A study of Harold Goodwineson's march to York and its effect on the battle of Stamford bridge using experimental archeology
The year 1066 CE is one of the most heavily studied by Medieval, military and political historians. The year of the death of King Edward the confessor of England it was one filled with strife. Many battles and military feats took place this year, but my study looks at one in particular, Harold Goodwinson’s march to York, where the English army covered over 200 miles in five days and emerged victorious at the battle of Stamford Bridge. The goal of my study was to attempt this march myself, covering over two hundred miles on foot in five days wearing period accurate war gear. At the end of this march, I faced off against martial arts practitioners, fighting with period accurate equipment, and was able to use this data to analyze the marches impact on my fighting ability. Using this information, the academic community will gain a deeper understanding of the effects of marching in 11th century armor and how it effects the performance of an army. The results of the study will also shine light on certain controversies around the march. Many historians believe that King Harold’s entire force was mounted, and we know that his professional housecarls rode to war, but not everyone in the English army was so well off. If I can complete this march and still fight effectively this suggests that it was indeed possible that a large portion of the English army was on foot and achieved this miraculous feat of endurance.