Battle of Stamford Bridge

King Harold Godwinson force-marched his Saxon army north and caught the Viking invasion force of Harald Hardrada and Harold's own brother Tostig completely by surprise at Stamford Bridge. Legend tells of a single giant Viking berserker who held the bridge alone until an Englishman floated under it in a barrel and speared him from below. Both Hardrada and Tostig were killed, ending the Viking Age in England. Just three days later, Harold learned that William of Normandy had landed in the south.