Battlefieds 11 - Hastings / Battle

Drive-Time (Via Michelin): Embry to Battle:

Embry to Coquelles EuroTunnel: 1hr 5 mins (60 miles incl motorways)

EuroTunnel: Waiting-Time plus 35 mins for the train.

Folkestone EuroTunnel to Battle: 1hr 17 mins (48 miles)

EuroTunnel Costs for 1-day Return: Circa £110 to £540, per vehicle.

(Since BREXIT the costs have gone up dramatically!)

Address "1066 Battle of Hastings, Abbey and Battlefield"

High Street, Battle, East Sussex TN33 0AD

Web: English Heritage Site

Opening Hours 4 Nov 2013 to 16 Feb 2014:

Sat & Sun 10am to 4pm

Closed 24-26 Dec & 31 Dec/1 Jan

Check web site for 17 Feb 2014 onwards !

Admission Members:

FREE Adult: £7.80 Child (5-15yrs): £4.70 Concession: £7.00 Family (2 adults, 2 children): £20.30

NOTE: The Battle of Hastings did NOT occur in Hastings!

As strange as it might sound, you will find the site of the battlefield in the town now called BATTLE, which is seven miles North/West of Hastings.

The Norman invasion of England in 1066 is described through the images of the Bayeau Tapetry.

The Story behind the Invasion

King Edward lll of England (called "The Confessor" because he built Westminster Abbey) died on January 5, 1066, after a reign of 23 years. Leaving no heirs, Edward's passing ignited a three-way rivalry for the crown that culminated in the Battle of Hastings and the destruction of the Anglo-Saxon rule of England. Saxon England didn't have any firm rules about who should be King.

Basically, when a king died, the crown passed to whoever could:

a) show that they had some sort of blood claim, and

b) grab the throne before anyone else got it.

The Witan (a spreme council of wise men) had to make the decision, and they had four candidates to choose from:

Edgar the Atheling, closest blood claimant to Edward. A Saxon prince and nephew of Edward, he was a sickly fourteen year old boy.

Harold Godwinson, powerful noble in England, a good soldier and a gifted politician. Harold was born and bred in England and was popular with ordinary people. He was son of Earl Godwin, the most powerful noble in England, a leading Saxon Lord and the brother of Edward's wife. He had won a number of battles for Edward. Harold was chosen by the Witan to succeed Edward the Confessor. He also said that it was Edward's dying wish that he, Harold, should have the crown (There were no witnesses to Edward saying this.) The day after Edward died, Harold became King Harold ll of England. Harold did not have a direct blood link to the king. He was not of royal birth.

William, Duke of Normandy of France. William was a distant cousin of Edward the Confessor and wanted to be the next king. He claimed that both Edward and Harold had promised him the throne, but English supporters of Harold challenged this. When Edward was a boy in 1016, King Canute invaded England and Edward ran away to Normandy for safety. Edward stayed in Normandy until he became King of England in 1042. Edward invited William of Normandy to his court in 1051 and supposedly promised to make him heir. After a shipwreck in 1064, Harold was handed over to William of Normandy, who forced him to swear an oath that he would help William become the next king of England when Edward died. It was said that the oath was given over a box that unbeknown to Harold contained the bones of a saint. Oaths were important guarantees that were considered binding in the Middle Ages, so this particular oath bound Harold to helping William, and made Harold’s own claim to the throne look illegal. William had been a very successful ruler of Normandy and he thought he could do an equally good job for England.

Harald Hardrada, Viking King of Norway. Hardrada was king of Norway and a direct descendant of the kings of England. He was related to King Canute, the King of England from 1016-1032. The Vikings invaded England long ago, in the 860s, and settled in the north. In 1016 the Viking King Canute became King of England, Denmark and Norway. England was ruled by Norwegian kings right up until 1042 when Edward the Confessor (the last Saxon King) snatched back the throne from them. Hardrada wanted to be King of England because he wanted more power and better land. Hardrada was very unpopular, but very powerful. His name alone was enough to strike fear into the hearts and minds of his enemies.

The Battleground

Photo: Geoff McIntosh - July 2003

Harold and William's armies met on Senlac Hill, seven miles (10 km) from Hastings. (Today the village where the battle took place is simply called Battle.)

