How Did William's Actions Respond To 1066

KEY EVENTS PRIOR TO 1066
In 1016, Cnut of Denmark invaded England. He eradicated all opposition in a pogrom in Winter 1017, and ruled thereafter with a combination of Danes and newly promoted English Earls who profited from the Danish Conquest. Edward (the Confessor) fled to his father-in-law in Normandy. He finally regained the throne in 1042.
William 's later chroniclers claim (after the fact) that Edward the Confessor offered William the crown and sent Harold to pledge it to him in the Winter of 1064/5. In fact, reading between the lines we can see that Harold was shipwrecked in Normandy whilst trying to visit France, and took advantage of the situation by trying to secure the release of his brother & nephew who were held as hostages in
the Norman court.
The events of 1066
...but certainly William sees this as his chance to invade. * January 1066: Edward the Confessor dies. Harold gambles and makes a bid for the Crown, supported by all the magnates of England. William does nothing, despite the so-called oath. * Early 1066: Tostig comes to Flanders looking for aid in his projected bid against Harold. Whether he makes a deal with William is a moot point, but certainly William sees this as his chance to invade. He starts to gather his forces. These were made up of 'feudal ' levies, in which the knight owed service to his lord in return for land. However, William manages to double the projected strength of his forces by promising English land to anyone who turns up. The final strength of his army is c. 8-10,000 of which c.2,000 are cavalry. He starts constructing a fleet at Dives to transport them all across. * May 1066: Tostig makes an abortive attempt to invade England. Harold calls out the English levy (the fyrd) to defend against an expected thrust from William, but it never comes. By 8th September, Harold has to disband the fyrd and let it go home to harvest its crops.
The eve of conquest * 20th September 1066: After sailing up the Ouse with more than 10,000 men in 200 longships, Harald Hardrada and Tostig defeat the hastily assembled forces of Earls Edwin & Morcar at Fulford outside York. The army of the Earls is decimated and Edwin & Morcar are unable to play any more part in the campaigns of 1066. This leaves them free to make their peace with William after Hastings, but need not be seen as premeditated. * 25th September 1066: Harold responds by scraping together a scratch force made up largely of his own housecarls and personal followers, and racing north, calling up the shire levies as he passes through. In four days, he has marched 180 miles, and surprised the Norwegian army outside York at Stamford Bridge. Harold offers Tostig his earldom back if he will turn on Harald, but Tostig refuses. Legend has a lone berserker axeman defending the bridge until the sneaky English paddle under the bridge in a barrel and thrust a spear up through the wooden slats. Harald & Tostig both fall at the head of their men. * 28th September 1066: Having sailed his fleet to St Valery sur Somme, William waits for the wind to be in the right direction. It changes 2 days after Stamford Bridge, and William 's fleet makes landfall at Pevensey completely unopposed. He marches to Hastings - a good harbour from which he can withdraw easily if necessary, and begins building a castle. * 1st October 1066: While at York, Harold learns of William 's landing. He marches back down Ermine Street, stopping to pray at Waltham Abbey (which he had founded) on the way. By 12th October, he is back in London and gathering what forces he could to face William.
HASTINGS
* 14th October 1066: Harold takes up a position blocking the Norman advance to London on Senlac Ridge at the site of Battle with an army of little more than 5,000 weary and footsore men. He intends to fight a purely defensive battle, sitting behind the famous Saxon shield wall and letting the Normans break themselves against it. This works well, beating back repeated waves of Norman infantry followed by cavalry. It works so well in fact that the Breton knights on the Norman left begin to run. Seeing victory in their grasp, the English right charges down the slope after them, exposing themselves to a devastating counter-attack led by William himself. * However, William is unhorsed and a shout goes up that he is dead. Everything hangs in the balance; but William sweeps off his helmet and rises to rally his troops. Yet the pause had given the English time to regroup, and the Normans batter themselves uselessly against the reformed shield wall. As the day drags on, the numbers began to tell and the English shield wall begins to crack. * Late in the day, Harold takes an arrow in the eye and as his men mill around him, four Norman knights break through and hack him down. Legend has it that his body was so mutilated that it could not be recognised until it was identified by his devoted mistress, Edith Swan-neck. * Oct-Dec 1066: A state of war continues until Christmas 1066, when a deal is struck between William and the English magnates in which he guarantees their positions in return for their support. William is crowned King of England on Christmas Day in London by Archbishops Ealdred and Stigand. Edwin, Morcar and Waltheof swear allegiance to him.
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Cnut 's takeover
The story of the Norman Conquest does not start in 1066, but 50 years earlier, with another invasion and another group of Norsemen. In 1016, Cnut, King of Denmark, seized the kingdom of England by exploiting the bitter rivalries between king Aethelred Unraed (without counsel), his son Edmund Ironside and his closest advisors. Cnut 's takeover had not been unexpected: many English magnates had been aligning themselves for just such an eventuality - most important among them being Eadric, ealdorman of Mercia, whose treachery at the Battle of Ashingdon handed Cnut the throne.
...traitors were never trusted but collaboration paid.
Eadric did not get quite the reward he expected. At the Christmas court of 1017, Cnut stunned the English with the murder of ealdorman Eadric, his supporters and every member of Aethelred 's royal family he could get his hands on. Only Edward and his brothers, the younger sons of Aethelred, survived. They fled to Normandy, where they took refuge with Duke Richard II, brother of their mother Emma.
In place of the murdered magnates, Cnut installed his own men, both Danish and English, loyal to himself. The most prominent of these were Earls Leofric and Godwine, who prospered under the new Danish régime. They and their families had learned two valuable lessons from the Danish conquest: traitors were never trusted, but collaboration paid. Cnut also secured his external position by marrying Emma, maintaining a link to the old régime and ensuring that the Duke of Normandy would not come out in favour of the dispossessed Edward.
The Godwines
