Beginning with the Conquest of England by the Normans. It happened about 7 miles (11 km) northwest of Hastings, near modern city battle, East Sussex, and was a decisive Norman victory.
The backdrop to the battle was the death of the childless King Edward the Confessor in January 1066, which created a succession struggle between several claimants to his throne. Harold was crowned shortly after Edward's death, but before the invasions by William, his own brother Tostig and the Norwegian king Harald Hardrada (Harold III of Norway). Hardrad and Tostig defeated a hastily assembled English army 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 death of Tostig and Hardrad at Stamford Bridge left William only as a serious opponent of Harold. While Harold and his forces were recovering, William landed his invading forces in the south of England at Pevensey on 28 September 1066 and created a foothold for the conquest of his kingdom. Harold was forced to march south quickly, gathering his forces as he went.
The exact numbers present at the battle are unknown; Modern estimates are about 10,000 William and about 7,000 Harold. The composition of the forces is clearer; the English army was almost entirely made up of infantry and had a few archers, while only about half of the invading force was infantry, the rest being divided equally between cavalry and archers. Harold seems to have tried to surprise William, but the scouts found their army and reported their arrival to William, who marched from Hastings to the battlefield to confront Harold. The battle lasted from approximately 9 am to evening. Early attempts by the occupiers to break the English lines had little effect; So the Normans adopted the tactic of pretending to flee in panic and then turn on their pursuers. Harold's death, probably towards the end of the battle, led to the retreat and defeat of much of his army. After further marching and some skirmishes, William was crowned king on Christmas Day 1066.
There were still riots and resistance to William's rule, but Hastings effectively culminated in William's conquest of England. Casualty figures are hard to come by, but some historians believe that 2,000 invaders died along with about twice as many British. William founded a monastery on the site of the battle, the high altar of the abbey church allegedly placed on the spot where Harold died.
Background
English Army and Harold preparations
Sunrise was at 6:48 am, and records of the day of the recording that it was unusually bright. Weather conditions are not recorded. The route that the English army took to the battlefield is not exactly known. Several roads are possible: one, an old Roman road that ran from Rochester to Hastings has long been favored due to a large coin hoard being nearby in 1876. Another possibility is a Roman road between London and Lewes and then over the local battlefield tracks, Some accounts of the battle show that the Normans advanced from Hastings to the battlefield, but a contemporary account by William of Jumièges places the Normans at the site of the battle the night before. Most historians lean towards the first view, but MK Lawson argues that William Jumièges' account is correct.
Force orders and tactics
Combat dispositions
Harold's forces are deployed in a small, dense formation atop a steep slope, with their flanks protected by forests and marshy ground in front of them. The line can be extended far enough to be fixed on an adjacent stream. The English formed a wall of shields, with the front ranks keeping the shields close together or even overlapping to provide protection from attacks. Sources differ on the exact location that the English fought on: some sources claim the site of an abbey, but some newer sources suggest it was Caldbec Hill.
More is known about Norman's deployment. Duke William seems to have organized his forces into three groups, or "battles," roughly corresponding to their lineage. The left parts were by the Bretons, along with those from Anjou, Poitou and Maine. This division was led by Alan Red, a Breton relative to count. The center was held by the Normans, under the direct command of the duke and many of his relatives and relatives, grouped around the ducal party. The final division, on the right, consisted of the French, along with some people from Picardy, Boulogne and Flanders. The right was commanded by William Fitz-Osbern and Count Eustace II of Boulogne. The front lines are made up of archers, with a line of foot soldiers with spears behind. There were probably a few crossbowmen and slingers along with archers. The cavalry was in reserve, and the small group of priests and servants stationed at the base of Telham Hill were not to take part in the fighting.
William's disposition of his forces suggests that he planned to open the battle with archers in the front rank, weakening the enemy with arrows, and then the infantry, who would engage in close combat. The infantry would create holes in the English lines which could be used by the cavalry to break through the English forces and pursue the fleeing soldiers.
Beginning of the battle
View of the battlefield looking towards Senlac Hill
The battle opened with Norman archers firing uphill on the English shield wall to little effect. An uphill angle means that the shooters either bounced off the English shields or undershot their targets and flew over the top of the hill. The lack of English archers hampered the Norman archers, as there were several English arrows to be collected and reused. After attacking the archers, William sent spearmen forward to attack the English. They were met with a hail of missiles, not arrows, but spears, axes and stones. The infantry was unable to force holes in the shield wall, and the cavalry advanced in support. The cavalry also failed to succeed, and a general retreat began, being written off on the Breton division on William's left. A rumor began that the duke had been killed, which added to the confusion. The English troops began to pursue the fleeing invaders, but William drove past his forces, showing his face and yelling that he was still alive. The Duke then led a counterattack against the pursuing English troops; some of the British rallied on the hillock before being overwhelmed.
It is not known whether the English pursuit was commissioned by Harold or if it was spontaneous. Weiss relates that Harold ordered his men to stay in their layers, but no other account gives this detail. The Bayeux Tapestry depicts the deaths of the brothers Harold Gyrth and Leofwine taking place just before the battle around the mound. This may mean that two brothers led the persecution. Carmen de Hastingae Proelio relates another story for Gyrth's death, stating that the Duke's brother was rising off Harold in battle, possibly believing Gyrth to be Harold. William of Poitier states that the bodies of Gyrth and Leofwine were found near Harold, implying that they died at the end of the battle. It is possible that if the two brothers died early in the fighting their bodies were taken to Harold, which amounts to them being near their bodies after the battle. Military historian Peter Marren believes that if Gyrth and Leofwine died early in the battle, that may have influenced Harold to stand and fight to the end.
sham flights
A scene from a display of the Baogo Tapestry set by Norman cavalrymen fighting the Anglo-Saxon infantry
The lull probably occurred early in the day, and a break was probably needed to rest and eat. William may also have needed the time to implement a new strategy, which may have been inspired by the English pursuit and subsequent defeat of the Normans. If the Normans could send their cavalry against the shield walls, then make English language in more occupations, breaks in the English line may form. William Poitier says the tactic is used twice. Although arguments have been made that the chroniclers' accounts of this tactic were intended to justify the flight of the Norman troops from the battlefield, this is unlikely, as the earlier flight had not been hushed up. This was a tactic used by other Norman armies during the period. Some historians argue that the story of the use of feigned flight as a deliberate tactic was invented after the battle; Most historians believe that it was used by the Normans at Hastings.
Although the feigned flights did not break the line, they probably thinned out the housecarls in the English shield wall. The housecarls have been replaced by members fird, and shield wall held. Archers appear to have been re-used before and during the assault by cavalry and infantry led by the duke. Although 12th century sources state that the archers were ordered to shoot at a high angle in order to shoot at the front of the wall's shield, there is no trace of such an action in more modern accounts. It is not known how many assaults were launched against the English lines, but some sources record various actions by both the Normans and the British that took place during the afternoon fighting. Carmen claims that Duke William had two horses killed under him during the fighting, but William states of Poitiers that it was three.
Death of Harold
Stone marking the site of the main altar at Battle Abbey where Harold died
Harold appears to have died at the end of the battle, although accounts in various sources are inconsistent. William of Poitier only mentions his death, without giving any details of how it happened. The tapestry is not useful, as it shows a figure holding an arrow sticking out of his eye next to a falling sword-strike fighter. Behind both drawings is the statement "Here King Harold was killed". It is not clear which figure is meant to be Harold, or if both are meant. The earliest written reference to the traditional account of Harold dying from an arrow in the eye dates from 1080 from the History of the Normans, written by an Italian monk, Amatus of Montecassino. William of Malmesbury stated that Harold died from an arrow to the eye, which entered the brain, and that Harold's knight wounded at the same time. Wace repeats the arrow-to-eye count. Carmen claims that Duke William killed Harold, but this is unlikely as such a feat would have been recorded elsewhere. The account of William of Jumièges is even more unlikely, since he has Harold die in the morning, during the first battle. Chronicle of the Battle of the Abbey claims that no one knew who killed Harold, as happened in the battle press. A contemporary biographer of Harold, Ian Walker states that Harold probably died from an arrow to the eyes, although he also says that it is possible that Harold was struck by a Norman knight while mortally wounded in the eyes. Another biographer of Harold, Peter Rex, after discussing various accounts, concludes that it is not possible to announce how Harold died.
Harold's death left the English leader's forces and they began to collapse. Many of them fled, but the soldiers of the royal family gathered around Harold's body and fought to the end. The Normans began to pursue the fleeing troops, and for a rearguard action at the site known as "Malfosse" except that the battle was over. Exactly what happened in Malfosse, or "The Evil Ditch", and where it happened, is unclear. This happened in a small fortification or many trenches where some of the British rallied and severely wounded Eustace Boulogne before being defeated by the Normans.
Reasons for the exodus
Harold's defeat was probably due to several factors. One of them needed to be protected from two near-simultaneous intrusions. The fact that Harold released his forces in the south of England on 8 September also contributed to the defeat. Many historians blame Harold for hurrying south rather than mustering more forces before confronting William at Hastings, although it is not clear that the English forces were insufficient to deal with William's forces. Against these arguments for an exhausted English army, the length of the battle, which lasted all day, shows that the English troops were not tired from the long march. Related to the speed of Harold's advance into Hastings is the possibility that Harold distrusted Earls Edwin of Mercia and Morcar of Northumbria when their opponent Tostig was defeated, and refused to bring them and his forces south. Modern historians point out that one of the reasons for Harold's haste in battle was to contain William's excesses and keep him from being destroyed free from his foothold.
Much of the blame for the defeat may lie in the events of the battle. William was a more experienced military leader, and besides, the lack of cavalry on English side allowed Harold fewer tactical options. Some writers have criticized Harold for not taking advantage of the opportunities offered by the rumors of Wilhelm's death early in the battle. The English apparently made the mistake of not remaining strictly on the defensive, as they pursued the retreating Normans they exposed their flanks to attack. Whether this was due to the inexperience of the English commanders or the indiscipline of the English soldiers is unclear. In the end, Harold's death seems to have been decisive, as he signaled the breaking of the English troops into disarray. Historian David Nicolle said of the battle that William's army "demonstrated – not without difficulty – the superiority of Norman-French mixed cavalry and infantry tactics over the Norse-Scandinavian rifle tradition of the Anglo-Saxons."
aftermath
Ruins of the monks' dormitory at Battle Abbey
The day after the battle, Harold's body was identified, either by his armor or the markings on his body. His personal standard was presented to William and then sent to the papacy. The bodies of the English dead, including some of Harold's brothers and housecarls, were left on the battlefield, although some were removed by relatives later. Norman was buried in a large mass grave, which has not been found. Exact loss figures are unknown. Of the British known to have died in battle, the death toll meant that the death rate was about 50 percent of those involved, although this may have been too high. Of the named Normans who fought at Hastings, one in seven is said to have died, but these were all noblemen, and there is a possibility that the death rate among common soldiers was higher. Although Orderic Vitali's figures are highly exaggerated, his ratio of one of the four victims may be inaccurate. Marren suggests that perhaps 2,000 Normans and 4,000 English were killed at Hastings. Reports said that some of the English dead were still in their declining years later. Although scientists thought for a long time that the remains would not be recovered, due to the acidic soil, recent finds have changed that view. One skeleton, which was found in a medieval cemetery, and was originally thought to be related to the 13th century Battle of Lewes is now thought to be related to Hastings instead.
