0:00:07 > 0:00:10Late afternoon.
0:00:10 > 0:00:12Saturday, the 14th of October.
0:00:16 > 0:00:18The year is 1066.
0:00:22 > 0:00:25And this is the Battle of Hastings.
0:00:34 > 0:00:38But 1066 was about far more than just one battle.
0:00:41 > 0:00:46This is the story of three kings, three battles and three invasions.
0:00:46 > 0:00:49Of 12 months that transformed Britain.
0:00:54 > 0:00:56As well as Harold of England...
0:00:57 > 0:00:59..and Duke William of Normandy...
0:00:59 > 0:01:00Do you recognise me?
0:01:02 > 0:01:06..there was also a Viking, King Harald Hardrada,
0:01:06 > 0:01:09all facing off in a series of bloodbaths...
0:01:11 > 0:01:14..that brought an end to the long terror of the Vikings.
0:01:17 > 0:01:21Before, finally, the epic Battle of Hastings itself.
0:01:23 > 0:01:28In a few bloody hours, the Anglo-Saxon world was swept aside.
0:01:28 > 0:01:31It was the greatest rupture in British history.
0:01:33 > 0:01:37What it led to is stamped on our landscape.
0:01:38 > 0:01:40The Normans forged a new Britain
0:01:40 > 0:01:45with language, laws and customs we still live with today.
0:01:47 > 0:01:50But just how a tiny region of France
0:01:50 > 0:01:53seized such power is much less clear.
0:01:56 > 0:01:59Now I'm going to travel Europe in search of answers...
0:01:59 > 0:02:01Come on!
0:02:01 > 0:02:03..experiment with weapons and tactics...
0:02:06 > 0:02:07That is terrifying.
0:02:08 > 0:02:11..and discover revelations hidden within a unique document
0:02:11 > 0:02:15written just months after those great battles...
0:02:15 > 0:02:19The Carmen tells us that Harald died in a very different way.
0:02:21 > 0:02:24..to reveal a bitter tale of family betrayals...
0:02:24 > 0:02:27My brother is a lying dog.
0:02:27 > 0:02:29..and tragic twists of fate...
0:02:29 > 0:02:32Soon we will be filling England's graveyards.
0:02:32 > 0:02:35..which would change the shape of Britain...
0:02:35 > 0:02:37- March to battle.- ..and Europe...
0:02:39 > 0:02:41..forever.
0:02:41 > 0:02:44Shall we do battle?
0:02:44 > 0:02:46MEN CHEER
0:02:46 > 0:02:50This is the real story of 1066.
0:03:15 > 0:03:19'They say that becoming king is a gift from God.'
0:03:22 > 0:03:24- How is he?- He's not going to last.
0:03:26 > 0:03:28- How long?- Not long now.
0:03:32 > 0:03:37'But sometimes, it's about being in the right place at the right time.
0:03:40 > 0:03:44'Edward the Confessor is King of England.
0:03:44 > 0:03:46EDWARD MUTTERS
0:03:50 > 0:03:53'But his long reign is coming to an end.'
0:04:02 > 0:04:03Close your eyes.
0:04:04 > 0:04:05Rest.
0:04:06 > 0:04:11We can never be absolutely sure what happened as Edward lay dying,
0:04:11 > 0:04:15but we do know that it led to war
0:04:15 > 0:04:19and made 1066 the most famous date in British history.
0:04:29 > 0:04:34To go back to 11th-century England is to enter a very different world
0:04:34 > 0:04:36which lived by different rules.
0:04:36 > 0:04:37It's a long time ago -
0:04:37 > 0:04:43you have to go back 500 years to the Tudors and then another 500 years
0:04:43 > 0:04:46before them. And the problem is, we don't know very much about it.
0:04:54 > 0:04:57Take the battlefield of Hastings.
0:04:57 > 0:05:02Today, there aren't many clues here that tell us how things went
0:05:02 > 0:05:05on that bloody day. And the sources we do have are fragmentary,
0:05:05 > 0:05:08ancient texts which are often conflicting,
0:05:08 > 0:05:10semi-fictional poems and sagas.
0:05:10 > 0:05:12There are huge gaps in our knowledge.
0:05:14 > 0:05:19This was a world still emerging from the Dark Ages,
0:05:19 > 0:05:22where reality mingled with epic tales...
0:05:23 > 0:05:26..myths and legends...
0:05:26 > 0:05:27to create stories we have been
0:05:27 > 0:05:31telling ourselves for almost 1,000 years.
0:05:31 > 0:05:35I want to try and get to the heart of what actually happened
0:05:35 > 0:05:36in that extraordinary year,
0:05:36 > 0:05:40a year that began with King Edward on his deathbed.
0:05:48 > 0:05:50EDWARD MUTTERS
0:05:52 > 0:05:56'The problem is that the old king is childless.
0:05:56 > 0:05:58'England has no successor.'
0:05:59 > 0:06:03It's just a fever. God is with you.
0:06:05 > 0:06:09'Across Europe, three powerful warlords are watching...
0:06:10 > 0:06:11'..and waiting.'
0:06:24 > 0:06:26Come on, bloody well mean it!
0:06:27 > 0:06:30'200 miles south of London,
0:06:30 > 0:06:34'a 38-year-old illegitimate duke rules with an iron fist.'
0:06:39 > 0:06:42It's not that hard!
0:06:42 > 0:06:44'William of Normandy has fought
0:06:44 > 0:06:46'his way to the top since the age of seven.'
0:06:51 > 0:06:53At least he can do it.
0:06:53 > 0:06:56'He expects to be the next King of England.
0:06:57 > 0:07:01'Because he claims that Edward himself has promised him the crown.
0:07:09 > 0:07:11'Nearly 1,000 miles north.
0:07:17 > 0:07:20'The Viking Harald III is King of Norway.'
0:07:22 > 0:07:25You really should know better. I mean, where's your gratitude?
0:07:25 > 0:07:28I keep you and your parents safe and you see fit
0:07:28 > 0:07:30to ignore your responsibilities.
0:07:30 > 0:07:34You need to pay your count.
0:07:34 > 0:07:36You simply leave me no choice.
0:07:40 > 0:07:46'He'll be known in time as Hardrada, the hard ruler.'
0:07:46 > 0:07:50Not that I don't enjoy hearing you squeal like a wretched hog,
0:07:50 > 0:07:52but that's enough.
0:07:52 > 0:07:57Now, crawl home and tell your neighbours
0:07:57 > 0:08:00what happens when you don't pay your dues.
0:08:04 > 0:08:06Out of my sight.
0:08:07 > 0:08:11'Hardrada is a Viking warrior, of the old school.'
0:08:11 > 0:08:12That's that sorted.
0:08:14 > 0:08:18'The Vikings ruled England just 30 years ago.'
0:08:19 > 0:08:20He did squeal, didn't he?
0:08:21 > 0:08:24'Perhaps their time will come again.'
0:08:30 > 0:08:31You've been a strong king.
0:08:35 > 0:08:36You defended the kingdom...
0:08:39 > 0:08:41..under the eyes of God Almighty.
0:08:43 > 0:08:46'Harold Godwinson is the third contender.
0:08:48 > 0:08:50'He's the King's brother-in-law...'
