battle of hastings essay year 8

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Battle of Hastings

By: History.com Editors

Updated: August 10, 2022 | Original: November 9, 2009

At the Battle of Hastings on October 14, 1066, King Harold II of England was defeated by the invading Norman forces of William the Conqueror. By the end of the bloody, all-day battle, Harold was dead and his forces were destroyed. Harold was the last Anglo-Saxon king of England, and the battle changed the course of history and established the French-speaking Normans as the new rulers of England, which in turn brought about a significant cultural, economic and military transformation, and helped to create the modern English language.

William the Conqueror

William the Conqueror was the son of Robert I, duke of Normandy in northern France, and his mistress Herleva (also called Arlette), a tanner’s daughter from Falaise. The duke, who had no other sons, designated William his heir, and with his death in 1035 William became duke of Normandy.

Did you know? William, an Old French name composed of Germanic elements (“wil,” meaning desire, and “helm,” meaning protection), was introduced to England by William the Conqueror and quickly became extremely popular. By the 13th century, it was the most common given name among English men.

William was of Viking origin. He spoke a dialect of French and grew up in Normandy, a fiefdom loyal to the French kingdom, but he and other Normans descended from Scandinavian invaders. One of William’s relatives, Rollo, pillaged northern France with Viking raiders in the late ninth and early 10th centuries, eventually accepting his own territory (Normandy, named for the Norsemen who controlled it) in exchange for peace.

King Harold II

Just over two weeks before the Battle of Hastings in October 1066, William had invaded England, claiming his right to the English throne. In 1051, William is believed to have visited England and met with his cousin Edward the Confessor , the childless English king. According to Norman historians, Edward promised to make William his heir.

On his deathbed, however, Edward granted the kingdom to Harold Godwinson , head of the leading noble family in England and more powerful than the king himself. In January 1066, King Edward died, and Harold Godwinson was proclaimed King Harold II. William immediately disputed his claim.

October 14, 1066

On September 28, 1066, William landed in England at Pevensey, on Britain’s southeast coast, with thousands of foot soldiers, horses and cavalrymen. Seizing Pevensey, he then marched to Hastings, where he paused to organize his forces and, according to some accounts, built a fortress or castle.

On October 13, Harold arrived near Hastings with his army. The next day, October 14, William led his forces out to battle before Harold’s troops had a chance to organize.

The one-day Battle of Hastings ended in a decisive victory against Harold’s men. Harold was killed—shot in the eye with an arrow, according to legend—his brothers Leofwine and Gyrth were also killed, and his English forces were scattered.

Legacy of the Battle of Hastings

After his victory at the Battle of Hastings, William marched on London and received the city’s submission. On Christmas Day of 1066, he was crowned the first Norman king of England in Westminster Abbey , and the Anglo-Saxon phase of English history came to an end.

Illiterate like most nobles of his time, William spoke no English when he ascended the throne and failed to master it. Thanks to the Norman invasion, French was spoken in England’s courts for centuries and completely transformed the English language, infusing it with new words and giving birth to modern English.

William I proved an effective king of England, and the Domesday Book , a great census of the lands and people of England, was among his notable achievements. Upon the death of William I in 1087, his son, William Rufus, became William II, the second Norman king of England.

Bayeux Tapestry

The story of the Battle of Hastings and the Norman Conquest of England is told through the Bayeux Tapestry, a 230-foot-long masterpiece of medieval artistry. Probably commissioned by Bishop Odo, William the Conqueror’s half-brother, the tapestry consists of 58 detailed panels of woolen yarn embroidered on linen.

The Bayeux Tapestry was made in England sometime in the 11th century, making it a fairly contemporary record of the Battle of Hastings and other events of the Norman Conquest. Today it hangs in the Bayeux Tapestry Museum in Bayeux, France.

The Battle of Hastings: fact and fiction. British Library . The Bayeux Tapestry. Bayeux Museum . The Battle of Hastings. Historic UK . 

