8.9. Earle Tostie afflicteth his brother Ha|rold on sea and land, he taketh the repulse, and persuadeth Harfager king of Norwe [...]e to attempt the conquest of England against Harold, Harfager & Tostie with their powers arriue at Hum|ber, they fight with the Northumbers vnder the conduct of Edwine and Marchar, and discomfit them; Harold leuieth an armie against them, the rare valiantnes of a Norwegian souldior; Harfager and Tostie slaine in battell; the Norwegians are foiled and flie; Harolds vne|quall and parciall diuiding of the spoile, he goeth to Yorke to reforme things amisse. The ninth Chapter.

Earle Tostie afflicteth his brother Ha|rold on sea and land, he taketh the repulse, and persuadeth Harfager king of Norwe [...]e to attempt the conquest of England against Harold, Harfager & Tostie with their powers arriue at Hum|ber, they fight with the Northumbers vnder the conduct of Edwine and Marchar, and discomfit them; Harold leuieth an armie against them, the rare valiantnes of a Norwegian souldior; Harfager and Tostie slaine in battell; the Norwegians are foiled and flie; Harolds vne|quall and parciall diuiding of the spoile, he goeth to Yorke to reforme things amisse. The ninth Chapter.

Compare 1577 edition: 1 _WHilest Harold desirous to reteine, and verie loth to let go his vsurped roialtie, had crackt his credit with the duke of Normandie, and by his lewd reuolting from vo|luntarie promises ratified with solemne othes, had also kindled the fire of the dukes furie against him; it came to passe; that the proud and presumptuous man was (to begin withall) vexed in his owne flesh, I meane his owne kinred. For Tostie the brother of king Harold (who in the daies of king Edward for his crueltie had béene chased out of the realme by the Northumbers)Tostie séekes to disquiet his brother. returning out of Flanders, Matt. VVest. saith but 40. assem|bled a nauie of ships from diuers parts to the num|ber of 60, with the which he arriued in the Ile of Wight, & there spoiled the countrie, and afterward sailing about by the coasts of Kent,Polydor. Ran. Higd. Sim. Dun. he tooke sundrie preies their also, and came at the last to Sandwich: so that Harold was now constreined to appoint the nauie which he had prepared against the Normans, to go against his brother earle Tostie. Whereof the said Tostie being aduertised, drew towards Lindsey in Lincolnshire, and there taking land did much hurt in the countrie, both with sword and fire, till at length Edwine earle of Mercia,Wil. Malm. and Marchar earle of Northumberland, aided with the kings nauie, chased him from thence,Tostie re|pelled. and caused him to flie into Scot|land,Polydor. Ran. Higd. not without some losse both of his men and ships.

Compare 1577 edition: 1 2 This trouble was scarse quieted, but streight|waies another came in the necke thereof, farre more dangerous than the first. For Tostie, perceiuing that he could get no aid in Scotland to make anie ac|count of, sailed forth into Norweie, and there per|suaded Harold Harfager king of that realme,Harold Har|fager king of Norweie. to saile with an armie into England, persuading him that by meanes of ciuill dissention latelie kindled betwixt the king and his lords (which was not so) it should be an easie matter for him to make a con|quest of the whole realme, and reigne ouer them as his predecessors had done before. Some authors af|firme, that Harold king of Norwey tooke this enter|prise in hand of his owne mind, and not by procure|ment of Tostie,Matt. West. Simon Dun. saieng, that Tostie méeting with him in Scotland, did persuade him to go forward in his purposed busines, and that the said Harold Har|fager with all conuenient spéed passed foorth, & with a nauie of 300 saile entered into the riuer of Tine,Simon Dun. saith 500. where after he had rested a few daies to refresh his people, earle Tostie came also with his power (accor|ding to an appointment which should be made be|tweene them.) They ad furthermore,The Norwe|gians arriue in Humber. that they sailed forth alongst the coast, till they arriued in the mouth of Humber, & then drawing vp against the streame of the riuer Owse, they landed at length at a place called Richhall,Richhall. from whence they set forward to in|uadeHen. Hunt. EEBO page image 174 the countrie, & néere vnto Yorke on the north|side of the citie, they fought with the power of the Northumbers,The English men discomfi|ted. which was led by the earls Edwine and Marchar (two brethren) and there discomfited and chased them into the citie, with great slaughter and bloudshed.

