--- title: "How a single Viking’s berserker rage changed world history forever" date: "2020-04-29" modified: "2026-02-13" authors: - name: "Blake Stilwell" job_title: "Editor-In-Chief, Air Force Veteran" link: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/authors/blake/" url: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/mighty-history/battle-stamford-bridge-vikings/" categories: - "History" tags: - "Military History" --- # How a single Viking’s berserker rage changed world history forever ![berserker at stamford bridge]() *He's forever immortalized in the Bayeux Tapestry, the world's first comic book.* 1066 was a tough year for Harold Godwinson, also known as Harold II, the last Anglo-Saxon king of England. Less than two years into his reign, two separate forces were approaching the shores of England to end Harold's reign much sooner than anyone expected. **Also Read: [How a Frenchman made a World War I artillery shell disappear]()** One of those attempts would be famously successful while the other would prove an unparalleled failure. But all Harold knew in September 1066 was that 300 Viking ships were on their way to England, and his good-for-nothing brother, Tostig, was floating along with them. ![]() *Tostig and Harold fighting at the court of Edward the Confessor. It seems rude to poke them with a giant stick while they're fighting.* Harold was ready for an invasion, just not a Viking invasion from the North. He was actually was waiting for William the Bastard, who was supposedly going to cross the English Channel. When the English King learned about his brother landing in England, Harold took his waiting Army north to meet him. Meanwhile, the incoming Viking Army was already wreaking havoc on York and Northumbria and was waiting for the area to send more hostages to their camp at Stamford Bridge. That's where Harold rode, arriving in fewer than four days. This move totally caught the Norsemen by surprise. The Vikings had no idea there was even an army in the area. When Harold II arrived, they were systematically cut down by the advancing Englishmen; any remaining Vikings attempted to flee across the bridge. When the time came for the Anglo-Saxons to pursue, the bridge became a choke point the English just couldn't cross—all because of one angry [ax-wielding Viking]() who was cutting down Englishmen like it was his job. ![]() *Which it kind of was.* The Viking axeman held the English off for so long, the Vikings were able to form a shield wall on the other side of the river and prepare for whatever formation Harold was going to hurl at them. Contemporaneous sagas say the man killed 40 people before being taken down. It was only when an English pikeman floated underneath the bridge and skewered the Viking like a Swedish meatball at Ikea that the standoff ended. The English eventually did cross the bridge and murder the Vikings to death. Harold allowed the rest of them to live as long as they pledged to never come back, making Stamford Bridge the historical end of the Viking Age. Only 24 of the 300 ships that carried the Viking forces to England were needed to carry the survivors back. It was also the beginning of the end for Harold. Three days later, the much-anticipated Norman Invasion of England finally arrived and the delay of Harold's army at Stamford Bridge allowed the Normans to land. Three weeks after that, Harold was killed fighting at the Battle of Hastings. William the Bastard took over England and became William the Conqueror. The Norman conquest changed everything in England, from the cultural landscape to the way they talked—it even led to the formation of the British Empire, and later, the United States. Without that single Viking, Harold may have been properly prepared for William's forces, and the world today would be irrevocably different. See? One man can make a difference. ## Author Blake Stilwell is We Are The Mighty's Editor-in-Chief, covering military news, entertainment, and history, along with veteran education, employment and entrepreneurship. He is a former U.S. Air Force combat cameraman with degrees in Graphic Design, Television and Film, International Relations, Public Relations, Business Management and Middle Eastern Affairs. After leaving the military, he began working in film and television production in New York and Los Angeles, work that included ABC News, NBC Olympics, and HBO Sports. He then spent two years in Washington with White House Communications, before joining the Near East Foundation. At NEF he served as an International Development Fellow, then Communications Officer, and finally, Media Officer for the Middle East and Africa. Based in the Palestinian Territory, he coordinated strategic communications between eight country offices, international media, and government and NGO partners. He began a career focused on writing and editing in 2015 with We Are The Mighty. He left in 2019 for Military.com, but returned as Editor-in-Chief in 2025. Blake’s work has been seen on CBS News, Fox News, CBC, The Chicago Tribune, Task & Purpose, Military Times, Recoil, Skillset, American History, and was shockingly even used in a Supreme Court argument. He is an avid traveler and small business owner in Ohio, where he spends most of his energy fixing up a very old house. ### Author social links [Facebook]() [Twitter]() [Instagram]() [LinkedIn]()