Edward spent the next 30 years in exile under the protection of his uncle, Duke Richard II and his successors. Whilst there, he made several friends, among them Eustace of Boulogne and the Breton Ralph the Staller. On his return to England in 1042, as Edward the Confessor, he promoted many of these Frenchmen into positions of influence, as a counterbalance to the overweening power of the Godwine family.
...a notorious group called the Frenchmen...
The Godwines had prospered greatly while Edward was away. Under Cnut and his successors, they had amassed so much land that they were second only in power and wealth to that of the King. So when Edward returned after the death of Cnut 's son, Harthacnut, he found his position hamstrung by Cnut 's old Earls. He tried to offset this by allying himself with Earls Leofric and Siward, the enemies of Godwine, and by promoting his own friends, a notorious group called the 'Frenchmen ' who were made up of the Norman and French nobles with whom Edward had shared his young adulthood.
WILLIAM OF NORMANDY
Meanwhile, Normandy was embroiled in its own succession crisis. Duke Richard II 's son, Robert, had died in 1035, leaving an 8-year-old bastard son, William as his heir. William 's formative years were immersed in assassination, exile and civil war, from which he emerged in 1047 at the Battle of Val-ès-Dunes as the dominant power in Normandy, with his capital at Rouen, a prosperous trading settlement much like Viking Jorvik (York).
William was a large man, of exceptional strength and appearance. His tomb at St Etienne in Caen was despoiled by Calvinists during the Reformation, but its size and analysis of the one remaining thigh bone show that he was remarkably tall for a medieval man, standing at 5 '10". He had inordinate strength: William of Malmesbury describes how he could draw a bow that no other man could draw, whilst spurring on a horse.
He was also ruthlessly efficient, and thanks to his childhood valued personal loyalty and the unbreakable ties of the family above all else. To this end, he promoted his two half-brothers into key positions. Robert became Count of Mortain and Odo became Bishop of Bayeux. In 1050, he married Matilda, daughter of the Count of Flanders in what seems to have been a genuine love-match. He doted on his wife and trusted her judgement enough in later life to leave her as his regent in Normandy.
Edward the Confessor
...he was aware he might never have children...
Edward, by contrast, was already an old man. He had spent his entire adult life waiting for the chance to be King of England, and having achieved it had found his power circumscribed by the over-powerful subjects of his predecessors, so much so that he was forced to marry Edith, daughter of Godwine, in a marriage of dynastic expediency. The chroniclers say that he despised his wife so much that he never consummated the marriage. Instead, he 'found God ' throwing himself into pious works, the most enduring of which was the foundation of Westminster Abbey. So by 1051, it is entirely possible that he was aware he might never have children, so long as he remained married to Edith.
In 1051, he acted against the Godwines. The lever he used was a dispute between Eustace of Boulogne and Earl Godwine sparked by an incident at Dover. Eustace, on the orders of the King, tried to take over the town. Godwine resisted, and when he was called to account, chose to flee into exile with his sons rather than face a prejudiced tribunal. Edward immediately put aside Edith, and at the same time, William of Normandy came to visit England.
William gains power
Later Norman chronicles claim that on this visit Edward offered William the crown of England. It is difficult to see why. Edward was in the most powerful position he had achieved since his accession in 1042. He had got rid of the Godwines and his appointees were in all the positions of power. He had also put aside his wife, and no doubt could have found a way round the divorce/annulment problem in one of the many time-honoured traditions.
Yet it can also be argued that knowing whilst he remained married to Edith that he would remain childless, Edward chose to vest the future of the kingdom into the hands of his old friend and protector 's family, which had just proven its fecundity with the birth of William 's son Robert. We will never know. What is certain is that if Edward did offer William the kingdom at this point, it would not be the last time he gave it away. The promise was essentially worthless (though of course we know that William did not wish to view it that way).
...his former allies teamed up against him...
William himself had rather more pressing things on his mind by 1052. He had become so powerful that his former allies had teamed up against him, forcing him to defend his position. However, by 1060, both Henry I of France and Geoffrey of Anjou had died leaving weak successors, and William was poised to expand again. This expansion had a purpose. William was well aware of the vulnerable position of Normandy, surrounded on three sides by enemies, and his actions from 1062 onwards were designed to ensure that Normandy - and the personal patrimony of its dukes - would remain secure.
...he was invading merely to secure his inheritance.
In 1062, he invaded the neighbouring county of Maine. His justification for this is worth noting, for William claimed that Count Hubert of Maine had agreed to marry one of William 's daughters and leave his domain to William if he died without heirs. Hubert is supposed to have named William his heir on his deathbed, and William claimed that he was invading merely to secure his inheritance. This is the first of three times this excuse was used to justify conquest in William 's life: the only time it ever seems to be believed is over England.
The increasing personal power of William is demonstrated by the change in terminology on Norman charters at this time. Norman nobles cease being fidelis (faithful) men, and the duke becomes their dominus (lord). The change is significant. William was now exercising control in Normandy through his own personal patronage, favouring his most powerful friends and supporters. Among these were his childhood friends William fitzOsbern and Roger de Montgomery, who had become his closest and most trusted advisors and confidants, alongside his half-brothers Robert de Mortain and Odo of Bayeux.
Harold
Back in England, the Godwines had returned. They were back by 1052, even more powerful than before, and Edward 's Frenchmen were forced to flee the kingdom. When Godwine died in 1053, his mantle was taken up by his son Harold Godwinson. In 1055, Earl Siward of Northumbria died whilst his son, Waltheof, was too young to succeed him, and Harold manoeuvred his brother Tostig into the earldom. This further strengthened the hold of the Godwine clan on the kingdom. By 1064, it was obvious to all that Edward was going to die without an heir, and Harold must have been weighing up his chances of becoming king.
