The Battle of Hastings was fought on 14 October 1066 between the Norman-French army of William, Duke of Normandy, and an English army under the Anglo-Saxon King Harold Godwinson, beginning the Norman Conquest of England. It took place approximately northwest of Hastings, close to the present-day town of Battle, East Sussex, and was a decisive Norman victory.
The background to the battle was the death of the childless King Edward the Confessor in January 1066, which set up a succession struggle among several claimants to his throne. Harold was crowned king shortly after Edward's death, but faced invasions by William, his own brother Tostig, and the Norwegian king Harald Hardrada (Harold III of Norway). Hardrada and Tostig defeated a hastily gathered army of Englishmen at the Battle of Fulford on 20 September 1066. They were in turn defeated by Harold at the Battle of Stamford Bridge on 25 September. The deaths of Tostig and Hardrada at Stamford Bridge left William as Harold's only serious opponent. While Harold and his forces were recovering, William landed his invasion forces in the south of England at Pevensey on 28 September and established a beachhead for his conquest of the kingdom. Harold was forced to march south swiftly, gathering forces as he went.
The numbers present at the battle are unknown, as even modern estimates vary considerably. The composition of the forces is clearer: the English army was composed almost entirely of infantry and had few archers, whereas only about half of the invading force was infantry, the rest split equally between cavalry and archers. Harold appears to have tried to surprise William, but scouts found his army and reported its arrival to William, who marched from Hastings to the battlefield to confront Harold. The battle lasted from about 9 am to dusk. Early efforts by the invaders to break the English battle lines had little effect. Therefore, the Normans adopted the tactic of pretending to flee in panic and then turning on their pursuers. Harold's death, probably near the end of the battle, led to the retreat and defeat of most of his army. After further marching and some skirmishing, William was crowned as king on Christmas Day 1066.
There continued to be rebellions and resistance to William's rule, but Hastings effectively marked the culmination of William's conquest of England. Casualty figures are difficult to assess, but some historians estimate that 2,000 invaders died along with about twice that number of Englishmen. William founded a monastery at the site of the battle, with the high altar of the abbey church said to mark the spot where Harold died.
Background In 911, the Carolingian ruler Charles the Simple allowed a group of Vikings to settle in Normandy under their leader Rollo.Bates Normandy Before 1066 pp. 8–10 Their settlement proved successful, and they quickly adapted to the indigenous culture, renouncing paganism, converting to Christianity,Bates Normandy Before 1066 p. 12 and intermarrying with the local population.Bates Normandy Before 1066 pp. 20–21 Over time, the frontiers of the duchy expanded to the west.Hallam and Everard Capetian France p. 53 In 1002, King Æthelred II married Emma, the sister of Richard II, Duke of Normandy.Williams Æthelred the Unready p. 54 Their son Edward the Confessor spent many years in exile in Normandy and succeeded to the English throne in 1042.Huscroft Ruling England p. 3 This led to the establishment of a powerful Norman interest in English politics, as Edward drew heavily on his former hosts for support, bringing in Norman courtiers, soldiers, and clerics and appointing them to positions of power, particularly in the Church. Edward was childless and embroiled in conflict with the formidable Godwin, Earl of Wessex, and his sons, and he may also have encouraged Duke William of Normandy's ambitions for the English throne.Stafford Unification and Conquest pp. 86–99
Succession crisis in England King Edward's death on 5 January 1066Fryde, et al. Handbook of British Chronology p. 29 left no clear heir, and several contenders laid claim to the throne of England.Higham Death of Anglo-Saxon England pp. 167–181 Edward's immediate successor was the Earl of Wessex, Harold Godwinson, the richest and most powerful of the English aristocrats and son of Godwin, Edward's earlier opponent. Harold was elected king by the Witenagemot of England and crowned by Ealdred, the Archbishop of York, although Norman propaganda claimed that the ceremony was performed by Stigand, the uncanonically elected Archbishop of Canterbury.Walker Harold pp. 136–138 Harold was at once challenged by two powerful neighbouring rulers. William claimed that he had been promised the throne by Edward and that Harold had sworn agreement to this.Bates William the Conqueror pp. 73–77 Harald Hardrada, King of Norway, also contested the succession; his claim to the throne was based on an agreement between his predecessor Magnus the Good and the earlier king of England Harthacnut, whereby if either died without heir, the other would inherit both England and Norway.Higham Death of Anglo-Saxon England pp. 188–190 William and Harald Hardrada immediately set about assembling troops and ships for separate invasions.Huscroft Ruling England pp. 12–14