Compare 1577 edition: 1 Harold king of England being aduertised of this chance,This battell was fought on the the euen of S. Matthew the apostle, as saith Si. Dun. made the more hast forward (for he was al|readie in the field with his armie, intending also to come towards his enimies) so that vpon the fift day after he came to Stamford bridge, finding there the said king Harfager and Tostie readie imbattelled, he first assailed those that kept the bridge, where (as some writers affirme) a Norwegian souldier with his axe defended the passage,Wil. Malm. mauger the whole host of the Englishmen,Hen. Hunt. and slue fortie of them or more with his axe,Matt. West. & might not be ouercome, till an Eng|lishman went with a boat vnder the said bridge, and through and hole thereof thrust him vp into the bodie with his speare: yet Matt. West. saith that he was slaine with a dart which one of king Harold his ser|uants threw at him, & so ended his life. Which bridge being woone,The Norwe|gians discom|fited. the whole host of the Englishmen pas|sed ouer, and ioined with their enimies, and after a verie great and sore battell put them all to flight.

Compare 1577 edition: 1 2 3 In this conflict Harold Harfager king of the Norwegians was slaine,The king of Norwaie and Tostie slaine. & so was Tostie the king of England his brother, besides a great number of other, as well in the battell as in the chase: neither did the Englishmen escape all frée, for the Norwe|gians fought it out a long time verie stoutlie,This battell was fought on the 25 of Sep|tember as saith Si. Dun. bea|ting downe and killing great numbers of such as assailed them with great courage and assurance. The residue of the Norwegians that were left to keepe their ships vnder the guiding of Olaue sonne to the king of Norwaie, and Paule earle of Orkneie, af|ter they vnderstood by their fellowes that escaped from the field, how the mater went with Harfager and Tostie,Matth. West. they hoised vp their sailes and directed their course homewards, bearing sorowfull newes with them into their countrie, of the losse of their king and ouerthrow of all his people. Some write, that the king of England permitted them franklie to depart with 20 ships,Simon Dun. hauing first caused them to deliuer such hostages as they had receiued of the ci|tizens of Yorke. Harold reioising in that he had atteined so glorious a victorie, and being now sur|prised with pride and couetousnesse togither, he di|uided the spoile of the field nothing equallie, but to such as he fauored he distributed liberallie,M. West. and to other (though they had much better deserued) he gaue nothing at all,Unequell di|uiding of the spoile. reteining still the best part of all to himselfe, by reason whereof he lost the fauor of ma|nie of his men, who for this his discourtesie, did not a little alienate their good willes from him. This doone, he repaired to Yorke, and there staied for a time to reforme the disordered state of the countrie,Wil. Malm. which by reason of those warres was greatlie out of frame.

¶But Harold being more presumptuous and foole|hardie, than prouident and wise in his enterprise; bending all his force to redresse enormities in those quarters of Yorkeshire (much like vnto him, whom the Comediographer marketh for a foole, Ea tantùm quae ad pedes iacent contemplans, non autem ventura praeui|dens) neglected the kinglie care which he should haue had of other parts of his realme, from the which he had withdrawen himselfe, and (as it is likelie) had not left sufficientlie prouided of a conuenient vice|gerent to gouerne the same by his warranted autho|ritie, and such fortifications as might expell and with|stand the enimie. Which want of foresight gaue oc|casion to the enimie to attempt an inuasion of the English coasts, as in the next chapt. shall be shewed.