This is the text-only version of the feature. For the full feature, complete with links, map and graphics, go to:
http://historymedren.about.com/library/weekly/aa121399a.htm
Conquest, Part III: Blood and Steel
by Melissa Snell
When Harold Godwinson took the English throne in January of 1066, he knew challenges to his authority would soon manifest themselves. Both William of Normandy and Harald Hardrada had eyes for the crown and were in positions to act on their ambitions at any time. Godwinson did his best to prepare for aggression, but he may have been surprised at who struck the first blow.
In May, the Isle of Wight was attacked by Godwinson's own brother, Tostig. Resentful over the loss of the earldom of Northumbria and determined to pay Harold back for allowing it to happen, he harried the south coast of England, then sailed north to the Humber and raided there until he was stopped by Morcar and Edwin. Tostig then fled to Norway and allied himself with King Harald Hardrada.
Godwinson had little time to spare for his brother and the Norwegian king. He knew William was preparing to invade, and he assembled an army of his own, a portion of the Anglo-Saxon fyrd, which he augmented with his huscarls and deployed along the southern coast. Unfortunately, he could not foresee exactly when William would invade; Harold's army was ready by Easter, and they waited all summer for nought.
William did assemble a fleet and recruit an army, making preparation to sail in August; however, contrary winds delayed his departure. This delay was to prove troublesome for Harold. The Anglo-Saxon king could no longer afford to keep his army assembled nor his fleet at the ready. In mid-September, he disbanded the fyrd, retaining only his huscarls.
Then he received word that England had been invaded.
Fulford Gate
King Harald Hardrada had sailed south from Norway and begun his attack on Northern England. With Tostig and his followers supplementing Hardrada's considerable army, the combined force headed for the city of York, more than 200 miles away from where Harold Godwinson had just disbanded his army. The northern fyrd, led by Earls Edwin and Morcar of Mercia and Northumbria, met Hardrada's army two miles south of the city at Fulford Gate, on September 20.
The subsequent battle raged for most of the day, and at the end the fyrd broke and Edwin and Morcar, sorely beaten, fled. But rather than destroying the city of York, Hardrada spent some time savoring his victory; he may also have thought to gather York residents of Scandinavian descent to his army. Whatever his motivations, he left York almost immediately after entering the city (possibly confident in the possession of important citizens who offered themselves up as hostages) and made arrangements to accept the city's surrender at Stamford Bridge on September 25th.
Stamford Bridge
Godwinson had no word of Hardrada's victory when he rushed to reassemble the fyrd and began to push them toward York. Covering the distance in a mere 5 days, the army arrived in the city late on the night of September 24th, exhausted but determined to defend their kingdom. Harold quickly learned of the surrender that was to take place the next morning. Through luck or cunning, he chose to advance to Stamford Bridge where he was able to take Hardrada's forces completely by surprise.
The Battle of Stamford Bridge was a great victory for Godwinson and the Saxons. Both Hardrada and Tostig were killed, and when at last the Norwegians surrendered and were allowed to leave England, the force that had arrived in 300 war vessels left in a mere 24 ships. But it was a victory that would ultimately cost Godwinson dear, for while he was occupied defeating the forces of the last Viking invasion on English soil, William was able to cross the channel and make landfall unopposed.
Hastings
William was at last able to set sail, and he did so under the banner of the pope. Because Godwinson and his family had removed Robert of Jumièges from the Archbishopric of Canterbury without Church approval, Pope Alexander II was able to rationalize support for Harold's enemy.
On the morning of September 28, 1066, William of Normandy and a force of several thousand men sailed into Pevensey Bay and disembarked on a shore completely lacking in defense.1 Immediately they occupied the port of Hastings and began to build fortifications. Members of William's army proceeded to take advantage of the locals, scavenging for food and plundering at will.
Godwinson received word of William's invasion on October 2. Once again he pushed his army more than 200 miles to meet his foe, but this time he was forced to move more slowly in order to rest his battle-weary men and collect additional forces. He arrived on the evening of Friday, October 13, too late to attack and unable to surprise William as he had surprised Hardrada. He and William exchanged messages, and it was at this point that he learned the pope had excommunicated him -- a blow that may have had significant psychological effects on his subsequent actions.
The next morning Harold and his army occupied a ridge about 10 miles northwest of Hastings; although they had horses, they dismounted to fight, as they customarily did, on foot. Their position was an excellent one to defend: high ground with marsh on either side that made it difficult to outflank. They aligned themselves shoulder-to-shoulder in a shield wall that would repulse repeated Norman cavalry charges. This arrangement made a good target for William's archers, and many of Harold's men would die from deadly arrows. However, the Saxons had missiles of their own: slings and spears, with which they inflicted considerable damage.
The battle wore on for hours. The two-handed axes the Saxons wielded dealt horrific carnage, and the Norman cavalry, while relentless, made little headway. At one point the Normans were so badly thrashed by the Saxon foot-soldiers that they broke and fled, and William himself checked their retreat. The cavalry charges continued, alternating with volleys of arrows.
Then a group of Norman knights got stuck in the marsh on the English right flank. When a contingent of Saxons broke away to apprehend them, they were surrounded by more Normans and cut down. The tactic of feigning retreat was apparently used at least twice in the battle, resulting in the deterioration of Harold's flanks. Once these defenses were gone, Godwinson's forces began to crumble.
Harold's brothers Leofwin and Gyrth fell in the afternoon. Now Godwinson's only hope was that his rapidly diminishing army could hold out until dark. Alas, as the sun toiled into the west, the king himself took a fatal blow. Legend has it he was struck in the eye by a Norman arrow; the Bayeux tapestry shows him taking a sword-cut to the thigh. However he died, his body was hacked to pieces, and the power of the Godwinsons was no more.
The Saxon army held on until the Normans broke their shield wall at dusk, then fled into the Sussex forest. England now belonged to William the Conqueror.
Please
return for Part
Four
of Conquest, or check out our Table
of Contents.
And be sure to test your knowledge at our
Quest
for Conquest Quiz.
Notes
1 This is the location traditionally given for William's landfall, although Nick Austin has another theory to offer. The date also varies in several different sources, and estimates of the size of William's army range from 4,000 to 7,000.
For useful links and a hyperlinked book list, please return to the regular feature.
Conquest, Part III: Blood and Steel is copyright © 1999-2003 Melissa Snell. Permission is granted to reproduce this article for personal, classroom, or non-profit use only, provided that the URL below is included. For reprint permission, please contact Melissa Snell.
The URL for this feature is:
http://historymedren.about.com/library/weekly/aa121399a.htm
The URL for the Home Page of the Medieval History
site is:
http://historymedren.about.com/
home page | site map | article index | link directory