The Battle of Hastings

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They met at Stamford Bridge, just outside York and fought a battle.  Hardrada and Tostig were killed and the invaders convincingly beaten.  The battle had taken its toll on Harold’s army, too.  They were tired from their march up the country, battle worn and in need of rest.  Harold was still celebrating the victory in York when he received the news that William had landed on the south coast.  He gathered the remains of his weary forces and headed south with all speed.

The Saxon army covered the 175 mile journey in just six days and met William’s army at Senlac Hill, Hastings.  The battle took place on 14th October 1066.  For a long time, it was a stalemate.  The Normans broke themselves against Harold’s impenetrable shield wall.  William was in the forefront of the battle.  Rumours spread that he was dead when his horse was killed underneath him.  William (presumably having found another horse), threw back his helmet to show his men that he was alive and fighting still.  This seemed to inspire the Norman fighters and they battled on.

What happened next is open to dispute, but the consensus seems to be that the Normans tried an old tactic.  They pretended to retreat.  Many of the Saxon huskarls (Harold’s personal bodyguard) followed only to be mown down in an ambush.  According to the Bayeux Tapestry the battle was decided when Harold himself was killed with an arrow in his eye.  Normans surrounded him to finish him off and the bulk of the Saxon army melted away.

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Aftermath

William, the battle won, still was not King of England.  He had to get himself and his army to London and persuade the English to crown him.  Upon the death of Harold, Edgar the Atheling (great-nephew of Edward the Confessor) had been proclaimed king.  He was only around fifteen and had been deemed too young to succeed when the alternative had been Harold.  However as the strongest claimant to the throne apart from William, he was now the Saxon royal line’s best hope of defeating the invaders.

William was determined to overwhelm the forces of the uncrowned Edgar and proceeded to cut a swathe between Hastings and London.  He burned, pillaged and looted the land into submission.  Edgar’s military response was no match for the co-ordinated Norman forces and he had no option but to formally submit to William in London late in 1066.

William was crowned on Christmas day in 1066 in Edward the Confessor’s new abbey of Westminster.  He continued to rule England by the sword, using a combination of Norman soldiery and imposing castles to subdue the Saxon population until his death in 1087.