1. Why did Harald Hardrada win at Gate Fulford?
Starter: define the following key words without using your notes!
Anoint
Blood feud
Ceorls
Danelaw
Edgar Aethling
Fyrd
Godwin
Housecarls

2. Invasion
As William had been trapped in Normandy due to high winds, King Harold disbanded the fyrd on 8th September.
17th September, Haradra and Tostig’s forces join in Scotland.
They sailed down the east coast, attacking and raiding Scarborough.
Then the sailed up the Mouth of the Humber, landing at Ricall in Yorkshire (10 miles south of York)
An army was raised by Earl Morcar and Edwin to drive them back into the sea.
They clashed at a place called Gate Fulford.

5. Learning Tasks
All
Create a mind map showing all the different reasons why Harald Hardrada won at Gate Fulford. For each factor, expand and explain it with precise own knowledge:
Numeric advantage
Hardrada’s clever strategy
Tactical mistakes by Edwin and Morcar
Target 6-4
Draw a table with two columns – evidence that Harold should have left the south coast, evidence that she shouldn’t have.
Target 3-1
How would Harold’s march north have given William, Duke of Normandy an advantage?
Targets 9-7
‘Leaving the southern coast was a terrible decision for Harold’ – assess how valid this is.

6. Numerical advantage
Edwin and Morcar were outnumbered – Hardrada had 3,000 more men. This would mean that they couldn’t afford to take as much damage as the Viking forces.
Why did Hardrada and Tostig win at Fulford?
Hardrada’s clever strategy
Hardrada and his housecarls positioned Tostig’s weaker troops on one wing. This encourage the Saxons to attack there first, allowing his men to attack them from the side. This allowed him to defeat the Saxons.
Tactical mistakes by Morcar & Edwin
They positioned their army with a marsh to their backs. This meant their troops had nowhere to go when they were pushed back. This made them easy to kill.