One story tells that Gytha, Harold's mother, offered the Victorious Duke her son's body weight in gold for his custody, but was refused. William ordered that Harold's body be thrown into the sea, but whether this took place is unclear. Another story tells that Harold was buried on top of a cliff. Waltham Abbey, which was founded by Harold, later claimed that his body was secretly buried there. Other legends state that Harold did not die at Hastings, but fled and became a hermit in Chester.
William expected to be introduced by the surviving English leaders after his victory, but instead of Edgar the Ætheling being proclaimed king in Witenagemot, with the support of Earls Edwin and Morcar, Stigand, Archbishop of Canterbury, and Ealdred, Archbishop of York, William therefore marched on London, marching along coast of Kent. He defeated the English by force, attacked him at Southwark but failed to storm London Bridge, forcing him to reach the capital by a more roundabout route.
Despite the introduction of English aristocrats, resistance continued for several years. There were riots in Exeter in late 1067, an invasion by Harold's sons in mid-1068, and an uprising in Northumbria in 1068. In 1069 William faced more trouble from Northumbrian rebels, an invading Danish fleet, and riots in the south and west of England. He ruthlessly put down various rebellions, culminating in the defeat of the North in late 1069 and early 1070, which destroyed parts of northern England. A further revolt in 1070 was also defeated by the king, in Ely.
Battle Abbey was founded by Wilhelm on the site of the battle. According to 12th century sources, William made a vow to found an abbey and the altar of the church was placed on the spot where Harold had died. More likely foundations were laid on William by the papal legates in 1070. The terrain of the battlefield was altered by subsequent building work in the abbey, and the slope defending the English was now much less steep than it had been at the time of the battle; the top of the ridge was also built and levelled. After the dissolution of the monasteries, the lands of the abbey passed to secular landowners, who used it as a residence or country house. In 1976, the estate was put up for sale and bought by the government with the help of some American donors who wanted to honor the 200th anniversary of US independence. The battlefield and abbey grounds are currently owned and operated by English Heritage and are open to the public. The Bayeux Tapestry is an embroidered narrative of the events leading up to Hastings, probably commissioned by Odo Baye shortly after the battle, possibly to hang in the bishop's palace at Bayeux. In modern times, the annual reenactment of the Battle of Hastings has attracted thousands of participants and spectators to the site of the original battle.
Notes
- Barber, Luke, ed. (2010). "Medieval Hospital of St Nicholas, East Sussex: Excavations 1994". Sussex Archaeological Collections . 148 : 79-110.
- Barlow, Frank (1970). Edward the Confessor ISBN.
- Barlow, Frank (1988). Feudal Kingdom of England 1042–1216(fourth edition). New York: Longman. ISBN.
- Bates, David (1982). Normandy Before 1066. London: Longman. ISBN.
- Bates, David (2001). Wilgelm the conqueror. Stroud, UK: Tempus. ISBN.
- Battlefield Trust. . UK Battlefields resource center . Retrieved 5 October 2016 .
- Bennett, Matthew (2001). Norman conquest campaign. Ether Stories. Oxford, UK: Osprey. ISBN.
- Bennett, Matthew; Bradbury, Jim; DeVries, Kelly; Dickey, Ian; Jestice, Phyllis (2006). Wrestling Techniques medieval world AD 500-AD 1500: equipment, combat skills and tactics. New York: St. Martin's Press. ISBN.
- Carpenter, David (2004). Struggle for Skill: Penguin History of Great Britain 1066-1284. New York: Penguin. ISBN.
- Coad, Jonathan (2007). Battle Abbey and Battlefield. English Heritage Guidebooks. London: English Heritage. ISBN.
- Coredon, Christopher (2007). Dictionary of Medieval Rules and Phrases(reprint ed.). Woodbridge, UK: DS Brewer. ISBN.
- Crouch, David (2007). Normans: History of a Dynasty. London: Hambledon and London. ISBN.
- Douglas, David S. (1964). William the Conqueror: Norman Influence on England. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. OCLC.
- English heritage. "Exploring Battle Abbey and Battlefield" . Retrieved 5 October 2016 .
- Freeman, Edward A. (1869). The history of the Norman conquest of England: its causes and results . III. Oxford, UK: Clarendon Press. OCLC.
- Fryde, EB; Greenaway, D.E.; Porter, S.; Roy, I. (1996). British chronology guide(Third revised ed.). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. ISBN.
- Gravett, Christopher (1992). Hastings 1066: The Fall of Saxon England. Campaign. 13 . Oxford, UK: Osprey. ISBN.
- Halley, Elizabeth M.; Everard, Judith (2001). Capetian France 987-1328(Second edition). New York: Longman. ISBN.
- Hare, Yu.N. (1984). Battle Abbey: East Ridge and Excavations 1978-80. London: English Heritage. 11. ISBN . Retrieved October 1, 2016- via the Archeology Data Service.
- Higham, Nick (2000). Death of Anglo-Saxon England. Stroud, UK: Sutton.
How old England perished
The last Anglo-Saxon king - Harold - bore, like most of his brothers and sisters, a Scandinavian name. The children of the Saxon Godwine and the Dane Gyta received names that are somehow connected with the Danish, English and Norwegian king Knud the Great, who was served by Harold's father. Since childhood, they spoke two (however, very similar) languages and knew the traditions of both cultures, which was completely unsurprising for contemporary England. Scandinavian influence was feature long-suffering island, because the richest kingdom was in the zone of direct interests of the warlike Scandinavians (mainly Danes), long years settled the coastal counties with varying success. By the end of the 10th century, the influence of the Vikings reached its maximum.
Harold was the only king in his family and only formally belonged to the ancient dynasty of English monarchs. He was the son of what today would be called a self-made man. For fifty years, the Godwinson family, to which Harold belonged, was able to go from poor thegns to the most influential family in the country.
Harold became king, but ruled England for only nine months and nine days. On October 14, 1066, he was killed by a Norman arrow on Battle Hill, in the vicinity of the city of Hastings.
The Battle of Hastings was the starting point of the conquest of England, which led to the most radical changes in the life of the island since the advent of the Saxons. "People from the north" (north-manni), led by the militant William the Bastard, destroyed the century-old "Wessex" England - a bizarre interweaving of Scandinavian and Anglo-Saxon societies, only partially developing in the pan-European feudal channel. Together with Harold, early medieval original England died, but a state was born that would become an empire “on which the sun never sets” in the future.
The situation in Europe in the 11th century was so confusing that in order to understand the events that took place in 1066, it is necessary to understand why the son of a Saka earl with the Danish name Harold and a Norman bastard, a descendant of the Vikings, called the French name Guillaume, fought on the English coast.
I. Family matters
England in the first half of the 11th century - the suppression of the Wessex dynasty - the reign of Canute - Earl Godwin Harold's father - the return of the Wessex dynasty
Earl Godwin, Harold's father, was apparently a distinguished personality. He was born into a middle-class thethen of Wulfnoth, and was heir to several estates in Sussex. During his life, in more than difficult times, the earl managed to achieve enormous influence for his family, multiplying its possessions many times over.
First, Godwin had to save the family patrimony, which was almost taken from his father, who “quarreled” (we do not know the reasons for the conflict) with the king. Godwin safely entered the squad of Edmund, the second son of the reigning king Ethelred, who received the nickname Ethelred the Unready. Æthelred became famous mainly because he recklessly went into open confrontation with the Danes, arranging a massacre of the Scandinavians. On one day - November 13, 1002 - many Vikings on the island were killed. The northerners did not forgive the Saxons for such aggression. "Massacre on St. Bryce" became the reason for the invasion of England, first by the army of the Danish king Sven I, and later by his son Knud.
Ethelred the Nerzaum (968-1016), King of England (987-1013) and (1014-1016)
Æthelred, who dragged his country into bitter conflict with the Vikings, was himself one foot in the grave. The state of health of the king no longer raised doubts about his imminent death.
Against the backdrop of the fading shadow of the monarch in 1014-15. inopportunely escalated internal struggle among English nobility. When a large fleet of Vikings appeared on the horizon, not all thegns were ready to fight for the new English king - Edmund Ironside. The Earl of Mercia, Aedaric Streon, defected to the invaders.
Godwin, as we remember, was still a member of the squad of young Edmund and unconditionally supported him already as king. In 1016 England was engulfed in a great war:
“King Canute with his army of 140 ships - and the ealdorman Eadric with him - came along the Thames to Mercia to Cricklade; and on the Midwinter Feast they went to Workshire, plundering and burning everything, killing everyone they met."- said in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle.
The Anglo-Saxons put up a desperate and hitherto unprecedented resistance to Canute. In numerous battles with the invaders, Godwin gained a reputation as a "very belligerent man". Both sides washed themselves with blood, but neither was able to win a decisive victory - Canute and Edmund made peace, dividing England along the Thames into two parts.
The lands of Godwin remained in Edmund's territory. It seemed that for some time the situation returned to normal, but on November 30, 1016, the twenty-two-year-old Edmund, a popular favorite and a brave warrior, suddenly died. Godwin lost his king, whom he faithfully served, and with whom he definitely connected his future. The latter is now in question.
Canute the Great (994-1035), king of Denmark, England and Norway
Canute got all of England. Having become the ruler of an unfamiliar and hostile state, he first of all carried out a purge in the ranks of the ealdormen of England, replacing all proteges of King Ethelred with Danes. It is curious that Eadarik Streon, who had betrayed his king and joined Knud, was executed almost immediately - his rolling head, apparently, saved Godwine:
“Knut welcomed those who before, as he knew, faithfully stood for Edmund, and did not like those who were known as traitors, hesitated and moved from one camp to another”- we read in "Praises to Queen Emma."
Godwin was, without a doubt, an excellent example of "the right one." He faithfully served Edmund until his death, and now began to serve Canute. In 1017, he collected geld to pay for the "labor" of mercenaries, whom Knud brought with him from Scandinavia, and in 1018 he was already an earl of the central part of Wessex.
1018 was the starting point for the Earl's impressive career. Godwin's influence grew at a rapid pace: he took part in Canute's campaigns in Denmark to suppress the rebellion; married the Danish Gyta, the sister of the royal son-in-law; became ealdorman of all Wessex. By 1023, Godwin had taken a surprising place in Cnut's circle - born an Anglo-Saxon, he was the first among the "secular magnates", in the vast majority of immigrants from Denmark, who testified to royal letters.
