Battle
Because many of the primary accounts contradict each other
at times, it is impossible to provide a description of the battle that is
beyond dispute. The only undisputed
facts are that the fighting began at 9 am on Saturday 14 October 1066 and that
the battle lasted until dusk. Sunset on
the day of the battle was at 4:54 pm, with the battlefield mostly dark by 5:54
pm and in full darkness by 6:24 pm. Moonrise that night was not until 11:12 pm,
so once the sun set, there was little light on the battlefield. William of Jumièges reports that Duke William
kept his army armed and ready against a surprise night attack for the entire
night before. The battle took place 7
miles (11 km) north of Hastings at the present-day town of Battle, between two
hills – Caldbec Hill to the north and Telham Hill to the south. The area was
heavily wooded, with a marsh nearby. The name traditionally given to the battle
is unusual – there were several settlements much closer to the battlefield than
Hastings. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle called it the battle "at the hoary
apple tree". Within 40 years, the battle was described by the Anglo-Norman
chronicler Orderic Vitalis as "Senlac", a Norman-French adaptation of
the Old English word "Sandlacu", which means "sandy
water". This may have been the name
of the stream that crosses the battlefield.
The battle was already being referred to as "bellum
Hasestingas" or "Battle of Hastings" by 1087, in the Domesday
Book.
Sunrise was at 6:48 am that morning, and reports of the day
record that it was unusually bright. The
weather conditions are not recorded. The
route that the English army took to the battlefield is not known precisely.
Several roads are possible: one, an old Roman road that ran from Rochester to
Hastings has long been favoured because of a large coin hoard found nearby in
1876. Another possibility is a Roman road between London and Lewes and then
over local tracks to the battlefield. Some accounts of the battle indicate that the
Normans advanced from Hastings to the battlefield, but the contemporary account
of William of Jumièges places the Normans at the site of the battle the night
before. Most historians incline towards the
former view, but M. K. Lawson argues that William of Jumièges's account is
correct.
Dispositions of
forces and tactics
Harold's forces deployed in a small, dense formation at the
top of steep slope, with their flanks protected by woods and marshy ground in
front of them. The line may have extended far enough to be anchored on a nearby
stream. The English formed a shield
wall, with the front ranks holding their shields close together or even
overlapping to provide protection from attack.
Sources differ on the exact site that the English fought on: some
sources state the site of the abbey, but some newer sources suggest it was Caldbec
Hill.
More is known about the Norman deployment. Duke William appears to have arranged his
forces in three groups, or "battles", which roughly corresponded to
their origins. The left units were the Bretons, along with those from Anjou,
Poitou and Maine. This division was led by Alan the Red, a relative of the Breton
count. The centre was held by the
Normans, under the direct command of the duke and with many of his relatives
and kinsmen grouped around the ducal party. The final division, on the right, consisted of
the Frenchmen, along with some men from Picardy, Boulogne, and Flanders. The
right was commanded by William fitzOsbern and Count Eustace II of Boulogne. The front lines were made up of archers, with
a line of foot soldiers armed with spears behind. There were probably a few crossbowmen and slingers
in with the archers. The cavalry was
held in reserve, and a small group of clergymen and servants situated at the
base of Telham Hill was not expected to take part in the fighting.
William's disposition of his forces implies that he planned
to open the battle with archers in the front rank weakening the enemy with
arrows, followed by infantry who would engage in close combat. The infantry
would create openings in the English lines that could be exploited by a cavalry
charge to break through the English forces and pursue the fleeing soldiers.
Beginning of the
battle
The battle opened with the Norman archers shooting uphill at
the English shield wall, to little effect. The uphill angle meant that the
arrows either bounced off the shields of the English or overshot their targets
and flew over the top of the hill. The
lack of English archers hampered the Norman archers, as there were few English
arrows to be gathered up and reused. After the attack from the archers, William
sent the spearmen forward to attack the English. They were met with a barrage
of missiles, not arrows but spears, axes and stones. The infantry was unable to force openings in
the shield wall, and the cavalry advanced in support. The cavalry also failed
to make headway, and a general retreat began, blamed on the Breton division on
William's left. A rumour started that
the duke had been killed, which added to the confusion. The English forces
began to pursue the fleeing invaders, but William rode through his forces,
showing his face and yelling that he was still alive. The duke then led a counter-attack against the
pursuing English forces; some of the English rallied on a hillock before being
overwhelmed.
