Chronicon ex Chronicis (McGurk)

The glory of the English, the peacable King Edward, son of King Æthelred, after governing the Anglo-Saxons for twenty-three years, six months, and twenty-seven days, in the fourth indiction, on Thursday, the eve of Epiphany, met his death at London, and was royally buried the next day, most bitterly lamented, not without tears by all who were present. When he was entombed, the underking, Harold, son of Earl Godwine, whom the king had chosen before his demise as successor to the kingdom, was elected by the primates of all England to the dignity of kingship, and was consecrated king with due ceremony by Ealdred, archbishop of York, on the same day. He soon, when he had undertaken the government of the realm, destroyed iniquitous laws, and set about establishing just ones; becoming patron of churches and monasteries, cultivating and venerating at the same time bishops, abbots, monks, and clerks; showing himself pious, humble and affable to all good men; detesting malefactors, for he ordered the earls, ealdormen, jobs, sheriffs, and his own officers generally to seize thieves, robbers, and disturbers of the realm, and to exert themselves by land and sea for the defence of their country. In that same year, on 24 April, a comet was seen, not only in England but also, so they say, throughout the whole world, blazing for seven days in great splendour. Not much later, Earl Tostig, returning from Flanders; landed on the Isle of Wight, and having forced the islanders to pay tribute and maintenance, departed and raided the coast as far as the port of Sandwich. When King Harold, who was then staying at London, learnt this, he ordered a large fleet and a force of cavalry to be assembled, and he himself prepared to go to the port of Sandwich. When this was reported to Tostig, he retreated, taking some of the seamen with him, whether they wished to go or not, and steered his course towards Lindsey, where he burnt many townships, and did to death many men. When he learnt this, Edwin, earl of the Mercians, and Morkar, earl of the Northumbrians, hurried up with an army, and expelled him from that region. Retreating thence, he went to Malcolm, king of the Scots, and remained the whole summer with him. 'Meanwhile, King Harold came to the port of Sandwich and there he awaited his fleet. When it had been drawn up, he went to the Isle of Wight and, because William, duke of the Normans, cousin of King Edward, was preparing to come to England with an army, he watched all summer and autumn for his arrival, against which he also placed his infantry at strategic places around the coast. And so, with the approach of the nativity of St Mary, as food was running out, both the fleet and the infantry returned home. When these things had been done, Harold Fairhair, king of the Norwegians, brother of St Olaf the king, landed unexpectedly at the mouth of the River Tyne with an extremely strong fleet; that is more than 500 great ships. Earl Tostig joined him with his fleet as he had previously promised, and on a swift course they entered the mouth of the River Humber; sailing thus up the River Ouse, they landed at a place called Ricall. When King Harold learnt of this, he speedily undertook an expedition to Northumbria. But before the king arrived there, the two brother earls, Edwin and Morkar, with a great army joined battle with the Norwegians on the north bank of the River Ouse, near York, on Wednesday, the eve of St Matthew the Apostle's day, and fighting manfully in the first thrust of the battle, they laid many low. But after the struggle had continued for a long time, the English were unable to withstand the Norwegian attack. Not without some small loss they turned to flee, and many more of them were drowned in the river than had fallen in battle. But the Norwegians gained the mastery in that place of death and, having taken 150 hostages from York, they returned to their own ships, having left in York 150 hostages of their own. But on the fifth day after this, that is on Monday, 25 September, Harold, king of the English, with many thousands of well-armed fighting men, marched to York and met the Norwegians at a place called Stamford Bridge. He put to the sword King Harold and Earl Tostig and the greater part of their army, and after a most bitter battle gained total victory. However, he permitted Harold’s son Olaf, and the earl of Orkney, Paul by name, who had been sent off to guard the ships with part of the army, after first taking hostages and oaths from them, to return freely to their own land with twenty ships and the remainder of the army. While these things were happening, and the king supposed all his enemies had been destroyed, he was informed that William, duke of the Normans, had landed his fleet at a place called Pevensey, with an innumerable multitude of knights, slingers, archers and foot-soldiers, for he had brought strong auxiliaries from the whole of Gaul with him. Whereupon the king at once moved his army to London in great haste, and although he knew that all the more powerful men from the whole of England had already fallen in two battles, and that half of his army had not yet assembled, yet he did not fear to go to meet his enemies in Sussex with all possible speed, and nine miles from Hastings, where they had earlier built a fortress for themselves, before a third of his army had been drawn up, on Saturday, 22 October, he joined battle with the Normans. But because the English were drawn up in a narrow place many slipped away from the battleline, and very few of a constant heart remained with him. However, from the third hour of daylight until dusk he resisted his enemies most stoutly, and defended himself by fighting so strongly and so vigorously that he could scarcely be slain by the enemy line. But afterwards, when very many had fallen on both sides, he himself fell, alas, at dusk. Earls Gyrth and Leofwine, his brothers, also fell, and the more noble of almost all England, but Duke William returned to Hastings with his own men. Harold reigned nine months and as many days.