The Bastard's Fall

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Chapter 1: The Bastard’s Fall
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    • CaledonicMonster

    CaledonicMonster

    Chapter 1: The Bastard's Fall
    England: 1066    ​
    On January 5, 1066, the Kingdom of England would receive a blow that would ring around the world for the next millennium. His banishment by Northumbrian rebels caused him to suffer many strokes, which would end his life. Edward the Confessor, King of England, was no more. The very next day, King Harold Godwinson II of England, was crowned King of England, for he had no son. Meanwhile, in Normandy, William the Bastard was in outrage. His rightful throne, in the hands of someone not even related to Edward? Outrageous! And so, he prepared for war, A great war that would put England under Norman rule. On September 27, 1066, his ships were launched from Normandy, on a warpath to England.

    Meanwhile, in Norway, an old plot to seal the throne of England was being unleased. Harald Hardrada, King of Norway, had to cancel his 1045 invasion of England to invade Denmark instead. Edward the Confessor implied that Harald might of been his heir, as it did to William, and so when Harold II was crowned, he also cried in outrage. In early September, he gathered his men and sailed to England, and on September 8, he met with Malcom III, King of Scotland, to begin his attack on England.

    The war was off to a dreaded start, when on October 14th, 1066, the Battle of Hastings commenced. King Harold and Duke William fought, thousands of men clashing, until a single blade brought him down. It slashed across is chest, breaking ribs, which punctured his lungs.

    Duke William the Bastard fell in the Battle of Hastings on October 14, 1066, at King Harold of England’s blade.
     
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    • The Professor

    The Professor

    I think your first paragraph might be missing a sentence or too about the deaths of Edward and Godwine.
    Apologies in advance for any pedantic comments!
     
    Ulyanovsk

    Ulyanovsk

    I’ve had a 1066 timeline in my backlog ever since I read The Wake by Paul Kingsnorth, definitely interested to see what you’ll do with this.
     
    Chapter 2: The Spoils of War
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    • CaledonicMonster

    CaledonicMonster

    Chapter 2: The Spoils of War
    England: 1066
    "May God have mercy on the Normans, for we will have none." -King Harold II of England​
    While the Battle of Hastings was a brutal conflict, resulting in the death of two-thirds of all Norman invaders, it played less of a role than the Battle of Stanford Bridge. While the first was simply a Norwegian occupation in the village of Stanford Bridge, the second was real combat, pitting the armies of Harold against Harald, Anglo-Saxon against Norwegian, and neither would ever forget the battle. It is considered the biggest failure of Harold's army, since he had 12,000 strong, and Harald had a mere 9,000. 3,000 Anglo-Saxons fell to the Norwegians, and only 1,000 men of Norway fell, making them seem as if their claim was blessed by God himself. The reasons for the Anglo-Saxon's loss are attributed to many factors, chief among them are: disorganization, inferior tactics, fighting a fortified enemy, and plain, dumb luck on the Norwegian side. When it was clear any more combat would be a slaughter, Harold signaled the retreat, and Harald made his first victory in his invasion.

    19 days later, the army meet Duke William de Normandie's army, and the result was a slaughter. 5,000 of Harold's men were killed, 6,000 of William's men fell, including William himself. The rest surrendered, and their newly appointed leader, 15 year old Robert, son of William, made peace with them. The Norman's agreed to pay a sum of money equal to 500 crowns to Harold, to be paid back within 5 years. His men went back to their ships, spirits crushed that the boy-king let them be defeated by Harold, while the remainder of the English forces, a band of 4,000, worried about the Norwegians marching south, for they were not alone. A loose band of cutthroat mercenaries, criminals, and Northumbrian loyalist gathered under Tostig Godwinson's banner, for he was the Earl of Northumbria until his exile in 1065. Further supporting the cause was King Malcom II of Scotland, who sent men to occupy to forts that Tostig assaulted. With northern England being occupied, King Harald could focus his effort to the south.

    King Harald and King Harold met in battle on final time on October 29, 1066, in the Battle of Wallingford. Harold was outnumbered two to one, but only saw a band of 4,000 men. Hoping to repeat his victory at Hastings, in which he fought an equal army, he attacked. But, it was in vain, for it was a trap. The other half of the Norwegian army flanked them, and when they tried to push out to the sides, they diverted troops to the side. Soon enough, the Anglo-Saxons were surrounded, by Harald's men, and King Harold surrendered with only 500 men by his side.

