...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)...
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...decision, and they had four candidates to choose from Edgar the Atheling, a sickly14 year old boy. Harold Godwinson, powerful noble in England, a good soldier and a gifted politician. William juke of Normandy, a distant cousin of Edward the Confessor, over the sea in France. Harald Hardrada, 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. Harald Hardrada attempted to invade England, and once Harold Godwinson heard about this he gathered as many soldiers as he could and set off 187 miles north to where Harald Hardrada was at Stamford bridge. On September 25th 1066 the battle took place, It was a bloody battle and one in which Harold's army (the Saxons) broke through the Viking invaders front line to go on and win the battle. It was such a fierce battle that only twenty four of the three hundred ships, that came to England carry the 8,000 soldiers, returned to Norway. King Harold's celebrations of victory were cut short as news came of the impending Norman invasion and no-one was left along the south coast of England to stop them. The Saxon army raced back south to face the Norman invaders. 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...
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...Norman Papers The Battle Of Hastings The background to the battle was the death of the childless King Edward the Confessor in January 1066, which set up a succession struggle between several claimants to his throne. Harold was crowned king shortly after Edward's death, but faced invasions by William, his own brother Tostig and the Norwegian King Harald Hardrada (Harold III of Norway). Hardrada and Tostig defeated a hastily gathered army of Englishmen at the Battle of Fulford on 20 September 1066, and were in turn defeated by Harold at the Battle of Stamford Bridge five days later. The deaths of Tostig and Hardrada at Stamford left William as Harold's only serious opponent. While Harold and his forces were recovering from Stamford, William landed his invasion forces in the south of England at Pevensey on 28 September 1066 and established a beachhead for his conquest of the kingdom. Harold was forced to march south swiftly, gathering forces as he went. The exact numbers present at the battle are unknown; estimates are around 10,000 for William and about 7,000 for Harold. The composition of the forces is clearer; the English army was composed almost entirely of infantry and had few archers, whereas only about half of the invading force was infantry, the rest split equally between cavalry and archers. Harold appears to have tried to surprise William, but scouts found his army and reported its arrival to William, who marched from Hastings to the battlefield to confront...
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...Why did William win the Battle of Hastings? William, Duke of Normandy, won the Battle of Hastings on the 14th of October 1066. One of the main reasons he achieved this was because he was very well prepared. In this essay I will explain further how William won the Battle of Hastings in 1066. Preparation William assembled a great army of armoured knights, soldiers and archers. He also had a huge amount of ships to carry his army over the English Channel. William used the very clever trick of retreating down the hill to make the English follow and lose their ground. After that, the Norman army quickly doubled back on themselves and surrounded and killed the helpless English. As well as all this, William had a store of the finest weapons in France. Leadership William was one of the bravest people of his time. When his army was having difficulties during the battle, he bravely led his army back up the hill to make another attack upon the English. Due to William's intelligence, he arranged his army in long rows, archers at the front to try and soften up the English's shield wall, footsoldiers in the middle, and the cavalry at the back for a big attack.The retreating trick explained in the above paragraph also shows great leadership. Luck Luckily for William, the wind changed direction in his favour on his journey north to England. When Harold had been fighting the Vikings in the north of England, some of his best troops were killed, giving...
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...But William wanted to be king because both Edward and Harold had sworn an oath that he could be the future king, this could only mean one thing. War. Harold had prepared his army on the south coast when news came in that herald had already arrived in the north so the army had to march quickly up to the north to battle herald and his army. They had caught them unprepared and Harold had won within hours. Just as they started the long trek south they received news that William and his army had arrived and were terrorising towns and villages in the south coast. William wanted Harold’s men to have the disadvantage so he had assembled the largest army possible he had also started terrorising nearby houses and stealing from locales so that Harold’s army would rush back and be unprepared and exhausted by the time they got back. When Harold’s men finely arrived he charged as soon as possible, leaving them unprepared. He was a good leader and disciplined his solders well so he kept them in order. Harold made many mistakes in the battle, firstly, when coming back from the north he fell for Williams trick by coming back to quickly, a major mistake was that he went into battle as a foot solder so he could not make any orders or take control of his army, Therefore when Williams army faked retreats he couldn’t give orders to stop them running after them , breaking the...
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...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...
