Bayeux Tapestry Experience Keith Walls Professor Jacqueline Trussell Humanities 111 Nov 23 2014

Dear Family, I was just writing you to let you know that the Battle of Hastings is over and we will be able to come home soon, the enemy has been steadily retreating. My cause has been great and I believe I have been able to honor our family name. Let it be known that as a Norman soldier, the Battle of Hastings was one of the most successful and memorable battles that I ever participated in. Since I have volunteered for the war, we have spent the days working hard in the preparation of the ships we were going to be using to sail across the channel. It seemed like every day there were more and more soldiers arriving to help and fight for the cause. To keep the soldiers organized and working efficiently Duke William separated us into groups that would work on the ships, another group would work on weapons at the armory and another group would gather supplies needed for the journey and this battle. As the days past I became more anxious to go to battle, not sure if it was the smell of fresh cut wood or seeing the ships being built or seeing the magnificent weapons that were being crafted and stock piled. I know that the men I am with will fight to the death, we are a brotherhood of men. The soldiers who could afford it wore leather jackets with steel chain or ring mail sewn into the leather, carrying a spear, sword and the tear drop shaped shield. Archers in the Norman army were armed with a short bow. The significant features of the battle were the maneuverability of the Norman mounted knights, the terrible power of the Saxon battle axe and the impact of the Norman arrow barrage. There was an incredibly large fleet of warfare ships, which were used to transport me and other soldiers who fought in the war. We have been held up for a number of days because the weather was not in our favor. It is believed that the Norwegians would soon land on the north coast to fight for their claim to the throne. The ship used by William was known as the Mora, and it was the biggest ship in comparison to the other ships. Those close to Duke William said that the ship was a gift from his wife Mathilda (Elisabeth Waugaman 2014). The ship was extremely fast. Apart from the duke, there were other leaders, such as the Bishop of Bayeux, Odo. We have an army around the size of seven thousand men. In Norman culture, the first born son inherits all the properties of the family, the rest of the sons are left to fend for themselves, unless the first born son decides to share his wealth with them. Most of the time, these sons choose to serve in war. This explains the excessive number of Norman soldiers. There were also other supporters of the duke that had come to support him, bringing with them able men to fight in the war. Bishop Odo came with the Bretons. There were also the French, who had been urged to join in the war by William. In return for their service to the duke, they were promised pieces of land. On Oct. 14, 1066, the Norman-French army defeated the English at the Battle of Hastings. Harold II, the last Anglo-Saxon king of England, lay dead on the field along with most of his bodyguards; the English army was smashed and scattered; and William the Bastard, Duke of Normandy, had earned the sobriquet by which history remembers him -- William the Conqueror (Stubbs, Kim 2014). Duke William has always had a reputation of being a success on the battle field, but this victory has branded him as a victorious military leader. We all know the throne should have been Williams Duke of Normandy but Harold of Wessex cheated his way into it. Duke William had prepared for a battle with Harold months in advanced. The whole dispute started after the death of King Edward. King Edward died on January 5, 1066 and he didn’t have an official heir to his throne. The day after King Edwards death, Harold self-proclaimed himself the king of England illegally and took the throne as Harold the second. Once Duke William heard this new it outraged him and he began gathering his army and went to seek the approval of the pope to become England’s new king (Neil Jones 2010). It should not be forgotten that, while England had been the first target of conquest, Wales, Scotland and Ireland were also the subject of Norman imperialistic aims that straddled Europe. In England, a highly unified state, the invaders had faced one king at Hastings. In Wales the mighty Marcher lords had to fight a number of competing princes, carving an arc of influence from Chester in the north to Chepstow in the south and Pembroke in the west. William was certainly justified in the Battle of Hastings because he was cheated our of the throne. If it would not have been for the sneaky underhanded grab at the throne by Harold of Wessex and the greed of the others, the rightful heir, William, Duke of Normandy could have taken his place on the throne and many people would not have unjustly lost their lives. Sincerely, Keith Walls

References "Battle of Hastings - The Norman Conquest." British Battles - Analyzing and Documenting British Battles from the Previous Centuries. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Nov. 2014. “The Humanities: Culture, Continuity and Change,” Volume 1, Second Edition by Henry M. Sayre.
Battle of Hastings, England 1066 Nov/Dec2010, Vol. 78 Issue 6, p80-87. 7p. by Neil Jones.
“The Freelance History Writer”. By Elisabeth Waugaman. Retrieved from: TheFreelanceHistoryWriter.com