Editing Battle of Hastings (section)

==Background==
In 911, the [[Carolingian dynasty|Carolingian]] ruler [[Charles the Simple]] allowed a group of [[Vikings]] to settle in [[Normandy]] under their leader [[Rollo]].<ref name=Bates8>Bates ''Normandy Before 1066'' pp. 8–10</ref> Their settlement proved successful,<ref name=Normans15/>{{efn|The Vikings in the region became known as the "Northmen", from which "Normandy" and "Normans" are derived.<ref name=Normans15>Crouch ''Normans'' pp. 15–16</ref>}} and they quickly adapted to the indigenous culture, renouncing [[paganism]], converting to [[Christianity]],<ref name=Bates12>Bates ''Normandy Before 1066'' p. 12</ref> and intermarrying with the local population.<ref name=Bates20>Bates ''Normandy Before 1066'' pp. 20–21</ref> Over time, the frontiers of the duchy expanded to the west.<ref name=Capet53>Hallam and Everard ''Capetian France'' p. 53</ref> In 1002, King [[Æthelred the Unready|Æthelred II]] married [[Emma of Normandy|Emma]], the sister of [[Richard II, Duke of Normandy]].<ref name=Unready54>Williams ''Æthelred the Unready'' p. 54</ref> Their son [[Edward the Confessor]] spent many years in exile in Normandy and succeeded to the English throne in 1042.<ref name=Ruling3>Huscroft ''Ruling England'' p. 3</ref> This led to the establishment of a powerful Norman interest in English politics, as Edward drew heavily on his former hosts for support, bringing in Norman courtiers, soldiers, and clerics and appointing them to positions of power, particularly in the Church. Edward was childless and embroiled in conflict with the formidable [[Godwin, Earl of Wessex]], and his sons, and he may also have encouraged Duke [[William the Conqueror|William of Normandy]]'s ambitions for the English throne.<ref name=Unification86>Stafford ''Unification and Conquest'' pp. 86–99</ref>

===Succession crisis in England===
King Edward's death on 5 January 1066<ref name=Handbook29>Fryde, et al. ''Handbook of British Chronology'' p. 29</ref>{{efn|There is some slight confusion in the original sources about the exact date; it was most likely 5 January, but a few contemporaneous sources give 4 January.<ref name=Edward250>Barlow ''Edward the Confessor'' p. 250 and footnote 1</ref>}} left no clear heir, and several contenders laid claim to the throne of England.<ref name=Death167>Higham ''Death of Anglo-Saxon England'' pp. 167–181</ref> Edward's immediate successor was the [[Earl of Wessex]], [[Harold Godwinson]], the richest and most powerful of the English aristocrats and son of [[Godwin, Earl of Wessex|Godwin]], Edward's earlier opponent. Harold was elected king by the [[Witenagemot]] of England and crowned by [[Ealdred (archbishop of York)|Ealdred]], the [[Archbishop of York]], although Norman propaganda claimed that the ceremony was performed by [[Stigand]], the uncanonically elected [[Archbishop of Canterbury]].<ref name=Death167/><ref name=Walker136>Walker ''Harold'' pp. 136–138</ref> Harold was at once challenged by two powerful neighbouring rulers. William claimed that he had been promised the throne by Edward and that Harold had sworn agreement to this.<ref name=BatesWilliam73>Bates ''William the Conqueror'' pp. 73–77</ref> [[Harald Hardrada]], King of Norway, also contested the succession; his claim to the throne was based on an agreement between his predecessor [[Magnus the Good]] and the earlier king of England [[Harthacnut]], whereby if either died without heir, the other would inherit both England and Norway.<ref name=Death188>Higham ''Death of Anglo-Saxon England'' pp. 188–190</ref> William and Harald Hardrada immediately set about assembling troops and ships for separate invasions.<ref name=Ruling12>Huscroft ''Ruling England'' pp. 12–14</ref>{{efn|Other contenders later came to the fore. The first was [[Edgar Ætheling]], Edward the Confessor's great nephew who was a patrilineal descendant of King [[Edmund Ironside]]. He was the son of Edward the Exile, son of Edmund Ironside, and was born in Hungary where his father had fled after the conquest of England by [[Cnut the Great]]. After his family's eventual return to England and his father's death in 1057,<ref name=Huscroft96>Huscroft ''Norman Conquest'' pp. 96–97</ref> Edgar had by far the strongest hereditary claim to the throne, but he was only about thirteen or fourteen at the time of Edward the Confessor's death, and with little family to support him, his claim was passed over by the [[Witenagemot|Witenaġemot]].<ref name=Huscroft132>Huscroft ''Norman Conquest'' pp. 132–133</ref> Another contender was [[Sweyn II of Denmark]], who had a claim to the throne as the grandson of [[Sweyn Forkbeard]] and nephew of [[Canute the Great|Cnut]],<ref name=Stafford86>Stafford ''Unification and Conquest'' pp. 86–87</ref> but he did not make his bid for the throne until 1069.<ref name=Bates103>Bates ''William the Conqueror'' pp. 103–104</ref> [[Tostig Godwinson]]'s attacks in early 1066 may have been the beginning of a bid for the throne, but threw in his lot with Harald Hardrada after defeat at the hands of [[Edwin, Earl of Mercia|Edwin]] and [[Morcar]] and the desertion of most of his followers he.<ref name=Thomas33>Thomas ''Norman Conquest'' pp. 33–34</ref>}}

===Tostig and Hardrada's invasions===
In early 1066, Harold's exiled brother [[Tostig Godwinson]] raided southeastern England with a fleet he had recruited in [[Flanders]], later joined by other ships from [[Orkney]]. Threatened by Harold's fleet, Tostig moved north and raided in [[East Anglia]] and [[Lincolnshire]]. He was driven back to his ships by the brothers [[Edwin, Earl of Mercia]] and [[Morcar|Morcar, Earl of Northumbria]]. Deserted by most of his followers, he withdrew to Scotland, where he spent the middle of the year recruiting fresh forces.<ref name=Harold144>Walker ''Harold'' pp. 144–145</ref> Hardrada invaded northern England in early September, leading a fleet of more than 300 ships carrying perhaps 15,000 men. Hardrada's army was further augmented by the forces of Tostig, who supported 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]].<ref name=Harold154>Walker ''Harold'' pp. 154–158</ref>