0:08:51 > 0:08:52Amen.
0:08:52 > 0:08:55'..and the power behind Edward's throne.'
0:08:57 > 0:09:00You created God's kingdom here on earth.
0:09:01 > 0:09:04And I will look after it for you.
0:09:06 > 0:09:09I owe it to you as my king.
0:09:10 > 0:09:11And as my friend.
0:09:14 > 0:09:17England is in safe hands.
0:09:24 > 0:09:25'Three warriors...
0:09:27 > 0:09:29'..all lusting for Edward's crown...
0:09:32 > 0:09:33'..and the English throne.'
0:09:41 > 0:09:45I've asked three historians to step into the world of 1066
0:09:45 > 0:09:48and enter the minds of our three competing warlords.
0:09:48 > 0:09:50This is lies, lies, lies.
0:09:50 > 0:09:53All you ever speak are lies.
0:09:53 > 0:09:57They'll explore the thinking behind their battle plans.
0:09:57 > 0:09:59And that's the moment for my secret weapon.
0:09:59 > 0:10:02And this is a glorious bloodbath.
0:10:04 > 0:10:06William of Normandy...
0:10:07 > 0:10:09..Harold Godwinson...
0:10:11 > 0:10:12..and Harold Hardrada.
0:10:14 > 0:10:17I'm here in Norway and the Vikings
0:10:17 > 0:10:21take a pretty keen interest in England.
0:10:21 > 0:10:25And by a keen interest, I mean, in the ninth century, the Danes,
0:10:25 > 0:10:28another group of Vikings, had conquered and colonised England,
0:10:28 > 0:10:31splitting it effectively in two.
0:10:31 > 0:10:38Between 1016 and 1042 the whole of England was under Viking rule,
0:10:38 > 0:10:40so when I looked from Norway at England
0:10:40 > 0:10:43I just see part of a Scandinavian empire,
0:10:43 > 0:10:45a place just waiting to be reconquered.
0:10:45 > 0:10:50The land I rule, Normandy, is indeed small compared with England
0:10:50 > 0:10:52and with Norway. But...
0:10:52 > 0:10:56I'm at the head of a terrifying war machine
0:10:56 > 0:10:58and I'm a man of indomitable ambition.
0:10:58 > 0:11:00HE SCREAMS
0:11:00 > 0:11:05And I know that beyond this tantalisingly narrow strip of water
0:11:05 > 0:11:10England is waiting, promising me land, plunder, and perhaps,
0:11:10 > 0:11:14above all, the chance to become an anointed king.
0:11:14 > 0:11:18I'm really not worried about foreign invasion.
0:11:18 > 0:11:22After all, we are an island, not easy to get into.
0:11:22 > 0:11:26Really, Norway, you have not been a threat for 50 years.
0:11:26 > 0:11:31Normandy, you're tiny and you're so busy fighting amongst yourselves
0:11:31 > 0:11:33and fighting with the rest of France
0:11:33 > 0:11:37that you're not a threat to me at all. I am sitting pretty.
0:11:47 > 0:11:49In 1066, England was a glittering jewel.
0:11:51 > 0:11:53It was prosperous, it was wealthy,
0:11:53 > 0:11:58it had the most sophisticated financial system in Europe.
0:11:58 > 0:12:01It was remarkably well organised, very centralised.
0:12:01 > 0:12:04The King sat right in the middle of it all.
0:12:04 > 0:12:06Taxes flowed in to the Royal Treasury,
0:12:06 > 0:12:10making the monarch the richest man in the kingdom.
0:12:14 > 0:12:16King Edward spent years using his
0:12:16 > 0:12:19vast wealth to build a new royal base
0:12:19 > 0:12:21right on the River Thames.
0:12:21 > 0:12:25Upstream, to the west of London.
0:12:27 > 0:12:33Nowadays, Westminster is the cradle of British power and Parliament.
0:12:33 > 0:12:35But 950 years ago it was a very different scene.
0:12:35 > 0:12:36Back then it was just a scrap of
0:12:36 > 0:12:38English countryside a mile upriver
0:12:38 > 0:12:41from the bustling City of London,
0:12:41 > 0:12:43home to nothing more than a small monastery.
0:12:43 > 0:12:45Until, that is,
0:12:45 > 0:12:47King Edward the Confessor decided to build a palace there
0:12:47 > 0:12:50and commission a mighty church.
0:12:50 > 0:12:54A great symbol of his power, piety and wealth,
0:12:54 > 0:12:56Westminster Abbey.
0:13:00 > 0:13:03This was a massive labour of religious devotion.
0:13:05 > 0:13:08And by 1066, his work was almost complete.
0:13:12 > 0:13:14But Edward wouldn't live to see it finished.
0:13:14 > 0:13:17Instead, the abbey would become his burial place.
0:13:20 > 0:13:23Edward's tomb still stands at its heart.
0:13:24 > 0:13:27The previous kings of Anglo-Saxon England, going back to the time
0:13:27 > 0:13:30when they're Kings of Wessex, their capital was Winchester,
0:13:30 > 0:13:34but Edward is creating a new seat of royal power at Westminster.
0:13:34 > 0:13:38We are told because it is a pretty spot, he liked the monks there,
0:13:38 > 0:13:41but also because it's conveniently close to London,
0:13:41 > 0:13:43and London is taking over as a commercial centre,
0:13:43 > 0:13:47so there's good political and economic reasons
0:13:47 > 0:13:49for wanting to create that new seat of power.
0:13:53 > 0:13:56Edward the Confessor was not in the mould of the traditional
0:13:56 > 0:13:59warrior king of the medieval period.
0:13:59 > 0:14:01He was much more devout and pious
0:14:01 > 0:14:03and was, of course, later made a saint.
0:14:05 > 0:14:10The story goes that Edward's extreme piety led him to live
0:14:10 > 0:14:13a life of marital chastity.
0:14:13 > 0:14:14Whether or not that's true,
0:14:14 > 0:14:18Edward's childlessness did leave England with a dangerous problem.
0:14:29 > 0:14:30'Three days pass.
0:14:32 > 0:14:35'And unexpectedly, the old king suddenly rallies.'
0:14:38 > 0:14:42So this is the only surviving copy of the Vita Edwardi Regis,
0:14:42 > 0:14:43the life of King Edward,
0:14:43 > 0:14:49and it gives us this incredible description of his deathbed,
0:14:49 > 0:14:53when Edward hadn't spoken for days, and then he regained consciousness
0:14:53 > 0:14:56and he described the people gathered around his bed,
0:14:56 > 0:14:59this dream he had had, in which two monks had appeared to him
0:14:59 > 0:15:01and given him a prophecy.
0:15:01 > 0:15:04And he says then that he's been told...
0:15:04 > 0:15:06SHE SPEAKS LATIN
0:15:08 > 0:15:11..within a year and a day after your death,
0:15:11 > 0:15:15God has delivered all his kingdom
0:15:15 > 0:15:18into the hands of the enemy.
0:15:18 > 0:15:23And devils shall come through all this land with fire and scorn...
0:15:25 > 0:15:27..and the havoc of war.
0:15:37 > 0:15:40'A day later,
0:15:40 > 0:15:43'King Edward is at last at peace.'