Harold 's character has been blackened beyond all recognition by the events of 1066. No chronicler could write of him without referring to the role he played in the drama that would lead up to the Norman Conquest. Therefore, he has been portrayed as devious and secretive, an oathbreaker and a chancer(aventurero). A chancer he undoubtedly was, but then everyone was gambling in 1066.
Harold was clearly courageous, an able warrior and an astute politician. He was able to judge the way the wind was blowing and bend with it, breaking through ancient enmities to form the alliances that were necessary to the realpolitik of his world. He was also handsome and charming, and had an undoubtedly loving relationship with his concubine, Edith Swan-neck. Yet the events during the last two years of his life show that he was also willing to lie and even sacrifice his family on the altar of his ambition.
Harold visits Normandy
Harold visited Normandy in 1064. Why he did this, no-one can be certain. All pro-Norman sources claim that he was sent by Edward to confirm the offer of the crown to William. On the Bayeux Tapestry, he is depicted receiving either orders or a warning from Edward, but since he is undoubtedly being admonished for his 'failure ' on his return, this can hardly have been instructions to confirm William as king. English sources hint that he was going to France and was shipwrecked on his way, which was why he ended up in Normandy. Sadly, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is completely silent on the subject. It has also been suggested that he was visiting William in an effort to negotiate the freeing of his brother, Wulfnoth, who was a hostage in William 's court.
William clearly wanted to overawe Harold.
All we know for certain is that Harold landed in the Norman province of Ponthieu, where he was arrested by Count Guy of Ponthieu. When William heard of his arrival, he sent messengers ordering Count Guy to hand over his prisoner, which was duly done. At this point, William was embarking upon a campaign into Brittany against the new Duke of Brittany, Conan II, and he took Harold with him. William clearly wanted to overawe Harold. He knew that they were both in the running for the crown of England, and he hoped that by taking him on the Brittany campaign he could impress Harold with the futility of opposing Norman interests. However, the plan backfired spectacularly.
The Bayeux Tapestry, in a masterful piece of propaganda, portrays the campaign as a triumph: Conan flees furtively from the town of Dol and surrenders the keys of Dinan to William. However, other sources portray a completely different picture in which William exhausted himself in a futile chase around Brittany and was finally forced to withdraw after he ran out of supplies. The only person to come out well from the whole affair was Harold, who is portrayed on the Bayeux Tapestry rescuing some of William 's men from the quicksands in front of Mont St. Michel. His later actions tend to indicate that he was less than impressed by this demonstration of the inexorable Norman war machine in action.
Oath
The visit ended with Harold swearing his infamous oath to Duke William. This is eloquently described by the Anglo-Norman historian Orderic Vitalis: 'Harold himself had taken an oath of fealty to Duke William at Rouen in the presence of the Norman nobles, and after becoming his man had sworn on the most sacred relics to carry out all that was required of him. After that, the Duke had taken Harold on an expedition against Conan, Count of Brittany, and had given him splendid arms and horses and heaped other tokens upon him and his companions. '
In this passage, Orderic highlights the three great bones of contention about the oath: no-one can agree where it was sworn (Rouen? Bonneville? Bayeux?); no-one can agree when it was sworn (before or after the Brittany campaign?); and no-one can agree why it was sworn. Was Harold simply swearing an oath of fealty as a vassal of William, or was there actually something more to it, as the pro-Norman sources would have us believe? This is important, because as a vassal of William 's, Harold was not constrained to hand over the crown of England any more than William, a vassal of the French king, owed the crown to France.
A close examination of the Bayeux Tapestry tends to suggest that Harold was being honoured after heroics on the Brittany campaign, given arms and armour, and in return swearing an oath of fealty. Even the most pro-Norman sources tend to suggest that there was an element of trickery about the whole occasion: Harold is said to have sworn a hollow oath, after which William whipped away the covering on the table, revealing the most holy of relics which bound it. So it seems likely that Harold did not believe he was swearing away the kingdom, and it was only after the fact that William and his apologists were able to dress this up as the great act of perjury that it became.
Consolidation of power
Still, we should not paint Harold in completely innocent colours. Harold was already thinking like a king by 1064. He was undoubtedly considering his own position vis à vis the throne of England, and like any politician of his age, he would undoubtedly have sworn to anything in order to get himself out of the dangerous position in which he found himself.
...Kings made and broke...vows all the time...
Kings made and broke solemn vows all the time, and it was only when someone else had something to gain from it that they were called to account. Harold needed to get back to England and muster the support he would require to make his bid. In order to do that, he would have sworn away his own brother. In a passage laden with hindsight, the chronicler Eadmer has Edward admonishing Harold on his return: 'Did I not tell you that I knew William, and your going might bring untold calamity upon this kingdom? '
The proof of this all came in 1065, when the people of Northumbria rebelled against the harsh rule of their new earl, Harold 's brother Tostig. Tostig appealed to Harold and the King for help, but that help was not forthcoming. Edward held no love for Tostig, and Harold had seen a way that he could use his brother 's misfortune to win the backing of the other great power in the land, the family of Leofric. Leofric 's grandson, Edwin, was now the Earl of Mercia and almost as strong as Harold himself; but his brother, Morcar, was yet to have an earldom.
Harold made a deal: he would support Morcar into Northumbria against his own brother Tostig and also against the rightful heir, Waltheof, if the family of Leofric eschewed its old enmity with the Godwines and supported Harold in his bid for the throne. This act of filial treachery was to have significant consequences. Tostig fled into exile, vowing revenge against his brother, and the scene was set for the tragic events of 1066.