Empire of Knud. Red is his lands, orange is his vassals, and yellow is his main allies.
Godwine was the only ealdorman (except Hrani, Canute's warrior) who retained his post throughout the reign of the Danish king. During the twenty years of the Viking's reign, he did not support a single rebellion, not a single adventure against the central government.
Canute built a powerful empire, which he ruled wisely and wisely. Earl of Wessex Godwin became the leading figure in the English part of the state.
On November 12, 1035 Canute died. The death of the king was followed by a predictable conflict that flared up around the empty throne. Knud left two sons from different mothers: Hardaknut, the son of Knud from the widow of the previous English king Ethelred Emma of Norman (yes, everything is not so simple!) And Harald the Harefoot, the son of Knud from Elfgivu from Northampton. The Dane married Emma according to the Christian rite, and Elfgiva was his wife "according to Danish custom", i.e. wife in England was not considered at all. The official heir was Hardaknut, but he was overseas, and the "bastard" Harald, along with influential relatives of the English mother, was on the island. Here is what the Anglo-Saxon chronicle tells us:
“All the Whitans have gathered at Oxford; Earl Leofric, almost all the thegns from the lands north of the Thames, and the shipmen of London chose Harald to rule for himself and his brother Hardaknut, who was in Denmark. Earl Godwin and all the elders of Wessex opposed this as much as they could, but they could not change anything.
One can only admire Godwin's stubborn honesty. He imperturbably ruled Wessex on behalf of the rightful Hardaknut, in the hope that he would appear in England, but, in the end, was forced to recognize Harald as king.
It's time for the long-dead King Ethelred to return to the stage. The English king left twelve legitimate children from two marriages, including eight sons. Ethelred's sons from his first marriage (purebred Anglo-Saxons), including Godwin's first patron Edmund Ironside, all died by 1017. Æthelred's second wife was the Norman princess Emma, daughter of Duke Richard, whose support Æthelred had sought in his time against the Scandinavians. Instead of support, the British received Princess Emma and many problems.
paradoxical situation. Both King Ethelred and his opponent Knud died, only their common wife and her three children remained - the Norman-Scandinavian Hardaknut (son of Knud) and the Norman-Saxons Edward and Alfred (Ethelred's children).
The last two decided to take advantage of the English turmoil and landed on the English coast under the pretext of protecting their mother Emma. Their real aim was, of course, the restoration of the Wessex dynasty, interrupted by the reign of Canute. They had not had warm feelings for their mother ever since she married Knud, their father's enemy.
The appearance of the brothers was greeted on the island without much enthusiasm. Edward, who faced unexpected resistance from the Hampshire militia, was forced to retreat almost immediately, and Alfred, who landed at Dover, moved to London, but was captured by Godwin and died on the way to imprisonment. Despite the fact that the direct culprit in the death of Alfred was most likely King Harald, the responsibility for the murdered fell on Godwin.
In 1037, the internal crisis was finally overcome and Harald was universally declared king. Godwin miraculously retained Wessex. Happy and carefree 3 years have come in the life of the country in general and Godwin in particular. On March 17, 1040, Harald died.
Harald Harefoot (1015-1040), King of England (1035-1040)
Hardaknut arrived in England, who decided to combine "celebrations and arrests." Repressions began against those who “betrayed” his interests and swore allegiance to the deceased half-brother. Godwin was also on the list, who, however, managed to get off with a luxurious gift to the king (a ship) and participation in the suppression of the Anglo-Saxon rebellion in Worcester, caused by an exorbitant "geld".
The Anglo-Saxon chronicle left curious figures: in the time of Harald, 16 ships were collected 8 marks “from the oar”, in the first year of the reign of Hardaknut, 8 marks “from the oar” were collected for 62 ships and 31 thousand 99 pounds as a tribute to the army. Apparently, Hardaknut promised not to be the best ruler, but on June 8, 1042, he died under very characteristic circumstances:
“Rising from his seat to drink, he suddenly fell to the ground and began to beat in terrible convulsions; everyone who was nearby rushed to his aid, but he did not utter a word "
The dynasty of Canute the Great ended. The time has come for the return of the Anglo-Saxons. Ethelred's son Edward became king, the only legitimate claimant to the throne after the death of all the children of Canute. He grew up in Normandy, and the influence of this overseas duchy on the new king was very felt.
Edward the Confessor (1003-1066), penultimate Anglo-Saxon king of England (1042-1066)
This influence strikingly distinguished Edward from Canute, who, although he was an invader, during the long years of his reign practically refused the help of his fellow tribesmen in the management of the island.
Both the new king and Godwin acted wisely, preferring not to raise the issue of the mysterious death of the new king's brother (Alfred) and the earl's role in it. Neither Edward without Godwine's support, nor Godwine without Edward's favor, could coexist normally.
By 1043, despite all the vicissitudes of fate, Godwin had reached the height of the greatest possible for an earl in England: he remained the ruler of Wessex; his two eldest sons, Swain and Harold, also became earls; Godwine's daughter, Edith, married the king. One of the main characters of our story - Harold Godwinson - from 1045 was referred to in English sources as "dux" (earl), having received East Anglia in control. At less than 25 years old, he, the second son in the family, entered a narrow circle of the most important people in the kingdom, testifying to royal letters.
Godwin had a tremendous influence on the king - this can be seen, for example, from the conflict that arose between Edward and the earl of Wessex because of Swain, the eldest son of the earl. Twice King Edward expelled Sweyn, who had stained himself with many dubious activities (in 1047 and 1049). Sweyn was declared "needing", but, at the insistence of Godwin, the king twice returned him to England and did not touch his provinces.
Edward was burdened by the care of the earl and his family. He was not happy with his marriage to Edith, who, apparently, was barren. The Norman nobility, who arrived with Edward in England, aggravated the discontent of the king. The interests of the new foreign nobility and the old English intersected. Tension between King Edward and his supporters (mostly Normans) on the one hand, and the Godwinsons on the other, reached a peak in the spring of 1051, when Eustathius of Boulogne, the king's former brother-in-law, arrived in England:
Norman knight
“Eustace ... went to the king, talked with him about what he wanted, and then went home. He rode east to Canterbury, dined there with his men, and made his way to Dover. A few miles from Dover, Eustathius and all his companions put on chain mail, and then rode towards the city. When they got there, they wanted to settle down where they liked. One of Eustace's men wanted to settle down with a certain master, to his displeasure; he wounded the landlord, who killed him. Then Eustathius and his companions jumped on their horses, galloped there and killed the owner in his own house. Then they went to the burg and killed - outside the walls and inside - more than 20 people; and the soldiers of the burg killed 19 people from their opponents ... The king was very angry with the townspeople, called on Earl Godwin and ordered him to go to war in Kent, against Dover, since Eustathius told the king that the townspeople were more to blame than he was ... "
The piquancy of the situation was that Dover stood on the lands that belonged to Godwin. Earl refused to participate in the ruin of his own province and expressed absolute support to the townspeople.
Open conflict between the king and the ruler of Wessex was a matter of the near future. Godwin gathered a militia in the province subject to him, and his sons Harold and Svein also gathered warriors in their lands.
Edward, meanwhile, enlisted the support of the Norman part of the aristocracy, which had long dreamed of overthrowing the Godwinsons. The participation of the Normans in the conflict was expected and uncritical for the earl, it is much worse that two other "great earls" (Leofric and Siward) took the side of the king and gathered a large army to help him. Thegns of Harold are practically in in full force went over to the side of the king, which, coupled with the troops of the "northern earls", led to an overwhelming numerical superiority of the royal army. Godwin lost without a war.
Era reenactors
Exile became inevitable for the Godwinsons. In October, they were all outlawed and fled outside of England, and Queen Edith was imprisoned in a convent. So the earl suddenly lost everything that he had achieved for thirty long years under six kings!
The Godwinsons were not going to give up without a fight and began to prepare for the return. Harold recruited mercenaries among the Scandinavians of Dublin, Godwin turned to the help of Flemish sailors from Bruges. Gradually, a serious army was formed around the disgraced earls. In order to deprive King Edward of a trump card in the face of the controversial figure of "noding" Swain, who caused not the best feelings in English society, Godwin sent his eldest son on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. Sweyn died on the return journey on September 29, 1052. Harold became his father's first heir.
Gathering troops, the disgraced earls moved to plunder the coast of England. Having ruined plenty of the suburbs, they moved towards London. This time the balance of power was far from in favor of the king:
“Earl Godwin and Earl Harold were sent to the king and demanded the return to them of everything that had been unjustly taken from them. However, the king refused for some time - until the people who were with Earl Godwin and Earl Harold began to be so angry with the king and his people that the Earls themselves had difficulty calming them ... They called a large meeting in the vicinity of London ... Earl Godwin presented his case and justified himself before King Edward and all the people, showing that he was innocent .... "
The Earls of England and their possessions by 1050 (left) and 1060 (guess where)
The conflict was extinguished at a high price for the king. All of his Norman advisors, who in 1051 fueled the confrontation with the earl of Wessex, were expelled: Archbishop Robert, Bishop Ulf, the French from Herefordshire - they all went to the continent. Raoul the Fearful, the only Norman who had escaped the "purge of 1052," received a small earldom created especially for him in the vicinity of Hereford.
It is likely that the first appearance in English affairs of the Duke of Normandy William, to whom Archbishop Robert of Jumièges fled and, possibly, informed the latter that Edward had named William the heir to the English throne, also dates back to this time. This is just one of the hypotheses, but we know for sure that in the early 50s, William was convinced (either by King Edward himself, as Norman sources insist, or by Robert) that he was the heir to the English throne. Since that time, the "Wessex" England began the countdown.
II. Bastard
Duchy of Normandy - William's Rights
Wilhelm was the son of the Duke of Normandy (dux Normanorum) Robert and the daughter of a furrier, i.e. was definitely a bastard (nothus) - the fruit of not only illegal, but also unequal relations. Robert never married Gerleva and did not formally legitimize the rights of his son. The fact that eight years after his birth (1028) Wilhelm became a duke is nothing but a happy coincidence.
A beautiful legend-prophecy is connected with his birth. As soon as he was born, Wilhelm grabbed the straw on which the midwife laid him and scattered it on himself. The woman, seeing this, exclaimed:
"Ah, señor! What kind of husband will you be? How much you will win, how much you will own, since you learned to take someone else's so early!
William the Conqueror (1027-1087), Duke of Normandy (1035-1087), King of England (1066-1087)
Wilhelm was the only son of Robert, and when he went on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land in 1035, in a will drawn up "just in case", a bastard was named the heir to the title. The barons and clergy were shocked by Richard's decision to leave Normandy, a restless region and kept from feudal civil strife only by the authority of the duke. Even the temporary absence of the lord threatened with trouble, but the situation developed according to the worst scenario. In June 1035, the ruler of Normandy died in Nicaea.
