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1066 - French horsepower broke England

Peter Nicolai Arbo England 5th January 1066 , The English king Edward the confessor and then earl Harold Godwinson was proclaimed king at Westminster Abbey the day after the 6th. Edward the confessor  had promised both Harold and William "Bastard" of Normandy the seat of the throne before he died. Both men were distant relatives to the childless Edward the confessor. When William heard of it he quickly raised an army. Harald Hardrada also claimed the English throne and he was faster than William the bastard and on 8th September,1066  240-300 Viking ships landed on the beaches of Scarborough and began an attempt to gain the English throne. 20th September,1066  Battle of Fulford : Harald Hardrada defeated the English earls Edwin and Walther. 2 days later Harald Hardrada attacked and conquered York. 24th September,1066 Harold Godwinson arrived after marching from London. 25th September,1066 Battle of Stamford bridge Battle of Stamford bridge Harald...
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1055 Ralph the timid lost

England
Earl Aelfgar of Mercia, after being exiled from England, came to King Gruffydd ap Llywellyn of Gwynedd with 18 longships full of Viking mercenaries. Gruffydd married the earl Aelfgar`s daughter, and assembled a Welsh army to supplement Aelfgar's army. Together the armies invaded Herefordshire and on 24th October defeated Earl Ralph the timid (aka Ralf of Mantes), It was later claimed that Ralph and his Frenchmen were the first one to chicken out, which resulted in his nickname, The Timid, the attackers razed Hereford and despoiled the relics of King Ethelbert which had been housed there at the local church.

King Edward of England responded by appointing Earl Harold Godwinson to solve the threat. The Welsh chickened into South Wales, and Harold Godwinson eventually negotiated a peace with them at Bilingsley near Boulston in Archenfield, which resulted in Aelfgar's restoration of his earldom and Gruffydd ap Llywellyn of Gwynedd had to become king Edward the confessor's loyal vassal.

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Location: Hereford, UK

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