1066
Claims to the throne
It all began with the death of Edward the Confessor, in January 1066. The Bayeux tapestry depicts Edward on his deathbed, offering the English crown to Harold, and this event is reflected in most of the chronicles of the time.
Edward 's corpse was eventually borne in state to his own new cathedral church at Westminster, and the tapestry shows Harold there, being offered the crown by the magnates of England, among whom must have been Edwin and Morcar.
Harold was crowned at Westminster Abbey by Archbishop Stigand of Canterbury and Archbishop Ealdred of York. It is significant that only the former is depicted (and actually named) on the Bayeux tapestry, as his appointment had never been recognised by the Pope, allowing the Norman propaganda machine to portray Harold 's coronation as illegal.
On the tapestry, the members of the congregation shown as witnessing the event are facing Harold, but their eyes are turned towards Halley 's Comet, which is depicted in the sky as a portent of the doom to come. Harold is seen receiving news of the Comet with fear in his eyes.
William decided on invasion...
These bad omens for Harold were important to William of Normandy, who was set on claiming the English crown for himself - omens as important as the 'promise ' of 1051 and the 'oath ' of 1064. This was because, despite his pre-eminent position, he required the active co-operation of his nobles for the great venture he was planning - the venture to invade England and become the English king.
William could not just demand support from his nobles, he had to convince them of his case. He needed to show his followers that his claim was a lawful one, and that he had God on his side. So when he decided on invasion, he took elaborate measures to ensure he had strong support, and even sent an envoy to the Pope asking for his blessing.
William did not move immediately. He only began plans for an invasion after Tostig arrived in neighbouring Flanders, looking for support against Harold in a projected invasion of Northumbria. This was the lever that William needed: with Harold occupied in the north, William could invade in the south. Whether or not he thought God was on his side, William 's preparations were very down to earth.
Harold becomes king
On top of anything else, William must have been painfully aware that his claim to England 's throne was actually the least legitimate of all the putative contenders. It rested entirely on a spurious promise, made over 15 years previously, and on the fact that William 's great-grandfather was Edward 's maternal grandfather.
Harold had an equally weak blood claim, through the brother-in-law of King Cnut, although it was he who was Edward 's last nominated heir. There were others with much stronger blood claims, among them Swegn Estrithson, King of Denmark, who was the nephew of King Cnut; and Edgar the Aetheling, grandson of Edmund Ironside, from whom Cnut had wrested the kingdom in 1016.
Aetheling actually means 'throneworthy ' and was the title given to the most legitimate heir; but a legitimate blood claim was only part of the issue. The crown would go to the claimant who could muster most support amongst the 'great and the good ' of England. In January 1066, Edgar Aetheling was a minor, and with the wolves breathing at the door, the English magnates could not afford to risk the kingdom in such inexperienced hands. So they turned to Harold, the obvious power behind the throne, who, as we have seen, had prepared his ground well.
Instead, William watched, and he waited...
Immediately after Edward 's death, the cards were flying and everyone was gambling madly. Tostig enlisted the help of a powerful Joker in the pack, the Norwegian king Harald Hardrada, an adventurer who had fought for the Byzantines in the Varangian Guard and was now trying to recreate the Viking kingdom of Northumbria.
William had the other Joker, the Pope, in his pocket, and was drawing his Aces around him. He toured Normandy, visiting each of his most powerful barons in person, and also made deals with neighbouring magnates like Eustace of Boulogne and the exiled Count Alan of Brittany. He promised them land and positions within his new kingdom, which they in turn could grant to their followers in return for loyal service.
In May 1066, Tostig made his first, abortive, attempt to invade England. Harold called out the English levy (the fyrd), which was an army of English peasant farmers obliged to fight for their king when required to do so, and kept it out. He wanted to be ready to face the invasion fleet that William had built and mustered at Rennes on the Norman coast. But William did not come.
Instead, William watched, and he waited, and he made his meticulous preparations. These included the gathering of all the great magnates of Normandy, called to attend the dedication of his wife Matilda 's new abbey at St Etienne, in Caen, on 18 June 1066. There William asked for the blessing of God on his invasion plan, and ensured that he also had the backing of man.
Stamford Bridge
In July, William 's invasion fleet moved north to Dives, but still it did not cross the Channel. The sources say that the leader was waiting for fair weather, but he may equally have been awaiting news that Tostig had made his move. Either way, it was a perfect strategy. The English fyrd was a levy of peasant farmers, who by August were clamouring to be released so that they could take in their harvest. Harold had no option but to let them go.
...Tostig fell beneath the Raven Banner...
On 20 September 1066, Harald Hardrada and Tostig sailed up the Ouse, with more than 10,000 men in 200 longships, to launch their long-awaited invasion of Northumbria. Earls Edwin and Morcar came out to meet them with a hastily assembled levy that consisted mainly of their own personal retainers. They were defeated at Fulford outside York, and their forces were so decimated that they were unable to play any further part in the campaigns of that year.
Harold reacted by scraping together a scratch force of his own, made up largely of his own housecarls and his 'thegns '. He raced north, calling up all the shire levies he could muster on the way. In four days he marched 180 miles - to surprise Hardrada and Tostig, east of York, at Stamford Bridge, on 25 September.
Before the battle began, Harold offered Tostig his earldom back if he would change sides, but Tostig threw the offer back in the king 's face. The Norwegians held a strong position, defending the bridge on the north-eastern shore of the River Derwent. Legend has it that a lone axeman held the bridge against all-comers for hours, until a sneaky Englishman paddled under the bridge in a barrel and thrust a spear up through the wooden slats.(listón)
Once the bridge fell, the battle was a foregone conclusion. Both Hardrada and Tostig fell beneath the Raven Banner in a last, desperate stand. Harold had won the day, but at a price. His army was tired and badly mauled, and he had lost the forces of both the Earl of Northumbria and the Earl of Mercia.
Pevensey landings
This was the point at which William acted.
Having sailed his fleet to St Valéry sur Somme, he waited for the wind to be in the right direction, and two days after Stamford Bridge, he sailed. His fleet consisted of almost 700 ships of classic Norse design, headed by the Mora, which is depicted on the Bayeux tapestry with a carved dragon figurehead on its prow, and a trumpeter sounding signals at its stern.
...the Normans pillaged and burned the surrounding area...
Most sources claim that William 's forces made landfall at Pevensey, but this may just be because Pevensey was the best-known port on the southern English shore. Recent work by amateur archaeologist Nick Austin suggests he may have found the actual site of William 's landing, and first encampments, at Wilting Manor, outside Hastings. Once ashore, William ordered that some of his boats be symbolically burnt, while the rest were dismantled and pulled ashore.
