The Battle Of Hastings
The Battle of Hastings was a historic event that occurred on October 14, 1066 during the Norman Conquest of England (Hollister, Stacey, Stacey 126) . The battle was between the Norman-French army that was led by Duke William II of Normandy and the English army under King Harold II because they both believed that they were to succeed King Edward, the late king (Esteves 5-9). The Battle of Hastings is significant because it led to changes in “English law, language, and culture and laid the groundwork for the beginnings of the English feudal system”(Ericson par.1) It was significant because this war ended the Anglo-Saxon period that lasted about 600 years, and really established England is an independent power, under Norman Rule. It was the last time that England was ruled by a foreign power.
When King Edward died, William and Harold both had reasons to why they thought they were next in line to take the throne (Esteves 5-9). William, who was the Duke of Normandy, was a cousin of Edward, who was the King of England. Edward died without children in the year of 1066 and supposedly named Harold his heir in the year of 1051(Hollister, Stacey, Stacey 118). The throne was then given to Harold Godwinson, but William claimed that before his death, Edward had promised him that he would be appointed the throne. William considered Harold’s crowning a declaration of war, and planned to fight for the throne that he thought was his. (Hollister, Stacey, Stacey 118,119). Harold, who was a good friend to both Edward and his wife, thought that he deserved the crown that he was appointed and didn’t seriously consider William’s claim, saying that his friendship with the King was the proof he needed to justify his claim. William then made his to decision to take aggressive, military action as quickly as possible (Ericson par. 2).
William’s plan was to invade England and defeat Harold, giving him the crown. His Norman army was not originally strong enough, so he was forced to reach out to nobles from all over Europe, from countries such as: Brittany, Maine, Flanders, Aquitaine, central France, and even southern Italy; they were to gather to help him build his army in Normandy (Hollister, Stacey, Stacey 120). In return for helping, William promised land and generous wages in return for helping him. William also got the mission he was on approved by the church and the pope, marching into England with a papal banner that he was granted. With the church supporting him, William had no trouble convincing his supporters that Harold betrayed his lord and doesn’t deserve his current position. Deserving kings were looked at as Christ-like figures back in these days, making it possible for William to assemble a large, powerful group of supporters willing to fight for his cause. William was able to assemble a fleet was said to have about 15000 men 3000 horses . This force waited on land through the summer, this being because of bad weather conditions at sea, and because William didn’t want to risk clashing with the English at sea. William was smart and took into consideration that England was the bigger, richer country, able to gather soldiers and transport them quicker than he could. (Hollister, Stacey, Stacey 119- 121).
William’s army crowded the Norman coast ready for an invasion, but the winds made it very difficult for the English to cross the Channel and submit a threat. Three months later Harold was forced to dismiss his army because supplies was getting low, his army was more or less fed up, and were anxious to return home. The winds helped William because during this time he was able to keep his army rested, and healthy giving them a little bit of an advantage. On September 20, 1066 the first major battle called the battle of Fulford had started and lasted about a day. Both sides suffered heavy casualties, but the Saxons and Harold Hardrada, who was leading King Harold’s army, had a plan. He withdrew his troops in hopes of surprising some of the Norman army at Stamford Bridge on September 25. The plan was successful, and the battle at Stamford Bridge was one of the biggest military triumphs in Anglo-Saxon history. Though they won the battle, they were pretty beat up and the once 300-ship army returned to Norway with only 24 vessels. (Hollister, Stacey, Stacey 121-123).
William and the rest of his army were given an opportunity to start an invading two days later. On September 28, they arrived to an unguarded shore in Sussex. They immediately did what they needed to and occupied the port at Hastings, and began preparing for battle. On October 13, 1066, William’s scouts sighted King Harold’s army and the day after the most important and decisive battle in English history was fought. The battle lasted from morning until night, and the English were holding off the Norman army with a strategic shield wall that seemed to be working so effectively that at one point the Norman soldiers actually fled in panic. William then ordered his soldiers to return to battle and pressure the shield wall and tries to get the English to break their own wall and initiate in battle. The English unwisely bit and changed plans to pursue the Normans. (Hollister, Stacey, Stacey 121-124). The armies battled for a while until it is said that a wild arrow coming from a high arc connected with King Harold and he was killed leaving the English army leaderless (Esteves par. 13). The army panicked and fled leaving the dead King and the rest of brothers behind.
The fighting against William and his army did not end at Hastings, but the English army quickly gave up realizing that they were no match for the Normans. London was the last city to admit defeat and comply with William, holding out until December. William had surrounded the city until they had given up and on December 25, 1066; William the conqueror was officially crowned as the King of England, making his claim official that he would be a successor of King Edward. (Ericson pars 2,3)
William had to now take control of the now independent of Anglo-Saxon England. He did this by applying new laws and strategies that will help him keep control of his country. William and the Norman Conquest will go onto have an enormous impact on the English society and economy. (Ericson par. 7)