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Resources you can trust

Exemplar essay analysis: Why did William win the Battle of Hastings?

A really useful introduction to essay writing for key stage 3 students in the context of the Norman Conquest. An example essay (on ‘Why did William win the Battle of Hastings?’) is provided, and students are tasked with marking it. Using the hamburger analogy, they look for successful topic sentences, 'meaty' fillings and good concluding explanations. They also have the opportunity to identify weaker points and improve them.

Extract from the essay

The Battle of Hastings took place in 1066 because King Edward had died leaving the English throne without an heir. Harold Godwinson seized the throne but he had two rivals, Harald Hardrada and William of Normandy. William eventually won the battle and the throne of England, and this piece of writing explains why.

One reason that William won was because he was better prepared for the battle than Harold. He had over two weeks to get ready after landing in Pevensey Bay. His men were well fed and rested. Harold, on the other hand, had just fought Harald Hardrada at Stamford Bridge and had to march back down south to fight William. Some of his army had been killed, others were injured, and they were all tired from the long march.

Another major reason that William won the battle was because his army was better than Harold’s. Lots of Harold’s men were just farmers, but all the Norman soldiers had good weapons. This meant that William was in a strong position at the start of the battle.

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Battle of Hastings

Key facts & summary.

• The battle of Hastings took place on October 14, 1066, about ten km north of the city of Hastings in East Sussex.
• It opposed the last Anglo-Saxon king of England, Harold Godwinson (also known as Harold II), to the Duke of Normandy William the Conqueror, who won decisively.
• The battle lasted from the morning until the evening of October 14.
• Positioned at the top of the hill of Caldbec, the English troops resisted the first enemy assaults.
• As a consequence, the Normans tricked their opponents: the left wing pretended to flee and then attacked the English army.
• The English army was defeated with Harold’s death, and William won the battle.
• Thanks to his victory, the Duke of Normandy reached London and was crowned King of England on Christmas Day at Westminster.
• Even though the Norman conquest of England was not really completed until several years later, the Battle of Hastings marked a turning point in the history of England since it introduced the Anglo-Norman period.

The King of England, Edward the Confessor, died between January 4-5, 1066, without leaving any heirs to the throne. The witan, an assembly composed of the principal noblemen and ecclesiastics of the kingdom, elected as the king’s successor the Earl of Wessex, Harold Godwinson, the richest and most powerful baron of England. He was crowned the day after Edward’s death.

However, strong opponents soon challenged the succession of the deceased king. William, Duke of Normandy, asserted that Edward had chosen him as his successor and that Harold had sworn to respect this arrangement. Edward had spent a good part of his youth in exile at the court of Normandy, and after coming to power he surrounded himself with Norman advisers. On his side, the Norwegian King Harald Hardrada had stipulated an agreement with his predecessor, Magnus the Good, and Edward’s predecessor, Hardeknut, which stated that England and Norway would unite if one of the kings died without leaving an heir. As a consequence, William and Harald gathered their forces to invade the kingdom.

The Norwegian Invasion

In early September, Harald arrived in England with a fleet of 300 ships and 15,000 men under his command. He also received reinforcements from Tostig, the exiled brother of King Harold, who had harassed the English coast a few months earlier with his own ships. Harald occupied York.

When Harold discovered the Norwegian invasion, he rushed up north, surprised the Norwegians and defeated them at Stamford Bridge on September 25. The invaders suffered heavy casualties: Harald and Tostig were killed, and out of 300 ships, only 24 of them remained. Nevertheless, the victory caused the Anglo-Saxons’ army to be heavily weakened.

William’s preparations

William was forced to assemble a fleet from scratch, which took several months. His army, reunited at Dives-sur-Mer, then at Saint-Valery-sur-Somme, was composed not only of Normans but also of contingents from Brittany and Flanders. Moreover, William was also supported by Pope Alexander II.