An earth embankment was built across the harbour mouth to protect the ships from the weather, and a castle was constructed at the top of the hill. The remnants of these may still be seen today. Then the Normans pillaged and burned the surrounding area, in order to force Harold to come south and defend his
people.
Harold did not hesitate. Having heard of William 's landing while at York, he raced his army down the old Roman road of Ermine Street, stopping on the way at his foundation of Waltham Abbey, to pray for victory. By 12 October, he was back in London and gathering what forces he could to face William. By the 14th, he was on the way to Hastings.
William received news of Harold 's approach from Vitalis - a prominent vassal of Odo of Bayeux, who is depicted on the Bayeux tapestry bringing the message - and marched out to face the English king.
The Battle of Hastings
The Battle of Hastings took place at a site now known as Battle on 14 October 1066. Harold drew up his army in three wedges on Senlac Ridge, overlooking the battlefield. With him he had little more than 5,000 footsore and weary men, ranged against a Norman force of up to 15,000 infantry, archers and cavalry.
Facing such odds, Harold had no choice but to fight a defensive battle. He was forced to rely on the much-vaunted English shield-wall, behind which his men could stand and let the Norman attacks break themselves.
The ferocious resolution of the English struck terror into the foot-soldiers...
The tactic was a great success. Again and again, the Norman knights hurled themselves against the English shields, but as the Bayeux tapestry shows, they were unable to make any headway. Then, on the Norman left, the Bretons under Count Alan began to give way. Orderic Vitalis takes up the story: 'The ferocious resolution of the English struck terror into the foot-soldiers and knights of the Bretons and other auxiliaries on the left wing; they turned to flee and almost the whole of the Duke 's battle line fell back, for the rumour spread that he had been killed. But the Duke, seeing a great part of the opposing army springing forwards to pursue his men, met them as they fled, threatening and striking them with his spear. 'Baring his head and lifting his helmet he cried: "Look at me, I 'm alive and with the aid of God I will gain the victory!" No sooner had the Duke spoken these brave words than their failing courage was restored, and surrounding several thousand of their pursuers, they mowed them down almost at once. '
It was the turning point of the battle.
The whole incident is portrayed on the Bayeux tapestry. It was the turning point of the battle. Now the English wall had broken, and the Normans were able to lever open the cracks. Exhaustion and weight of numbers also took their toll. Gyrth and Leofwine, the two remaining brothers of Harold are depicted being cut down on the tapestry, and Harold was soon to follow.
We see him on the Bayeux tapestry taking an arrow in the eye and then being ridden down by a Norman cavalryman, one of four who managed to break through the English line and trample Harold into the ground. Though the English still fought on bravely after their king had fallen, their cause was lost, and eventually they fled into the night.
The body of Harold was eventually recovered...
Tradition has it that William gave thanks to God for his victory and ordered that all in his army should do penance for the souls that they had killed that day. He himself paid for the foundation of Battle Abbey on the spot where Harold fell.
The body of Harold was eventually recovered after a long search, but its face was so badly disfigured that they had to bring it to his concubine, Edith Swan-neck, to identify by the intimate marks upon his body. Initially, William had the body buried next to the battlefield, with a headstone reading, 'Here lies Harold, King of the English ', but after Harold 's name was blackened by later Norman propaganda, the headstone was removed, and the body was disinterred and taken to Harold 's abbey at Waltham.
King William
The contest for England was not yet over, however. William kept his army in Hastings for about a week, then he marched through south-eastern England, via Dover and Canterbury, to London Bridge.
Finding this too heavily defended, he continued along the southern bank of the Thames to Wallingford, sending a detachment to take Winchester on the way. Wallingford was the easternmost ford of the Thames, and was defended by an ancient Anglo-Saxon burh (a fortified town) under the command of the king 's thegn Wigot of Wallingford.
By now it was December, and the long campaign had sapped the English will to resist. Dover and Southwark had been razed to the ground, and William now had control of Canterbury, the religious centre of England, and Winchester, the ceremonial seat of the English kings.
At Wallingford, the first English submissions occurred. Archbishop Stigand of Canterbury led a delegation of important English bishops and thegns, who surrendered to William, and Wigot opened the gates of Wallingford to him. By Christmas, the earls Edwin, Morcar and Waltheof, along with Archbishop Ealdred of York, had also surrendered, having ensured that their positions would be secure under the new régime.
...with the new king trembling from head to foot.
William was crowned by Archbishop Ealdred on Christmas Day, in Edward 's new abbey cathedral at Westminster. This is significant, because the new king chose to be crowned in the same location as King Harold, deliberately stressing the continuity between himself and Edward 's old régime. He also ensured that he was not crowned by Stigand, whose legitimacy was questioned by the Pope.
During the ceremony, the assembled magnates (both Norman and English) shouted their acclamation of the new king; but their shouts startled the guards outside the cathedral who, fearing an English uprising, promptly set fire to the neighbouring city of London. Orderic Vitalis paints a vivid picture of the terrified congregation fleeing from the smoke-filled church whilst the remaining Bishops hastily completed the ceremony, with the new king trembling from head to foot. It was an interesting start to a completely new era.
William the Conqueror (c.1028 - c.1087)
William was duke of Normandy and, as William I, the first Norman king of England. He defeated and killed the last Anglo-Saxon king of England at the Battle of Hastings.
William was born in around 1028, in Falaise, Normandy the illegitimate son of Robert I, Duke of Normandy. He was known as 'William the Bastard ' to his contemporaries. On his father 's death in 1035, William was recognised as heir, with his great uncle serving as regent. In 1042, he began to take more personal control. From 1046 until 1055, he dealt with a series of baronial rebellions. William 's political and military successes helped him in negotiations to marry Matilda, daughter of Count Baldwin of Flanders in 1053.
Early in 1066, Edward, king of England died and Harold, Earl of Wessex was crowned king. William was furious, claiming that in 1051 Edward, a distant cousin, had promised him the throne and that Harold had later sworn to support that claim.
William landed in England on 28 September 1066, establishing a camp near Hastings. Harold had travelled north to fight another invader, Harold Hardrada, King of Norway and defeated him at Stamford Bridge near York. He marched south as quickly as he could and on 14 October, his army met William 's. It was a close-fought battle lasting all day, but Harold was killed and his army collapsed. William was victorious and on Christmas Day 1066, he was crowned king in Westminster Abbey. A Norman aristocracy became the new governing class and many members of the native English elite, including bishops, were replaced with Normans.
