Harald Hardrada: The Warrior's Way

John Marsden

oct 2011 · The History Press

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One of the greatest medieval warriors Harald Sigurdsson, nicknamed Hardrada (Harold the Ruthless or hard ruler) fell in battle in an attempt to snatch the crown of England. The spectacular and heroic career which ended at Stamford Bridge in Yorkshire on 25 September 1066 had taken Harald from Norway to Russia and Constantinople and saw him gain a kingdom by force and determination rather than right or inheritance. He was one of the most feared rulers in Europe and was first and foremost a professional soldier, who acquired great wealth by plunder and showed no mercy to those he conquered. 'Harald Hardrada: The Warrior's Way' reconstructs a military career spanning three and a half decades and involving encounters with an extraordinary range of allies and enemies in sea-fights and land battles, sieges and viking raids across a varity of theatres of war. John Marsden's superbly researched and powerfully written account takes us from the lands of the Norsemen to Byzantium and the Crusades and makes clear how England moved decisively from three hundred years of exposure to the Scandinavian orbit to a stronger identification with continental Europe following the Norman invasion.

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John Marsden was born in Victoria, Australia in 1950. He was working as a teacher when his first book, So Much to Tell You, was published in 1987. His other works include the Tomorrow series and Ellie chronicles. He bought an 850-acre property just outside Melbourne, Australia where he ran writers' courses and camps for eight years. In 2006, he opened a school there called Candlebark.