The man at Stamford Bridge

I am a history major and I love reading historical accounts of warriors doing crazy badass things, and just about one of the craziest I have ever heard occurred at Stamford bridge in England.

The Norse had come in force in an attempt to conquer England, and in a feat of courage, the King of England, Harold Godwinson, agreed to capitulate and yield soil- "Seven feet of English ground, as (They) are taller than other men." This set the stage for the battle, as the message was delivered by a single rider that Tostig, an Earl, claimed to recognize as the King from earlier talks.

The Norse formed into a half circle, and were quickly routed and forced to flee eastwards over the Stamford bridge, a narrow stone construct spanning the Derwent. The majority of their forces were across, and followed in hot pursuit by the English, when possibly the single coolest thing in history occurred.

A single, giant viking with a five foot long dane axe blocked the crossing, and held off the ENTIRE ENGLISH ARMY FOR HOURS. He killed forty men, and gave the Norse time to reform their shield wall and continue the battle on the eastern bank. Now, thats just a last stand. Unusual, still cool, but not total, sylvester stallone-esque badassery. It is then important to remember that the entire norse army had abandoned their armor in order to move more quickly, and that the troops sent to beat the viking weren't peasants or conscripts, but actual, full blooded knights, reknowned for their prowess and with the best weapons and armor available during the age, and furthermore, the vikings had finished celebrating harvest end the night before the battle.

When all that comes together, you have a single man that held off an army bare chested while hung over, fighting against the best warriors of a class of warriors that trained for combat since the age of 5.

They managed to kill him in the end, with typical English shenanigans. They put a peasant in a half barrel with a spear, floated him under the bridge, and he stabbed the viking in the anus. The Norsemen lost the battle and were nearly killed to a man, which means that this guy was so cool he was recorded for his badassery in the annals of a country that absolutely hated his entire people to the point of war.