The first years of William 's reign were spent crushing resistance and securing his borders, which he did with ruthless efficiency. He invaded Scotland in 1072 and concluded a truce with the Scottish king. He marched into Wales in 1081 and created special defensive 'marcher ' counties along the borders. The last serious rebellion against his rule, the Revolt of the Earls, took place in 1075. In 1086, William ordered a survey to be made of the kingdom. This became known as the Domesday Book and remains one of the oldest valid legal documents in Britain.
With the kingdom increasingly settled, William spent most of his last 15 years in Normandy, leaving the government of England to regents, usually clergymen. He spent the last months of his reign fighting Philip I, King of France. He died on 9 September 1087 from injuries received when he fell from his horse at the Siege of Mantes. He divided his lands between two of his sons, with Robert receiving Normandy and William Rufus, England. http://www.personal.psu.edu/bsm5168/Norman.html http://mt004512.wordpress.com/the-battle-of-hastings/ http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/normans/ http://www.angelfire.com/rnb/bayeux_tapestry/sect28_30.html http://www.jstor.org/betasearch?Query=the+battle+of+hastings&wc=on&fc=off http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/549172?searchUri=%2Fbetasearch%2F%3Facc%3Doff%26Query%3Dthe%2Bbattle%2Bof%2Bhastings%26fc%3Doff%26wc%3Don&Search=yes&searchText=battle&searchText=hastings&uid=2129&uid=2134&uid=2&uid=70&uid=4&sid=21102471277621 http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/content/imported-docs/a-e/battle.pdf http://secretsofthenormaninvasion.wordpress.com/tag/battle-of-hastings/ http://www.essentialnormanconquest.com/encyclopedia.htm HASTINGS http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/battle_of_hastings.htm The Battle of Hastings was fought on October 14th 1066. In the lead up to the Battle of Hastings, William 's men had done considerable damage to the area around Hastings as the Domesday Book was later to show.
William, Duke of Normandy, was a skilled and experienced military leader. His troops, with both infantry and cavalry were feared and respected. He had fought and defeated the king of France in 1054 and 1057. William did not believe in being merciful to those who fought against him.
His soldiers were well trained and well equipped. They wore chain mail armour which gave them much protection. His cavalry rode specially bred horses which could carry the weight of these horse soldiers and still ride at speed. The cavalry rode on special saddles that effectively locked them in place as they rode and all but allowed them to keep their arms free to fight with. They were the elite of William 's army. William 's elite cavalry |
Harold 's army was made up of a mixture of professional soldiers that were Harold 's bodyguards, and men who had been collected on the march south from Stamford Bridge to Sussex. Why would men wish to fight in Harold 's army? At that time, soldiers were poorly paid and anything that they took in battle they could keep at part of their payment. This was called "spoils of war". Therefore, a poor peasant had the chance, albeit limited, of 'collecting ' horses, armour, expensive swords etc. Fighting the Normans was a good opportunity for some peasants to increase their wealth. William was also an invader, so for many men, fighting against an invader was the right thing to do.
Also, Harold was a fine soldier and leader in his own right. He had commanded the army of Edward the Confessor when Edward was king and he had greatly impressed the Normans with his fighting skills when he was kept - against his will - in the court of William.
William had landed at Pevensey Bay in September. Legend has it that when William jumped from his boat, he slipped and fell onto the beach. Some of his soldiers took this to be a sign of bad luck, but William picked up a handful of shingle and said "See!! I have taken England already."
William built a motte and bailey castle on Pevensey Bay and held a feast to celebrate the Normans safe arrival. After this he moved east and inland - a few miles from the coastal fishing town of Hastings.
After his desperate march south, Harold set up his defence on Senlac Hill. This gave him an advantage over William as the Normans would have to fight up a hill wearing heavy chain mail armour. Also his horses would have to climb this hill with the weight of the riders on them - thus losing a lot of valuable speed. Harold 's view of the battlefield |
Why William assembled his men at the bottom of a hill is not known. Why he allowed Harold to set-up his army on top of Senlac Hill is not known. Perhaps he was too confident about defeating an army made up of men who had just marched over 250 miles from Stamford Bridge in Yorkshire after fighting an exhausting and bloody battle. Regardless of this, we do know that Harold picked a good spot to fight from. He had height advantage and the slopes of the hill on his side. He ordered his men to build a shield wall around Senlac to protect themselves from Norman archers.
We know that the battle started at about 9.00 in the morning. We do not know exactly what happened during the battle itself. We only have the story from the Normans side as the English were eventually slaughtered. Most of our information comes from the Bayeaux Tapestry. This was produced to celebrate the victory probably around 1077 - some 11 eleven years after the battle. It is thought that nuns may have done the tapestry and that it was made for Odo - William 's half-brother who was also a bishop. How accurate is the tapestry? Does it show what happened or have those who produced it used their imagination? How much is accurate?
We do know the following happened:
The Normans could only fight through a narrow gap up Senlac as there was heavy marshland either side of the hill. Therefore, Harold could plan to use his fire power on a certain strip of land knowing that the Normans would have to use this.
We know that the Normans charged up the hill but suffered many casualties as English arrows showered down on them. Both Norman infantry (foot soldiers) and cavalry suffered.
We know that the cry went up that William had been killed. The Bayeaux Tapestry claims that William lifted up his helmet to prove to his men that he was still alive.
We believe that if Harold had kept his shield wall intact, he could have won the battle.
We know that the English broke down their shield wall to chase after retreating Normans. Why did they do this? It is possible that the men who did this were the peasants in Harold 's army who saw a chance to get horses, weapons etc. Some historians believe that William ordered his men to 'retreat ' - an old Norman trick to move their enemy out of heavily fortified places - so that the shield wall had to be broken down by the English.
Whatever the truth, the shield wall was broken down and the English chased after the Normans.
Once this happened, the Normans simply regrouped at the bottom of Senlac and charged at the English. Without the protection of the shield wall, the English were helpless.
Harold had kept his bodyguards - the housecarls - with him but they could not stop the onslaught and Harold and his men were slaughtered (to cruelly and unfairly kill a lot of people) by the Normans. Harold hit by an arrow in the eye - according to the Bayeux Tapestry |
The battle lasted all day but it would be wrong to assume that the Normans had an easy victory. For the first part of the battle, the Normans suffered heavy losses and they only took charge of the battle once the peasant soldiers of Harold had broken down the shield wall that protected them.
After this battle, William marched through Sussex and Kent crushing any resistance to him. He had himself crowned King William I on Christmas Day in Westminster Abbey.
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THE ARMIES

