Battle of Hastings
14 October 1066 · in Battle View, played out step by step on the ground where it was fought
William, Duke of Normandy, defeated and killed King Harold II, beginning the Norman conquest of England.
The sides
- Normans, led by William: about 10,000 men
- English, led by Harold: about 8,000 men
States that fought: Kingdom of England, Duchy of Normandy.
How it went
Battle of Hastings
Edward the Confessor has died childless, and three men claim England. Harold Godwinson has just destroyed the Norwegian claimant at Stamford Bridge; now he marches south to meet William of Normandy, who has landed at Pevensey.
The shield wall
Harold draws up his army on the crest of Senlac Hill, a shield wall of housecarls in front, the shire levies of the fyrd behind. William must attack uphill.
Arrows and the first assault
Norman archers shoot up the slope, mostly into the shields. Then the infantry climbs to the wall and is met with axes, javelins and stones.
The Bretons break
The Bretons on the left give way and flee down the hill, and a rumour runs that William is dead. Part of the English right chases them, until William lifts his helmet to show his face and his knights cut the pursuers down.
Feigned retreats
All afternoon the Normans attack and fall back, and twice more, the chroniclers say, they pretend to flee to draw the English down. The shield wall thins.
Harold falls
Towards dusk Harold is killed, by an arrow in the eye in the familiar story, or cut down by knights. His brothers are already dead. The housecarls fight on around his body; the fyrd scatters into the woods.
The Conquest
Perhaps several thousand men lie dead on the hill. William marches on London and is crowned king on Christmas Day; the English nobility is replaced by Normans within a generation.
Numbers for both armies are guesses; most historians put each at 5,000 to 10,000.
People and wars
- William the Conqueror (c. 1028 CE – 1087 CE): Duke of Normandy who conquered England in 1066 and became its first Norman king.