Did Harold sail?

[Last Hussar]

An argument Harold sailed to try and defend his kingdom.

Article

[Big Insect]

Interesting ... but ....

It's probable that the only troops that Harold moved around England to face Hardrada, and then William the Bastard were his own Huscarls. Who would have actually ridden to battle and dismounted, as was current Anglo-Danish (Anglo-Saxon) practice. They were probably not a huge band of men, hundreds rather than thousands and the the bulk of both the Stamford Bridge and Hastings 'English' armies were made up of the local nobilities Huscarls, and local Fyrd and levies (Greater Fyrd) from the locality around each battle.

The idea that Harold would have sailed north to front Hardrada is also even more foolhardy and rash than a ride north (& back), as the Danish fleet was currently the master of the North Sea and I'm sure that Hardrada would have relished the opportunity to face Harold in a naval battle somewhere along England's eastern seaboard.
Plus, the weather at the time was blowing onto the English coast from the north-east. It's what had delayed William's fleet in the 1st place and provided Hardrada's fleet with the means to get to the north of England quickly from Denmark. So for Harold to have moved a fleet up the East coast to Yorkshire, his men would have had to have rowed the ships. So they would have been exhausted upon arrival, as they'd have been rowing into the wind.

It just show that you need to look a lot wider than just what is written in the Chronicles, to get a full picture ....(just my humble opinion, of course!) 

[Raider4]

The idea that Harold would have sailed north to front Hardrada is also even more foolhardy and rash than a ride north (& back), as the Danish fleet was currently the master of the North Sea and I'm sure that Hardrada would have relished the opportunity to face Harold in a naval battle somewhere along England's eastern seaboard.

If it's the same story as on the BBC, then the idea is that they sailed back south. Which is perfectly possible as Hardrada's fleet had ceased to exist.

Isn't the story that of the 300 ships which bought the army to England, only 24 were needed to return the survivors after Stamford Bridge?

So suddenly there are ~270 ships available to be used. And no opposition.

[Big Insect]

It's a possibility - but the same thing happens in reverse with regards to the weather.
For William's fleet to have crossed the Channel, he needed a wind from the South West.
So even if Harold manages to capture the remnant ships left over after the defeat of Hardrada, and I suspect that if some Danish ships managed to sail home, that they would probably have scuttled the remainder, to avoid being pursued; using those captured ships to sail down the East coast would again have been mostly into the wind. So not an easy ride.

Personally, I think its all more than a bit far fetched.
Harold's Huscarls would probably have been adequately transported on horseback.
The idea that they lost the battle of Hasting because they were exhausted has never really been proven.

IMHO, all this is an academic looking to fit a historical solution to their pet theory       

[Gwydion]

Here's the UEA version UEA Tom Licence
He agrees with you the; idea of forced march leading to the defeat at Hastings is not a proven one.
His theory at least fits with some of the otherwise 'inexplicable' comments about fleets.
I have no particular feelings about the accuracy of his interpretation but it seems at least as likely as the alternatives. Jury out - and likely to be forever!

[DecemDave]

Interesting theory.  My thanks to the original poster.
The idea of sailing back is interesting using captured ships.  As to going North that way:
Maybe someone with local and historical knowledge could enlighten us (and the prof definitely needs to do this to prove his case) with a good explanation of the relative army movements.  Hardrada is documented to have landed at Ricall (on the Ouse), on to Fulford (by foot or up the river?), won and then went to York and finally rested near Stamford Bridge (East of York and implying the fleet did sail up from Ricall and into the Derwent).
BUT BUT BUT if Harold did sail North why and how would he bother going to Tadcaster?  He would also have to disembark before/near Ricall or risk the element of surprise.  BUT then he seems to go NW not NE?  Although an english fleet blocking the Ouse could explain the "only 24 got away"

[hammurabi70]

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