0:15:44 > 0:15:47PRIEST SPEAKS LATIN
0:15:54 > 0:15:56Amen.
0:16:02 > 0:16:07Edward's premonition of disaster was about to become all too true.
0:16:07 > 0:16:09His death was like a starting gun,
0:16:09 > 0:16:12triggering the race to seize the English throne.
0:16:14 > 0:16:17'Harold's rivals are at a disadvantage,
0:16:17 > 0:16:19'hundreds of miles away across the sea.
0:16:21 > 0:16:23'While Harold is on the spot.
0:16:25 > 0:16:27'And timing is on his side.
0:16:31 > 0:16:35'The leading nobles of England have been in London since Christmas.
0:16:37 > 0:16:42'And with no clear heir, it's they who must choose the next king.'
0:16:45 > 0:16:48I came to celebrate the birth of our saviour.
0:16:48 > 0:16:51And now I lament the death of a king.
0:16:51 > 0:16:53A very sad day for England.
0:16:53 > 0:16:55A very sad day for us all.
0:16:58 > 0:17:03'The Council of Nobles includes one of Harold's brothers, Gyrth,
0:17:03 > 0:17:04'Earl of East Anglia.'
0:17:04 > 0:17:08- He was a good man. A decent king. - A great king.
0:17:10 > 0:17:14But his illness left him weak and reliant on his true friends.
0:17:16 > 0:17:20I think you will find that everybody here was a true friend to him.
0:17:24 > 0:17:26When kings die...
0:17:28 > 0:17:30..there is danger in the land.
0:17:31 > 0:17:34So we must act quickly and crown a new king.
0:17:37 > 0:17:41Harold was well placed and had support.
0:17:41 > 0:17:43There was just one problem.
0:17:44 > 0:17:48Harold still faced a significant obstacle to becoming king.
0:17:48 > 0:17:50Even though he was the most powerful man in the land,
0:17:50 > 0:17:52even though he was the king's brother-in-law,
0:17:52 > 0:17:55he had no direct blood link with the Crown.
0:18:01 > 0:18:04And Edward had left one blood relative.
0:18:05 > 0:18:11Just 14 years old, Edgar the Atheling was Edward's great-nephew.
0:18:11 > 0:18:12Of course, there is the boy.
0:18:13 > 0:18:15But he's a boy.
0:18:16 > 0:18:19A boy with royal blood.
0:18:21 > 0:18:23These times are dangerous.
0:18:23 > 0:18:25We don't need a boy.
0:18:25 > 0:18:31We need a man. Someone who knows how to rule, someone who has ruled.
0:18:40 > 0:18:43From 1056, Harold has been king in all but name.
0:18:43 > 0:18:48He is Edward's right-hand man, he is ambitious, he is a proven soldier -
0:18:48 > 0:18:51he's the perfect man to become king.
0:18:55 > 0:18:59His father Godwin had successfully built up a great dynasty and also
0:18:59 > 0:19:03amassed an enormous fortune of land and of lordship.
0:19:03 > 0:19:06You might think of Godwin as being the godfather
0:19:06 > 0:19:08of Edward the Confessor's regime
0:19:08 > 0:19:12and the organisation that he built up as being a Mafia.
0:19:12 > 0:19:14It was very hard to govern England
0:19:14 > 0:19:17without that, and so Harold had become the natural choice.
0:19:18 > 0:19:22I do have to acknowledge a lot of it is down to my father.
0:19:22 > 0:19:25Everything I ever learnt about power and politics
0:19:25 > 0:19:26I learned from him.
0:19:26 > 0:19:29When he died, King Edward rewarded
0:19:29 > 0:19:33me and my brothers with vast areas of land,
0:19:33 > 0:19:37so I got the great prize of Wessex.
0:19:37 > 0:19:40My younger brother Gyrth, he got East Anglia,
0:19:40 > 0:19:42another brother got Kent,
0:19:42 > 0:19:45another brother, Tostig,
0:19:45 > 0:19:48got that great northern earldom of Northumbria.
0:19:48 > 0:19:53So you can see we have pretty much got the whole country sewn up.
0:19:59 > 0:20:02Harold was certainly the consummate politician.
0:20:02 > 0:20:05He knew he had to clinch the deal and get the King's Council
0:20:05 > 0:20:10to make him king. So just a few minutes after Edward's death,
0:20:10 > 0:20:12Harold pulled an ace from his sleeve.
0:20:15 > 0:20:18An astonishing report of what he claimed
0:20:18 > 0:20:20had just happened in Edward's bedchamber.
0:20:23 > 0:20:26In these times of loss and uncertainty,
0:20:26 > 0:20:29a great burden falls upon us all.
0:20:31 > 0:20:33I fear the future for us all.
0:20:33 > 0:20:36There is nothing to fear if we have a strong king.
0:20:37 > 0:20:39You shouldn't be afraid, my friend.
0:20:41 > 0:20:44Edward, in his wisdom, had planned for this day,
0:20:44 > 0:20:47and I know there are those who are saying that in the end
0:20:47 > 0:20:49he was not of sound mind, but I was there.
0:20:52 > 0:20:53He knew what he was saying.
0:20:55 > 0:20:56What did he say?
0:20:58 > 0:21:03He told me, to my face, that it is an onerous and grave undertaking...
0:21:04 > 0:21:05..to be king.
0:21:11 > 0:21:13And I have given my word, friends.
0:21:15 > 0:21:18Now, there is much work to be done.
0:21:27 > 0:21:29Right, I don't think so.
0:21:29 > 0:21:35You really expect me to believe that Edward made you king?
0:21:35 > 0:21:38This is an absolutely shameless power grab.
0:21:38 > 0:21:40It doesn't matter to me if I convince you,
0:21:40 > 0:21:44I only need to convince the earls of England.
0:21:44 > 0:21:48I'm sorry, but you're just in the wrong place at the wrong time.
0:21:48 > 0:21:50But this is the oldest story in the book.
0:21:50 > 0:21:53The deathbed bequest, how convenient!
0:21:53 > 0:21:58Well, neither of you were there, I was, so I know what happened.
0:22:06 > 0:22:11The disputed moment is depicted in the Bayeux Tapestry,
0:22:11 > 0:22:15a 70 metre long work of embroidery that was sewn in England
0:22:15 > 0:22:17a decade after 1066.
0:22:19 > 0:22:21It's a vivid cartoon strip
0:22:21 > 0:22:24depicting the key events of that momentous year.
0:22:27 > 0:22:31Edward, on his deathbed, touches Harold's hand,
0:22:31 > 0:22:34perhaps naming him as his successor.
0:22:35 > 0:22:38Then, after Edward has died,
0:22:38 > 0:22:43English nobles hand Harold the crown and point back towards Edward.
0:22:45 > 0:22:48Do these images suggest that Edward did indeed choose Harold
0:22:48 > 0:22:50to succeed him?
0:22:52 > 0:22:53We'll never know.
0:22:57 > 0:22:59Either way, truth or lie,
0:22:59 > 0:23:02the story was one which the nobles on the King's Council
0:23:02 > 0:23:05were happy to go along with. They knew that they needed a strong,
0:23:05 > 0:23:10powerful warrior king, and Harold was the best candidate.
