‘A fascinating discovery’: research challenges Battle of Hastings narrative

A 13th-century illustration of the Battle of Stamford Bridge before the Battle of Hastings. Photograph: Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group/Getty Images

It is a story that has been taught to generations of British schoolchildren about one of the most famous and pivotal events in the country’s history.

In September 1066, as a Norman duke called William prepared to sail from France to claim the English throne, King Harold of England discovered the Viking leader Harald Hardrada had landed in Yorkshire with an army of his own.