Prologue

  England, Anno Domini 1066

  The Year of Three Kings

  In the early months of 1066, the Kingdom of England faced a succession crisis. When King Edward the Confessor died on January 5th without an heir, the throne passed by vote of England’s royal council to Harold Godwinson, Earl of Wessex; his coronation, held the next day, was swift and uncontested. But abroad, others had already laid claim.

  William, Duke of Normandy, asserted that Edward had once promised him the crown and that Harold had sworn a holy oath to support him. In Norway, King Harald Hardrada invoked an earlier pact between Norse and English kings, believing the throne was his by right of conquest. Both men were prepared to enforce their claims.

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  By late summer, hell broke loose.

  Hardrada invaded first, sailing down from the north with a vast Viking fleet. Harold Godwinson met him at Stamford Bridge on September 25th and won a decisive victory, snuffing out the Norse threat. Then came news from the south: William had crossed the Channel and landed at Pevensey with thousands of Norman, Breton, and French knights.

  Harold, exhausted but unyielding, turned his army south once more. On October 14th, the two forces met on a ridge near Hastings.

  The battle that followed changed England forever.

  This is the story of what came after: conquest and resistance, oaths and betrayals, old gods and new kings. It begins with a single day of bloodshed. But it does not end there.

  A kingdom taken by the blade must be held with fire.