Although William’s men were ready to cross the channel around August 12, operations are delayed for several weeks. The Norman chroniclers explain that this delay was due to bad weather, but it is more plausible that William preferred to wait until Harold returned his fleet to make sure an easier crossing. The Normans finally landed on September 28 in Pevensey, Sussex. William built a wooden castle in Hastings, from where he launched attacks on the surrounding area. Fortifications were also built in Pevensey.

The English army

The British army had a regional structure: the units of the fyrd (the Anglo-Saxon army) was composed of men with their own piece of land. They were recruited and led by a local lord, whether a count, a bishop or a sheriff. Recruitment was rarely done nationwide: it had only happened three times in the previous two decades (in 1051, 1052 and 1065). The king also had personal guards, the housecarls. Some counts also owned a housecarl guard.

The English army was only composed of infantry. It is possible that some high-ranking fighters went to Hastings on horseback, but fought without their horse. The armour of the housecarls consisted of a conical helmet, a hauberk and a shield with the shape of a diamond or a disc. Most were armed with a Danish two-handed axe, but some fought with swords. The fyrdmen, who were not professional soldiers, wore lighter armours.

The Norman army

The Norman army was made up of infantrymen, horsemen, and archers. These soldiers did not come only from Normandy, but they also came from Brittany and other regions of France.

Norman soldiers wore cone-shaped helmets, with a metal band protecting their nose. Cavalry and infantry had shields. The infantry’s shields were usually circular in shape, made of wood with metal reinforcements. The horsemen’s shields had an almond shape and were armed with spears.  Riders and infantrymen were armed with straight, long, double-edged swords. The infantry also had javelins and spears. Archers were not dressed in armour for the most part.

The battle began at nine o’clock on Saturday, October 14, 1066, and lasted until evening.

The clash took place 11 km north of Hastings. The battlefield was bordered by two hills, Caldbec in the north and Telham in the south. It was a densely wooded area near a marsh. The path taken by the English army to join the battlefield is not known with certainty. The discovery of an important treasure buried near an old Roman road linking Rochester to Hastings in 1876 suggests that that might have been the route taken by Harold. However, it is also possible that his troops had followed another route.

The battle of Hastings began when the Norman archers shot – with little effect- the wall of English shields: since their opponents were in an elevated position, the arrows bounced off their shields or flew over their heads. Thus, William encouraged the spearmen to assault the Anglo-Saxons with spears, javelins, axes or even stones.

The beginning of the afternoon was marked by a pause in the fighting, which gave soldiers the time to eat and rest. During this time, William took the opportunity to develop a new strategy.

The Norman army pretended to flee the battlefield and then started to attack the English army.

This strategy caused the death of several housecarls.

Harold’s death

Harold seems to have been killed near the end of the battle. However, sources contradict each other. In fact, the Bayeux Tapestry presents two scenes with the description “Here, King Harold was Killed”: one of the characters is depicted with an arrow that pierces his right eye, whereas the other character is depicted as killed by the sword of an enemy rider. Both could be Harold unless both are representations of the king at different stages of his death. Tradition holds that it is an arrow in the right eye that killed Harold. The oldest written source presenting this tradition goes back to the 1080s. William of Malmesbury (an XII century historian) asserts that an arrow killed Harold at the very moment when a knight was wounding him. William of Jumièges proposes an even more improbable version of the facts: according to him, Harold would have died in the morning, during the first fights. Ian Walker, one of Harold’s modern biographers, believes that the king was killed by an arrow in the eye. However, he also admits the possibility that he was struck by a Norman knight while he was seriously wounded.

Harold’s death deprived the Anglo-Saxons of their leader. Many of the soldiers fled, however, others fought until the end.

The causes of the Norman victory

Several factors help to explain the outcome of the battle. Many historians believe that Harold did not take the time to gather a larger army before rushing to Hastings, but there is no evidence that his numerical inferiority was a real handicap. The particular duration of the battle (a whole day) invalidates the thesis of an English army tired by its long march.

William had more experience than Harold, and the absence of English cavalry deprived Harold of more freedom in formulating his strategy.

