The Battle of Hastings - October 14th 1066

2 Conversations

As we approach the 937th1 and in the larger view the 1000th anniversary of the Battle of Hastings it seems that it would be appropriate to add a recollection of this battle to the guide.

The Background


After Ruling for 24 years, Edward the Confessor, a particularly pious King of England, died. He left no heir. This created a significant problem, for three men claimed the Throne, only one of them English.

Harold Godwinson, Earl of Wessex, was the most powerful Lord in the country and had the support of the Witenagemot, the English Council of Lords.2 He was also the brother of Queen Edith, Edwards wife. On the 6th of January 1066, the day after Edward's death, Harold had himself crowned King Harold II, King of the English, at Westminster Abbey

King Hardrada3, of Norway and Denmark, believed he had a link to the English throne by relation to King Canute4.

William, Duke of Normandy, had no claim to the throne by blood, but felt the throne was his because of a promise made to him by Edward in 1051, yet there was no one to witness this promise. Also Harold, who had been captive in William's court in 1064, promised to support William's claim. Harold reneged and claimed the promise was made under duress.

A Little About William


Born in 1028, William was the illegitimate sone of Duke Robert I of Normandy and Herleve, the daughter of a tanner in Falaise. Known as William the Bastard to his contemporaries, he inherited his father's mantle upon his death in 1035, when just seven years old. Illegitimacy normally precluded inheritance, but with the support of his great uncle, who was to be Ducal Regent during William's minority, William was knighted by King Henry I of France in 1043 at the age of 15. From 1047, William personally dealt with rebellions within the Duchy, especially a number involving his own kinsmen. he also had to protect his lands from neighbouring nobles, including the King of France, who William defeated twice. First in 1054 at the Battle of Mortemer and again in a series of small skirmishes in 1057.
By 1066 William was an experienced, competent and feared leader of armies.

Invasion


William, furious at Harold's failure to uphold his promise, decided to press his claims by force of arms. Having gained papal approval, and marching under the banners of the House of Normandy and The Papacy5, William embarked for Pevensey with an army of 7,000, including 2,000-3,000 of the giant destrier cavalry, able to carry men in full chain armour at exceptional speeds. Legend has it that upon arrival William leapt from his boat, stumbled and slipped onto the beach. The soldiers saw this to be a bad omen, yet William, grabbing a hand of the shingle proclaimed, "See how I have already taken England, and how quickly England has taken to me!". He quickly established defenses in Pevensey and Hastings in the form of a motte and bailey6 at each town.

Where was Harold during all this?


Harold had had his own problems. King Hardrada had already invaded in the North of England, aided by Harold's brother, Tostig Earl of Northumbria. Hardrada's army, which has been estimated at about 4,000 men had arrived on some 300 ships. They were defeated by Harold at Stamford Bridge near York, where both Tostig and King Hardrada died. The remnants of that army only needed 25 of the original 300 ships to return home. Harold then marched his army 250 miles South as quickly as possible to defend against William.

The Battle of Senlac Hill7


The only proper road, and certainly the only one usable for invasion, from the South East Coast to London8 passed through the are known as Senlac. If Harold could hold it against William, then William would be trapped on the South Coast with no way of furthering his invasion plans. Harold, with an army made up of the levy9 and his personal guards arranged his shield wall at the top of Senlac Hill. William was left with no choice but to prepare at the base of the the hill and to attack up it, taking away the advantage of speed to his heavy cavalry. However, in William's favour, Harold's men had just endured a forced march after the battle of Stamford Bridge and were tired, worn and bloodied, whilst William's men where fresh. Despite this, William's charge could not break through the shield wall, and the rumour passed that William himself had been killed. William, feigning death, had his troops retreat. Harold's shield wall, sensing victory, broke and charged upon the retreating Normans. William having convinced Harold's Infantry into leaving there shield wall turned and butchered the English army, with careful deployments of archers. Legend holds that Harold was shot in the eye before being killed under the Norman swords.

The Aftermath


With Harold defeated the way to London lay open, and with no one to fight against him, William was crowned King on Christmas Day 1066. To commemorate his victory and to mark the death of a respected adversary, William had the abbey at Battle built with the altar placed upon the place of Harold's Death. William went on to pacify England, commision The Doomesday Book, start castle building in earnest, including Windsor Castle
and The Tower of London. He also established the Exchequer10, the archaic name for the Treasury.11
William the Conqueror's invasion of 1066 was the last invasion to be succesful on the British mainland, nearly one thousand years ago. Ever since then the Head of State12 has been able to trace their routes to William.

Additional Information


For Additional Information have a look at the relevant BBC History Pages
1Date of writing 24th September 20032Later to become the House of Lords, the present day Upper Chamber of the British Parliament3Properly King Harold Hardrada, but it would be too confusing to have two Harold's4ruled 1016-10355An honour accorded to few, showing that God, through the Pope, was on his side.6A man made defensive mound with a wooden pallisaded fortress on top7More commonly known as the Battle of Hastings8The Capital City of England even then9local peasants who bolstered the army in return for rewards, and to fulfill oaths of service in return for protection10Thanks to Happydude for pointing out that the work exchequer comes form the huge boards for tracking the royal accounts which looked like chequers boards11Hence the full title Chancellor of the Exchequer, currently held by Gordon Brown. In an interesting side note, the Head of the Treasury is not the Chancellor but actually the Prime Minister, who among other titles is First Lord of the Treasury12The Monarch, presently Queen Elizabeth II

Bookmark on your Personal Space


Entry

A1302003

Infinite Improbability Drive

Infinite Improbability Drive

Read a random Edited Entry


Written and Edited by

References

External Links

Not Panicking Ltd is not responsible for the content of external internet sites

Disclaimer

h2g2 is created by h2g2's users, who are members of the public. The views expressed are theirs and unless specifically stated are not those of the Not Panicking Ltd. Unlike Edited Entries, Entries have not been checked by an Editor. If you consider any Entry to be in breach of the site's House Rules, please register a complaint. For any other comments, please visit the Feedback page.

Write an Entry

"The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a wholly remarkable book. It has been compiled and recompiled many times and under many different editorships. It contains contributions from countless numbers of travellers and researchers."

Write an entry
Read more