A. 1066. . . .
[259] And then he [Tosty] went thence, and did harm everywhere by the sea-coast where he could land, as far as Sandwich. Then was it made known to king Harold, who was in London, that Tosty his brother was come to Sandwich.
Then gathered he so great a ship-force,
and also a land force, as no king here in the land had before gathered, because it had been soothly said unto him, that William the earl from Normandy, king Edward's kinsman, would come hither and subdue this land: all as it afterwards happened. When Tosty learned that king Harold was on his way to Sandwich,
then went he from Sandwich, and took some of the boatmen with him, some willingly and some unwillingly; and went then north into Humber, and there ravaged in Lindsey, and there slew many good men. When Edwin the earl and Morcar the earl understood that, then came they thither, and drove him out of the land. And he went then to Scotland: and the king of Scots protected him, and assisted him with provisions; and he there abode all the summer.
Then came king Harold to Sandwich, and there awaited his fleet, because it was long before it could be gathered together. And when his fleet was gathered together, then went he into the Isle of Wight, and there lay all the summer and the harvest; and a land-force was kept every where by the sea, though in the end it was of no benefit. When it was the Nativity of St. Mary,
then were the men's provisions gone, and no man could any longer keep them there. Then were the men allowed to go home, and the king rode up, and the ships were despatched to London; and many perished before they came thither. When the ships had reached home, then came king Harold from Norway, north into Tyne, and unawares, with a very large ship-force, and no small one; that might be, or more. And Tosty the earl came to him with all that he had gotten, all as they had before agreed; and then the)' went both, with all the fleet, along the Ouse, up towards York. Then was it made known to king Harold in the south,
as he was come from on shipboard, that Harold king of Norway and Tosty the earl were landed near York. Then went he northward, day and night, as quickly as he couM gather his forces. Then, before that king Harold could come thither, then gathered Edwin the earl and Morcar the earl from their earldom as great a force as they could get together; and they fought against the army, and made great slaughter: and there was much of the English people slain, and drowned, and driven away in flight; and the Northmen had possession of the place of carnage. And this fight was on the vigil of St. Matthew the apostle, and it was Wednesday. And then, after the fight, went Harold king of Norway, and Tosty the earl, into York, with as much people as seemed meet to them. And they delivered hostages to them from the city, and also assisted them with provisions; and so they went thence to their ships, and they agreed upon a full peace, so that they should all go with him south, and this land subdue.
Then, during this, came Harold king of the Angles, with, all his forces, on the Sunday, to Tadcaster, and there drew up his force, and went then on Monday throughout York; and Harold king of Norway, and Tosty the earl, and their forces, were gone from their ships beyond York to Stanfordbridge, because it had been promised them for a certainty, that there, from all the shire, hostages should be brought to meet them. Then came Harold king of the English against them, unawares, beyond the bridge, and they there joined battle, and very strenuously, for a long time of the day, continued fighting: and there was Harold king of Norway and Tosty the earl slain, and numberless of the people with them, as well of the Northmen as of the English: and the Northmen fled from the English. Then was there one of the Norwegians who withstood the English people, so that they might not pass over the bridge, nor obtain the victory. Then an Englishman aimed at him with a javelin, but it availed nothing; and then came another under the bridge, and pierced him terribly inwards under the coat of mail. Then came Harold, king of the English, over the bridge, and his forces onward with him, and there made great slaughter, as well of Norwegians as of Flemings. And the king's son, Edmund, Harold let go home to Norway, with all the ships.
A. 1066, In this year was consecrated the minster at Westminster, on Childer-mass-day. And king Edward died, on the eve of Twelfth-day; and he was buried on Twelfth-day, within the newly consecrated church at Westminster. And Harold the earl succeeded to the kingdom of England, even as the king had granted it to him, and men also had chosen him thereto; and he was crowned as king on Twelfth-day
. And that same year that he became king, he went out with a fleet against William;
[260] and the whil
e, came Tosty the earl into Humber with sixty ships. Edwin the earl came with a land-force and drove him out; and the boatmen forsook him. And he went to Scotland
with twelve vessels; and
Harold the king of Norway met him with three hundred ships, and Tosty submitted to him; and they both went into Humber, until they came to York. And Morcar the earl, and Edwin the earl, fought against them; and the king of the Norwegians had the victory. And it was made known to king Harold how it there was done, and had happened; and
he came there with a great army of English men, and met him at Stanfordbridge, and slew him and the earl Tosty, and boldly overcame all the army. And the while, William the earl landed at Hastings, on St. Michael's-day: and Harold came from the north, and fought against him before all his army had come up: and there he fell, and his two brothers. Girth and Leofwin; and William subdued this land. And he came to Westminster, and archbishop Aldred consecrated him king, and men paid him tribute, and delivered him hostages, and afterwards bought their land. And then was Leofric abbat of Peterborough in that same expedition; and there he sickened, and came home, and was dead soon thereafter, on All-hallows-mass-night; God be merciful to his soul! In his day was all bliss and all good in Peterborough; and he was dear to all people, so that the king gave to St. Peter and to him the abbacy at Burton, and that of Coventry, which Leofric the earl, who was his uncle, before had made, and that of Crowland, and that of Thorney. And he conferred so much of good upon the minster of Peterborough, in gold, and in silver, and in vestments, and in land, as never any other did before him, nor any after him. After, Golden-borough became a wretched borough. Then chose the monks for abbat Brand the provost, by reason that he was a very good man, and very wise, and sent him then to Edgar the etheling, by reason that the people of the land supposed that he should become king: and the etheling granted it him then gladly. When king William heard say that, then was he very wroth, and said that the abbat had despised him. Then went good men between them, and reconciled them, by reason that the abbat was a good man. Then gave he the king forty marks of gold for a reconciliation; and then thereafter, lived he a little while, but three years. After that came every tribulation and every evil to the minster. God have mercy on it!
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