It’s a rip-roaring start, with three deaths in five pages as Harald Hardrada (or Haraldr Sigurdarson as he’s termed here), Tostig (wayward brother of Harold Godwinson), and an unnamed farmer all get decapitated. We start on a battlefield, yet not Hastings (too obvious) but Stamford Bridge, the final eliminator for the English throne in 1066.
Published to coincide with the Bayeux Tapestry’s first foray to UK shores in almost a millennium, Dr Goeres’ inaugural book for the general reader seeks to tell a new history of 1066 through analysis of sources from the regions that contested the throne: England, Normandy, and Scandinavia. 1066 is one of the most recognisable dates for Brits – the year of three kings and three battles. And, in a nod to 2026 being a World Cup year, it was Stamford Bridge (not the stadium) that hosted the semi-final. But we should not take everything as read, and an early reference to Wessex as a south-eastern kingdom perplexed this reader: I would have said ‘southern’.
Folk sometimes erroneously think 1066 was all about Harold and William, but there were other major players and contenders, and Goeres serves Hardrada and Tostig well with detailed pen portraits that put flesh on bones. This pivotal year was as much about them as the two who contested the final at Battle (near Hastings) or a slew of other possible sites mentioned by the author. She makes us question what little we thought we knew, and that’s good. Hardrada’s failure to conquer Denmark becomes a big story. It provides the motivation for one last tilt at a kingdom: England. He may have been past his best, but the Norwegian king wanted his legacy.
Adapting ceremonies and festivals