Battle of Northam
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Through England
Background
On 14 October 1066, the English king, Harold Godwinson, was defeated and killed at the Battle of Hastings by the Duke of Normandy (known as William the Conqueror) and his forces. Although William had won the battle, it took several years for the Normans to consolidate their rule over England, with William facing a series of rebellions and border skirmishes in Dover, Exeter, Hereford, Nottingham, Durham, York and Peterborough. The problem for William was that he simply did not have the troops to enforce his will north of the Humber or in the West of England. The lack of overall control by William empowered many members of Harold's family to continue the fight against Norman rule. This included the likes of Harold's mother Gytha and his sons Godwin, Edmund, and Magnus by Harold's wife Edith.
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Prelude
In 1067, unrest in the Welsh Marches and Dover had been suppressed without the intervention of William, now King of England. At the beginning of 1068 dissent in the West became more serious, with the people of Exeter rebelling. The king, possibly because Harold's mother Gytha and family were based there, led an army, that included some English, to besiege the walled city of Exeter. After an 18-day siege the city surrendered and Gytha fled. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle for 1067 said:
This year Harold's mother, Githa, and the wives of many good men with her, went to the Steep Holmes, and there abode some time; and afterwards went from thence over sea to St. Omer's.
— Giles 1914, A. 1067
While William was besieging Exeter, an invasion fleet led by Harold's three sons, Godwin, Edmund and Magnus, set sail from Ireland and raided southwest England. The fleet of 52 ships was provided by Diarmait, the High King of Ireland, who had previously helped their father, in 1052. By the time they arrived in Devon, William had gone, although he left a large force to defend the area. The defending force was headed by Eadnoth the Staller, an Anglo-Saxon landowner, who was named in Domesday Book as having held 30 manors throughout Devon, Wiltshire, Somerset and Dorset before the Norman conquest. At what became known as the Battle of Bleadon he led a combined Anglo-Norman army against Harold II's sons and their forces. So it is likely that the Anglo-Saxons of these counties gave their allegiance to William the Conqueror and that the sons of Harold II would now face the county fyrds in alliance with the Norman conquerors. The exact outcome of the battle is unknown, but Eadnoth was killed, and the brothers retreated to their ships. Magnus is not mentioned in any of the contemporary records after this battle, so it is not clear what happened to him. After the Battle of Bleadon Harold's sons continued to raid the coast of Devon and Cornwall, before eventually returning to Ireland with their plunder.
Battles
In June 1069, Godwin and Edmund returned with their army and over sixty ships. The landing was at Appledore, a small village on the north Devon coast. They advanced to Northam and began raiding the area. It is likely that this was the site of the first battle of the day, as the Norman army, now under command of the king’s second cousin, Brian of Brittany, and the noble William De Vauville quickly arrived in the area and attacked the brothers forces.
After this came Harold’s sons from Ireland, at Midsummer, with 64 ships into the mouth of the Taw, and there heedlessly landed; and Earl Brian [Brian of Brittany] came against them unawares with no small band, and fought against them.
— Anglo–Saxon Chronicle Manuscript D, Jebson 2007, A. 1068 for 1069
The exact size of both armies is unknown. However, Brian was supported by a troop of Breton knights, with other sources suggesting that William De Vauville was the Sheriff of Devon. The sheriff was responsible for calling out the Anglo-Saxon fyrd. This would explain how the Normans had a superior force to that of Godwin and Edmund.
The scattered raiders were quickly pushed back to Appledore, where they joined up with the rest of their army. There they discovered that their ships were not ready to sail as the tide was out. The troops were forced to stay and fight the second battle of the day while they waited for high tide.
For many hours the Normans launched repeated attacks against the raiders shield wall, in almost exactly the same way the early stages of the Battle of Hastings had played out. The raiders line never broke, but they suffered heavy casualties. As night came, the tide finally returned, and the brothers army escaped to sea, ending the battle.
Aftermath
According to William of Jumièges, the brothers forces had taken 1,700 casualties. The Anglo–Saxon Chronicle claimed that the survivors fled to their ships, having lost their best men. None of the brothers were reported as killed and it is thought that they returned to Ireland, where Diarmat told them he either could not or would not supply them with more forces. The brothers moved on to Denmark, possibly hoping to receive new help from King Sweyn II Estridsson. However, that help clearly must not have come, since the brothers soon disappeared from history. The chronicler Orderic Vitalis wrote that after the battle and the surrender of Exeter with favourable terms, a castle was established and William the Conqueror led his army into Cornwall, where he 'put down every disturbance that came to his attention'. The Battle of Northam marks the end of the attempts of Harold’s successors to reclaim the throne of England.