. A short history of England and the British Empire. t, butwas not an active candidate. Harold of Wessex had no con-stitutional rights to the throne, but he was the ablest andmightiest lord in England and the late kings brother-in-law;Election of he had long planned to secure the throne afterHarold. Edwards death. A meeting of the lords was hur- riedly called, and Harold was chosen king. It is likely thatthis election was somewhat irregular, as the entire kingdommay not have been represented in this assembly. At any rate,the earls of Mercia and Northumbria, two brothers of therival family of L
. A short history of England and the British Empire. t, butwas not an active candidate. Harold of Wessex had no con-stitutional rights to the throne, but he was the ablest andmightiest lord in England and the late kings brother-in-law;Election of he had long planned to secure the throne afterHarold. Edwards death. A meeting of the lords was hur- riedly called, and Harold was chosen king. It is likely thatthis election was somewhat irregular, as the entire kingdommay not have been represented in this assembly. At any rate,the earls of Mercia and Northumbria, two brothers of therival family of Leofric, did not accept the new king withany degree of loyalty. This was the weakness of Harolds BATTLES OF STAMFORD BRIDGE AND HASTINGS 47 position : the English aristocracy did not give him its undividedsupport. 41. The Battles of Stamford Bridge and Harold ruled England for less than a year and spent nearly allthe time in vain efforts to bolster up his tottering throne. Tillearly summer he was safe, as no hostile force would venture to. Battle Abbey The Abbey of St. Martin of the Place of Battle was founded by William theConqueror soon after the battle of Hastings; it was located on the battlefield. cross the sea in winter; but trouble was in prospect, as bothHarold of Norway and William of Normandy were preparingfor an invasion. The English king collected a strong force onthe Channel shore in expectation of a Norman landing. Wil-liam, however, was delayed by unfavorable winds and the Nor-wegian host had landed in Yorkshire before the BattieofNormans were able to embark. King Harold hur- Stamfordried northward and crushed the Norwegians in the n ge*battle of Stamford Nevertheless, the Norse invasionwas fatal to Anglo-Saxon freedom and nationality. WhileHarold was in Yorkshire, William was able to land his sea- 1 Cheyney, Nos. 52, 54; Innes, I, 39-44; Robinson, No. 45; these accounts arefrom four different sources. 2 Gardiner, 93-96. 48 THE OLD ENGLISH MONA
Size: 2646px × 944px
Photo credit: © Reading Room 2020 / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, bookidshorthistory, bookyear1915