0:23:10 > 0:23:13So, on the 6th of January, 1066,
0:23:13 > 0:23:17England buried one king in the morning and crowned another
0:23:17 > 0:23:19in the afternoon.
0:23:32 > 0:23:34'Harold is anointed king.
0:23:35 > 0:23:39'Just feet away from Edward's freshly buried body.'
0:24:03 > 0:24:06This gets worse and worse!
0:24:06 > 0:24:10This is shocking behaviour!
0:24:10 > 0:24:15The holy convention is that a king is only crowned months after
0:24:15 > 0:24:18he has been elected, but Edward is still basically warm!
0:24:18 > 0:24:21All the nobles are gathered in Westminster,
0:24:21 > 0:24:24they've been there since Christmas waiting for the king to die.
0:24:24 > 0:24:27What am I going to do, send them all home and then get them back
0:24:27 > 0:24:30in a few months so they can see me getting crowned?
0:24:30 > 0:24:35No, the sensible thing is for me to be crowned right here, right now.
0:24:37 > 0:24:41Harold had beaten his rivals and won the great prize of the English crown
0:24:41 > 0:24:43but his glory would be short-lived.
0:24:43 > 0:24:46As the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle put it,
0:24:46 > 0:24:49"Earl Harold was consecrated king,
0:24:49 > 0:24:53"but he met with little quiet as long as he ruled the realm."
0:24:58 > 0:25:01'Across the sea, Harold's rivals
0:25:01 > 0:25:03'haven't yet heard news of Edward's death,
0:25:03 > 0:25:07'let alone reports of the English earl's rapid rise to the throne.
0:25:10 > 0:25:15'William is 200 miles away across the Channel in Rouen,
0:25:15 > 0:25:16'the largest city in Normandy.
0:25:19 > 0:25:23'The Viking Harold Hardrada is even further away,
0:25:23 > 0:25:25'in the uplands of Norway.'
0:25:27 > 0:25:31Let the flames cure our wayward peasants of their disloyalty.
0:25:32 > 0:25:35'But Harold knows that their state
0:25:35 > 0:25:39'of ignorance will very soon come to an end.
0:25:59 > 0:26:03'Just seven days into 1066
0:26:03 > 0:26:07'and Harold wakes for the first time as king.'
0:26:10 > 0:26:12Firstly, it would have made him
0:26:12 > 0:26:15three times richer, this is wonderful.
0:26:15 > 0:26:18He is suddenly a multi-multibillionaire.
0:26:18 > 0:26:22But he would have hoped that the process of being crowned
0:26:22 > 0:26:24would have made him special.
0:26:27 > 0:26:29He had a great devotion to God
0:26:29 > 0:26:31and it must have made a difference to him
0:26:31 > 0:26:35to be recognised by God as a different kind of man,
0:26:35 > 0:26:38because a king is a different kind of man from an earl.
0:26:38 > 0:26:42A king has a connection with God that an earl does not.
0:26:46 > 0:26:47Does it feel good?
0:26:49 > 0:26:50Not bad.
0:26:52 > 0:26:53No, there is much to do.
0:26:53 > 0:26:57We have enemies everywhere. Here and abroad.
0:26:58 > 0:27:01Keep your friends close and your enemies fearful.
0:27:10 > 0:27:12Brussels.
0:27:12 > 0:27:14In the 11th century,
0:27:14 > 0:27:19this was home to little more than a small religious shrine in Flanders.
0:27:21 > 0:27:24Today, Brussels houses a secret...
0:27:25 > 0:27:28..preserved for nearly 1,000 years.
0:27:33 > 0:27:36Hidden in the bowels of the Belgian National Library
0:27:36 > 0:27:40is an extraordinarily precious manuscript.
0:27:40 > 0:27:44A fragile book containing an epic poem,
0:27:44 > 0:27:47surviving only in this unique copy.
0:27:49 > 0:27:53For decades, historians thought these words were written generations
0:27:53 > 0:27:55after the Norman conquest.
0:27:57 > 0:27:59But now it is widely accepted that this
0:27:59 > 0:28:02is our very earliest account of 1066,
0:28:02 > 0:28:05written just months after the Battle of Hastings.
0:28:07 > 0:28:10It's packed with vivid details that challenge much
0:28:10 > 0:28:12of what we thought we knew.
0:28:14 > 0:28:19This document is the Carmen de Hastingae Proelio,
0:28:19 > 0:28:22the song or poem of the Battle of Hastings.
0:28:22 > 0:28:25And it does have some very vivid descriptions
0:28:25 > 0:28:29and it talks about Harold, and it paints him in very black terms.
0:28:29 > 0:28:32There's a line here that begins...
0:28:32 > 0:28:34HE READS LATIN
0:28:38 > 0:28:43"Meanwhile, that emboldened inheritor of the blackest deceit."
0:28:43 > 0:28:49He is described at one point as a "fatuous rex", a stupid king.
0:28:49 > 0:28:51Elsewhere in the manuscript, Harold is described
0:28:51 > 0:28:53as "sceleratus," wicked.
0:28:53 > 0:28:55This is what this manuscript is about,
0:28:55 > 0:28:58it's not trying to give us an impartial history.
0:28:58 > 0:29:00The author tells us in his prologue
0:29:00 > 0:29:03that he is writing to praise William.
0:29:03 > 0:29:05So it's incredibly partisan.
0:29:08 > 0:29:10Partisan it might be,
0:29:10 > 0:29:13but the Carmen gives us valuable clues
0:29:13 > 0:29:15as to what Harold's rivals would think of him
0:29:15 > 0:29:18as soon as they found out that he'd seized the crown.
0:29:23 > 0:29:27And in early January, 1066, news was travelling fast.
0:29:32 > 0:29:36So how long did it take for the news to reach William in Rouen?
0:29:36 > 0:29:38There are basically two routes it might have travelled by.
0:29:38 > 0:29:41One is down the Thames by boat,
0:29:41 > 0:29:45around the coast of Kent through the Straits of Dover and down that way.
0:29:45 > 0:29:49The other is by horseback from London to the south coast and then
0:29:49 > 0:29:51on a longship straight across the Channel.
0:29:51 > 0:29:55By horseback it took about a day and a half to go from London
0:29:55 > 0:29:58to the south coast, then with a following wind,
0:29:58 > 0:30:01a day to get across the Channel and a bit longer to get up the river
0:30:01 > 0:30:03here to Rouen, so William could have
0:30:03 > 0:30:05heard the news in as little as three days.
0:30:12 > 0:30:14My lord.
0:30:14 > 0:30:15William.
0:30:16 > 0:30:18I bring news from England.
0:30:19 > 0:30:21Good King Edward has died.
0:30:24 > 0:30:25May his soul rest in peace.
0:30:27 > 0:30:29The English have crowned a new king.
0:30:31 > 0:30:34Harold Godwinson.
0:30:34 > 0:30:37- How?- Edward decreed it on his deathbed.
0:30:37 > 0:30:39- Why?- It makes no sense.
0:30:39 > 0:30:41- When was he crowned? - On the very same day
0:30:41 > 0:30:44Edward was buried, and in the same place.
0:30:46 > 0:30:47Godwinson!
0:30:54 > 0:30:57William wasn't a man to take things lying down.
