“Hold the wall!” shouted King Harold II as the Normans began to work their way past the Anglo-Saxon shield wall. The Anglo-Saxon empire reigned over London for its fair share of time before William the Duke of Normandy decided to take it from them. William was the son of Robert I and his wife was Matilda of Flanders. William was of Viking origin and he spoke French. King Harold II was ruler of London after King Harold I died. King Harold II was the last Anglo-Saxon King of England. In the year 1066 a great battle took place that would change the way London lived forever. This battle was called The Battle of Hastings.
The battle of Hastings was a very interesting battle, the outcome was not as expected. The Anglo-Saxon people had a very tough defense known as the Saxon Shield wall. This wall was nearly impenetrable because the soldiers would line up and create a wall of shields that made it impossible to break through.
The Norman Soldiers also had a major field disadvantage. The area on which they fought was called Senlac Hill. Senlac Hill had a large slope and at the top were the positioned Anglo-Saxon Soldiers. The Normans were at the bottom of the hill and had enough trouble as it is getting up that hill with their heavy chain mail armor, even without the fact that King Harold’s men were at the top pushing them down. At the beginning of the battle William’s forces summed up to about 7,000 and King Harold’s forces numbered to about 6,000.
Even though William had the playing field disadvantage he had a few things that King Harold did not. William had cavalry and a much fresher army. When the Battle of Hastings took place King Harold’s men had been marching for days and were very tired, at times they marched all day long to cover...
... middle of paper ...
...nd changed England forever. Many changes were brought from William the Conqueror and the Battle of Hastings can be linked to things that happen in England's history as well.
Works Cited
"The Battle of Hastings." History.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 29 Apr. 2014.
Barrow, Mandy. "Battle of Hastings." What Happened at the ? Woodlands Junior School, n.d. Web. 29 Apr. 2014.
Trueman, Chris. "Battle of Hastings 1066." Battle of Hastings 1066. History Learning Site, n.d. Web. 30 Apr. 2014.
"Battle of Hastings." History.com. A&E Television Networks, 2009. Web. 30 Apr. 2014.
James. "The Bayeux Tapestry: Facts and Information." Interesting Information for Kids, Pupils, Parents and Teachers. Primary Facts, 1 Mar. 2013. Web. 01 May 2014
"Battle of Hastings." Battle of Hastings. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 May 2014.
"Welcome." Battle of Hastings. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 May 2014
William I, better known as William the Conqueror, began his medieval and political career at a young age when his father left him to go on a crusade. Effectively William became the Duke of Normandy. He had to fight against other members of the Norman royalty who desired William's land and treasure. William learned at an early age that the men who ruled Europe during the middle ages were primarily interested in their own greed at the expense of all else, including the concepts chivalry and honor. He soon became a feared military commander, conquering all in Normandy who would oppose his interests. Also an excellent statesman, William planed a visit across the channel to England, so that he might meet with the elderly King Edward the Confessor, who had no obvious successors to his throne. It is hard to say what actually transpired during that meeting, due to a lack of historical records. However, what we do know comes down to us from the magnificent Bayeux tapestry. Believed to have been commissioned by Bishop Odo of Bayeux, it is in fact not a tapestry at all, but a long (230 feet long, 20 inches wide) embroidery. The Bayeaux tapestry is a pictorial history of the events leading up to and including William's victory at the battle of Hastings in 1066. At any rate the tapestry tells us that William was given the consent of Edward the Confessor, King of England, to rule the country after Edward's death. Furthermore, the tapestry also shows scenes of the Earl of Wessex Harold, swearing, on relics, before William, that he would not take the throne of England. Edward died and Harold took the throne, in spite of any prior arrangement with William of Normandy. William, gathered his armies and set...
To set the stage for this battle, we must first understand what the British were thinking at the time. The British had not ...
Spencer, Robyn. "Emmett Till." Encyclopedia of African-American Culture and History. Gale, 2006. Gale Biography In Context. Web. 30 Jan. 2014.
Richard Jones-Nerzic, (2005), “Why did the Normans Win the Battle of Hastings?”, International School History (International School of Toulouse), [Accessed on the 29th June, 2010]
“What Is a Concussion?” What Is a Concussion? | Brain Injury Research Institute, www.protectthebrain.org/Brain-Injury-Research/What-is-a-Concussion-.aspx. Accessed 30 Jan. 2018.
What Was Jim Crow?. (n.d.). What was Jim Crow. Retrieved April 11, 2014, from http://www.ferris.edu/jimcrow/what.htm
These major battles had a great impact on the events in the war. Many of the outcomes of these battles decided what events would happen next such as the Battle of Saratoga convinced France that it was safe to enter the war.
Not everyone is cut out to to be king; some simply fit the role better than others. Beowulf, for instance, is an exemplar of what the ideal Anglo Saxon leader should strive to become. Yet despite his heroics, Beowulf is often criticized for his actions due to the seemingly selfish nature of his motivation, even though his actions are crucial to his kingdom’s solidity. The narrator of Beowulf asserts that Beowulf’s intention to fight Grendel and the dragon stems from his desire to uphold his heroic image, suggesting that the ideal Anglo Saxon leader must maintain a valiant profile to be successful.
"What Caused the Salem Witch Trials." What Caused the Salem Witch Trials. 26 Nov. 2013 .
Geoffrey Parker, Cambridge Illustrated History of Warfare (Cambridge: 1995), pp. 82-3. Harold's 8,000 men consisted of Housecarls, the local Fyrd, and local village volunteers.
1066: The Year of the Conquest, written by David Howarth, tells of one of the most important dates in the history of England. In 1066, William the Conqueror and William of Orange fought the historical Battle of Hastings. The outcome of this battle lead to many changes to the English people. The Norman people became assimilated into the English way of life. Howarth proceeds to tell the tale of the Battle of Hastings through the eyes on a common Englishman.
He was the son of Robert, Duke of Normandy, his mother, Herleva, the daughter of a tanner of Falaise. In 1035 William’s father Robert, Duke of Normandy, went on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, in which he died. Before starting the pilgrimage, he presented to the nobles his seven year old child demanding their allegiance. "He is little", the father said, "but he will grow, and, if God please, he will mend." William, after a period of anarchy, became the ruler of Normandy in his father's place at the age of nine. William had a youth of clean life and of much natural piety, while the years of storm and stress through which he passed gave him an endurance of character which lasted to his life's end. During the time of anarchy in Normandy he became a skilled military leader and defeated his enemies, uniting his duchy. Once he began fighting, rumor has it that he never lost a battle.
...asty from the complete end to Lancaster and York, changing England to become a very ambitious and vigorous superpower.
...England. At the battle of Stamford Bridge on 25 September 1066 Harold defeated the Norwegians; Harald Hardrada was killed in the fighting. However, King Harold was not able to celebrate this victory, as word quickly reached him that, while he was in the north, William and the Normans had landed in the south. Evidence shows that William anticipated a lengthy campaign, but that would not be necessary. Harold, flushed with recent victory, chose instead to immediately face the Norman invaders in battle. Fighting between two armies took place on Senlac Hill, north of Hastings, on 14 October 1066. After what one historian has described as an “unusual battle” because of its uncommon length, William’s forces prevailed, killing Harold, his brothers, and many of their soldiers. Although there would still be some limited resistance, with this victory William conquered England.
"Adenosine - What Is Adenosine?" Adenosine - What Is Adenosine? N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Mar. 2014.