Consequences

The day after the battle, Harold’s body was identified thanks to his armour and the marks on his body. According to a legend of the XII century, his face was unrecognisable, and it was necessary to appeal to his concubine Edith that identified him by searching for intimate marks on his body. Various traditions contradict each other as to the fate of his remains. The English corpses were abandoned on the battlefield, while those of the Normans were buried in a common grave whose location remains unknown.

The exact number of casualties on the battle is unknown.

Resistance movements against William the Conqueror continued for several years. Exeter was struck by revolts in 1067, Harold’s sons attempted to reconquer the land in 1068, and an uprising ignited Northumbria the same year.

Bibliography

[1.] Barlow, F. (1970).  Edward the Confessor. University of California Press.

[2.] Carpenter, D. (2004). The Struggle for Mastery: The Penguin History of Britain 1066–1284. Penguin.

[3.] Stafford, P. (1989). Unification and Conquest: A Political and Social History of England in the Tenth and Eleventh Centuries. Edward Arnold.

[4.] Higham, N. (2000). The Death of Anglo-Saxon England. Sutton.

[5.] Walker, I. (ed. 2000). Harold, the Last Anglo-Saxon King. Wrens Park.

Image sources:

[1.] https://d1e4pidl3fu268.cloudfront.net/e0d070c0-913c-4978-b6d7-e97a290101e0/Pictures_of_English_History_Plate_XI__The_Battle_of_Hastings.crop_1208x906_0,265.preview.jpg

[2.] http://i0.wp.com/www.realmofhistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Facts_Harald_Hardrada_Last_Great_Viking.jpg?resize=770%2C437

[3.] https://lph5i1b6c053kq7us26bdk75-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/battle-of-hastings-facts.jpg

[4.] https://www.history.com/.image/ar_16:9%2Cc_fill%2Ccs_srgb%2Cfl_progressive%2Cg_faces:center%2Cq_auto:good%2Cw_768/MTU3ODc5MDg3MjM4MTYyMTQz/battle-of-hastings.jpg

[5.] https://www.historyhit.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/painting-of-harold-IIs-death-700×390.jpg

• Ancient History

What was the real reason William the Conqueror won the Battle of Hastings?

When William the Conqueror defeated Harold Godwinson at Hastings in 1066, it brought about the end of centuries of Anglo-Saxon rule over England.

The island nation was then substantially transformed, as it forever changed the entire social and political structure of the kingdom.

As a result, the Battle of Hastings has become a key turning point when discussing the history of the English. However, did William manage to defeat the most powerful warlord in the land in such a short space of time?

Is everything that we hear as part of the battle’s legend entirely true? 

Why three men were fighting over the English throne

The Battle of Hastings was the culmination of a political struggle between two competing medieval lords who both believed they had the rightful claim to the English throne.

The confusion about the successor arose immediately after the death of King Edward the Confessor in January 1066.

Edward had died without an heir, which left the English crown particularly vulnerable to rival claims.

Among the most powerful contenders were Harold Godwinson, the Earl of Wessex; William, Duke of Normandy in France; and Harald Hardrada, the King of Norway.

Each of them believed they had a legitimate right to the kingdom. 

Firstly, Harold Godwinson secured the crown almost immediately since he was the only one of the three contenders physically living in England at the time.

He was the Earl of Wessex, which meant that he was the most powerful noble in England and had proven himself in battle many times.

It is not surprising then that, on January 6, 1066, the Witenagemot, the council of Anglo-Saxon nobles, moved to elect Harold as king.

This election was supported by many of the English nobles who believed Harold was the best candidate to defend the kingdom against foreign threats.

As such, Harold Godwinson was crowned on the same day.  

However, William of Normandy disputed Harold's right to the throne. William had ruled Normandy as duke since 1035 and had spent much of his early life securing his duchy from internal and external threats.

He claimed that Edward had promised it to him years earlier. By this account, Harold had sworn an oath to support William's claim during a visit he undertook to Normandy in 1064.