0:31:02 > 0:31:04Within the pages of the Carmen,
0:31:04 > 0:31:07William is described in marked contrast
0:31:07 > 0:31:10to the fatuous, wicked Harold.
0:31:11 > 0:31:16The Carmen describes William as the hero at every point.
0:31:16 > 0:31:19So here, for example, there's a line that says...
0:31:19 > 0:31:22HE READS LATIN
0:31:23 > 0:31:26"He was full of virtue, a bold knight."
0:31:27 > 0:31:30You'd expect that from the Carmen because it's written for
0:31:30 > 0:31:33William's court, possibly even for William's own ears.
0:31:33 > 0:31:34What's interesting, though, is,
0:31:34 > 0:31:36whichever source you look at for this period,
0:31:36 > 0:31:41whether it's French or Norman or even English,
0:31:41 > 0:31:43William is described in similar terms.
0:31:43 > 0:31:46In terms of his ability as a general, he is a bold knight,
0:31:46 > 0:31:47he is a fearless warrior,
0:31:47 > 0:31:49he is a great conqueror.
0:31:51 > 0:31:56William was utterly ruthless, the most feared warrior in Europe.
0:31:58 > 0:32:02He had been chiselled into this fearsome character
0:32:02 > 0:32:04from his very early years.
0:32:04 > 0:32:09He was also intensely pious and very frugal in his habits,
0:32:09 > 0:32:12but above all else, he was utterly unforgiving.
0:32:13 > 0:32:19Never let it be forgotten that I am ultimately of Viking stock.
0:32:19 > 0:32:22I am the great-great-great-grandson
0:32:22 > 0:32:26of a Viking warlord who 150 years ago
0:32:26 > 0:32:30settled in Normandy and made it his own.
0:32:31 > 0:32:33And over the succeeding 150 years,
0:32:33 > 0:32:38he and his successors carved out what has become
0:32:38 > 0:32:43the most militarily potent duchy in the whole of France.
0:32:44 > 0:32:48We are Normans, a name that ultimately derives
0:32:48 > 0:32:50from our origin, Northmen.
0:32:50 > 0:32:54Listen, you can call yourself what you like, but you've changed.
0:32:54 > 0:32:57You've come down here, you settled down,
0:32:57 > 0:32:59you built yourself some nice castles,
0:32:59 > 0:33:01you're even practising Christianity.
0:33:01 > 0:33:03I mean, I'm really sorry to say this,
0:33:03 > 0:33:05but you've basically gone French.
0:33:05 > 0:33:08Yes. I am proud to be Christian.
0:33:08 > 0:33:10Et oui. I speak French.
0:33:11 > 0:33:13But in my appetite for war...
0:33:13 > 0:33:15I will conquer!
0:33:15 > 0:33:17..I'm true to my ancestors.
0:33:17 > 0:33:19I'm still pretty Viking.
0:33:33 > 0:33:36William's childhood had been deeply traumatic.
0:33:37 > 0:33:40He had been born here in 1028,
0:33:40 > 0:33:44at the castle that towers over the small town of Falaise.
0:33:47 > 0:33:51William's pedigree wasn't entirely aristocratic.
0:33:51 > 0:33:55Sure enough, his father was Robert, Duke of Normandy, but his mother was
0:33:55 > 0:33:58the daughter of a tanner, a beautiful young woman
0:33:58 > 0:34:01called Herleva with whom Robert had a brief affair.
0:34:01 > 0:34:03So William was a bastard.
0:34:08 > 0:34:11William's father had died when he was just seven.
0:34:14 > 0:34:16Normandy had become a war zone,
0:34:16 > 0:34:18as competing factions fought for power.
0:34:22 > 0:34:24William had to grow up fast.
0:34:24 > 0:34:27On one occasion, his steward had his throat slit
0:34:27 > 0:34:29as he slept in the bed next to him.
0:34:29 > 0:34:34Another time, William had to escape from assassination
0:34:34 > 0:34:36by galloping cross-country on horseback.
0:34:36 > 0:34:39William himself said in his older years,
0:34:39 > 0:34:42"I was schooled in warfare since I was a child."
0:34:47 > 0:34:50A brutal childhood had shaped William,
0:34:50 > 0:34:54turning him into a duke who ruled through terror.
0:34:54 > 0:34:55Trust and loyalty.
0:34:57 > 0:34:59That's all.
0:35:00 > 0:35:01Not too much to ask, eh?
0:35:04 > 0:35:07Next time, perhaps your charming wife
0:35:07 > 0:35:09and sweet children will join us.
0:35:22 > 0:35:25In 1051, when William was in his early 20s,
0:35:25 > 0:35:27the people of the town of Alencon
0:35:27 > 0:35:30rebelled against him, beat on animal skins -
0:35:30 > 0:35:34a cheap joke about him being the illegitimate son
0:35:34 > 0:35:36of a tanner's daughter.
0:35:36 > 0:35:38William didn't find it funny.
0:35:38 > 0:35:42He stormed the town and seized 32 of the men
0:35:42 > 0:35:44and had their hands and feet cut off.
0:35:47 > 0:35:52William was a man you definitely didn't want to cross.
0:35:53 > 0:35:57And Harold Godwinson had done just that.
0:36:08 > 0:36:12What's more, William commanded the most feared soldiers in Europe...
0:36:13 > 0:36:14..the Norman knights.
0:36:19 > 0:36:22Their use of cavalry put them at the very cutting edge
0:36:22 > 0:36:24of medieval warfare.
0:36:32 > 0:36:35Horses can be terrifying.
0:36:35 > 0:36:38So I want you to get a feel of what that might be like.
0:36:38 > 0:36:40So, we've got our five horsemen there and I'm going to get them
0:36:40 > 0:36:43to come screaming up at you. Stay still...
0:36:44 > 0:36:46..let the horses make a choice,
0:36:46 > 0:36:48and get an idea of what it might have been like
0:36:48 > 0:36:51to face a horse at a full-out charge.
0:36:51 > 0:36:53You all right?
0:36:53 > 0:36:55- Perfect. Thanks very much. - Think of England.
0:36:57 > 0:36:58OK, when you're ready, guys.
0:36:58 > 0:37:00Canter. March.
0:37:07 > 0:37:10Five enormous horses coming straight towards me.
0:37:10 > 0:37:13And the noise, their breathing, that's what really gets you.
0:37:15 > 0:37:16I can feel the ground shaking.
0:37:16 > 0:37:18They going to leave a gap?
0:37:23 > 0:37:27Right, I could have touched those on both sides as they went past.
0:37:28 > 0:37:30That was pretty terrifying.
0:37:30 > 0:37:32That's just the horses themselves.
0:37:32 > 0:37:35Just being that close to the beasts moving, that speed was terrifying,
0:37:35 > 0:37:38but if the men on top had had their weapons and been trying to kill me,
0:37:38 > 0:37:41that would have been...
0:37:41 > 0:37:42unimaginable.
0:37:44 > 0:37:47For the English, this was something completely new.
0:37:51 > 0:37:53What is it with the Normans and cavalry?
0:37:53 > 0:37:55I mean, why did they get it,
0:37:55 > 0:37:57have horses and were such fantastic cavalrymen,
0:37:57 > 0:37:59where other people weren't?
