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them south ; at Northampton they were joined by
Eadwine, son of ÆIfgar and earl of north-west Mercia,
and they plundered the country, carrying away
captives, until they reached Oxford. In spite of
Harold’s mediation and King Eadward’s support,
Tosti was forced to leave the country (November 1,
1065).
On January 5, 1066, Eadward the Confessor died,
and next day Harold was crowned king. He was
acknowledged by the Northumbrians only after
his personal appearance among them and on the
appeal of bishop Wulfstan of Worcester, Eadwine and
Mórkári remaining in their earldoms. Tosti meanwhile
was planning armed re-entry. In May he came
from Normandy (so Freeman, Norman Conquest, iii.,
pp. 720-725) to plunder the Isle of Wight, the south
coast and Lindsey. Driven away from the Danelaw
by Eadwine and Mórkári, he took refuge with King
Malcolm in Scotland. Then he applied to Svein of
Denmark for help to invade England ; Svein, his
cousin, could do no more than offer him an earldom
in Denmark. He went to the Vík, where, according
to the saga, he found Harald Hardrádi, and though
the Norwegians are said to have feared the English
húskarls, Tosti persuaded the king of Norway to
join him in attempting the conquest of England.
The haste with which the Norwegian fleet was fitted
out suggests that the preparations made by William
of Normandy were no secret; it was a race for the
English crown. Half the fighting force of Norway
was called together ; and the fleet, Heimskringla says,
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