It is NOW believed that the actual battleground was two miles closer to Hastings... at Crowhurst!

Harold set up his defence at the top of Senlac Hill. This gave him an advantage over William as the Normans would have to fight up a hill wearing heavy chain mail armour. The Normans ran up hill whilst the English hurled axes and other objects down at them. William laid claim to the English throne after Edward died. He was a distant cousin of Edward and said that Edward had promised him the throne when visiting France in 1051. He even said his claim had been accepted by Harold Godwinson in 1064, when Harold had been blown onto the Norman shore by a storm. William invaded England to become King and claim the throne from Harold.

The Norman Invasion started when William, Duke of Normandy's 7,000 soldiers landed at Pevensey on the morning of the 28th September 1066.

The battle began at 9am on 14th October 1066 and lasted most of the day.

The English had a larger army consisting of the house-carles (body guard) of Harold and his allies, some other professional soldiers and a mass of peasants armed with pitchforks and slingshots. At first the Normans were unable to pierce through the massed ranks of the English infantry. For six hours until late afternoon the English seemed like they were going to win. The Normans charged again and again, but they couldn't break through the Saxon shield wall and had to go back down the hill again. Then the Saxons made their fatal mistake. Late afternoon some of Harold's men broke their shield wall to chase the Normans, who they thought were retreating.This was to be their biggest mistake because no sooner had the Normans reached the bottom of the hill, they turned round and cut the English to bits.

The Norman cavalry rode among the English, hacking them down. Finally, William brought in his archers and Harold's luck ran out. The arrows didn't break the Saxon line, but if the Bayeux Tapestry is to be believed, one of the arrows hit Harold in the eye. The battle lasted six hours.

According to legend, Harold Godwinson was killed by an arrow in his eye.

The legend of Harold being hit in the eye comes from the Bayeux Tapestry, which shows Harold's death. It is not certain how Harold actually died. The Bayeux Tapestry shows a soldier with an arrow near his eye but the soldier does not appear to be wounded as he is standing up.

Photo: Geoff McIntosh - July 2003

If he had been killed it would have shown him falling to the ground. This is the reason why most people now think that Harold is the man on the right with the battle axe. He has been struck down by a blow from the Norman knight on horseback. It seems more likely that Harold was killed by a blow from a sword. Above the picture are the latin words HIC HAROLD REX INTERFECTUS EST, which means HERE KING HAROLD HAS BEEN KILLED.

When William won the Battle of Hastings, he earned himself the title 'Conqueror'. He marched to London and was crowned King in Westminster Abbey on Christmas Day 1066. In 1067, William started building the Tower of London, the great fortress which demonstrated his power and dominated the city of London.

What happened next? The Norman victory changed the way in which England was ruled.

Under the Saxons, the earls were often as important as the king, but now the king was firmly in control. He governed the whole country, and his rule was law. William was used to running a country using the “Feudal System” which involved the King owning everything (land, animals and buildings) and everybody else renting it from him. In practise this meant he rented everything to his Barons in return for them providing him with an army when required. In turn the Barons leased out the land given to them (leased from the King) to local farmers and millers, etc. Having conquered England, William wanted to make sure he remained in control of it.

After winning the Battle of Hastings, William set about building a string of castles in strategic areas across the country. Two of his best known being the Tower of London (originally of wood for speed of erection) and Windsor Castle.

Originally the castles the Normans built were wooden towers on earthen 'mottes' (mounds) with a bailey (defensive area) surrounded by earth ramparts, but many were later rebuilt in stone. By the end of William's reign over 80 castles had been built throughout his kingdom, as a permanent reminder of the new Norman feudal order.

Having conquered England, William wanted to know just how much it was worth. In 1086 he ordered a detailed description to be made. In the words of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, ' so very thoroughly did he have the enquiry carried out that not even one ox or one cow or one pig escaped notice.' All this information was written down in the Domesday Book. The Domesday Book was, in effect, the first national census. Thanks to the Domesday Book we know much about England in the eleventh century. It shows, for example, that by 1086, twenty years after the Battle of Hastings, there were hardly any rich landowners of English birth left in England. England was a land ruled by Frenchmen, especially William's favourite Normans. William the Conquereor died a year later in 1087. Normandy went to his eldest son Robert, and England to his second son William, who became William II, but was known as William Rufus because of his red hair.