It is not known whether the English pursuit was ordered by
Harold or if it was spontaneous. Wace relates that Harold ordered his men to
stay in their formations but no other account gives this detail. The Bayeux
Tapestry depicts the death of Harold's brothers Gyrth and Leofwine occurring
just before the fight around the hillock. This may mean that the two brothers
led the pursuit. The Carmen de Hastingae
Proelio relates a different story for the death of Gyrth, stating that the duke
slew Harold's brother in combat, perhaps thinking that Gyrth was Harold.
William of Poitiers states that the bodies of Gyrth and Leofwine were found
near Harold's, implying that they died late in the battle. It is possible that
if the two brothers died early in the fighting their bodies were taken to
Harold, thus accounting for their being found near his body after the battle.
The military historian Peter Marren speculates that if Gyrth and Leofwine died
early in the battle, that may have influenced Harold to stand and fight to the
end.
Feigned flights
A lull probably occurred early in the afternoon, and a break
for rest and food would probably have been needed. William may have also needed time to implement
a new strategy, which may have been inspired by the English pursuit and
subsequent rout by the Normans. If the Normans could send their cavalry against
the shield wall and then draw the English into more pursuits, breaks in the
English line might form. William of
Poitiers says the tactic was used twice. Although arguments have been made that
the chroniclers' accounts of this tactic were meant to excuse the flight of the
Norman troops from battle, this is unlikely as the earlier flight was not
glossed over. It was a tactic used by other Norman armies during the period. Some
historians have argued that the story of the use of feigned flight as a
deliberate tactic was invented after the battle; most historians agree that it
was used by the Normans at Hastings.
Although the feigned flights did not break the lines, they
probably thinned out the housecarls in the English shield wall. The housecarls
were replaced with members of the fyrd, and the shield wall held. Archers appear to have been used again before
and during an assault by the cavalry and infantry led by the duke. Although
12th-century sources state that the archers were ordered to shoot at a high
angle to shoot over the front of the shield wall, there is no trace of such an
action in the more contemporary accounts. It is not known how many assaults were
launched against the English lines, but some sources record various actions by
both Normans and Englishmen that took place during the afternoon's fighting. The
Carmen claims that Duke William had two horses killed under him during the
fighting, but William of Poitiers's account states that it was three.
Death of Harold
Harold appears to have died late in the battle, although
accounts in the various sources are contradictory. William of Poitiers only
mentions his death, without giving any details on how it occurred. The Tapestry
is not helpful, as it shows a figure holding an arrow sticking out of his eye
next to a falling fighter being hit with a sword. Over both figures is a
statement "Here King Harold has been killed". It is not clear which figure is meant to be
Harold, or if both are meant. The
earliest written mention of the traditional account of Harold dying from an
arrow to the eye dates to the 1080s from a 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 that went into
the brain, and that a knight wounded Harold at the same time. Wace repeats the
arrow-to-the-eye account. The Carmen states 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, as it has Harold dying in the morning, during the first
fighting. The Chronicle of Battle Abbey states that no one knew who killed
Harold, as it happened in the press of battle.
A modern biographer of Harold,
Ian Walker, states that Harold probably died from an arrow in the eye, although
he also says it is possible that Harold was struck down by a Norman knight
while mortally wounded in the eye. Another biographer of Harold, Peter Rex, after
discussing the various accounts, concludes that it is not possible to declare
how Harold died.
Harold's death left the English forces leaderless, and they
began to collapse. Many of them fled,
but the soldiers of the royal household gathered around Harold's body and
fought to the end. The Normans began to
pursue the fleeing troops, and except for a rearguard action at a site known as
the "Malfosse", the battle was over. Exactly what happened at the Malfosse, or
"Evil Ditch", and where it took place, is unclear. It occurred at a
small fortification or set of trenches where some Englishmen rallied and
seriously wounded Eustace of Boulogne before being defeated by the Normans.
Reasons for the
outcome
Harold's defeat was probably due to several circumstances.
One was the need to defend against two almost simultaneous invasions. The fact
that Harold had dismissed his forces in southern England on 8 September also
contributed to the defeat. Many historians fault Harold for hurrying south and
not gathering 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 an entire day,
shows that the English forces were not tired by their long march. Tied in with the speed of Harold's advance to
Hastings is the possibility Harold may not have trusted Earls Edwin of Mercia
and Morcar of Northumbria once their enemy Tostig had been defeated, and
declined to bring them and their forces south. Modern historians have pointed
out that one reason for Harold's rush to battle was to contain William's
depredations and keep him from breaking free of his beachhead.