    The territories were divided up between Tostig, who got to be the independent Earl of Northumbria, and Harald, who took the thrown of England and the rest of its land. Malcom III, however, received half of the royal treasury of England, and Robert II's debt. On Christmas Day of that year, King Harald the Slaughterer was crowned King of Norway and England. Long live the King!
     
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    • CaledonicMonster

    CaledonicMonster

    ElMarquis said:
    Ehrm, am I missing something or did Edward the Confessor, who didn't OTL sire an heir on his wife manage to cuckold Earl Godwin and sire Harold Godwinson as well as bedding the Duke of Normandy's mistress..? Have you made Harold a bastard and half-brother of William?
    Click to expand...
    William viewed it as his “rightful throne” even though he was a bastard, and Edward was a bit confusing about who he wanted to take the throne, hence the war.
     

    ElMarquis

    MrMonsterGuy18 said:
    William viewed it as his “rightful throne” even though he was a bastard, and Edward was a bit confusing about who he wanted to take the throne, hence the war.
    Click to expand...

    You are aware that Harold Godwinson was in fact the son of Godwin - not Edward the Confessor. Nor was William the brother of Harold Godwinson, contrary to the sections of your story that I quoted.
     

    Rooto

    Nice. The second part really opens up the TL for some fun. I hope we'll be seeing a huge Northern Empire and plenty of migration out to Vinland. I don't know what to expect, but it'll be different!
     
    Chapter 3: The Broke, The Dead, and The Rich.
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    • CaledonicMonster

    CaledonicMonster

    {This'll be revived}
    Chapter 3: The Broke, The Dead, and The Rich.
    Normandy: 1067-1073
    The War for England had devastating consequences for those who didn’t win, and for those did the spoils were great. Robert II was in a particularly difficult spot, his armies broken, his treasury being drained to the Scottish, and him being crowned a king at 15 after a failed war led the people to dislike him. One of the first things he was forced to do as Duke was raise the taxes upon the people to pay the war debt, and raise the tariffs. This lead to decreased trade within Normandy, which would harm them in the Famine of 1068. The year of 1068 was a hard and hungry year for the Normans, for the crop was bad, and little trade could be done because of the tariffs. Many turned to banditry, which turned out to feed you more and make you more money than farming. The raiding got so bad, that after the famine was over, they stayed as bandits. The recovering army was forced to deal with the bandits, in what is known as the Bandit’s War. While this crushed the bandits, it also made Robert II a large sum of money. Instead of sending the bandits money to the Scotland, he used it to feed his people, and lowered the tariffs while keeping the raised taxes. By October 14, 1071, they’d only payed off a sum of 300 Crowns to the Scotland, and King Malcolm III was not happy with this. Since Robert couldn’t pay back his debt, he extended the time by another 5 years, but his remaining debt of 200 Crowns was doubled. Over the course of the next two years Robert hunted down more bandits, but instead of giving to the people, he gave to the Scots. However, everything changed on April 23, 1073, when he sent a letter to Scotland that he wouldn’t be paying anything to the Scots anymore.


    England: 1067    ​
    ​
    With King Harold disposed and captured by Harald, he was imprisoned by King Harald for life. After a brutal month of being a prisoner, he attempted an escape on Harald’s coronation. This ended in him being killed by one of the guards.


    Scotland: 1067-1073
    “There’s a reason Scotland is the world's banking leader.” Unknown scholar, 1754.​

    While it seemed to most of the world that Scotland was a minor power in and after the war, they might of gotten the greatest dead: money, power in a physical form. Not only did they receive half of the English treasury, but also the debt of Robert II. While Malcolm III may of not gotten his goal of having Tostig be aa vassal, he suffered little loss in his gathering of money. With his new money, he gave a loan to his southern neighbors, the Earldom of Northumbria. However, in 1071 tensions grew between the two, as Northumbria called all Anglo-Saxons to come to his Earldom and begin a new life in their last bastion against the world. This aggravated the Scottish King, for many in his southern lands were Anglo-Saxons who answered the call. But, a greater threat loomed on the horizons, for in 1073, the Duke of Normandy, Robert II, sent a letter to Malcolm claiming not a Crown more would be payed to the Scottish king...
     
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