Why William Won the Battle of Hastings

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Why William Won the Battle of Hastings

The Battle of Hastings in 1066 saw Harold the king of England defeated

by William, Duke of Normandy. It was a great victory for William, he

became King of England and was called 'William the Conqueror.' There

were many reasons for William's victory such as religious support, a

well-prepared army, weather, more effective weapons and most

importantly superior tactics. Another important factor, which occurs

in most battles in history, is that of luck. Throughout the battle it

seemed that William was more fortunate than Harold. As much as William

earned victory, Harold made some bad judgments and serious tactical

mistakes.

Good preparation is the foundation for battle victories and in 1066 it

was William who was better prepared. He had spent months getting ready

for invasion in the safety and shelter of Normandy. Harold was not so

well prepared as he was busy sorting out his claim of kingship. Even

though he was king he had to convince people that he was the true and

lawful successor to Edward. He also had his armies already fighting at

Stamford Bridge. William built up his army and support using a feudal

system. This meant he offered land in England to Norman warriors who

joined his army to fight. He also obtained permission from the Pope,

which was a great blessing to have. It showed god was on his side and

this helped to motivate his troops. To make things worse for Harold he

was excommunicated from the Catholic Church.

"Pope Alexander II was a pupil of Lanfranc who was now a trusted

adviser to William. It was this fact that his blessing was eventually

given. William now had the papal bann...

... middle of paper ...

...ar of Destiny-

Terence Wise)

The Normans finally got to the top of the hill and could now fight the

English on flat ground. It was not long before the cavalry broke the

wall into smaller sections. They dealt with these sections one by one

until the battle was over. William's infantry and cavalry then got

through and killed Harold. His army was so shattered by the death of

their leader that their morale went down and they could no longer

fight. The fact that the entire battle only took ten hours showed the

ruthlessness of the Normans and made any Saxon retaliation impossible.

Books/Websites

1066 Year of Destiny- Terence Wise

William the Conqueror- Philip Ardagh

The Enigma of Hastings- Edwin Tetlow (English Historical Documents)

About.com- Battle of Hastings

1066.com

Britannica 2001 CD ROM

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