© boardworks ltd 2007 1 of 23 © boardworks ltd 2007 britain 1066–1500 1 of 23 the battle of...

© Boardworks Ltd 20071 of 23 © Boardworks Ltd 2007

Britain 1066–1500

1 of 23

The Battle of Hastings

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Learning objectives

How did Harold plan to defend England?

Who won the Battle of Stamford Bridge?

How did William invade England?

Who won the Battle of Hastings, and why?

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1066: the story so far…

In 1066, King Edward the Confessor died without an heir.

Three men emerged as contenders for the English crown.

Can you remember who they were?


Harold, son of Earl Godwin, was chosen king by the chief

noblemen of England…

Florence of Worcester, 1115

In the end the Witenagemot decided that Harold Godwinson should be the next king.

So who did become king?

Harold was crowned in Westminster Abbey in January 1066. But he had no time to celebrate. William of Normandy and Harald Hardraada were both determined to take the crown by force.


Harold’s dilemma


King Harold knew that he would have a lot of difficulty holding onto England. He did not know which of his enemies would make the first move, but he assumed it would be William, so he stationed his troops on the south coast.

What did Harold do?


Unfortunately for Harold, his gamble did not pay off. The first person to invade was Harald Hardraada. William was waiting for the right wind for his ships.

Harold had to march his army north to meet Hardraada, and then get back to the south again before the wind changed and allowed William to invade.

Hardraada arrived at the mouth of the Tyne with more than 300 ships on 20th September 1066. The earls Edwin and Morcar fought the Norwegians, but eventually lost.

Hardraada invades


Then came our King Harold on the Norwegians unawares, and met them beyond York at Stamford …

Harald Hardraada was killed, and Earl Tosti; the Norwegians that were left were put to flight … Only 24

ships returned to Norway.

The Battle of Stamford Bridge was a great victory for Harold, but two days later the wind changed and William’s invasion fleet set sail. William landed at Pevensey on the Sussex coast on 28th September.

Why was the change in the wind such bad timing? Who had the better chance of winning the next

battle? Why?

The Battle of Stamford Bridge

The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle


…although [Harold] knew that he had lost some of his best men in the recent battle, and

that half of his troops were not yet assembled, he did not

hesitate to meet the enemy.

Florence of Worcester, 1115

What does this text tell you about the type of man Harold was?

What advice would you have given him and why?

The next battle


The road to Hastings


The Norman army was made up of…

Archers (armed with bows and arrows) Cavalry (men on horseback, armed with swords)Foot soldiers (armed mainly with spears)Total strength = approx. 6000 men

The Norman army

All William’s soldiers had training and experience. Many were professional mercenaries.


The Saxon army

The Saxon army was made up of…

Housecarls – professional soldiers armed with battleaxesFyrd – armed with spears andsometimes swordsTotal strength = approx. 6000 men

The housecarls were highly trained and formed the core of the army. The fyrd were ordinary men called up to serve in times of emergency. They were unpaid and had little or no training.


The Battle of Hastings


How much do you remember?


The Bayeux Tapestry

Much of our information about the Battle of Hastings comes from the Bayeux Tapestry. This is a large embroidery commemorating the Norman conquest of England. It is believed to have been commissioned by William’s half-brother, Bishop Odo, who fought alongside him at Hastings.

Unfortunately, there are two problems with the Bayeux Tapestry as a source. One is that it can be difficult to work

out what’s happening at certain points. Can you guess what the other problem might be?


The Bayeux Tapestry


The death of Harold

Everybody knows that William won the Battle of Hastings and Harold lost. But how exactly did Harold die?

Imagine you are a detective investigating a murder. You interview the witnesses, but they disagree with each other. Some may be mistaken. Some may be lying. So you examine the other evidence, but it isn’t very

clear. In fact, it may even have been tampered with.

This is the situation historians face in investigating the death of Harold.


Pictorial evidence – the Bayeux Tapestry


…Harold fell, his brain pierced by an arrow. One

of the soldiers with a sword gashed his thigh as

he lay on the ground. William of Malmesbury,

1140

Harold and his two brothers had fallen close together. The King could not be recognized

by his face which had been cut by a sword – only by certain

marks on his body. William of Poitiers, 1071

Do these sources agree with each other?

How do they help to explain the scene on the Bayeux Tapestry showing Harold’s death?

Written evidence

Now we’ve looked at the pictorial evidence for the battle, let’s see whether the written evidence backs it up.


Comparing sources


So how did Harold die?

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