Edward the Confessor died on Jan. 5, 1066. Being very religious meant he thought sex was a sin. Not surprisingly, he had no son to succeed him. This led to the medieval dread of a power struggle to replace the dead monarch. The English nobles comprising the witan chose one of their own as king. Harold Godwinson (Harold of Wessex) took the throne, but he would have to fight to keep it. His brother Tostig launched a rebellion to get the throne for himself. When he was defeated by his older brother, he attached himself to King Harald Hardrada of Norway, who also claimed the throne. Another claimant was Duke William of Normandy. Harald and William both prepared to invade. Harald got to England first. Harold Godwinson rushed to meet him with his 2,000 housecarls (elite soldiers), collecting the fyrd (militia) along the way. He had a total of around 8,000 men. The Vikings had a similar number. He arrived with about 8,000 foot soldiers and took the Vikings by surprise on Sept. 25, 1066. They were camped on the other side of a river with a bridge separating the two forces. The Vikings were camped on their side of the river. They grabbed their shields and weapons and headed for the bridge. They did not have time to put on any armor. Both sides were armed with spears, swords, axes, and some of the fyrd carried sharpened farm implements. The English got to the bridge first and tried to cross. The far end of the bridge was defended by a single Viking berserker. He alone held up the English, killing as many as 40. Eventually, an Englishman used a swill-tub to float under the bridge. He thrust his spear up and into the Viking. Then the English stormed across the bridge and slammed into the Viking shield wall. Although lacking the chain mail and pot helmets worn by the English, the Vikings held up for hours until the formation was broken. Harald Hardrada took an arrow or slingshot to the windpipe and Tostig was also killed in the fighting. Most of the Vikings were killed and a lot of English were casualties. The battle was a huge upset given the reputation of the Vikings. Unfortunately, Harold of Wessex did not get to celebrate long because word soon arrived that William of Normandy had landed to the south. Harold immediately ordered a forced march to meet the Normans. Harold had a date with destiny at a place called Hastings.
https://www.britishbattles.com/norman-conquest/battle-of-stamford-bridge/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Stamford_Bridge
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