Designer:wzfcns
Date: 20 September 1066
Location: England
Map scale:100m per hex
Time scale: 0.5 hour turns
Length: 12 turns
The Anglo-Saxon king Edward the Confessor died on 5 January 1066 without an heir. The only surviving member of the royal family was Edgar, the young son of Edward Ætheling. On the day of King Edward's funeral, 6 January, Harold Godwinson, the Earl of Wessex, rushed to London, where he was crowned king in the Abbey of Saint Peter of Westminster, by Ealdred, Archbishop of York. Harold Godwinson was elected as King by the Witenagemot, who had gathered in Westminster to celebrate the feast of Epiphany. However, two powerful earls, brothers Edwin of Mercia and Morcar of Northumbria, challenged his authority. Sources indicate that Harold moved north to confront them; however, in the end he secured their loyalty by marrying their sister, Edith, the widow of Griffith of Wales. By securing the loyalty of Edwin and Morcar, Godwinson increased his strength in the north. These men were, in fact, the first barrier between Harold Godwinson and Harald Hardrada.
Tostig, the exiled brother of Godwinson, also felt he had a claim to the English throne. During his exile, he lived in Flanders, whence, according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, he invaded in May 1066 against his brother. At Sandwich Tostig is said to have enlisted and impressed sailors. He then sailed north, where he battled Edwin, the Earl of Mercia. After a quick defeat at the mouth of the Humber, he arrived in Scotland under the protection of King Malcolm of Scotland. Later he met and made a pact with Harald Hardrada, King of Norway, whereby he agreed to support Hardrada in his invasion of England.The medieval historian Orderic Vitalis has a different version of this story; he says that Tostig travelled to Normandy to enlist the help of William, Duke of Normandy. Then, as William was not ready to get involved at that stage, Tostig sailed from the Cotentin Peninsula, but because of storms ended up in Norway, and made his pact with Harald Hardrada there.[8] Whether in Norway or Scotland, it is certain that Tostig allied himself with Hardrada, where they fought side by side at the Battle of Fulford. Tostig was a useful ally for Hardrada not only because he was the brother of his adversary but also because he knew the terrain.
Hardrada, like Tostig, William of Normandy, and King Harold Godwinson, was another claimant to the throne. Hardrada set sail for England in September 1066, picking up supplies in Orkney and was reinforced by Tostig, who brought soldiers and ships. They sailed together along the River Ouse towards the city of York. In Orderic Vitalis' version it says that in the month of August Hardrada and Tostig set sail across the wide sea with a favourable wind and landed in Yorkshire. They arrived at the mouth of the Humber on 18 September. Having disembarked from their ships, their armies quickly moved towards York. On 20 September 1066, they were confronted by Godwinson's earls, Edwin and Morcar
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update 2.23
lower combat density penalty rate