None of the barons wanted to recognize the authority of the new "Senior". Wilhelm is known to the descendants as the Conqueror, while his contemporaries, especially in early years life, they knew him as William the Bastard. All the few guardians of the young duke - Alan of Briton, Gilbert of Brionne and mentor Tourold - died defending the rights of Robert's heir and trying to restore law in Normandy. Seneschal Osbern was stabbed to death at night in the room he shared with Wilhelm.
The young duke, fortunately for him, was not the target of the rebels - the barons were absorbed in internal conflicts, attacking their neighbors with passion and ruining the district. This helped the young man survive, but how was he to regain his position?
Several devoted vassals and mother's relatives guarded William with weapons in their hands. He was brought up in realities that seem cruel even by the standards of the harsh Middle Ages. Wilhelm early learned to fight, but, they say, he could not really read and write. The bastard regained his father's rights with the sword.
Wilhelm raised a "new aristocracy", gave those who dared to follow him, the influence and lands taken from those who disagreed. It was a kind of "Norman revolution" - a global redistribution of property. The families of Tosny, Beaumont, Ferrier, Montfort glorified their names ... The Duke gave lands to viscounts and barons and strengthened vassal ties with them, boldly redrawing the feudal map of Normandy.
And another Norman rider
Under the duke, the "servitium debitum" (duty of service) especially developed. Almost all landowners in Normandy, even initially not bound by obligations, began to exhibit warriors for the ruler. Wilhelm built a new mechanism of the military fief system, which was very useful in the future.
The Bastard suppressed the last major uprising against the ducal authority in 1053 (the revolt of William of Arkes). From that moment on, his interests began to spread beyond the borders of his native Normandy. One of the tidbits that attracted the duke was England. The English king Edward was childless, the place of the heir was empty. Bastard was the great-nephew of Edward's mother Emma - a weak justification for claims to the crown, but ...
Norman chroniclers, in particular the biographer of the duke Guillaume de Poitiers, tried to legally justify the invasion of England by a document drawn up to officially notify the Pope and European rulers of the conquest. According to this paper, Edward declared William his heir by reason of their kinship and political union. The history of this will of Edward is shrouded in darkness. It is possible that Edward actually turned to his Norman relatives during the conflict with the Godwinsons, but we do not know for sure.
Since the 1950s, Wilhelm has only been waiting for an opportunity to seize England. In the meantime, King Edward was alive, Bastard gained experience in endless wars with Anjou, Brittany, the Isle of Man ...
William ruled Normandy with an iron fist. David Douglas wrote:
“The personal authority that the duke managed to win thanks to military victories in the conflicts of 1047-1069 played a big role. He had to deal with hot and rude people ... They would never recognize the power of a person over themselves, whose personality would not inspire them with respect ”
III. Harold on his way to the crown
The Death of Godwin - Harold in Normandy - Tosty Godwinson
After the expulsion of the Normans, Godwin with a vengeance continued to put pressure on the unfortunate Edward, who, apparently, was not destined to get rid of the care of the earl until the end of his days. But in the spring of 1053, at a royal feast, the already middle-aged Godwin died (another suspicious death at the table). Swain, as we know, had died six months earlier on a pilgrimage. The first in the Godwinson family was Harold.
Harold Godwinson (1022-1066), last Anglo-Saxon king of England (1066)
Godwin left to Harold and his younger brothers colossal possessions, which in their area exceeded the lands of any earl of England, and even the English king himself. The son was worthy of the name of his father - in the next ten years he managed to multiply the family's possessions many times over. Harold's lands were valued at £2,846 by 1066; the total value of the lands of its holders in 836 pounds. The Godwinsons as a whole (Tosti became Earl of Northumbria, Gurth of East Anglia, Leofwne reigned in Hertfordshire) owned land to the value of 5187 pounds, the land of their holders was estimated at 1428 pounds. At this time, King Edward, by comparison, owned land for 3840 pounds.
Harold replaced his father as King Edward's right-hand man. Apparently, a more trusting relationship was established between them than with Godwin. New head The most powerful family in England became Earl of Wessex (a title not inherited), and in this capacity he spent the next ten years increasing the family's wealth and waging fairly successful wars with Wales. The period of stability in Harold's life ended in 1064, when fate took him to Normandy, straight to William the Bastard.
It is not entirely clear how the earl of Wessex ended up on the continent at all, what goals he pursued, but something went wrong on his journey - Harold's ship was thrown to the shores of Pontier, a small county on the border with Normandy. He found himself in a new status as a hostage from one of the local princelings.
Duke William learned about the troubles of the second man of England, who, of course, did not fail to take advantage of the situation. King Edward was weakening, but with him the influence of the Norman nobility was fading. Wilhelm did not leave thoughts about the English throne, and for this strong allies were needed. The bastard knew that his claim to the throne was more than doubtful and unlikely to be met with stormy enthusiasm.
The duke easily released Harold and received him as a guest in his house - the earl even participated in William's campaign in Brittany. The real goals of the duke became clear upon his return from the campaign - he told Harold about his claim to the English throne and demanded his support in the event of a landing in England. Earl, who was well aware of his precarious position as either a guest or a hostage, was forced to give William a loyal oath and quickly get out of the not very hospitable Normandy.
Returning to the island, he told about his misfortunes to King Edward. Togo, this development of events alarmed in earnest. If he called Wilhelm his heir ten years ago (which is still far from a fact), then by the mid-60s this desire had clearly diminished.
For decades, the threat to English independence and prosperity came exclusively from the Vikings, who relentlessly raided the kingdom. Welsh, German pirates - the Saxons had enough enemies, but the Normans or the French were usually not among them and never expressed aggressive intentions towards England. As the English historian Ian Walker wrote, “The whole experience of the Anglo-Saxons was that the Scandinavians attacked their country, but the French did not.” The keen interest of Wilhelm, one of the most powerful and warlike men of that time, definitely destroyed this axiom.
In the autumn of 1065, a new attack came. A riot broke out in Northumbria, the province of Harold Tosti's brother. Apparently, the earl's increased taxes were the cause of the rebellion. Tosti got into the complex relationship of the local Anglo-Danish nobility. This area was a zone of specific Danish law - "Danelag".
The rebels gathered an army and captured York, the capital of Tosti, in October 1065, killing its housecarls and plundering the earl's treasury. The situation got completely out of control and Harold was called in to resolve it. He initially hoped to reach an agreement with the Northumbrians and return the earl, but this apparently failed.
Harold wisely resigned himself to forced changes in the county. He did not want to stir up the almost extinguished fire of Anglo-Danish contradictions. But this decision surprised both King Edward, who supports the legal rights of Tosti, and Queen Edith, and his younger brothers. However, the shadow of Wilhelm was already hanging over England, and the war was clearly not the best solution to the land dispute.
Equipment of the Anglo-Saxon Huscarl
Tosti blamed his elder brother for his misadventures and went into exile. Edward, at the insistence of Harold, forgave the rebels, and appointed Morcar, the brother of the earl of neighboring Mercia, as the new earl. The conflict was hushed up.
Harold had to solve the last and most important task. The economy of the Godwinsons was directly dependent on the crown. Despite the fact that many lands were in the personal ownership of the family, the "bureaucratic" work of the governors remained the main source of its well-being. King Edward was no longer young, and in November 1065 his health deteriorated sharply. In order to avoid the usual confusion in England with the succession to the throne, the successor of the king had to be taken care of in advance. Edward left no children, and his great-nephew Edgar, grandson of King Edmund Ironside, could be considered the only heir to the throne by blood. But Edgar in 1065 was not even fourteen years old. In addition, this purebred representative of the Wessex dynasty was born in faraway Hungary and was extremely far from English reality. The Ætheling had no connections, no serious supporters in England, and indeed no advantages other than a name.
IV. The king is dead, long live the king!
Therefore, when Edward died on January 5, 1066, and Harold was declared the new king on the day of his funeral, this did not cause any unrest among the nobility or among the people. Harold managed to prepare the ground for gaining the crown, enlisting the support of his brothers, earls, earls of Northumbria and Mercia, churchmen, as well as the king himself, who personally bequeathed the throne to Harold. Edward's will was witnessed by Queen Edith, the Norman Robert Fritz-Wimarch, and Stigand, Archbishop of Canterbury. This decision was approved by the Witangemot (the prototype of the English Parliament). At the same time, there was no question of any regency, Harold became the full and uncontested heir to Edward.
The new king (Haroldus rex) was not just the first person in the state, he was the richest landowner of the country, uniting personal possessions and royal lands into a colossal domain. For the first time in many years, power over Wessex, the cradle of the English royal dynasty, belonged exclusively to the king.
Harold II Godwinson puts on the crown
Behind Harold there was no "grey eminence", as he and his father were for Edward. Great prospects opened up before the Godwinsons, and the word "pux" (peace), minted on the first coin of the new king, was intended to instill confidence that Harold was able to maintain the stability and prosperity of the kingdom (surprisingly, in the middle of the 11th century, England really was the most peaceful and prosperous country in Western Europe).
But we are not destined to write about the successes of Harold II on the throne, he stayed in power for only nine months and nine days.
Viking Invasion and Battle of Stamford Bridge - William's Invasion and Battle of Hastings
“Then a sign appeared in the heavens over all England,
like no one has seen before.
They said it was a comet star...
She shone for seven nights ... "
The political situation amid the death of King Edward left much to be desired. England was threatened simultaneously by several serious opponents – and not all of them were expected.
First, the king's exiled brother raised his head. Tosti enlisted the support of Count Baldwin V, who provided the disgraced earl with an impressive flotilla of ships (more than sixty ships). Tosti, with clearly aggressive intentions, landed on the Isle of Wight. Having collected the geld, he went north and began to ravage his former lands, but was stopped by the new Earl Morcar and defeated in battle. The mercenaries, who made up most of the squad, fled. Tosti himself fled to Scotland with a dozen ships.
Secondly, Duke Wilhelm did not keep himself waiting. As soon as it became known about the death of King Edward, Bastard declared Harold a usurper and perjurer (here the Norman story backfired), and began to gather an army to resolve the English issue by force. Not a drop of English blood flowed in the duke's veins, but such trifles obviously did not bother him. On the contrary, the Duke was even more inflamed by the fact that Harold, who had even less relation to the ruling dynasty than William, received the crown.
The specificity of the feudal relations of that time was that the duke could demand from his vassals only forty days of service within the state, and William planned to leave Normandy, and obviously longer than a month and a half. The barons had to be persuaded to take part in a very adventurous event. Harold may have been an oathbreaker, but he was well supported in his own country. Wilhelm understood that the English crown would have to be achieved by fire and sword. .
Wilhelm, in spite of everything, managed to gather an impressive army. As the French historian Michel de Bruart noted: “The cohesion of the Norman aristocracy was then extraordinary; everything went as if there was no trace left of the rivalry of the lines, bloody chains of murders and revenge, which could be observed even ten years before.