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...Bayeux Tapestry Experience Selena S. Harris HUM111 – Humanities 111 World Cultures I Dr. Larry Johnson February 18, 2012 Bayeux Tapestry Experience Dear Family, To write this letter home and hope it receives you in secret is one of the most frightful experiences ever, as I am not allowed to reveal the story I am about to tell. I know you’ve been wondering where I’ve been and have seen the embroidery of The Bayeux Tapestry. Surprisingly, I was an actual figure in this work of art and would like to express to you in detail the brief events that took place, my feelings, and elements of experience, and personal satisfaction of involvement. Hopefully this letter will provide to you a better understanding of what I endured and why. While working in the army of William, Duke of Normandy, I found that William laid claim to the English throne, in which Harold Godwinson took position (Invasion of England 1066, 1997, para. 2). It seems that Harold had a formal relationship with King Edward as his esteemed advisor (Invasion of England 1066, 1997, para. 2). Confusion arose in my mind wondering who the rightful heir of England’s throne is. Since I did not want to choose sides, and wanted to consider the facts, I found out that Harold’s claim to the throne was made stronger when King Edward supposedly uttered to Harold on his deathbed: “Into Harold’s hands I commit my kingdom” (Invasion of England 1066, 1997, para. 2). Whereas, William justified his claim by blood...
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...defeat by William of Normandy at the Battle of Hastings. Throughout 1066, not many problems occurred, but then in late September of that year, continuing into October, 3 battles all came at once and this was when Harold's leadership was tested. Further to this the events leading up to the Battle of Hastings were key in regards to Harold Godwinson, as well as the strength of Williams army. Harold's leadership was tested throughout 1066, but it's safe to say that in the early months of his reign, he did show strong leadership and led his men well. There is further evidence to show that Harold was a good leader at the Battle of Stamford Bridge. This battle begun because Harold Hardrada and Tostig landed with over 8000 Norwegians in the North of England, taking over York and declaring Harold Hardrada as King of England. On hearing of the invasion, Harold Godwinson, quickly gathered what men he could, the majority not being trained soldiers, and marched nearly 200 miles north to face him. The two armies met at Stamford Bridge, hence the name, and commenced into battle, Godwinsons men won the battle killing both Harold Hardrada and Tostig in the process. The Battle of Stamford Bridge shows Harold Godwinsons successful leadership as he managed quickly to gather troops and fight the invading army making it one of the most impressive victories for any Anglo-Saxon King. Harold Godwinsons poor leadership was demonstrated straight after the Battle of Stamford Bridge took place. Harold...
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...Bayeux Tapestry Experience Dear family, I hope you find this letter in the best spirit and health. I am writing you to inform you that I am still alive and that I have experienced some unpleasant situations. The Bayeux Tapestry was one of the most memorable and successful battles that I have ever participated in as a Norman soldier. The battle was fought between the strong Norman soldiers and the English soldiers. The battle of Hastings (a small town) saw the clash of two military systems. The Saxon army, centred on the King’s personal bodyguard of “housecarles”, comprised the universal levy, the “Fyrd”, led by the local leaders of each shire with their households. Thank god I am still alive. Most of my soldiers are dead or wounded. In the summer of 1066, I was a part of an army of noblemen and adventurers from across Northern France to invade England, promising lands and titles in the name of the new kingdom to my followers and obtaining the support of the Pope for the venture. I was a part of a fleet of around 1,000 vessels, designed in the style of the old Norse “Dragon Ships” (80 feet long; propelled by oars and a single sail), was built and assembled to convey the army across the Channel. We also had soldiers who could afford it wore leather jackets with steel chain or ring mail sewn into the leather and a conical helmet with a nose guard, carrying a spear, sword and the characteristic kite shaped shield. Archers in my army were armed with a short bow....
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...The important casualties drastically and ultimately raised an eye at how these troops and soldiers were not at their fullest capabilities to battle. Normandy contained a triumph that was truly unique because it was a grand one that was due to superior fighting and that all power of soldiers and relative and strong use of heavy cavalry and armor needed to be recognized because it was all them. King Harold, as well as his brothers; lost their lives that day, not to include the hundreds of soldiers that did. Thus, the Battle of Hastings was a massive critical point for the history of England from then on. In 1066 on Christmas day, William was finally, in his eyes, crowned King of England at Westminster Abbey. Not far too long right after his crowning, the Norman Conquest of England began with the defeat of the Normans at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. The outcome of the conquest of England the typical and simple ways of feudalism and a state that needed to grow. William turned into the actual King of...
