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.
Note
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.
Check out Part 4: After the Storm
Think you know all about the Norman Conquest? Test yourself in the Quest for Conquest Quiz
Guide note: This feature was first posted in December, 1999 and was updated in October, 2007.
Sources and Suggested Reading
The links below will take you to a site where you can compare prices at booksellers across the web. More in-depth info about the book may be found by clicking on to the book's page at one of the online merchants.
1066: The Year of
Conquest
by David Howarth
Fairly clear, uncomplicated introduction to life in England in the
11th century, the events that brought about the Conquest, and what
followed.
Harold: The Last
Anglo-Saxon King
by Ian W. Walker
Thorough, revealing examination of this oft-overlooked individual,
whose short reign might have fulfilled the promise of his earlier
years had he not seen defeat at Hastings. Nicely illustrated.
Anglo-Norman
Warfare: Studies in Late Anglo-Saxon and Anglo-Norman Military
Organization and Warfare
edited by Matthew Strickland
Enlightening collection of scholarly articles.
The Making of
England
by C. Warren Hollister
Lucid general overview of England from the first Roman incursions to
1399.