The army did not consist only of the Normans. From the available evidence, we can conclude that only about 1/3 of William's army was somehow involved in vassal relations with the Bastard. Most of the mercenaries came from Brittany, many knights came from Aquitaine, France and Flanders. The Duke hired archers. The total number of the Norman army is estimated by almost all today's experts at ~ 7000 people (~ 2000 horsemen, ~ 5000 infantry), although medieval historians were true to themselves and called an exorbitant figure of 150,000.
The fleet was gathering at the mouth of the Div River. The duke obliged all vassals to provide from 60 to 100 ships. A huge construction project has begun. All the shipyards of Normandy worked for the army, fishing and merchant ships suitable for transporting people were requisitioned. Already by July 1066, the armada, which looked more like a floating gypsy camp, was ready, but the rest of the summer could not go to sea due to weather conditions.
From the mouth of the Divas to the nearest coast of England, about 150 kilometers of the waters of the English Channel. Now it is not difficult to cross the strait, but in the 11th century, Wilhelm's flotilla could have serious problems. Firstly, no one could guess where exactly the Normans would end up. In the end, they landed in the Hastings area, but they might as well have ended up at Dover, it all depended on the strength and direction of the wind and currents. Secondly, they could simply not swim to the English coast, dying in a sudden storm.
An invasion of England in 1066 was called into question, as the season of autumn storms would have made crossing the English Channel impossible. The army and navy languished on the edge of the continent, eating around and ruining the Norman treasury.
Harold was well aware that the Bastard was his main problem, and carefully prepared for the meeting. The king assembled an impressive fleet (for the first time in more than ten years), placed garrisons along the coast. Chroniclers report that Harold had an army "such as no king before in this land had summoned." There is no doubt that most of this army was an Anglo-Saxon fyrd. In mid-September, the king decided to disband the troops, since the life of the fird was severely limited, and the Norman invasion, apparently, was postponed indefinitely.
While Wilhelm was trying to cross the English Channel, and Harold was languishing in anticipation of his enemy, the disgraced Tosti announced himself. He crossed all reasonable boundaries and opened a real Pandora's box. The former earl turned for help to the Norwegian king Harald the Severe, who did not fail to take advantage of Tosti's invitation and gathered a large fleet of 300 ships to attack England.
Harald was a very interesting man, the Viking historian Régis Boyer called him "the last Viking who fit the image created by our ardent romantics." Warrior and skald, he spent his whole life in raids and battles, not losing interest in adventures in his fifty years.
Harald the Severe (1015-1066), King of Norway (1046-1066)
In September 1066, the Vikings were already marching through Northumbria, intending to take York. This was not an ordinary Varangian raid - invaders were walking across English soil, planning to stay here for a long time. To meet them came the local earls Edwin and Morkar, who had recently defeated Tosti's mercenaries. The people of Northumbria, mostly Danes related to Harold, once again proved their devotion to the crown by responding to the call of their earls and standing up for them. On September 20, a bloody battle took place at Fulford, in which the Norwegians defeated the Anglo-Saxons and occupied York.
Even before the Vikings defeated the Northern Earls, Harold, having learned about the appearance of the Norwegians, gathered his Huscarls and set out from London to meet the invaders, calling for the third time along the way. The royal troops quickly reached Stamford Bridge, a small village in which the Vikings settled, and on September 25 attacked the enemy taken by surprise. The Vikings were not prepared to meet the king of England personally leading his troops into battle. Harald's camp was too far from the ships, and his squad, taken by surprise, did not even have time to put on chain mail. The battle lasted all day. At sunset, the Saxons had the upper hand. Harald the Harsh fell, struck by an arrow, and the unlucky Tosti died. The Norwegians went to their native shores on twenty-four ships (out of 300!).
Harold's victory at Stamford Bridge cannot be overestimated. Harald's campaign for the English crown turned into the last campaign of the Vikings to these shores. The English king destroyed the hird of one of the most famous warriors of his time. The Battle of Stamford Bridge is generally considered to have marked the end of the Viking Age.
Battle of Stamford Bridge
We have come close to the end of our story. Harold celebrated the victory over the Norwegians, being in full confidence that in the near future England was no longer in danger. The dividends of 1066 were very pleasant: a crown, a battle won that ended the Scandinavian threat, a strengthening of support ...
But Wilhelm still waited for good weather. On September 27, the flotilla left the shores of Normandy. The duke took a very risky step, putting everything at stake - his well-being, authority, army and, as the fate of Harald the Stern showed, life. The Normans could not know about the events taking place in the north of England, because their landing was separated from the battle at Stamford Bridge only two days, and, oddly enough, they did not have a telegraph or the Internet.
William was favored by chance - neither the English fleet nor the outposts of the fird, dissolved on September 8, prevented the Normans. “The time of departure of William's army was determined by a fair wind, and not by military intelligence,” wrote the English historian Frank Barlow. But no military intelligence could have guessed the landing time so well!
On the 29th, the Normans landed from eight hundred ships near the town of Hastings, and remained on the coast for seventeen days. European knights, finding themselves in an unknown land, were in a stupor. The French are accustomed to fighting in areas full of castles, wooden or earthen fortifications. There was nothing like it in England. The invaders stocked up on food and even brought with them a collapsible wooden fortification, which they erected on the coast. A period of anxious waiting began.
And again modern reenactors
On October 3 or 4, messengers with disturbing news reached the English king. Harold threw the last cry across the country, calling for the help of the warriors of the fyrd. This was the fourth gathering of the militia in 1066. And its results once again showed the support of the population. People were gathered all over the country - from Hampshire to East Anglia. First, the king rushed to London, from where he went to Hastings with a new army. In front of the army rode Robert Fitz-Wimarch, a Norman in the service of England, who conveyed his advice to William:
“King Harold has just fought his brother and the Norwegian king, who was considered the strongest warrior under the sun ... In my opinion, against Harold, your soldiers are like pitiful dogs. I advise you to act prudently… Stay in your fortress….”
It's time to dwell a little more on what the king's army was like when it met the invaders on the coast of Sussex.
As we mentioned earlier, the core of the Anglo-Saxon army was made up of housecarls - vigilantes. Literally, "huscarl" is translated from Old Norse as "man of the house." Initially, housecarls were servants or members of "household squads" in wealthy families. As the bodyguards of the king, only professional warriors were recruited, with successful combat experience (and good weapons), distinguished by growth and strength. In England, this institution of the "team" appeared under Canute the Great. That Edward, that Harold - both willingly used the services of Huscarls.
Huscarl warriors adopted both external attributes, and the internal structure of the corporation among their Scandinavian colleagues - they took shape in a kind of brotherhood, which was vitally interested in the well-being of their king, since they received payment only from him - in the form of money and land.
Housecarl over the defeated Norman
The second part of the English army was a fird - a militia consisting of free landowners bearing compulsory military service. It should not be assumed that the fird was formed from peasants with clubs and pitchforks. The owners of the land carried out a careful selection and put up from five "allotments" (hides) of one well-trained and armed warrior. The soldier received from the allotments that equipped him 20 shillings as a salary for two months. Thus, a ten, who himself represented his five allotments, or a certain warrior equipped with an association of landowners, could become a “militia”. Usually a warrior was the same for many years - that is, he was a professional soldier. The fird was assembled only in moments of real danger, this mechanism was perfectly perfected in England, thanks to which Harold managed to quickly gather people four times in 1066 (in 1016, during the invasion of Canute the Great, the fird was collected five times).
Both of the categories we have described were on foot. The Saxons could use horses to quickly move from point A to point B, or to pursue the enemy, but they entered into battle exclusively on their own two feet. In the early years of King Edward's reign, his Norman advisers tried to train the Anglo-Saxons in mounted combat, but to no avail. The Saxons remained committed to the tactics of the Vikings, with whom they mainly fought.
The armament of the Anglo-Saxons consisted of long chain mail, a conical helmet and a "Norman type" drop-shaped shield. In their hands, the soldiers carried swords with an "English" handle, the Huscarls wielded axes. It is known that the Anglo-Saxons practically did not use bows.
"English" handle
The Norman army was strikingly different from the Anglo-Saxon army. Firstly, its main striking force was the cavalry, which consisted of the retinue of the duke, barons, and knights of the feces. Norman riders wore long chain mail (hauberk), which could cover a person from knees to head. In addition to it, protective weapons consisted of a conical helmet with a wide nose and a leather-covered kite-shaped shield. It is noteworthy that the knight's horse did not wear special protection. Relatively light clothing (chain mail weighed about 9 kilograms) was a conscious step, designed to increase maneuverability and attack speed. The horsemen carried a long sword, a club and a spear, which was often used as a dart, and not as a striking weapon.
The second part of the army was made up of people drafted into the army by the vassals of the duke. It is not entirely clear how they were organized and what they were. Probably, these were both foot and cavalry units.
The third type of soldiers are mercenaries, whom the duke gathered among the warriors of neighboring regions (Brittany, Flanders, Aquitaine, etc.). Often they served under the leadership of local counts and, in general, did not differ much from fief warriors, they simply served for a strictly agreed daily pay. A special type of mercenaries were narrow specialists - engineers and crossbowmen, who were involved in difficult conditions, for example, during the siege of fortresses.
All this mass (in our case, 7 thousand people from each side, which was a lot for those times) was very difficult to manage in battle. The main concern of the military leader was to correctly place the troops before the attack - on further developments he might not have had much of an impact.
Disposition of forces
On October 14, on a hill near the town of Hastings, two outstanding people of their time met. Harold and Wilhelm were practically the same age (Wilhelm was five years younger), already mature men with very different fate. Harold was born into a successful family on "golden diapers", became an earl at the age of 25, and lived most of his life in the calm and well-fed times of Edward the Confessor, who valued Harold as a talented associate. The English king knew how to fight, but the sword for him was not the only tool for solving problems. Wilhelm, on the other hand, grew up in a Norman atmosphere of greed, betrayal and cruelty. The duchy, in comparison with prosperous England, was a citadel of poverty and "ill-being". Wilhelm was deprived of the support of his father, and from early childhood he was forced to literally survive. His element was war, with the help of which he was used to solving any problems.
Many researchers believe that Harold hurried to give battle to Wilhelm, because the last seventeen days he stood near Hastings in anticipation of the Anglo-Saxons, and clearly managed to prepare for the meeting. The suddenness achieved by Harold in the battle with Harald the Severe and which became one of the reasons for his victory was excluded. Wouldn't it be better to wait with the attack and bring up all possible forces?
The English king, perhaps, was guided by another quite reasonable argument: if the fird did not press William, then his mounted knights would break through into the interior of the country and be able to ruin England with impunity. There were no serious defensive lines on the island, and the few city "burgs" for the knights experienced in siege castles did not pose a serious problem. No, Wilhelm had to be defeated on the coast.
On the evening of October 13, Harold, with the army that he managed to gather (about seven to eight thousand people), left the Sussex Forest and blocked the Normans' way inland. He had to wait for the arrival of the fleet and the fyrd.