Convinced of his right to rule over England, William began to gather forces for an invasion from his lands in the north of France. 

Meanwhile, Harald Hardrada asserting his right through an agreement between his predecessor, Magnus the Good, and Harthacnut, the English king before Edward the Confessor.

This agreement stipulated that if either of the two rulers died without an heir, the other would inherit their lands.

So, when Harthacnut died childless in 1042, Magnus believed he had a claim to the English throne, which Harald inherited after Magnus's death in 1047.

As a result, Hardrada launched an invasion of northern England in September 1066, hoping to seize the throne by force.  

William’s invasion and Harold’s response

By the early summer of 1066, William had begun gathering a large fleet, reportedly numbering around 700 ships, to transport his invasion force across the English Channel.

However, to make the expedition a success, he needed the support of his vassals and allies.

He cleverly secured this by promising them land and wealth in England if the invasion was a success.

Additionally, he obtained a papal banner from Pope Alexander II, which gave his cause a religious endorsement.

Thanks to the papal support, William amassed an army of approximately 7,000 men, including knights , infantry, and archers.

When the fleet and army were assembled at the mouth of the River Dives in Normandy, they awaited favorable winds to make the crossing. 

Harold Godwinson, meanwhile, faced a growing number of problems in England as he prepared to defend his newly acquired throne.

After being crowned in January 1066, Harold immediately recognized the threat posed by William and began organizing his defenses along the southern coast.

However, Harold's plans were complicated by the threat of an invasion from Norway from the third claimant to the throne: Harald Hardrada.

In September 1066, Hardrada, supported by Harold Godwinson's own brother, Tostig, invaded northern England with a fleet of around 300 ships.

King Harold marched his army north with remarkable speed, covering nearly 200 miles in less than a week.

On September 25, 1066, Harold's forces met Hardrada at Stamford Bridge. The battle at the site was difficult for both sides, but Harold's forces eventually emerged victorious.

However, thousands of Harold’s men were killed, which weakened Harold's army considerably. 

Then, three days after his victory at Stamford Bridge, Harold received news that William had finally landed in Sussex on September 28.

Exhausted from the previous battle, Harold immediately began the arduous march south.

He hoped to confront William before he could consolidate his position or seize any important towns.

Sadly, his depleted forces, which had suffered heavy casualties and fatigue, had little time to recover before facing a fresh and well-prepared Norman army. 

Where was the Battle of Hastings fought?

The Battle of Hastings took place somewhere near the small town of Hastings in East Sussex, most likely on the site later known as Senlac Hill.

This was approximately seven miles from the coast and appears to have been chosen by Harold Godwinson for its defensive advantages.

The battlefield itself was a ridge of high ground, where Harold's forces could hold a commanding position over the surrounding area.

Specifically, the ridge was steep in places, with dense woods on either side. These features would make it difficult for the Normans to flank Harold's army.

To maximize his strengths, Harold arranged his troops along the ridge in a solid shield wall, stretching from one side of the ridge to the other.  

The terrain of this battlefield would be crucial to the outcome of the battle. This was because the two sides had very different strengths and weaknesses.

William's invading Norman forces consisted of a well-trained army of Normans, Bretons, and Flemish soldiers, including archers.

However, the most dangerous troops were a large contingent of cavalry. They were fast and heavily armored.

When used effectively, they could quickly ride around the sides of infantry groups and destroy them from behind. 

This is why Harold chose to stand his for forces at the top of the ridge with trees on either side.

This way, the Norman knights couldn’t outflank them. Instead, they would have to exhaust themselves riding uphill to face his soldiers.

Harold’s own army was composed entirely of infantry, since cavalry was rare in England at the time.

There were the fearsome housecarls, professional warriors, and the fyrd, a militia of local men who were called up in times of need.

Although his army was larger than William’s, it was mostly infantry, it did not have cavalry and archers that William's did. 

