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FORNǪLD · Track 14

Stamford Bridge

Old Icelandic

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Tuttugasti og fimmti september Einn þúsund sextíu og sex síðasti dagur aldar Einn þúsund sextíu og sex Einn þúsund sextíu og sex brúin man blóðið Einn þúsund sextíu og sex Einn þúsund sextíu og sex öldin féll þar Tvö hundruð sjötíu ára stormur endaði á einni brú Stamford Stamford þar sem víkingar urðu saga Morguninn var heitur brynjurnar biðu í skipunum Við héldum daginn unninn Jórvík hafði gefist upp Svo reis rykský í suðri og úr því kom her Haraldr leit á það og mælti þá berjumst vér hér Einn þúsund sextíu og sex Einn þúsund sextíu og sex brúin man blóðið Einn þúsund sextíu og sex Einn þúsund sextíu og sex öldin féll þar Tvö hundruð sjötíu ára stormur endaði á einni brú Stamford Stamford þar sem víkingar urðu saga Skjaldborgin hélt og hélt Saxar brotnuðu á henni Þá féll vörðurinn á brúnni og flóðið streymdi yfir Haraldr barðist fremst berserkur án brynju sverð í báðum höndum og dauðinn hvarvetna um hann Einn þúsund sextíu og sex Einn þúsund sextíu og sex brúin man blóðið Einn þúsund sextíu og sex Einn þúsund sextíu og sex öldin féll þar Tvö hundruð sjötíu ára stormur endaði á einni brú Stamford Stamford þar sem víkingar urðu saga Örin fann hálsinn konungurinn féll í valinn Þrjú hundruð skip komu tuttugu og fjögur sneru heim Sólin settist yfir Derwent og með henni öldin Síðasti víkingurinn lá í sínum sjö fetum Einn þúsund sextíu og sex Einn þúsund sextíu og sex brúin man blóðið Einn þúsund sextíu og sex Einn þúsund sextíu og sex öldin féll þar Tvö hundruð sjötíu ára stormur endaði á einni brú Stamford Stamford þar sem víkingar urðu saga Einn þúsund sextíu og sex öldin er búin sagan hefst

The twenty-fifth of September one thousand and sixty-six the last day of the age One thousand and sixty-six one thousand and sixty-six the bridge remembers the blood one thousand and sixty-six one thousand and sixty-six the age fell there Two hundred and seventy years of storms ended on one bridge Stamford, Stamford where the Vikings became history The morning was hot the byrnies waited in the ships We thought the day was won Jorvik had surrendered Then a dust cloud rose in the south and from it came an army Haraldr looked at it and said then we fight here One thousand and sixty-six one thousand and sixty-six the bridge remembers the blood one thousand and sixty-six one thousand and sixty-six the age fell there Two hundred and seventy years of storms ended on one bridge Stamford, Stamford where the Vikings became history The shield wall held and held the Saxons broke against it Then the guardian of the bridge fell and the flood streamed over Haraldr fought at the front berserker without byrnie sword in both hands and death all around him One thousand and sixty-six one thousand and sixty-six the bridge remembers the blood one thousand and sixty-six one thousand and sixty-six the age fell there Two hundred and seventy years of storms ended on one bridge Stamford, Stamford where the Vikings became history The arrow found his throat the king fell in the slain Three hundred ships had come twenty-four turned home The sun set over the Derwent and with it the age The last Viking lay in his seven feet One thousand and sixty-six one thousand and sixty-six the bridge remembers the blood one thousand and sixty-six one thousand and sixty-six the age fell there Two hundred and seventy years of storms ended on one bridge Stamford, Stamford where the Vikings became history One thousand and sixty-six the age is over the story begins

Story Behind The Song

On September 25, 1066, Haraldr Sigurðarson fought and lost the Battle of Stamford Bridge in Yorkshire. His army had already secured York and defeated the northern English earls at Fulford Gate days earlier. They were resting, many without their mail coats, which had been left in the ships at Ricall, when King Harold Godwinson of England arrived from the south faster than anyone expected. Before the battle, according to Heimskringla, an English horseman approached and offered Tostig, Haraldr's ally and Harold Godwinson's estranged brother, his earldom back if he would switch sides. When asked what the Norse king would receive for withdrawing, the horseman answered: seven feet of English ground, or a little more, as he was taller than most men. Haraldr Sigurðarson was reported to be exceptionally tall. The shield wall held for a time. A single Norse warrior reportedly held the bridge long enough for the army to form up, until he was killed from below. Then the English broke through. Haraldr Sigurðarson was killed, an arrow through the throat. Of the fleet that had crossed the North Sea with his army, only a fraction made the return journey. The song's last line gives him the exact ground he was offered: seven feet. No more. Harold Godwinson had no time to consolidate his victory. William of Normandy landed three days later. Hastings followed on October 14. The Battle of Stamford Bridge is traditionally taken as the end of the Viking Age, not because everything stopped, but because nothing that came after looked the same.