In the Battle of Hastings, fought on October 14, 1066, William of Normandy triumphed over the forces of Harold II, the Saxon king of England. The victor, later known as William the Conqueror (William I), founded the Norman monarchy in England, which ruled for around a hundred years. An important event in French history, the Battle of Hastings is commemorated on the well-known Bayeux Tapestry and is often credited with laying the foundation for modern England.
Background of the Battle of Hastings
William, Duke of Normandy and natural son of Robert the Magnificent (also known as “the devil”), was born in 1027 and ruled Normandy in the second part of the 11th century. William, who earned the moniker “bastard,” struggled for years to assert his power over the Norman lords before he was recognized as the rightful Duke of Normandy. At the time, Normandy was a prosperous and influential region. Meanwhile, on the other side of the Channel, on January 5, 1066, King Edward the Confessor of England passed away without a son to replace him. The next day following his death, his Anglo-Saxon brother-in-law, Earl Harold, usurped the throne and was crowned king at York Cathedral, the country’s second-largest city at the time.
Harold was responsible for making the formal announcement that William, Duke of Normandy, was now Edward the Confessor’s successor as of 1051. This prompted an instant response from William. Thus, William planned to gain control of his inheritance by whatever means necessary, even resorting to violence. As a first step, he sent envoys to the Roman capital. William successfully had Harold excommunicated and gained backing for an invasion of England from Pope Alexander II due to Harold’s crime of perjury for breaking his oath to King Edward. William made the journey over the Channel under papal flags.
Preparations for the Norman invasion
William commissioned the construction of sturdy vessels that could transport not just men but also horses, weapons, and provisions. By the end of the fleet’s three months of preparation, 1,400 ships, 400 sailors, and 1,000 horses were aboard. Lords and knights alike stepped up to offer their services as expedition volunteers. They hailed from all across France and even Italy, and the pope’s blessing on William’s endeavor gave them the confidence to go forth in search of uncharted territory and riches. Thus, William gathered an army of about 7,000 men, including 2,000 horses.
As a result of the absence of wind and subsequent storm, the passage of the English Channel was postponed for almost a month and a half before they finally set sail. On September 28th, 1066, the long wait was over, and they set sail without any serious problems, while Harold’s fleet was impeded by the wind. Just as William was ready to arrive, another danger developed, this time on the North Sea: King Harald of Norway, also a relative of Edward the Confessor, intended to steal the kingdom from Harold. However, on September 25, 1066, at Stamford Bridge, Harold triumphed against the Norwegians.
Battle of Hastings
On September 29th, William’s army arrived at Pevensey, a coastal town in Sussex. Aimed at immediately confronting the English, it made its way to Hastings as Harold’s forces dropped towards the south. The English landed at Hastings on September 13 and, upon witnessing the Normans, decided to take up residence atop the hill. The two armies went to war on the morning of September 14 with about the same number of soldiers. The Normans rapidly recognized they were outmatched by the English, who were perched higher and had erected a shield wall that could not be breached by their archers and cavalry.
Then, William used deception, pretending to retire so that Harold’s army might follow him down to the plain and attack on horseback. Uneasy, the English fought fiercely in defense, but they gave up when they heard that Harold had been mortally wounded by an arrow to the head. When cornered, the English were obliged to give up their crucial position on Senlac Hill. At the conclusion of the Battle of Hastings, only a small number of defending units managed to avoid the charging Norman horsemen.
Results of the Norman victory at Hastings
On September 29th, William’s army arrived at Pevensey, a coastal town in Sussex. Aimed at immediately confronting the English, it made its way to Hastings as Harold’s forces dropped towards the south. The English landed at Hastings on September 13 and, upon witnessing the Normans, decided to take up residence atop the hill. The two armies went to war on the morning of September 14 with about the same number of soldiers. The Normans quickly realized that they couldn’t beat the English, who were on higher ground and used their shields to make a wall that the archers and horsemen couldn’t get through.
Then, William used deception, pretending to retire so that Harold’s army might follow him down to the plain and attack on horseback. Uneasy, the English fought fiercely in defense, but they gave up when they heard that Harold had been mortally wounded by an arrow to the head. When cornered, the English were obliged to give up their crucial position on Senlac Hill. At the conclusion of the Battle of Hastings, only a small number of defending units managed to avoid the charging Norman horsemen.
Results of the Norman victory at Hastings
The Battle of Hastings ended with the Normans emerging triumphant. On Christmas Day, 1066, William the Conqueror had his coronation ceremony at Westminster Abbey in London. Through his reign, England became Western Europe’s most prosperous and powerful nation. While William was a powerful leader, he was also a vassal of King Philip I of France as Normandy’s Duke. The situation was tense, and William had to deal with the fact that Robert de Courteheuse, his oldest son, had allied himself with King Philip.
William suffered life-threatening injuries in the summer of 1087 during a battle with the French king. On September 7, he passed away at Rouen, and was laid to rest in the monastery of Saint-Etienne-de-Caen, as was his request. William the Red, the second son of William the Conqueror, took over as king of England after his death, and the Normans remained in power for the foreseeable future. Its close ties to the Frankish realm sowed the roots of the enormous rivalry that would erupt in the next century and culminate in the Hundred Years’ War.
Bibliograpghy:
- Crouch, David (2007). The Normans: The History of a Dynasty. London: Hambledon & London. ISBN 978-1-85285-595-6.
- Douglas, David C. (1964). William the Conqueror: The Norman Impact Upon England. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. OCLC 399137.
- English Heritage. “Research on Battle Abbey and Battlefield”. Retrieved 21 January 2021.