0:37:59 > 0:38:03I think it comes down to the fact that they're in Europe,
0:38:03 > 0:38:07and so you get the influences from the East and it comes across.
0:38:07 > 0:38:10The Spanish horses are all sort of bred along,
0:38:10 > 0:38:14whereas the Saxons, on their little island, have their native breeds,
0:38:14 > 0:38:17so this is a new type of horse on the battlefield.
0:38:17 > 0:38:21So, although the Saxons rode horses around and used them for farm work
0:38:21 > 0:38:23and stuff, they weren't as high-quality?
0:38:23 > 0:38:26No, exactly. The native breeds you sort of see today
0:38:26 > 0:38:29are very similar to the ones they would have had - short, stout,
0:38:29 > 0:38:33mile after mile at this lovely amble and they can get from A to B,
0:38:33 > 0:38:35but this is a very different type of horse altogether.
0:38:35 > 0:38:37Do you reckon you can show me how to do it?
0:38:37 > 0:38:39I'll give it a go, absolutely.
0:38:39 > 0:38:41- If you get up on the horse... - OK.- ..get yourself ready,
0:38:41 > 0:38:44and then we'll show you the various ways
0:38:44 > 0:38:47of being able to use the lance at speed.
0:38:48 > 0:38:51Their chief weapon was a sharpened spear,
0:38:51 > 0:38:54the forerunner of the medieval lance.
0:38:54 > 0:38:58So, pick it up. Heft it somewhere in the middle, get a feel for it.
0:38:58 > 0:39:01And then bring the point down towards me.
0:39:02 > 0:39:04Now you've got an overhand grip.
0:39:04 > 0:39:07If you wanted to attack, you'd extend the arm a bit,
0:39:07 > 0:39:10and you're using the stirrup and the back of the saddle
0:39:10 > 0:39:14to use the whole energy of that horse to drive it forward.
0:39:16 > 0:39:18The other option is to swap your knuckles over so your knuckles
0:39:18 > 0:39:22are underneath, and now you'll find that you can come up
0:39:22 > 0:39:24and you can stab on the off side, the nearside, stabbing down,
0:39:24 > 0:39:27certainly if people are now trying to grab you from the saddle.
0:39:30 > 0:39:32Come on, let's go. Come on.
0:39:39 > 0:39:40Oh!
0:39:41 > 0:39:45William knew he had a war machine to take on any king,
0:39:45 > 0:39:47if he needed to.
0:39:48 > 0:39:50THEY PRAY
0:39:54 > 0:39:57But in the 11th century,
0:39:57 > 0:40:00there was more to power than having an iron heart and a strong army.
0:40:02 > 0:40:05All three warlords needed political connections.
0:40:06 > 0:40:11And very often these came through choosing the right wife.
0:40:11 > 0:40:13- Amen.- Amen.
0:40:15 > 0:40:19Oh, yeah, I really do adore my wife, Matilda.
0:40:19 > 0:40:22She is tough and I trust her absolutely.
0:40:22 > 0:40:26But I have to admit that she also has political appeals.
0:40:26 > 0:40:29I need all the friends I can get
0:40:29 > 0:40:35and the father of Matilda is the Duke of Flanders.
0:40:35 > 0:40:39Flanders is key strategically.
0:40:39 > 0:40:40It is rich.
0:40:40 > 0:40:42And Matilda is gorgeous.
0:40:42 > 0:40:45So, essentially, what is not to like?
0:40:45 > 0:40:49Well, I'm not actually married in the eyes of the church like you are,
0:40:49 > 0:40:53but I have been with Edith for 20 years.
0:40:53 > 0:40:56We're married in the Danish tradition,
0:40:56 > 0:40:59which means that the Church doesn't actually bless it and recognise it,
0:40:59 > 0:41:05but the majority of England do recognise it. It's very common.
0:41:05 > 0:41:08Here's the news - I've got two wives.
0:41:08 > 0:41:09I found the first in Russia.
0:41:09 > 0:41:11She's called Elisiv.
0:41:11 > 0:41:14Very influential, very powerful Russian family.
0:41:14 > 0:41:17My second wife is from home here in Norway.
0:41:17 > 0:41:18She's called Tora.
0:41:18 > 0:41:22She's from a very influential Norwegian family.
0:41:22 > 0:41:25Now, both of these women bring me wealth, they bring me power,
0:41:25 > 0:41:27they bring me influence.
0:41:27 > 0:41:31Oh, I think that my wife brings more to the table
0:41:31 > 0:41:33than either of yours put together.
0:41:33 > 0:41:37Russia, Norway - what kind of significance do they have
0:41:37 > 0:41:39down here in the cockpit of power?
0:41:39 > 0:41:40Look at Flanders -
0:41:40 > 0:41:43controlling the narrowest point across the Channel.
0:41:43 > 0:41:49So, Flanders, Matilda, both of them are absolutely key to my plans.
0:41:53 > 0:41:56By 1066, William was 38 years old.
0:41:56 > 0:41:58He was in peak form.
0:41:58 > 0:42:00He'd been Duke of Normandy for 30 years.
0:42:00 > 0:42:04Now his duchy was strong and powerful,
0:42:04 > 0:42:06his enemies and rivals defeated.
0:42:06 > 0:42:10Now, he was looking for new lands to conquer.
0:42:10 > 0:42:12Above all, he wanted England.
0:42:23 > 0:42:27'William responds to news of Harold's coronation immediately.
0:42:28 > 0:42:31'His envoy reaches London within days.'
0:42:33 > 0:42:36I bring a message from my lord, the Duke of Normandy.
0:42:36 > 0:42:38Oh.
0:42:38 > 0:42:40How is my dear friend?
0:42:40 > 0:42:42He is ill at ease.
0:42:43 > 0:42:48My lord wishes you to know his displeasure at recent events.
0:42:51 > 0:42:55You must understand the unforeseen position my lord finds himself in.
0:42:59 > 0:43:01William says you are a usurper.
0:43:02 > 0:43:06That he is the legitimate heir to Edward's throne.
0:43:06 > 0:43:09He demands that you yield the kingdom to him.
0:43:11 > 0:43:12What?
0:43:14 > 0:43:16And be his servant?
0:43:16 > 0:43:21My lord reminds you that you swore an oath to him
0:43:21 > 0:43:24and that he has a God-given right to the throne.
0:43:24 > 0:43:29My lord, Edward, God rest his soul, gave me his dying wish.
0:43:33 > 0:43:34Get out of my sight.
0:43:44 > 0:43:46Bastard.
0:43:52 > 0:43:55Big mistake. William now made a momentous decision.
0:43:55 > 0:43:58If Harold wasn't going to relinquish the throne,
0:43:58 > 0:44:00William was going to go to war.
0:44:00 > 0:44:02He was going to raise an army,
0:44:02 > 0:44:05invade England and take the crown by force.
0:44:05 > 0:44:08This wasn't just something that William thought he could do,
0:44:08 > 0:44:11it was something he thought he had the right to do.
0:44:11 > 0:44:14Because William claimed that he'd been promised the throne of England
0:44:14 > 0:44:17not just once, but twice.