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... c) William Duke of Normandy 2. 2 battles: a) Battle of Stamford Bridge 25th September 1066 b) Battle of Hastings 14th Octuber 1066 3. 1 comet: Halley's comet The Norman conquest (from the norman point o view) It is 1064. In the Royal Palace of Westminster Edward the Confessor, King of England since 1042, is talking to his brother-in-law Harold, Earls of Wessex. After this Harold, holding a haek, makes for the south coast with his followers and hunting dogs. Harold's ship is driven across the channel, to Ponthieu, noth of Normandy, the territory of the fierce Count Guy. Harold is shown twice. At the left he stands on the ship, ready to land. As soon as he climbs ddown, he is seized by the soldiers of Count Guy, who directs operations from horseback. Harold, now a prisoner, is treated with respect; he rides in front, with his hawk, towards Beaurain, Guy's capital town. Guy sits on his throne and speaks with Harold. New is brought to William tha Guy has seized Harold. Guy obeys William's order and takes Harold to meet him. Guy ponts to Harold; both men carry their hawks. Harold accompanies William and the Norman soldiers as they set off to fight Duke Conan of Brittany. They pass Mont St. Michel, and they hace to cross the river. They hold their shields above their heads. Some soldiers sink into quicksand and Harold rescues them two at a time! The Normans catch up with Conan at Dinan. During the battle soldiers on horseback throw lances, and...
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...Slidey Slides at Hastings Park For many Vancouverites, thoughts of Hastings Park usually conjure up images of thundering thoroughbreds, mini doughnuts, catapulting roller coasters and epic battles on the lush, green gridiron of Empire Stadium. However, today, nestled under the magnificent wooden and perhaps rickety track of Vancouver’s famous and most historic roller coaster lies a family-friendly outdoor park. One of our city’s largest urban parks, Hastings Park is the go-to destination for play! I stumbled upon Hastings Park while cycling the Cassier Bikeway. Immediately, I found myself captivated. From vibrant, beautiful and serene green spaces to adrenaline-pumping skateboard parks the area has something for everyone. Not wanting to miss...
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...The Norman Conquest of England [600 B.C.E-1154 C.E] Janice Hamilton's The Norman Conquest of England guides the reader through England and Normandy, before a drastic change happened in the history of these countries. It reveals what happens during the Battle of Hastings and the outcomes. Hamilton has been a freelance writer since 1984. She has written several articles that have appeared in magazines like Canadian Geographic. This book gives the reader a fine understanding of the events that occurred from between 600 B.C.E. to 1154 C.E. England came about from the term "Engla-land" meaning "Angle land." The Celts arrived around 600 B.C. and took control of the north and west of Great Britain. In A.D. 43, the Romans invaded and ruled for appropriately 400 years until the Roman Empire broke apart. In due time, Germanic tribes settled in and took control of South and East of Great Britain. By the late 700's, England was very vigorous and flourishing which cause Vikings to become attracted. As soon as the Vikings crossed the North Sea to...
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...Did Britain’s victory in the Falklands War owe more to the superior training, élan and command structure of the British armed forces vis-à-vis the Argentinean conscript army than to Britain’s superior military technology? (2611 WORDS) The Falklands War was a conflict over what seemed an insignificant archipelago of islands in the South Pacific, 500 miles from the coast of Argentina and 8000 miles away from the British mainland. The conflict was the result of 149 years of unsuccessful diplomacy[1], which resulted in an Argentinean “recovery”[2] of what they held as the “Malvinas” islands. This led to the outbreak of the last successful conventional campaign of the twentieth century. After the Argentine surrender on June 14th of 1982, the debate of why and how the British achieved victory became prominent. Some believe that it resulted from better training, a more effective command structure and the thrust with which the British embarked on the campaign. Others judge that the victory was due to Britain’s superior military technology. This essay will explore the extent to which this idea was credible. The comparison between the British and Argentineans will be made. This war, which is described as “two bald men fighting over a comb”[3], will be examined in order to understand the combination of factors that resulted in British victory in the spring of 1982. In order to answer why the Argentineans’ attempt at repossession was unsuccessful, it is significant to look...
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...started when Rome was getting attacked by barbarians who wanted the land to themselves but the Emperor had already claimed it and wanted to protect it, but the barbarians kept on persisting on taking over the land and the Romans kept on persisting to keep it. The Romans were focusing so much on keeping the Barbarians out, that problems started to form on the inside. The commanders of armies and troops were battling over who should be the Emperor. 450 C.E. The Anglo Saxons settle in Britain: The Anglo Saxons settled in Britain in 450 C.E.. They succesfully managed to take control over the land because the Romans left Britain but they had not trained their arrmy enough to be able to fight the Saxons without a kingdom and the Romans lost the battle. The Saxons took over the whole kingdom and had gotten some Roman survivors to be part of their army. These survivors were now part of the Anglo Saxon tribe and were no longer British. The Saxons also won because most of them were well trained warriors....
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