THE BATTLE OF HASTINGS

the battle of Hastings

The battle of Hastings proceeded on October 14, 1066, in England, between the Norman ones and the English. It showed the bright victory of Norman  William the Conqueror  over the king Harold II of England. It is very significant in the English history because it made pass  England under domination Norman.

CAUSES OF THE BATTLE

In 1066, the king of England Édouard the Confessor dies. Although the crown was promised of sound living with his/her Guillaume cousin, the duke of Normandy, it is given in Harold, the count de Wessex. Immediately, Guillaume of Normandy decides to take advantage of his rights and undertakes the conquest of England. He crosses the English Channel with 1 400 ships (400 for the men and 1 000 for the horses) and accosts on the English coasts with his army on September 28, 1066, close to Hastings.

COURSE OF THE BATTLE

The battle between the Norman ones and the English begin on October 14 in the morning. Each army counts approximately 7 000 men. During the first attack, the English protect themselves from the arrows and the javelins by forming a wall of shields. Armed with axes, they succeed in dispersing the Norman riders as well as part of the infantrymen. But the escape of Norman is a strategy: by pushing the English to continue them in the plain, they succeed in encircling them. Harold dies of an arrow which reaches it with the head and the Norman ones gain the victory.

CONSEQUENCES OF THE BATTLE

? Little after the battle, Guillaume, called the Conqueror, is crowned king d' Angleterre. Gradually, it subjects all the country and imposes the feudal system.

? Normandy and England find themselves dependent for the first time of their history. After the death of Guillaume, the statute of Normandy will become one of the great causes of the competition between the kings of France and the kings of England.

The major part of the information concerning the battle of Hastings comes from the scenes of combat represented on  the tapestry from Bayeux. This wall covering was carried out at the end of  the xi ^E century at the request of the half-brother of William the Conqueror. It measures 70 meters length and is preserved at the museum of the Tapestry of Bayeux, in France.

TO GO FURTHER

? William the Conqueror

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