Battle of Hastings
The Battle of Hastings took place on 14 October 1066. It was fought between the Norman-French army of William, the Duke of Normandy, and an English army under the Anglo-Saxon King Harold Godwinson. The background to the battle was the death of the childless King Edward the Confessor in January 1066, which set up a succession struggle.
About Battle of Hastings in brief
The Battle of Hastings took place on 14 October 1066. It was fought between the Norman-French army of William, the Duke of Normandy, and an English army under the Anglo-Saxon King Harold Godwinson. The background to the battle was the death of the childless King Edward the Confessor in January 1066, which set up a succession struggle. 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 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. Early efforts of 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. 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, the high altar of the abbey church supposedly placed at the spot where Harold died. There continued to be rebellions and resistance to William’s rule, but Hastings effectively marked the culmination of William’s conquest of England. In 911, the Carolingian ruler Charles the Simple allowed a group of Vikings to settle in Normandy under their leader Rollo. Their settlement proved successful, and they quickly adapted to the indigenous culture, renouncing paganism, converting to Christianity, and intermarrying with the local population.
Over time, the frontiers of the duchy expanded to the west. In 1002, King Æthelred II married Emma, the sister of Richard II, Duke ofNormandy, Their son Edward theconfessor succeeded to the English throne in 1042, and spent many years in exile in Normandy. 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. William claimed that he had been promised the throne by Edward and that Harold had sworn to this agreement. In early 1066 he set about assembling troops and ships for separate invasions and raided southeastern England with a fleet of ships. He later joined forces with other Flanders, including Harthacnut, if either died without heir, the other would inherit England and Norway, if the other died without heirs. William was crowned as king on Christmas Day 1066 and established a beachhead for his conquest of the kingdom. The exact numbers present at the battle are unknown as even modern estimates vary considerably. The battle lasted from about 9 am to dusk. It took place approximately 7 miles northwest of Hastings, close to the present-day town of Battle, East Sussex, and was a decisive Norman victory. Harold was elected king by the Witenagot of England and crowned by Ealdred, the Archbishop of York.
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This page is based on the article Battle of Hastings published in Wikipedia (as of Oct. 31, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