Duke William, in turn, was well aware that every day Harold's army would only increase, and the arrival of the English fleet would deprive the Normans of their only escape route. On October 14, at dawn, Bastard delivered a speech to the soldiers, addressing each of the parts of his multinational army:
“Knightly warriors, who come from noble France, glorified, chosen and protected by the Lord, the glory of whose victories spread to all four corners of the world! And you, men of Brittany, whose nobility is not hidden by armor and who cannot retreat, unless the earth itself, having collapsed, will carry you with it! People of Maine, known for their strength, the glory of which is in your feats of arms! Men of Calabria, Apulia, Sicily, whose faces shine! Normans, accustomed to perform feats! .. "
Battle of Hastings
He moved his army to the Anglo-Saxons. Harold managed to build a Scildweall (shield wall) of fyrd and housecarls on the high ground of Battle Hill. Vigilantes stood in the first line, followed by the militia in ten lines. The Norman army also lined up - the French and Flemings (under the command of Robert de Beaumont) made up the right wing, the Normans (led by the Duke) stood in the center, the Bretons (Alan of Brittany) stood on the left. Behind the knights were auxiliary units. 200 meters separated the Normans, who stood at the foot of the hill, from the warriors of Harold.
The bloody battle began with an ineffective attack by the Norman archers. The targets of the shooters were much higher than themselves, so the arrows hit with much less force. The heavy infantry followed, but they were in turn met by a hail of spears and stones from the hill.
About fifteen thousand people converged on Battle Hill. It was one of the most massive battles of the era. Neither Harold nor the more experienced Wilhelm had operated on such colossal masses before. One crowd pressed on another crowd, there was no room on Battle Hill for even the most primitive maneuver. Crush, ringing and hum ruled the situation.
The Anglo-Saxons held their positions so firmly that the attackers at some point could not stand it and retreated. The first, having exposed the left flank of the Normans, the knights from the Breton detachment began to withdraw. Against the backdrop of this retreat, a rumor spread throughout the army that the duke had been killed. Wilhelm, under whom three horses died in a few hours, was alive, but he rushed into the thick of the battle on foot and simply disappeared into the ringing mass. There was a real panic among the Normans.
The bastard tore off his helmet and began to shout to the confused warriors that he was alive. He managed to stop the flight of the troops and, moreover, managed to cut off and kill part of the Anglo-Saxons who rushed to pursue the Bretons. Cold-blooded and intelligent Harold, however, was able to keep most of the people on the crest of the hill. The critical moment was overcome - the sun passed past noon. The battle continued.
The two thickets roared together on the slope of Battle Hill. One mass pressed on another. It is generally accepted that William's knightly army was stronger than the English Fyrd, but the course of the battle speaks of at least parity. The advantage of the knightly cavalry was leveled by the static nature of the battle - the opponents tightly clung to each other on the slope.
Battle scheme
By evening, William's army went on the last attack. The monstrous crowding surpassed all limits. The crush was such that the dead did not fall to the ground.
The outcome of the battle was decided by one arrow. She struck the English king. The famous tapestry from Bayeux tells us that Harold was killed by an arrow that pierced his eye. Other sources do not say how exactly the king fell, but it is doubtful that the Norman could reach Harold with a sword - he was surrounded by a squad and brothers.
The news of the death of the king instantly spread across the field, the "wall of shields" collapsed. A few hours ago, the Normans were ready to flee, having lost sight of their duke, now the Saxons fled. Next to Harold, his brothers Gyurt and Leofvine died, almost all the combatants and devoted thegns. The fyrd warriors scattered, and only small groups of housecarls continued to fight on Battle Hill with the fury of the doomed. The battle stopped only at six o'clock in the evening, when the sun was completely gone, and it was still a long way before the appearance of the moon. The persecution of the Anglo-Saxons in pitch darkness threatened the Normans themselves, who did not know the area, with problems.
Death of King Harold. Sketch by William Blake
The dead were buried in the morning. Wilhelm refused the queen-mother Gyuta and did not give her the body of his murdered son, although she offered gold according to the weight of the dead body. Harold was buried by the invaders on the seashore of Sussex. Norman soldiers said that the king would now forever guard the seashore, for which he died fighting at Hastings. On the site of the battle, a few years later, the Battle Monastery was erected, the altar of which was located on the alleged site of the death of the English king. Now there is a memorial plaque.
VI. good old england
Resistance to the Normans - William's reign and death - consequences of the conquest
The Anglo-Saxons were not going to give up so quickly (although in the end it turned out that they were not going to, but surrendered) and chose a new king - the young Ætheling Edgar. The first city on the way of the Normans, Romney, resisted the invaders - its inhabitants killed several ducal detachments. Wilhelm “punished” the townspeople, and, under the impression of this punishment, the others settlements on the path of Wilhelm surrendered to the mercy of the winner.
Harold seems to have been the only political and military leader capable of organizing a rebuff. With his death, the war almost died out, and soon the Anglo-Saxons surrendered completely.
London, the only truly powerful fortress in England and a major political center where the witangemot gathered, submitted to William without a fight. On Christmas Day of the same year, 1066, he was crowned at Westminster at the invitation of the English nobility and the inhabitants of the capital. The situation around this coronation was so insincere and disturbing that during the ceremony, the duke's guards set fire to the neighboring quarter - they took the cries in an unfamiliar language from the crowd for sedition. With such an ominous scenery, England received a new king.
Memorial plaque at the site of Harold's alleged death
“William swore on the book of Christ that he would rule as well as no king had ruled before him ... But despite this, he demanded a large tribute, and in the spring he went to Normandy and took with him Archbishop Stigand, Ethelnot, abbot of Glastonbury, young Edgar , Earl Edwin, Earl Morkar and many others good people from English soil... Odo and Wilhelm built castles everywhere and tormented the unfortunate people, so that from then on it got worse and worse. There will be an end when the Lord wills…” wrote an English chronicler.
A few years after the Battle of Hastings, riots constantly broke out in the country, in which the relatives of the murdered king took part - his mother Gyuta and sons - Godwin, Edmund and Magnus. Ultimately, their hopes for the restoration of the Godwinsons did not come true, and the family sank into oblivion along with Wessex England. Of all Harold's relatives, we are especially interested in the fate of his daughter Gyuta. She married the Russian prince Vladimir Monomakh and bore him two sons - Mstislav and Oleg. Harold's grandson was the Grand Duke of Kyiv in 1125-1132.
The arrival of the Normans in the country was an unpleasant surprise for the indigenous population, already accustomed to the invasions of mentally close and understandable Scandinavians. The people who came from the continent acted in an unusual way for the Saxons, spoke in a completely incomprehensible dialect, and seemed (and were) absolute strangers.
The Normans were by origin the same Scandinavians, but they were strongly “romanized” and represented a classic Western European feudal society, previously unfamiliar to the Anglo-Saxons. From the Vikings, they inherited, perhaps, only a passion for "extortion and robbery of gold," as contemporaries noted. The path of the expeditionary corps was also marked by robberies. The British scientist Baring tried to calculate the damage caused by the "French" soldiers. He established that in the Domesday Book, the main cadastral document of the era, published in 1085, the value of land in the south of the country was significantly lower than in the time of King Edward. In 1066, the conquerors passed through most of these possessions. In the twenty years since Hastings, the economy in the south of the country has not been able to fully recover.
Battle site today. In the center - the abbey, standing on the alleged site of the death of Harold
National differences were not the only stumbling block that provoked a chain of uprisings against the occupiers. A hasty construction of castles began throughout the country, the main of which was the personification of the occupation Tower of London- during its construction, even the stone was used exclusively Norman. Outlandish structures, for the construction of which, among other things, they took away land from the owners, greatly annoyed the British, who did not know any other form of fortification, except for the burgh.
English lands, starting with the former possessions of the Godwinson family, William divided among his barons, practically eliminating the old nobility. The allotments of all the participants in the battle on the side of Harold (killed and alive) passed into the control of the crown. badly hurt and english church, whose wealth rapidly flowed to the duke and his entourage.
Important changes came in the field of land law - rather quickly, the number of free peasants who dominated pre-Mann England declined against the backdrop of an increase in the number of villans (dependent peasants). Typical feudal relationships were established in the country, brought by the invaders from their native Normandy. English distinctive feature centralization became uncharacteristic for the 11th century - all land holders on the island were directly subordinated to the king, bypassing all the barons and other intermediaries.
William did not stay in England, the country was ruled by ducal letters until 1087. He conquered one of the richest states of his time and finally ceased to be The Bastard, having received a new, much more pleasant nickname, The Conqueror. Having received the title of rex and, thereby, entering a narrow circle of elected monarchs (before that, the Norman duke was a vassal of the French king), William achieved what he wanted.
The conqueror lived to be sixty years old. In 1087, he received a stomach wound - his horse reared up and the pommel of the saddle struck the king in the abdominal cavity. For six months the poor man suffered from pain, and on September 9 at dawn he died. This is how the events that took place after the death of Wilhelm were described by Michel De Bruart:
“The richest hurried back to their homes to hide their wealth; others, left alone, seized all the valuables that were there: weapons, clothes, vessels, fabrics, and, in turn, hid to hide the loot ... When it was necessary to embalm the body for the upcoming journey (to Caen), there was not a single one from those close to the king. A modest knight from the neighborhood volunteered to take over the preparations; his name was Gelluen…”
Skull of a man who died at the Battle of Hastings
England gained or lost? England has changed: “Representatives of the northern branch of the Western peoples became part of the Christian world, and therefore in the future Europe ...” (Le Goff)
Harold undoubtedly wanted peace and prosperity for England, but William was an oppressor and a destroyer. The paradox is that the despotic years of William's reign opened up prospects for England that were hardly possible under the Anglo-Saxon kings. The Normans who ruled the country were guided by the Domesday book, which was a detailed list of the possessions of the English crown. According to this book, the lands were clearly divided among the Norman nobility, who completed the process of enslaving the English peasants, which prepared England for battles for a place under the sun in the feudal era. The sheriffs we know from the stories of Robin Hood were the product of Norman transformations. The activities of officials, called upon to control the conquered, contributed to a more efficient operation of the economy, regular and uninterrupted revenues to the treasury. The English crown grew stronger. In the end, as Jacques Le Goff rightly noted in The Birth of Europe, England, having gone through the horrors of conquest and occupation, became the first major European monarchy.
The most shameful form of social shaming among the Vikings
Even the Norman chroniclers noted that the Anglo-Saxons fought at Hastings for their country and their king against foreigners.
The Anglo-Saxon militia was called "fird" and was called up in two queues for four months (two months of service for each queue).
Poet-singer, performer Skaldekvad. Harald was the author of the collection Visas of Joy.
Harald had an impressive track record. For 50 years of his life, he managed to be the commander of the Varangian guards Byzantine emperor, together with the Russian princes participated in the campaign against Byzantium, for more than ten years he fought non-stop in his native Scandinavia.
The only pictorial source that tells about the Norman conquest, and in general one of the main sources.
