Hastings
The Battle of 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.
Published: 2001-07-01
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