of areas that I might have missed or neglected. The only thing that remains solidified as “canon” here is the deaths of William the Bastard and Harold Godwinson in battle. If you find anything from other areas to add, remember, they can only be added if you could decisively say that events would have been altered by the change in England’s king.
Lastly, please note that the first page now has the royal succession of the related nations in question. This too, is subject for revision based on any comments.
1066: The Norse Conquest of England
When King Edward died at the beginning of 1066, the lack of a clear heir led to a disputed succession in which several contenders laid claim to the throne of England. Edward's immediate successor was the Earl of Wessex, Harold Godwinson, the richest and most powerful of the English aristocrats. Harold was elected king by the Witenagemot of England and crowned by the Archbishop of York, Ealdred, although Norman propaganda claimed the ceremony was performed by Stigand, the uncanonically elected Archbishop of Canterbury. Harold was immediately challenged by two powerful neighbouring rulers. Duke William claimed that he had been promised the throne by King Edward and that Harold had sworn agreement to this; King Harald III of Norway, commonly known as Harald Hardrada, also contested the succession. His claim to the throne was based on an agreement between his predecessor Magnus I of Norway and the earlier English king, Harthacnut, whereby if either died without heir, the other would inherit both England and Norway. William and Harald at once set about assembling troops and ships to invade England.
King Harald Hardrada invaded northern England in early September, leading a fleet of more than 300 ships carrying 15,000 men. Harald's army was further augmented by the forces of Tostig, who threw his support behind the Norwegian king's bid for the throne. Advancing on York, the Norwegians occupied the city after defeating a northern English army under Edwin and Morcar on 20 September at the Battle of Fulford. The two earls had rushed to engage the Norwegian forces before King Harold could arrive from the south. Although Harold Godwinson had married Edwin and Morcar's sister Ealdgyth, the two earls may have distrusted Harold and feared that the king would replace Morcar with Tostig Godwinson, the previously deposed ruler. The end result was that their forces were devastated and unable to participate in the rest of the campaigns of 1066, although the two earls survived the battle. After Harald’s victory, their worst fears were realized, as Tostig did replace them under the new king’s rule.
Hardrada moved on to York, which surrendered to him. After taking hostages from the leading men of the city, on 24 September the Norwegians moved east to the tiny village of Stamford Bridge. King Harold learned of the Norwegian invasion in mid-September and rushed north, gathering forces as he went. The royal forces took nine days to cover the distance from London to York, averaging almost 25 miles per day. At dawn on 25 September Harold's forces reached York, where he learned the location of the Norwegians. The English then marched on the invaders and planned to take them by surprise, but failed, finding the Norwegians alert and awaiting in ambush. The Battle of Stamford Bridge was a devastating defeat for the Anglo-Saxons, and the army was mauled horrifically, with the Norwegians comparatively unscathed. King Harold and most of his housecarls and thegns were killed in the battle, as were his brothers.
After his victory at Stamford Bridge, Harald was hastily proclaimed king by the Witenagemot, as he threatened to not come to the aid of the southern Anglo-Saxon lords against William the Bastard. The Normans crossed to England a few days after Harold's victory over the Norwegians, following the dispersal of Harold's naval force. They landed at Pevensey in Sussex on 28 September and erected a wooden castle at Hastings, from which they raided the surrounding area. This ensured supplies for the army, but at the same time did much to cement Anglo-Saxon support for Harald over the Normans.
Harald Hardrada, after defeating the forces of Harold, left Tostig in charge of quelling resistance in the north, but brought most of his army and allied Anglo-Saxon forces to the south. Although Harald attempted to surprise the Normans, William's scouts reported the Norwegian arrival to the duke. Harald took a defensive position at the top of Senlac Hill about 6 miles from William's castle at Hastings. The battle took place on 14 October 1066 and lasted all day. The numbers were severely weighted in Hardrada’s favor, despite William having both cavalry and infantry, including many archers, while Harald had a large number of foot soldiers and a similar number of archers. The Norwegian soldiers formed up as a shield wall along the ridge, and were so effective that William's army was thrown back with heavy casualties. Some of William's Breton troops panicked and fled, and some of the Norwegian troops pursued the fleeing Bretons. Norman cavalry then attacked and killed the pursuing troops, which is when an arrow from Norwegian lines struck William in the eye, leading to instantaneous death. The cavalry buckled and seeing this, the Norwegians rallied, and drove them from the field, shattering the Norman forces and securing England for Harald Hardrada in the process.
England and Norway After 1066
The first few years of King Harald’s rule were initially planned to be a return to Norway and the beginning of efforts to gain the throne of Denmark too. Raids by the sons of the Harold Godwinson continued to plague the western regions of England, but the Anglo-Saxons for the most part were fearfully unified under Norwegian rule. For the most part, excluding Northumberland and York, the Anglo-Saxon lords were allowed to retain their titles and positions under the Norwegian king. This helped prevent any significant rebellions, though a number of lords did cause problems throughout the first few years, politically speaking.