Old English and Old Norse were quite close, and were often referred to as the "northern language". French had other roots.
The Battle of Hastings took place on October 14, 1066. d. It lasted more than 10 hours. Such a duration was not characteristic of the battles that took place in the Middle Ages. The collision had historical meaning for both countries participating in it. Let's take a look at how it went Battle of Hastings 1066.
General information
As a defending participant in the battle acted Anglo-Saxon kingdom. England at that time she offered desperate resistance to the Normans. Unfortunately, the country did not have a leader who would be able to effectively repel attacks. At that time the king of the state was Harold Godwinson. The battle ended in complete defeat. Several thousand soldiers died on the field, including the king himself and his brothers. Thus, the decisive moment in the process of the Norman Conquest was precisely battle of Hastings. Winner battles became the new ruler. He turned the country into a feudal monarchy.
background
Edward the Confessor, before ascending to the English throne in 1042, lived for 28 years with Duke Richard II in Normandy. Having no children, he, apparently, in 1051, thanks for the asylum, promised the throne to his relative, William II. But history decreed otherwise. In 1066, Edward died, and the Witenagemot chose Harold Godwinson as his ruler. He was the brother of the monarch's wife. Sensing the approach of death, Edward sends Harold to Normandy. There he had to swear allegiance to the prospective heir to the throne. But on the way he is captured, from where Wilhelm rescues him. The freed earl voluntarily takes an oath of allegiance in the presence of witnesses. These events are illustrated on the Bayeux Tapestry. But subsequently, British researchers expressed doubts about their reliability. Historians considered it an unfortunate accident that Harold got to the Norman. Moreover, historians point to the dubiousness of both the terms of the contract and the sworn oath. One way or another, but these events were used to justify the actions of Wilhelm.
Causes
William, having learned about the election of a new monarch after the death of Edward, refused to recognize his rights. Moreover, he declared his claims to the throne. The oath given by Harold was widely publicized. In addition, it was stated that Edward recognized the Duke of Normandy as heir to the throne. The new Anglo-Saxon king found himself between two fires. Claims to the throne were put forward not only by the Duke of Normandy. At the same time, the invasion of the Norwegian monarch, who also claimed the throne, began. However, Harold was able to handle the latter. His troops completely defeated the Norwegians at Stamfort Bridge. After the battle, he returned to York. There the monarch received news of the invasion of the troops of William of Normandy.
Norman troops
A huge number of small knights were present in the state. The dukes could not effectively manage them until the power was taken into their own hands. Wilgelm the conqueror. He was able to gather all these knights and recruit them into service. His reputation contributed to this. William the Conqueror was well aware of all aspects of military art, had a reputation as a magnificent knight and military leader. This made it possible to attract people from all territories of Northern France. By planning an invasion, William received the support of the barons in his duchy. The Normans had solid experience in fighting, using small detachments of cavalry from castles for this. The latter were built in the occupied territories and played the role of strongholds. The Normans were able to improve their tactics in the wars with the counts of Anjou and the kings of France. In these battles, they gained valuable experience in fighting large enemy formations, establishing clear interaction between their regiments.
Squad formation
The Duke of Normandy was able to create a large army. There were more than 7 thousand people in it. Mostly it was attended by knightly feudal troops. The core of the formations was the Norman cavalry, which, in turn, included archers and lightly armed infantrymen. It was decided to transport personnel across the English Channel. For this, the construction of ships was organized. It is worth saying that the Normans themselves made up no more than 1/3 of the army. The rest was formed by people who arrived from various regions of France: Aquitaine, Maine, Flanders, Artois, Picardy, Brittany. Mercenaries from European countries were also present in the formations.
enemy troops
It should be noted that side forces at the Battle of Hastings were approximately equal in number. However, their qualitative composition differed significantly. The resources of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom were large, but very loosely organized. The monarch did not have a permanent fleet at his disposal, with the exception of a small number of ships that were provided by ports from the southeastern regions. Theoretically, it was possible to collect the required number of them through requisition in the tradition of counts. However, it was impossible to form a large fleet and ensure its combat readiness in a short time. As a center ground forces Huskerls and Earls performed. By the middle of the 11th century, there were about 3 thousand of the first. The squad of a large earl, in turn, included 400-500 people. In addition, Harold had detachments of thethens (military nobility) and a national peasant militia - the fird. In its full strength, all the troops could be called the largest in all of Western Europe. The key problems of the army were the difficulty of concentrating people in right place, the inability to maintain combat readiness for a long time, the underdevelopment of castles as the main unit of the defensive system. In addition, the troops did not use modern methods combat, no attention was paid to archers and cavalry. The latter did not exist as a combat unit. The Anglo-Saxons traveled on horseback, but dismounted before entering into direct battle. Only the tenes and housecarls were well armed. The militia had at its disposal clubs, axes, sticks, with tied stones, pitchforks. In addition, there were almost no archers in the troops, while such units were one of the key links in the Norman army.
The beginning of the battle
The famous Battle of Hastings described in various sources. According to information from the epic poem written by Guy of Amiens, the battle was started by the Norman warrior Thayefer. He challenged a knight from Harold's army, killed him, and cut off his head as a trophy. In later sources, a slightly different version is stated. In particular, they say that the battle of hastings began with the attack of Thayefer by a formation of knights. He managed to kill several of them before he fell onto the field himself. As follows from many sources, the Norman attack came as a surprise to the enemy. However, according to later authors, Harold managed to erect a defensive palisade. The general battle was started by Norman crossbowmen and archers. They shot arrows almost vertically, which made it possible to injure people in the face, head, eyes. In general, the actions of crossbowmen and archers did not bring significant results.
First retreat
When the arrows ran out, the heavy infantry rushed to the attack. However, throwing weapons also proved to be ineffective. Neighborhood Hastings abounded in complex relief. The infantrymen were forced to climb a slope that dropped to the southwest. As a result, the Bretons were the first to approach the enemy. Because of the backlog of the Normans, their flank was opened. The British hurried to take advantage of this and tried to surround the Bretons. The latter, fearing capture in the ring, began to retreat. It passed under a hail of projectiles. Soon the retreat turned into a clear flight. Due to the opening of the flank, the Normans were also forced to retreat, followed by the Flemings and the French.
tactical move
To restore order in the ranks of the Normans, William entered the battle with several of his associates. As the chronicler Guy Almensky testifies, a horse was killed under him. The soldiers, who saw this, began to shout that Wilhelm was dead. However, the duke got up and took another horse. The Bayeux Tapestry illustrates this point. Wilhelm took off his helmet, refuting the news of his death. At the same time, Eustachius of Boulogne points to the face of the duke. Wilhelm's actions made it possible to prevent the stampede of the infantry.
New attack
Battle of Hastings continued with the advance of the Norman knightly cavalry. However, under a hail of arrows and darts from the enemy, she was unable to reach the huskerl formation. Contemporaries also pointed out that with "Danish axes" the British cut through both the knight and his horse with one blow. The Normans made several unsuccessful attacks, and were forced to retreat.
Break the battle
The Anglo-Saxons rushed after the retreating knights, leaving their fortifications. Up to this point, their positions were impregnable. Researchers are debating whether these actions were a manifestation of the indiscipline of the troops or the pursuit began on the orders of Harold, who hoped to win. Nevertheless, the counterattack became fatal. Having left their positions, the soldiers found themselves under direct attack from the enemy. Some historians believe that the retreat was false. They express the opinion that Wilhelm's army, thus, lured the enemy out of his fortifications. But modern researchers do not agree with this version. One way or another, Wilhelm managed to take advantage of the opponent's mistake. He turned his knights around and killed most of the pursuers. Subsequently, such tactics were already consciously used by Wilhelm. Detachments of the Normans drew small units from the ranks of the enemy, then turned around and destroyed them. Soon Harold's army lost two of his brothers, Leofwyn and Geert. Successive attacks weakened the formation, but despite this, the soldiers continued to defend.
End of the battle
The final outcome of the struggle was decided by the death of Harold. The sources describe two versions of death. The most plausible, according to contemporary sources, is contained in the epic of Guy of Amiens. According to this version, the Normans were able to reach Harold's rate by the end of the day. Her protection was carried out at that time by the huskerls. Seeing a fierce fight at the headquarters, Wilhelm rode to the rescue. He was accompanied by Eustache of Boulogne, one of the sons of Gauthier Giffard and Guy de Pottier. One of the knights pierced Harold's shield with a spear and plunged it into his chest, the second cut off his head, the third hit him in the stomach with a spear, the fourth cut his thigh. According to the second version, set out in the poem of Baudry de Bourguey, the leader was killed with an arrow in the eye. It is worth saying that this source appeared 30 years after the battle. Historians suggest that the plot goes back to a scene illustrated on a tapestry in which a foot warrior tries to pull an arrow out of his eye. Nearby there is a Norman knight killing an Anglo-Saxon with a great axe. The Roman de Rou chronicle combines both versions. It says that Harold was hit in the eye with an arrow, but was able to pull it out and continue to fight until he died from the blows of the Normans. The news of his death spread quickly enough. The Anglo-Saxons, left without their leader, rushed to flee. Only the monarch's squad continued to fight until it was all killed. Subsequently, according to William of Malmesbury, he gave the severed body of the monarch to his mother.
The meaning of the battle
Battle of Hastings- one of the few that changed the course of history. Despite the fact that the battle was won by a small margin, it opened the way for the duke to a new state. Harold and both of his brothers died, several thousand warriors remained on the field. The exact losses of the Normans are not reported by the chroniclers. As a result of the battle in England, there was no longer a leader capable of organizing resistance to the enemy. This battle was a turning point in the history of this country. After a short resistance Harold submitted to London. The aristocracy was forced to recognize the duke's rights to the throne.
Conclusion
On December 25, 1066, the coronation of the new monarch was held at Westminster Abbey. The Norman invasion destroyed the former state. It was replaced by a feudal centralized monarchy. The royal power now possessed power, was based on the vassal-fief system, knightly traditions. The country received a new impetus in its development. Behind a short time England has become one of the strongest states in Europe. The conquered lands were confiscated and given to the knights.
On October 14, 1066, near the town of Hastings (East Sussex, Great Britain), a battle took place between the Anglo-Saxon army of King Harold and the troops of the Norman Duke William. After winning this battle, William (the Conqueror) became the English king.
The autumn of 1066 was a real test for the Anglo-Saxon dynasty. Earl of Wessex Harold Godwinson, who became the English king (after the death of Edward the Confessor), was not recognized by his main competitors - the Norwegian king Harald Severe and the Duke of Normandy William.
Both rivals gathered armies, embarked on ships and moved to the shores of England. The Norwegians were the first to land on the English coast. Harold gathered an army and at the end of September, with an unexpected rush, intercepted the enemy forces. At the Battle of Stamford Bridge, the Norwegian army was defeated and their king killed. This defeat ended the era of Viking raids on England.