How did William win the Battle of Hastings?

William and Harold’s armies finally met on the morning of October 14, 1066.

During the open movements of the battle, William realized that Harold's shield wall formation was highly effective in repelling any direct assaults.

The shield wall, which was a dense line of interlocked shields, presented a formidable barrier.

Nevertheless, William ordered his infantry and cavalry to charge up the hill and break through.

Unfortunately, they struggled to achieve this, as the Normans were forced to cross a marshy area at the base of the hill before trying to ascend the uneven ground up to the ridge.

Once there, the shield wall consistently held Norman forces at bay, and, as the hours ticked by, the number casualties were increasing among William’s forces. 

However, William had a clever strategy in mind to create a gap in the solid wall of shields.

Later in the morning, he ordered his cavalry to retreat from the shield wall in a way that looked like they were defeated and running away in fear.

This move is called a ‘feigned retreat’. When the English forces saw the Normans retreating, they believed that victory was within reach.

Flushed with success, many of Harold’s troops broke ranks and pursued the cavalry down the slope, which meant that they left the safety of the shield wall.

As large sections of the solid wall disappeared, it created significant gaps in the English lines.

With portions of Harold's army now hopelessly exposed on the flatter ground below the hill, William ordered the retreating Norman cavalry to quickly regather, turn around, and charge back into the fray.

Without the security of a single line of shields, individual soldiers were now cut down quickly.

By repeating this tactic several times, William gradually wore down the English defenses, causing disorder and chaos. 

Before the battle had even started, William had called upon his archers to try and soften the English lines before launching first assault.

Since they were positioned behind the Norman infantry, the archers could unleash volleys of arrows that arced over the battlefield without risking their own lines.

These arrows would rain down on the English soldiers who had limited protection from above.

Although initially the arrows had little effect against the tightly packed shield wall, as the feigned retreats drew more soldiers out of position, they became increasingly more deadly. 

The mystery around the death of Harold Godwinson

Harold Godwinson had remained at the top of the ridge, as part of the infantry lines.

As the day wore on, he continued to rally his troops. He knew that his presence on the battlefield provided a crucial source of morale.

As a result, as the battle raged on, the fatigued English forces continued to hold their ground. 

According to most accounts, Harold’s death came late in the battle, possibly from an arrow striking him in the eye, although some sources suggest he was cut down by Norman knights.

When news of Harold's death spread through the English ranks, it had an immediate and catastrophic effect.

In the confusion that followed, the English soldiers, who had been fighting fiercely to defend their king and their land, lost their primary source of motivation.

Many began to retreat, while others continued to fight, but now without a coherent command structure.

As the ranks of the English forces broke apart, the Norman forces capitalized on the chaos and pressed their advantage. 

Harold’s death ultimately caused a rapid disintegration of their organizational structure.

Consequently, the once formidable shield wall collapsed entirely, which led to a complete rout of the English forces. 

How William took control of England

After his victory at the Battle of Hastings, William of Normandy moved swiftly to consolidate his control over England.

On Christmas Day 1066, he was crowned King of England at Westminster Abbey.

This transferred authority from the Anglo-Saxons to the Normans. However, William faced multiple uprisings from various English nobles who refused to accept his authority.

To try and secure his reign, William used both more military force, strategic marriages, and even the construction of formidable castles , such as the Tower of London. 

William systematically replaced the Anglo-Saxon nobility with his Norman followers.

This redistributed vast estates to ensure loyalty among his new barons. So, by 1070, most of the English lands had been transferred to Norman hands, and the old Anglo-Saxon elite had been almost entirely displaced.

Also, the introduction of the feudal system , where land was held in exchange for military service, created a new hierarchy dominated by the Normans. 

The additional introduction of Norman law, language, and customs would go on to alter the culture of England.

For example, the language of Old English was supplanted by Norman French, which eventually evolved into Middle English.

Finally, this began a new era in English history, one where Norman influence would overhaul the country’s direction for many centuries. 

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