1.2.4

Battle of Hastings

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Battle of Hastings

Harold Godwinson defeated Harald Hardrada at the Battle of Stamford Bridge but was then defeated by William of Normandy at the Battle of Hastings.

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Pevensey invasion

  • William had been preparing an invasion force in Normandy in the meantime.
  • He managed to gather a large army, and invaded Pevensey, on the South Coast of England, with 700 ships.
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Harold's response

  • On hearing about William’s invasion, Harold quickly marched back down south to face his contender.
  • His men had marched around 200 miles from London to Stamford Bridge, and now from Stamford Bridge down to the south coast - they were exhausted, and many were left behind along the way.
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Battle of Hastings

  • Harold and William met in battle at the Battle of Hastings.
  • It is thought that William had around 10,000 soldiers, and Harold had around 7,000.
  • To begin with, Harold’s men had an advantage because they were positioned on the higher ground on top of Senlac Hill.
  • They also formed a strong shield wall, which made it difficult for William’s men to make any advances.
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Tactics

  • To overcome this, the Normans used a clever tactic.
  • They pretended to flee downhill, making the Englishmen break their shield wall and run after them.
  • Once the shield wall was broken and the English had lost the higher ground, the Normans fought them much more effectively.
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Victory

  • Eventually, Harold was killed (it is claimed that he was killed by an arrow shot to the eye, but we don’t know for sure), and William had won the battle.
  • He became William I or William the Conqueror, and now needed to establish himself as king of England!

Jump to other topics

1The Medieval World: 450-1450 AD

1.1Anglo-Saxon England

1.2The Contest for the English Throne

1.3Conquering the Holy Land, 10-96-1396 AD

1.4King John

1.5The Magna Carta & Parliament

1.6The Black Death

2Worldviews

3The Empire of Mali

4The Renaissance & Reformations, 1500-1598 AD

5The British Empire, 1583-1960 AD

6The Peasants' Revolt

7Religion in the Middle Ages

8Slavery, 1619-1833 AD

9The English Civil War, 1642-1660

10The Industrial Revolution, 1750-1840

11US Independence, 1775-1783

12The French Revolution, 1789-1815

13The British Empire, 1857–1930

14Suffrage

15World War 1, 1914-1918

16The Inter-War Years, 1919-1939

17World War 2, 1939-1945

18The Cold War, 1947-1962

19Civil Rights in the USA, 1954-1975

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