The Norman Army

The size of William 's army has been the subject of much conjecture but has been most reliably estimated as around 2000 cavalry, 800 archers and 3000 infantry (dismounted men-at-arms).

Norman archers were lightly clothed to allow rapid movement on the battlefield and easy use of the bow. The standard weapon used was the short bow, about four feet in length and drawn to the body rather than the ear as with later, more effective longbows. Against chain mail, its effective range was only about 50 yards. The Normans were also recorded to have used the crossbow, lethal at over 300 yards, but none are depicted in the Beaux Tapestry and it is unclear if any were used in the battle.

Infantry wore chain mail hauberks, (loose fitting knee length mail shirts split at the front and rear for ease of movement with elbow length sleeves), leather hauberks or no amour at all. Not all had access to mail which was expensive and time consuming to make and hence, was much prized. Helmets were of a conical design with a nose guard riveted to the front to provide facial protection. The basic weapon was the spear and sword.

The cavalry were the elite of the Norman army, equipped with mail hauberks. Like the infantry, their main weapons were the spear (a lighter version), and the sword for closer fighting. Similar to the Viking sword, it was made for cutting rather than thrusting. Blunt instruments such as the battle mace were also used. Infantry and cavalry were both equipped with the kite shaped shield, measuring about 36 by 15 inches constructed from wood and leather with metal reinforcements. Its longer length provided much more protection to the vulnerable leg area than the round shield, particularly for mounted troops. The horses, however, were not armored. This made them especially vulnerable when attacking a shield wall, as the Saxons were to employ. The rider was forced to turn his mount side on to be able to use his sword effectively. As a result, the flank of the horse was open to attack by his opponent, a role for which the Saxon axe was well suited. If his horse was cut from under him, a Norman knight in his heavy hauberk was defenseless until he could regain his footing.

The Saxon Army

The elite of the Saxon army was made up of the housecarls (the king 's bodyguard), formed by King Cnut 50 years earlier. In normal circumstances, Harold would have had around 3000 to call on but after Stamford Bridge, just weeks earlier, would be closer to 2000. His brothers Leofwin and Gyrth were estimated to have command of about 1000 each. This gives Harold around 4000 highly trained and armed troops, possibly the best fighting men in Europe. While mounted troops, they fought on foot and were slow moving and vulnerable to missiles on the battlefield.