Tostig and Hardrada's invasions In early 1066, Harold's exiled brother Tostig Godwinson raided southeastern England with a fleet he had recruited in Flanders, later joined by other ships from Orkney. Threatened by Harold's fleet, Tostig moved north and raided in East Anglia and Lincolnshire. He was driven back to his ships by the brothers Edwin, Earl of Mercia and Morcar, Earl of Northumbria. Deserted by most of his followers, he withdrew to Scotland, where he spent the middle of the year recruiting fresh forces.Walker Harold pp. 144–145 Hardrada invaded northern England in early September, leading a fleet of more than 300 ships carrying perhaps 15,000 men. Hardrada's army was further augmented by the forces of Tostig, who supported the Norwegian king's bid for the throne. Advancing on York, the Norwegians occupied the city after defeating a northern English army under Edwin and Morcar on 20 September at the Battle of Fulford.Walker Harold pp. 154–158
English army and Harold's preparations
The English army was organised along regional lines, with the fyrd, or local levy, serving under a local magnate—whether an earl, bishop or sheriff. The fyrd was composed of men who owned their own land and who were equipped by their community to fulfil the king's demands for military forces. For every five hides, or units of land nominally capable of supporting one household,Coredon Dictionary of Medieval Terms and Phrases p. 154 one man was supposed to serve.Marren 1066 pp. 55–57 It appears that the hundred was the main organising unit for the fyrd. As a whole, England could furnish about 14,000 men for the fyrd when it was called out. The fyrd usually served for two months, except in emergencies. It was rare for the whole national fyrd to be called out; between 1046 and 1065, it was only done three times, in 1051, 1052, and 1065. The king also had a group of personal armsmen, known as housecarls, who formed the backbone of the royal forces. Some earls also had their own forces of housecarls. Thegns, the local landowning elites, either fought with the royal housecarls or attached themselves to the forces of an earl or other magnate.Nicolle Medieval Warfare Sourcebook pp. 69–71 The fyrd and the housecarls both fought on foot, with the major difference between them being the housecarls' superior armour. The English army does not appear to have had a significant number of archers.Gravett Hastings pp. 28–34
Harold had spent mid-1066 on the south coast with a large army and fleet waiting for William to invade. The bulk of his forces were militia who needed to harvest their crops, so on 8 September, Harold dismissed the militia and the fleet.Walker Harold pp. 144–150 Learning of the Norwegian invasion he rushed north, gathering forces as he went, and took the Norwegians by surprise, defeating them at the Battle of Stamford Bridge on 25 September. Harald Hardrada and Tostig were killed, and the Norwegians suffered such great losses that only 24 of the original 300 ships were required to carry away the survivors. The English victory came at great cost, as Harold's army was left in a battered and weakened state, and far from the south.Walker Harold pp. 158–165
William's preparations and landing
William assembled a large invasion fleet and an army gathered from Normandy and the rest of France, including large contingents from Brittany and Flanders. He spent almost nine months on his preparations, as he had to assemble a fleet from nothing. According to some Norman chronicles, he also secured diplomatic support, although the accuracy of the reports has been a matter of historical debate. The most famous claim is that Pope Alexander II gave a papal banner as a token of support, which only appears in William of Poitiers's account, and not in more contemporary narratives.Huscroft Norman Conquest pp. 120–122 In April 1066 Halley's Comet appeared in the sky and was widely reported throughout Europe. Contemporary accounts connected the comet's appearance with the succession crisis in England.Douglas William the Conqueror p. 181 and footnote 1
William mustered his forces at Saint-Valery-sur-Somme and was ready to cross the English Channel by about 12 August,Douglas William the Conqueror p. 192 but the crossing was delayed, either because of unfavourable weather or to avoid being intercepted by the powerful English fleet. The Normans crossed to England a few days after Harold's victory over the Norwegians, following the dispersal of Harold's naval force, and landed at Pevensey in Sussex on 28 September. A few ships were blown off course and landed at Romney, where the Normans fought the local fyrd. After landing, William's forces built a wooden castle at Hastings, from which they raided the surrounding area.Bates William the Conqueror pp. 79–89 More fortifications were erected at Pevensey.Lawson Battle of Hastings p. 179
Norman forces at Hastings
The exact numbers and composition of William's force are unknown.Gravett Hastings pp. 20–21 A contemporary document claims that William had 776 ships, but this may be an inflated figure.Bennett Campaigns of the Norman Conquest p. 25 Figures given by contemporary writers for the size of the army are highly exaggerated, varying from 14,000 to 150,000.Lawson Hastings pp. 163–164 Modern historians have offered a range of estimates for the size of William's forces: 7000–8000 men including 1000–2000 cavalry;Bennett Campaigns of the Norman Conquest p. 26 10,000–12,000 men; 10,000 men including 3000 cavalry;Marren 1066 pp. 89–90 or 7500 men. The army consisted of about one-half infantry, one-quarter cavalry, and one-quarter archers or crossbowmen.Gravett Hastings p. 27 Later lists of companions of William the Conqueror are extant, but most are padded with extra names; only about 35 named individuals can be reliably identified as having been with William at Hastings.Marren 1066 pp. 108–109