0:44:17 > 0:44:20First by King Edward back in 1051,
0:44:20 > 0:44:25and secondly by Harold himself just two years earlier in 1064.
0:44:29 > 0:44:34When the Vikings had ruled England 30 years earlier, Edward,
0:44:34 > 0:44:38then an Anglo-Saxon prince, had fled to Normandy,
0:44:38 > 0:44:39where he'd lived for 20 years.
0:44:41 > 0:44:46In 1051, as King, he'd considered William to be his successor.
0:44:47 > 0:44:50Much later, Harold had also been to Normandy,
0:44:50 > 0:44:53making the same pledge to William.
0:44:55 > 0:44:58Or at least, that's what William claimed.
0:45:03 > 0:45:06The Norman Chronicles tell us that
0:45:06 > 0:45:09in 1051 Edward did indeed promise the throne to William.
0:45:09 > 0:45:12Now in contrast, the English chronicles, unsurprisingly,
0:45:12 > 0:45:14don't say anything about this.
0:45:14 > 0:45:18But there is one interesting account about something that happened
0:45:18 > 0:45:21in 1051, because we're told in one version
0:45:21 > 0:45:26of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, that in this year...
0:45:26 > 0:45:29SHE READS OLD ENGLISH
0:45:29 > 0:45:32"Then, immediately, Earl William came from across
0:45:32 > 0:45:34"the sea with a great troop of Frenchmen
0:45:34 > 0:45:38"and the King received him and as many of his men as pleased him.
0:45:38 > 0:45:40"And then he let him go again."
0:45:40 > 0:45:43So, we're told that there was a meeting between them,
0:45:43 > 0:45:45but we're not told any details.
0:45:45 > 0:45:47But it is, of course, a reasonable enough assumption
0:45:47 > 0:45:50that Edward must have received him for a reason,
0:45:50 > 0:45:52must have given him something.
0:45:52 > 0:45:55You can take my word for it,
0:45:55 > 0:45:5915 years ago Edward promised me the throne.
0:45:59 > 0:46:00He was 46 years old.
0:46:00 > 0:46:03He had no heir. I was the obvious choice.
0:46:03 > 0:46:07And a promise is a promise.
0:46:07 > 0:46:09You have got to be kidding me.
0:46:09 > 0:46:11This is the 11th century.
0:46:11 > 0:46:1415 years, that's practically a lifetime.
0:46:14 > 0:46:18If he did promise it to you, which I very much doubt,
0:46:18 > 0:46:22do you really think that a promise made all that time ago still stands?
0:46:22 > 0:46:28You're forgetting that you came to Normandy and you swore to support
0:46:28 > 0:46:33my claim to the throne of England on the relics of saints.
0:46:33 > 0:46:38You swore it. And now you are going back on your oath which you swore
0:46:38 > 0:46:41- in the face of God. - Oh, utter rubbish.
0:46:41 > 0:46:43I promised you nothing.
0:46:47 > 0:46:49Harold had made an enemy of one of Europe's
0:46:49 > 0:46:51most feared military leaders.
0:46:51 > 0:46:53Amen.
0:46:53 > 0:46:56An enemy already planning Harold's destruction.
0:47:02 > 0:47:05But of course, William wasn't the only warlord
0:47:05 > 0:47:07hungry for the crown of England.
0:47:18 > 0:47:20Norway.
0:47:20 > 0:47:21An ancient Viking heartland.
0:47:22 > 0:47:25The kingdom of Harold Hardrada.
0:47:25 > 0:47:27MEN SHOUT
0:47:35 > 0:47:40News of Edward's death and Harold's coronation would have travelled
0:47:40 > 0:47:41on ships like this.
0:47:41 > 0:47:44In the 11th century there were well-established trade routes,
0:47:44 > 0:47:46and one of them led up to Scandinavia.
0:47:46 > 0:47:49It would have taken about a day for a ship to go down the Thames
0:47:49 > 0:47:52and reach the open sea of the English Channel here.
0:47:52 > 0:47:55Then perhaps four or five days up the east coast of Britain
0:47:55 > 0:47:59to the Viking-held islands in Orkney and Shetland.
0:47:59 > 0:48:02Across to Norway, two days with a following wind,
0:48:02 > 0:48:04and a day in land to where we know Harold Hardrada was
0:48:04 > 0:48:07in the uplands of Norway, round about here.
0:48:07 > 0:48:12So we can assume that that news reached Harold on something like
0:48:12 > 0:48:16the 20th of January, perhaps ten days after it reached Duke William.
0:48:16 > 0:48:18We don't know how Harold took that news,
0:48:18 > 0:48:21but we do know that the ageing warrior was now well aware
0:48:21 > 0:48:24who he'd have to fight if he was going to restore
0:48:24 > 0:48:27Viking control over England - he'd have to fight Harold.
0:48:31 > 0:48:35'Hardrada's royal camp high in the Norwegian uplands.
0:48:36 > 0:48:41'After years fighting overseas, Hardrada has to keep order at home
0:48:41 > 0:48:44'before he can turn to thoughts of invasion.'
0:48:50 > 0:48:51Einar...
0:48:52 > 0:48:58..you of the flailing sword will drive me from this country
0:48:58 > 0:49:00unless I can first persuade you...
0:49:03 > 0:49:08..to kiss my thin-lipped axe.
0:49:10 > 0:49:11Come on. Come on.
0:49:13 > 0:49:15Kissy, kissy, kissy.
0:49:23 > 0:49:27Hardrada had spent his youth fighting his way around the world,
0:49:27 > 0:49:30a sword for hire in wars in Sicily, Russia,
0:49:30 > 0:49:32Constantinople and the Holy Land.
0:49:32 > 0:49:33He loved killing.
0:49:33 > 0:49:35In fact, he wrote a poem about it.
0:49:35 > 0:49:37He wrote...
0:49:37 > 0:49:38I kill without compunction...
0:49:40 > 0:49:42..and remember all my killings.
0:49:44 > 0:49:47Treason must be scotched by fair means or foul
0:49:47 > 0:49:49before it overwhelms me.
0:49:51 > 0:49:54Hardrada writes poetry even on the battlefield.
0:49:54 > 0:49:58He knows that this is a way of creating his own mythology,
0:49:58 > 0:50:02of recording his great victories and triumphs for future generations.
0:50:02 > 0:50:06And like all good Vikings, Hardrada knows that the most
0:50:06 > 0:50:08important thing a man can leave behind after
0:50:08 > 0:50:11he's died is his reputation.
0:50:11 > 0:50:15Oak trees grow from acorns.
0:50:15 > 0:50:18I have caused the death of 13 of my enemies.
0:50:20 > 0:50:24Like Duke William, we're told by the sources that Hardrada
0:50:24 > 0:50:27was greedy for power and possessions.
0:50:27 > 0:50:31But there was something much deeper going on in his Viking soul.
0:50:31 > 0:50:35He'd failed to conquer Denmark, and like an ageing boxer,
0:50:35 > 0:50:38his time as a powerful, virile warrior was
0:50:38 > 0:50:40running out and he knew it.
0:50:42 > 0:50:46Unlike William, for Hardrada a conquest of England
0:50:46 > 0:50:50wasn't just about power, wealth and prestige,
0:50:50 > 0:50:54it was about creating an immortal Viking legend,
0:50:54 > 0:50:55one that would live on forever.