Most of the blame for the defeat probably lies in the events
of the battle. William was the more experienced
military leader, and in addition the lack of cavalry on the English side
allowed Harold fewer tactical options. Some writers have criticized Harold for not
exploiting the opportunity offered by the rumoured death of William early in
the battle. The English appear to have
erred in not staying strictly on the defensive, for when 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 appears to have been decisive, as it signaled the break-up of
the English forces in disarray. The
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 Germanic-Scandinavian infantry
traditions of the Anglo-Saxons."
Aftermath
The day after the battle, Harold's body was identified,
either by his armour or marks on his body.[v] His personal standard was
presented to William, and later 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. The Norman dead were buried in a large
communal grave, which has not been found. Exact casualty figures are unknown. Of the
Englishmen known to be at the battle, the number of dead implies that the death
rate was about 50 per cent of those engaged, although this may be too high. Of
the named Normans who fought at Hastings, one in seven is stated to have died,
but these were all noblemen, and it is probable that the death rate among the
common soldiers was higher. Although Orderic Vitalis's figures are highly
exaggerated, his ratio of one in four casualties may be accurate. Marren
speculates that perhaps 2,000 Normans and 4,000 Englishmen were killed at
Hastings. Reports stated that some of
the English dead were still being found on the hillside years later. Although
scholars thought for a long time that remains would not be recoverable, due to
the acidic soil, recent finds have changed this view. One skeleton that was found in a medieval
cemetery, and originally was thought to be associated with the 13th century
Battle of Lewes now is thought to be associated with Hastings instead.
One story relates that Gytha, Harold's mother, offered the
victorious duke the weight of her son's body in gold for its custody, but was
refused. William ordered that Harold's body be thrown into the sea, but whether
that took place is unclear. Another
story relates that Harold was buried at the top of a cliff. Waltham Abbey, which had been founded by
Harold, later claimed that his body had been secretly buried there. Other legends claimed that Harold did not die
at Hastings, but escaped and became a hermit at Chester.
Reenactment in front
of Battle Abbey
William expected to receive the submission of the surviving
English leaders after his victory, but instead Edgar the Ætheling was
proclaimed king by the Witenagemot, with the support of Earls Edwin and Morcar,
Stigand, the Archbishop of Canterbury, and Ealdred, the Archbishop of York. William therefore advanced on London, marching
around the coast of Kent. He defeated an English force that attacked him at
Southwark but was unable to storm London Bridge, forcing him to reach the
capital by a more circuitous route.
William moved up the Thames valley to cross the river at
Wallingford, where he received the submission of Stigand. He then travelled
north-east along the Chilterns, before advancing towards London from the north-west,
fighting further engagements against forces from the city. The English leaders
surrendered to William at Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire. William was acclaimed
King of England and crowned by Ealdred on 25 December 1066, in Westminster
Abbey.
Despite the submission of the English nobles, resistance continued
for several years. There were rebellions
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 troubles from Northumbrian rebels, an invading Danish fleet, and
rebellions in the south and west of England. He ruthlessly put down the various
risings, culminating in the Harrying of the North in late 1069 and early 1070
that devastated parts of northern England. A further rebellion in 1070 by Hereward the
Wake was also defeated by the king, at Ely.
Battle Abbey was founded by William at the site of the
battle. According to 12th-century sources, William made a vow to found the
abbey, and the high altar of the church was placed at the site where Harold had
died. More likely, the foundation was
imposed on William by papal legates in 1070. The topography of the battlefield
has been altered by subsequent construction work for the abbey, and the slope
defended by the English is now much less steep than it was at the time of the
battle; the top of the ridge has also been built up and levelled. After the Dissolution of the Monasteries, the
abbey's lands passed to secular landowners, who used it as a residence or
country house. In 1976 the estate was
put up for sale and purchased by the government with the aid of some American
donors who wished to honour the 200th anniversary of American independence. The
battlefield and abbey grounds are currently owned and administered 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 of Bayeux soon after the battle, perhaps
to hang at the bishop's palace at Bayeux.
In modern times annual reenactments of the Battle of Hastings have drawn
thousands of participants and spectators to the site of the original battle.
Comments
Post a Comment