In Northumberland and York Tostig had returned with an iron fist, and viciously punished and retaliated against all those who had allegedly betrayed him in the past. Most of the remaining Anglo-Saxon nobility fled the north, and Tostig had to rely more and more upon Danish mercenaries, who were later granted land for their service. Eventually through brutal repression, he managed to maintain his authority, crushing any who dared rebel against him, and becoming known for his brutal ways and ruthlessness. For the most part, Harald gave Tostig a free hand, appreciating the stability in preparation for a war against Denmark. When Harald finally was able to return to Norway in 1070, he was forced to spend more time at home, as a new war broke out with the Swedes and he was forced to restore his authority after the long absence in England.
The invasion of England proved to be too taxing upon Harald’s resources, and the ensuing skirmishes against Sweden prevented him from ever being able to return to the island kingdom, spending most of his reign in Norway. He did however allow his young son, Olaf to remain in England as his representative, considering the possibility of granting him the kingdom of England while the elder son Magnus would receive Norway upon Harald’s death. Magnus’ unexpected death prevented this plan, and Olaf inherited both kingdoms following his father’s death in 1074, and the Witenagemot confirmed this, though it was viciously resisted by Tostig Godwinson. Olaf initially intended upon returning to Norway, but he was betrayed by his father’s former ally. Tostig led a rebellion in northern England, backed by King Malcolm III of Scotland. Supported by Norwegian reinforcements and the Anglo-Saxon lords of the south, who hated and feared Tostig, the war that emerged lasted three years before the Scots were fought to a draw at the Battle of York. As Olaf’s army was incapable of restoring control to the northernmost parts of England, the Scots successfully managed to coerce the new King of England to accept an independent Northumberland under Tostig as the new earl. Tostig’s court remained predominantly Danish and Norwegian vassals, and he continued to claim the throne of England until his dying breath. Two years after he died in 1082, his son and successor swore himself as a vassal of King Malcom of Scotland, in order to invade what he viewed as an inevitable English invasion.
Olaf would only return to Norway once throughout his rule, during a new border conflict with Sweden in the late 1080s. It was viewed as politically expedient to remain in England, attempting to curry favor with a number of Anglo-Saxon lords, and he managed to subdue a number of attempts at rebellion before they could even get started. In fact, he began being viewed as a more English king than a Norwegian one. This apparent shift proved the undoing of his heir, Magnus, who was an illegitimate child, but had been mostly raised in England. Upon Olaf’s death in 1093, the Witenagemot recognized Magnus as the new king of England, but the lords of Norway resisted this, instead claiming that Haakon, cousin of King Magnus was the legitimate successor. When English forces were decisively defeated at the Battle of Røldal, Magnus was forced to withdraw back to England. Prior to 1100, he led several raids against southern Norway, but he was unable to muster enough forces to secure the throne.
France After 1066
William the Bastard’s defeat and death in England shattered Norman strength in northern France. The army that joined the would-be conqueror’s invasion were either killed in battle or captured by the Norwegians. During the winter of 1066 to 1067, many of the imprisoned Normans died of disease while the negotiations for ransom payment were still ongoing. The new Duke Richard of Normandy was soon bereft of both money and men, causing him to become increasingly reliant upon support from King Philip of France. Thankfully the two men had a cordial relationship, as Richard was constantly in Paris, seeking out continuing aid and providing political support against other rebellious vassals.
In 1069, Richard’s attempt to coerce Breton lords into compensating for paying the ransom to the Norwegians resulted in the outbreak of the Second Breton-Norman War, as Brittany refused and the Normans invaded. The much-weakened Normans were smashed by the Breton army in an open fight at Dol, and the Bretons invaded Normandy soon after. The war was brought to a stalemate when King Philip intervened on Duke Richard’s side, breaking a siege of one of the Norman castles. King Philip provided mediation for the dispute, and it resulted in the Bretons providing limited remuneration to the Normans, but at the same time Richard was forced to give up claims to Maine.
In the years that followed, France was plagued with substantial infighting and unrest among the nobility, all seeking to undermine Philip I. He was able to count on Duke Richard for support until his death in 1085, opening the door for the far worse rebellion that ensued afterward. The new duke of Normandy, Duke William II, claimed the title of Duke of Brittany and sought to add that to his own holdings. This was hotly opposed by Philip I, but the years of turmoil preceding the crisis led to William being able to assemble a substantial coalition of allies against the king of France. The bloody civil war that erupted emerged when William invaded Brittany in 1088 and smashed the Breton army in open battle. A number of lords failed to answer Philip I’s call to war, and the bloody conflict that emerged lasted until 1092, leaving France in ruins and near chaos.
When the smoke had cleared, Philip I was allowed to remain on the throne, but he was reduced to not much more than a figurehead, as the various nobles of France only provided the barest lip service to his position as King. In the north, Duke William secured the throne of Brittany becoming one of the most powerful vassals under the King of France. He deposed most of the Breton lords and replaced them with the various Normans who had supported his conquest, solidifying his rule over the local territories. The reorganization of the territories helped restore Normandy to prominence lost after the failed invasion of England, while greatly weakening the legitimacy and authority of the King of France, who remains a powerless icon, far overwhelmed in power and influence by the various lords who in theory are subservient to him.