Not having time to catch their breath after a hard victory, the British learned that William of Normandy with his army had already landed on the coast near the city of Pevensey. On October 3, Harold from York with his army hurriedly moved towards a new enemy and by October 13 reached Hastings, where the enemy army was already located.
Harold managed to lead the army under the cover of the forest or at night and take a very advantageous position - on a hill that is now called Battle Hill, the top of which is located at an altitude of about 85 meters above sea level. There was a swamp to the north and south of the hill.
Wilhelm's camp was located in the vicinity of Hastings - to the north of it. Having learned from the scouts about the approach of the enemy, Wilhelm at about 6 o'clock on October 14 gave the order to march. Soon the battle began.
At first, nothing foretold victory for the Normans. Their archers and crossbowmen shot through their entire supply of arrows without causing any noticeable damage to Harold's foot soldiers. Attacks by infantry and knightly cavalry were repulsed with losses. The Normans were advancing up the hillside, unable to break through the dense defenses of the British, who stood on top in an advantageous position. In one of the attacks, the duke himself almost died - a horse was killed under him.
Already believing in victory, the Saxons opened their ranks and rushed in pursuit of the retreating enemy. However, unexpectedly, Wilhelm deployed his troops - the British, who had lost their formation, were defenseless against heavy cavalry and were killed.
After that, the Normans surrounded the hill, and from all sides attacked the remnants of Harold's army. In a brutal slaughter, almost all the Saxon warriors were killed, including the king himself and his two brothers.
This victory opened England to William. Since King Harold and his two brothers were killed, there was no leader left in the country who could organize a rebuff to the conquerors. After a short resistance, London submitted, and the surviving Anglo-Saxon aristocracy recognized William's rights to the English throne.
The Battle of Hastings (1066) marked the beginning of the Norman Conquest of England and literally changed European history. Many researchers believe that in 1066 the old native England died.
The Anglo-Saxon population, in their way of life very similar to the Scandinavians, had to say goodbye to all their usual orders. The conquerors not only overthrew the former dynasty and devastated the island, but also imposed new legislation and French culture on the inhabitants. Those who spoke French gained wealth and power in the new England, while the Anglo-Saxons had to endure humiliation and requisitions. This state of affairs persisted for almost a century and a half, until the Magna Carta was signed in 1215, which equalized the rights of the Anglo-Saxons and Anglo-Normans and laid down a new political and social system.
Events leading up to the battle
Since the end of the 10th century, the Anglo-Saxons had to endure Viking raids. In 1016, the Wessex dynasty (the original Saxon ruling family) was interrupted: first the old king Ethelred died, and then his twenty-two-year-old son Edmund. Became King of England Danish king Knud. He was a wise ruler who managed to maintain order in his multinational state (Knut's empire included England, Denmark and Norway). After his death in 1035, disputes broke out among the pretenders to the English throne:
- The official heir to the throne was Hardaknut, the son of Cnut and the Norman princess Emma, who, ironically, was also the widow of the previous king, the Saxon Æthelred, and the mother of his three children. However, at the time of his father's death, Hardaknud was in Normandy and was unable to take the throne;
- The second pretender to the throne was Harald, the illegitimate son of Knud from the Anglo-Saxon Elfgifu. Elfgifu and her son had strong connections with the local nobility, which allowed them to rule England, bypassing the rightful heir.
The situation with the succession to the throne was also complicated by the fact that the sons of Emma and Ethelred entered the struggle for the throne. After two years of unrest and civil strife, Harald was finally recognized as king in all regions of the country and peace was established for three years. In 1040, Harald died and his half-brother, Hardaknut, arrived in England, who began his reign with repressions and executions. Already in 1042, Hardaknut died (apparently, he was poisoned) and the Danish dynasty of King Canute was interrupted.
The throne returned to the Anglo-Saxons: the only legitimate heir to the throne in this situation was Edward the Confessor - the son of King Ethelred and Emma. He spent almost his entire life in Normandy and therefore began to impose the rules adopted there in England and give high posts to the Normans, which caused discontent among the Anglo-Saxon nobility. Since Edward did not have his own children, he decided to transfer the throne to the Duke of Normandy - William the Bastard, who was also a distant relative of the king. In 1052, the noble earl (earl) Godwin raised a rebellion, which was supported by many influential Anglo-Saxon clans. Edward was forced to submit to their will, and although he formally retained the throne, in fact the power in the country belonged to Godwin. In 1053, Godwin died, and in 1066, Edward the Confessor also died. The English earls unanimously proclaimed Godwin's son, Harold, as the new king. He was energetic, wise, and royal blood flowed in his veins.
Shortly before the death of Edward the Confessor, Harold traveled to Normandy, where local barons, under threat of death, forced him to swear allegiance to William as heir to the English throne. Later, upon ascending the throne, Harold declared his oath invalid, as it had been taken under duress. William the Bastard began to threaten Harold with war and wrote a complaint to the Pope. The latter recognized the claims of the Duke of Normandy as legitimate and gave him a blessing to conquer England.
Beginning of the Norman Conquest of England
Wilhelm managed to prepare the fleet and gather a huge army. Not only lovers of profit flocked under his banner, to whom the Duke of Normandy promised untold riches, but also those who wanted to save their souls - after all, the campaign was pleasing to the Pope. In England, they were preparing for the defense of the coast, but the unexpected attack of the Norwegian king Harald, who was persuaded by one of the earls who betrayed their ruler, mixed up all Harold's plans.
The Norwegian king invaded York and Northumbria and defeated the troops of the local nobility. Harold had to leave the south coast, where Wilhelm was about to land, and start a fight with Harald. On September 25, 1066, the two armies met at Stamford Bridge. The fierce battle ended in victory for the British. During the battle, both King Harald himself and the best representatives of the Norwegian nobility were killed. However, the English army also suffered greatly. Harold lost many of his knights, which later affected the outcome of the decisive Battle of Hastings.
Meanwhile, Wilhelm was looking for a place to land his army. For a long time, due to the lack of a fair wind, ships with soldiers stood off the coast of France. Only at the end of September the wind changed and the Normans moved across the English Channel. The storm battered their flotilla a lot, several ships even capsized, but since Harold was with the army at York, on September 28, William's army managed to calmly land on the Sussex coast, without meeting the slightest resistance, and build a fort. The next day the invading army approached Hastings.
Harold, having received the news of Wilhelm's arrival, immediately moved to meet him. On the way, he went to London to replenish the ranks of his army. Perhaps if Harold had stayed longer in London, more knights would have joined him, and he could have driven the Normans out of his land. The Anglo-Saxons respected their king and were ready to come to his rescue. But the victory at Stamford Bridge turned Harold's head and he did not linger in the capital to wait for the provincial nobility with their detachments.
On October 13, the troops of the Anglo-Saxon king reached Hastings. Harold failed to catch William by surprise, as happened with the Norwegian king, so he abandoned a quick attack and stood a few kilometers from the Norman camp. The number of soldiers was approximately equal on both sides (approximately 7-8 thousand people in each of the armies), but the Norman army had the best training and discipline. The great disadvantage of the Anglo-Saxon troops was the lack of cavalry, which Wilhelm used as the main striking force, and the almost complete absence of archers. The advisers recommended that Harold not give a decisive battle and retreat back to London, leaving behind only scorched earth so that the enemy would have nothing to profit from. Sooner or later, hunger and disease would force the Normans to turn back. But Harold abandoned this plan: he was ready for battle and felt sorry for his subjects, whose villages he would have to burn and leave at the mercy of the enemy.
Harold ordered fortifications to be built on Senlak Hill. The place was chosen well: on the one hand, the army was on a hill, and on the other hand, the road to London was protected. If necessary, the Anglo-Saxons could withdraw to the forest behind the hill, where the Norman cavalry could not pass.
October 13 passed in the negotiations. William tried to force Harold to keep this oath, but he resolutely refused to give his throne to the Duke of Normandy.
The course of the battle
On October 14, the two armies met on the battlefield. The British fortified their hill by building barricades on its gentle slope. The Normans went into battle in three groups: the central and largest were led into battle by the duke himself with his brothers. The first line of each of the groups was made up of archers, followed by infantry, and the last to go into battle were heavily armed knights.
Detailed historical chronicles make it possible to accurately reproduce the sequence of events that took place at the Senlac hill. The Normans were the first to go into battle. At first, they pressed the Anglo-Saxons a little, but the latter, during the counterattack, managed to overturn part of the Normans into a ravine located at the foot of the hill. A terrible stampede began on this site, which claimed many lives of the Norman knights.
In response to the Anglo-Saxons, a hail of arrows rained down. One of them even wounded King Harold in the eye. Because of the wound, Harold almost lost the ability to lead his army. However, the defenders still stood firm in their positions. It was already three o'clock in the afternoon, and neither side had an advantage. Then the Normans decided to go to the trick. The duke began to withdraw his army, simulating a retreat. Delighted, the British rushed to pursue the enemy, upsetting the battle formations. The wounded king could not stop his subjects from this fatal step. Having retreated to the required distance, the Norman barons ordered their troops to move on the attack again. The excellent training and organization of the Norman soldiers allowed them to maintain order. Violent hand-to-hand combat ensued between the two armies. Here, the shortcomings of the weapons of the Anglo-Saxon troops were clearly manifested. The main weapon of the British was the battle ax, which had to be held with both hands during the fight. This weapon caused great damage to the enemy, cutting through Norman armor, but did not allow its owner to use a shield. The Normans, on the other hand, went into battle, holding a spear or sword in one hand, and a shield protecting the knight from enemy blows in the other. Because of this, the losses of the Anglo-Saxons in the battle were huge.
The Normans managed to break through almost to the very royal banner, fixed on the hillside. There was a particularly fierce battle going on. At some point, the British, defending their standard, even forced the invaders to retreat. Then the Duke of Normandy himself led the attack. The Normans again went into battle, Harold was in the thick of the battle, surrounded by enemies and was soon killed. The brothers of the Anglo-Saxon king, Girt and Leofvin, also fell in the battle. The royal standard fell into the hands of the enemy, which finally demoralized the British. They continued to fight for their lives, those who could fled the battlefield.
Duke Wilhelm, who fought ahead of his army and killed many Englishmen, did not receive a scratch, although two horses fell under him, and his helmet and shield were covered with blow marks. By evening, the battle was over with the victory of the invaders.
Aftermath of the Battle of Hastings
Wilhelm soon changed his humiliating nickname "Bastard", indicating his illegitimate birth, to a more noble one - "Conqueror". At the end of 1066 he was crowned on the English throne.
Despite the death of their king and representatives of the most noble aristocratic families, the Anglo-Saxons did not immediately accept the defeat at Hastings. For a few more years, William the Conqueror conquered his new possessions with fire and sword, devastating the north of the country. The talented strategist and commander Wilhelm was nothing special in the political field. He preferred war to affairs of state. Therefore, he spent very little time in England, preferring to wage wars across the English Channel.
