 | irishgit (138)
04/14/2008 | A pretty tough customer, one of the three claimants to the throne of England after the death of Edward the Confessor.
Invaded northern England to establish his claim by force of arms and was met, defeated and slain by Harold of England at Stamford Bridge.
The landing of William of Normandy, another claimant in southern England, required the victorious but weary Harold to force march south to a second battle at Hastings which changed the course of history.
As a result, Harald Hardrada is something of a footnote, weakening the English army for William's Conquest.
(1 voted this helpful, 0 funny and 0 agree) |
 | DrEntropy (38)
05/11/2006 | The last of the Viking conquerors. Harold played an important part in the Norman conquest: by invading England in the North, he distracted Harold II (not Hardrada) and left him unprepared for the Norman invasions. Since Harold's invasion of England was a failure, and led to his death, he doesn't deserve more than 3 stars-though he had quite a career before then.
(4 voted this helpful, 0 funny and 0 agree) |