0:50:58 > 0:51:01I am 50 years old and by 11th-century standards
0:51:01 > 0:51:02that's kicking on a bit,
0:51:02 > 0:51:05so I've probably got one big conquest left in me.
0:51:08 > 0:51:11And I think England is going to be that conquest.
0:51:11 > 0:51:15Now, don't forget, historically, from a Viking point of view,
0:51:15 > 0:51:19England's just as much ours as it is the Anglo-Saxons'.
0:51:19 > 0:51:24Invading England is just what Vikings do, it's in our DNA.
0:51:24 > 0:51:28And I tell you this, if we invade, we'll head straight for the North.
0:51:28 > 0:51:32We'll come to a town like York, full of people with Viking ancestry,
0:51:32 > 0:51:34and we'll get a hero's welcome.
0:51:40 > 0:51:42'Harold's days of peace are numbered.
0:51:43 > 0:51:46'William is beginning to build an invasion force.
0:51:48 > 0:51:52'While Hardrada dreams of a great, immortal victory.
0:51:54 > 0:51:58'But Harald also faces a third enemy,
0:51:58 > 0:52:00'someone much closer to home.
0:52:02 > 0:52:06'As well as Gyrth, Harald has another brother
0:52:06 > 0:52:08'who's not quite so loyal.
0:52:10 > 0:52:14'The Earl of Northumbria, recently exiled from England.
0:52:15 > 0:52:18'His name is Tostig.
0:52:32 > 0:52:36'Just three weeks into Harold's reign and family betrayal
0:52:36 > 0:52:39'lands on the shores of Normandy.'
0:52:41 > 0:52:44My brother, he's a lying dog.
0:52:46 > 0:52:48You've come all this way to tell me what I already know?
0:52:48 > 0:52:52He betrayed me too, and I'm family.
0:52:54 > 0:52:56I've come here to bring him down.
0:52:57 > 0:52:59And why should I trust you?
0:53:00 > 0:53:01You share his blood.
0:53:03 > 0:53:06I can't help that. But I can help you.
0:53:07 > 0:53:10He's stolen my lands, he's stolen your crown.
0:53:11 > 0:53:13Together, we can destroy him.
0:53:23 > 0:53:28Tostig landing in Normandy was a stunning act of treason.
0:53:28 > 0:53:32Here was an English earl plotting with a Norman duke
0:53:32 > 0:53:34to destroy his own brother.
0:53:34 > 0:53:37It's only reported in one chronicle, but if it's true,
0:53:37 > 0:53:42it shows just how poisonous relations had become between Tostig
0:53:42 > 0:53:43and his brother Harold.
0:53:43 > 0:53:48It also shows just how fragile power could be in the 11th century.
0:53:50 > 0:53:52Tostig is a fascinating character.
0:53:52 > 0:53:56He was supposedly more handsome than Harold and braver than Harold
0:53:56 > 0:53:59and he's become Earl of Northumbria.
0:54:00 > 0:54:03But Tostig's rule in Northumbria was chaotic.
0:54:03 > 0:54:07He overtaxed the land, he oppressed the nobles...
0:54:07 > 0:54:11In fact, it's thought that he had three of the nobles of Northumbria
0:54:11 > 0:54:15assassinated, and it became too much for them and they rebelled
0:54:15 > 0:54:16and they marched south.
0:54:19 > 0:54:21Six months earlier,
0:54:21 > 0:54:24Tostig had forced Harold to make an unenviable decision.
0:54:26 > 0:54:28Harold has two choices.
0:54:29 > 0:54:33If he supports his brother, there is going to be a civil war.
0:54:33 > 0:54:36Now, the English have learnt, if there's one thing the 11th century
0:54:36 > 0:54:37has taught them, it is if they fight each other,
0:54:37 > 0:54:40then the Vikings are going to invade and conquer them all.
0:54:40 > 0:54:42So there is a stand-off and Harold, I think,
0:54:42 > 0:54:46makes the wise choice that he has to, you know, sacrifice his brother,
0:54:46 > 0:54:47his brother has to go into exile.
0:54:49 > 0:54:53Tostig now hated his brother with every fibre of his being.
0:54:53 > 0:54:56He wanted his land back and he wanted revenge.
0:54:58 > 0:55:02Tostig's thirst for vengeance was so strong
0:55:02 > 0:55:04that he didn't stop at William.
0:55:04 > 0:55:07He wanted to gain the support of another great warlord.
0:55:10 > 0:55:15According to the Norse sagas, after his trip to Normandy,
0:55:15 > 0:55:20Harold's rebellious brother Tostig sailed 1,000 miles north to Norway
0:55:20 > 0:55:22to petition the Norwegian King.
0:55:26 > 0:55:31So, the black sheep has come to Norway.
0:55:33 > 0:55:36How can you be of any use to me?
0:55:36 > 0:55:39Most of the nobles in England hate my brother.
0:55:41 > 0:55:43They support me...
0:55:43 > 0:55:45and they will support you.
0:55:47 > 0:55:48They could make you king.
0:55:49 > 0:55:51Do I look like a fool?
0:55:52 > 0:55:57There was never born in Scandinavia a warrior to compare with you.
0:55:57 > 0:56:00But England is yours for the taking.
0:56:00 > 0:56:03Invade now and your name will live forever.
0:56:06 > 0:56:09In battle storm we seek no lee.
0:56:10 > 0:56:13With skulking head and bending knee...
0:56:19 > 0:56:25..I will out and carve my name in legend.
0:56:31 > 0:56:34'Hardrada and Tostig agreed to work together
0:56:34 > 0:56:36'to assemble an invasion force
0:56:36 > 0:56:41'and attack Harold's England in late summer, from the north.
0:56:43 > 0:56:46'Meanwhile, 1,000 miles to the south,
0:56:46 > 0:56:49'William's own preparations are already well underway.'
0:56:50 > 0:56:52By summer we'll be ready.
0:56:53 > 0:56:57If it is God's will, then his will will be done.
0:56:59 > 0:57:02'Right now, Harald knows nothing of either plot
0:57:02 > 0:57:05'being hatched from opposite ends of his kingdom.'
0:57:07 > 0:57:10Patience is half of happiness. King Edward used to say that.
0:57:11 > 0:57:12Wise words.
0:57:14 > 0:57:18The other half is a sharpened sword.
0:57:20 > 0:57:21Harold wasn't stupid.
0:57:21 > 0:57:23He was a canny warlord and he knew
0:57:23 > 0:57:27all too well the rules of 11th-century realpolitik.
0:57:27 > 0:57:30Now, just six weeks after his coronation,
0:57:30 > 0:57:35the new king must have known an attempt would be made to kill him
0:57:35 > 0:57:37and rip the crown from his bloody head.
0:57:37 > 0:57:42The question was, when would that attack come, and from where?
0:57:49 > 0:57:52Next time, family betrayal turns to war
0:57:52 > 0:57:55as Tostig attacks England's southern shores.
0:57:56 > 0:58:00While William raises a vast force of men and ships.
0:58:01 > 0:58:05And Harald fights a marauding Viking army for his life...
0:58:08 > 0:58:09..and his crown.