Their armor was chain mail, similar to that used by the Normans. While expensive and prized, there was likely to be a substantial supply available from the plunder of Stamford Bridge so most would have been similarly protected. The Saxon housecarls, therefore could expect to be better protected than the Norman infantry. Each would also wear a helmet, possibly similar to the Norman style with a nose guard. The Beaux tapestry shows a mixture of shield types, the Norman kite design and the traditional round shield. Captured round shields of the Norse may well have replaced kite shields broken during the battle at Stamford Bridge.

The main weapon was the great two handed axe of Viking origin - a sharp curved blade of one foot diameter on a handle over three feet in length. This weapon could deliver a devastating blow which no shield or armor of its day could withstand. As a two handed weapon, the user would have wedged their shield into the ground before them for protection while wielding their weapon. Many were also armed with lances and swords similar to the Normans.

The rest of Harold 's army was made up of fyrdsmen, part time soldiers who were called up for two months a year to defend their land. Under the Saxon system, each five hides of land were to provide a man and 20 shillings for his wages for defense of the realm.[2]. This compares to the feudal system employed by the Normans who could call on full time professional soldiers. Theoretically, up to 15-20,000 of these part time soldiers could be called on but it is unlikely that anywhere near this were present at the battle. It is estimated that around 4000 made the field giving Harold an army of around 8000, larger than Williams but with a lower percentage of full time professionals. These fyrdsmen were less well armed than the housecarls, few possessed chainmail with most wearing hardened leather and carrying a range of weapons from spears, short axes, homemade swords and farm implements. Shields would have been round shields or whatever could be improvised.

Few archers were available to the Saxons at Hastings. While present as Stamford Bridge, the lightning rush south meant that few made it to the battle. Even in the latter Middle Ages when the English archer ruled supreme, they were rarely wealthy with access to horses. In his haste to meet William in battle, Harold was forced to leave them behind and didn 't delay in London long enough for others to be raised. As a result, the Normans were strongest where the Saxons were weakest, in mobile cavalry and archers.

The Battle Formations

Just after daybreak on the 14th, at around 6:00, William 's army broke camp and headed to battle. The Bretons took the lead, followed by the Franco Flemish and the Normans brought up the rear. The march to Senlac Ridge would have taken until around 7:30. Just out of sight of the Saxon position, they would have put on their armor and mounted their horses. William initially put on his armor back to front, seen as a bad omen, which he laughed off and also hung the bones of the English saints Harold had sworn on around his neck. When all was ready, William moved his army onto the field.

Harold positioned his army atop the ridge behind a wall of shields approximately 700 yards in length.[3]. The heavily armed housecarls were placed to the front while the less well-armed fyrdsmen were placed to their rear. The densely packed formation would have been seven or eight ranks deep. Their position was ideally suited to defense, unable to be outflanked due to the steep, uneven ground on either side - any assault had to be frontal. To the front, the ground sloped from 1/35 to the west, 1/15 at the center and about 1/22 to the east. This compared to around 1/4-6 to the flanks. Harold raised his standards, the Wyvern of Wessex and his personal banner, The Fighting Man on a slight rise near the center of the line. While there is no evidence of any barricades being erected before their position, it is likely that a small nearby stream was blocked to turn the ground at the base of the ridge into a bog.

William formed his army about 150 yards away on slightly lower ground from the Saxon position, just out of range of the few Saxon archers. The right division was made up of approximately 1600 French and Flemish troops under the command of Eustace of Boulogne. They straddled the London-Hastings road facing Harold 's left. William 's left, on flat and boggy ground was made up of about 2100 Bretons from Maire and Anjou commanded by Alan Fergent, the Count of Brittany. The center, twice the size of the flanks, numbering 4300, was made up of the Normans under the delegated command of William 's half brothers Odo and Robert, Count of Mortain. It was here that William raised his personal standard and the papal banner.

Each division was divided into three sections of similar composition. The first rank was of archers, slingers and spearmen, the second of infantry, and the third cavalry.

As they formed, the Flemish and French had to march before the Saxon line and perform a sharp right turn to take up their position. Luckily for them, Harold made no attempt to harass them. If he had attacked at this point, he could have caused havoc but would have taken heavy losses from the Norman cavalry as he regained his position on the ridge.

Williams plan was for a new type of mobile warfare. His archers were to shower the Saxon line with arrows before falling back. His dismounted men at arms were to move forward and clash with the Saxon line before the cavalry followed to exploit any gaps created by the fighting. This was to be repeated until the Saxon line broke.

Harold 's plan was simpler - to remain in a defensive line which favored his housecarls and fight a battle of attrition. The longer he held, the more reinforcements he could expect to filter onto the battlefield. William, on the other hand, on a foreign shore, could expect none. If the Saxon line held, victory would be theirs.
References

Butler D. 1066: The Story of a Year , Anthony Blond Ltd., London, 1966.

Douglas D. C. William the Conqueror: The Norman Impact Upon England , Eyre & Spottiswoode, London, 1966.

Golding B. Conquest and Colonisation: The Normans in Britain, 1066-1100 , Macmillan, Houndmills, 1994.

Oman C.W.C. The Art of War in the Middle Ages AD 378-1515 (revised edition) , Great Serial Books, London, 1963.

Poyntz Wright P. Hastings , The Windrush Press, Gloucestershire, 1996.

Tetlow E. The Enigma of Hastings , Peter Owen Ltd., London, 1974.

Whitelock D. et.al. The Norman Conquest: Its Setting and Impact , Eyre & Spottiswoode, London, 1966.

http://www.militaryhistoryonline.com/hastings/