Henry of Huntingdon

The chronicle of Henry of Huntingdon. 

Comprising the history of England, from the invasion of Julius Cæsar to the accession of Henry II. Also, The acts of Stephen, king of England and duke of Normandy
by Henry of Huntingdon, 1084?-1155; 

Forester, Thomas. ed. and tr
Publication date 1853
https://archive.org/details/chroniclehenryh00foregoog/page/n247/mode/2up

page 209

Fulford

Then they [Tostig and Haraldr] joined their forces and came up the Humber, as far as York, near which they were encountered by the Earls Edwin and Morcar ; the place where the battle was fought is still shown on the south side of the city. Here Harold, king of Norway, and Tosti, his ally, gained the day. 

 Stamford Bridge

When this intelligence reached Harold, king of England, he advanced with a powerful army, and came up with the invaders at Stanford Bridge. The battle was desperately fought, the armies being engaged from daybreak to noonday, when, after fierce attacks on both sides, the Norwegians were forced to give way before the superior numbers of the English, but retreated in good order. Being driven across the river, the living trampling on the corpses of the slain, they resolutely made a fresh stand. 

Here a single Norwegian, whose name ought to have been preserved, took post on a bridge, and hewing down more than forty of the English with a battle- axe, his country's weapon, stayed the advance of the whole English army till the ninth hour. At last some one came under the bridge in a boat, and thrust a spear into him, through the chinks of the flooring. The English having gained a passage, King Harold and Tosti were slain ; and their whole army were either slaughtered, or, being taken prisoners, were burnt.

 

The viking of stamford bridge

 By Joshua Hammon

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CyVnMYGMMac

 

The Man on the Bridge by J.R.R. Tolkien

There are many versions of the story of a man defending a bridge, going back to Roman times. In Tolkien's version, the hero, Gandalf, holds back the orcish army by defending a bridge. As in the Roman version of the tale, he has two assistants, Aragorn and Boromir. In the tradition of sagas, his weapon is a named sword. As in the Stamford Bridge version, the hero falls, but in this version the bridge falls with him.

From the Fellowship of the Ring.

“The Balrog reached the bridge. Gandalf stood in the middle of the span, leaning on the staff in his left hand, but in his other hand Glamdring gleamed, cold and white. His enemy halted again, facing him, and the shadow about it reached out like two vast wings. It raised the whip, and the thongs whined and cracked. Fire came from its nostrils. But Gandalf stood firm.

'You cannot pass,' he said. The orcs stood still, and a dead silence fell. 'I am a servant of the Secret Fire, wielder of the flame of Anor. You cannot pass. The dark fire will not avail you, flame of Udûn. Go back to the Shadow! You cannot pass.'

The Balrog made no answer. The fire in it seemed to die, but the darkness grew. It stepped forward slowly onto the bridge, and suddenly it drew itself up to a great height, and its wings were spread from wall to wall; but still Gandalf could be seen, glimmering in the gloom; he seemed small, and altogether alone: grey and bent, like a wizened tree before the onset of a storm.

From out of the shadow a red sword leaped flaming.

Glamdring glittered white in answer.

There was a ringing clash and a stab of white fire. The Balrog fell back and its sword flew up in molten fragments. The wizard swayed on the bridge, stepped back a pace, and then again stood still.

'You cannot pass!' he said.

With a bound the Balrog leaped full upon the bridge. Its whip whirled and hissed.

'He cannot stand alone!' cried Aragorn suddenly and ran back along the bridge. 'Elendil!' he shouted. 'I am with you, Gandalf!'

'Gondor!' cried Boromir and leaped after him.

At that moment Gandalf lifted his staff, and crying aloud he smote the bridge before him. The staff broke asunder and fell from his hand. A blinding sheet of white flame sprang up. The bridge cracked. Right at the Balrog's feet it broke, and the stone upon which it stood crashed into the gulf, while the rest remained, poised, quivering like a tongue of rock thrust out into emptiness.

With a terrible cry the Balrog fell forward, and its shadow plunged down and vanished. But even as it fell it swung its whip, and the thongs lashed and curled about the wizard's knees, dragging him to the brink. He staggered and fell, grasped vainly at the stone, and slid into the abyss. 'Fly, you fools!' he cried, and was gone.”

The Man on the Bridge

 

 ASC C

Some time in the 1100s, a page was added to the end of the Anglo Saxon Chronicle "C" which contained the story of the 'Man on the Bridge' at Stamford Bridge. The image is of the actual manuscript in the British Library.

Manuscript C (London, British Library, Cotton Tiberius B.i)
"This manuscript contains annals in Old English to 1066, where it breaks off in the middle of the account of Stamford Bridge. A supply sheet, written in a twelfth century hand concludes this account."

……. Ða wes þer an of Norwegan þe wiðstod þet
Englisce folc, þet hi ne micte þa brigge oferstigan, ne sige
gerechen. Þa seite an Englisce mid anre flane, ac hit nactes
ne widstod, ænd þa com an oþer under þere brigge end hine
þurustang en under þere brunie. Þa com Harold Engla chinge ofer
þere brigge 7 hys furde forð mid hine, 7 þere michel wel
geslogon, ge Norweis ge Flæming, 7 þes cyninges su<nu þe>
het 'Mundus' let Harold faran ham to Norweie mid alle þa scipe.  

 
{Giles translation}
Then was there one of the Norwegians who withstood the English people, so that they might not pass over the bridge, nor obtain the victory. Then an Englishman aimed at him with a  javelin, but it availed nothing; and then came another under the bridge, and pierced him terribly inwards under the coat of mail. Then came Harold, king of the English, over the bridge, and his forces onward with him, and  there made great slaughter, as well of Norwegians as of Flemings. And the king's son, ‘Mundus’, Harold let go home to Norway, with all the ships.

https://www.bl.uk/collection-guides/cotton-manuscripts