The arrows came hurtling through the sky and one struck Harold in the eye!

With this wound, the hopes of  all Saxon England would die!

This was the prevailing opinion of Harold’s fate although it has been disputed by historians in recent years. It has been suggested that Harold was actually killed by some knights who in a  somewhat less than chivalrous manner, then proceeded to cut his body into pieces. Harold’s two younger brothers Gyrth and Leofwine had been killed earlier that day and the Saxons now leaderless became disheartened and many  began to leave the battlefield.

‘Harold himself, fighting at the front of his army, fell covered with deadly wounds. The English, seeing their king dead lost confidence in their own safety, and as night was approaching they turned and fled.’

A Norman monk, William of Jumieges, writing in 1170.

The night was black as pitch

and many a Norman knight died at place known as ‘evil ditch’.

As the Saxons were fleeing back to their homes, the jubilant Norman knights decided to press their advantage and pursued them. Darkness was falling and being unfamiliar with the terrain, many of them fell headlong into a ravine that was obscured by brambles. The Normans called this place ‘Malfosse’ which translates as ‘evil ditch.’ Those that survived the fall were swiftly dispatched by the vengeful Saxons.

As an act of thanksgiving to God for his great victory, William would build an abbey on Senlac hill. The High Altar was said to mark the exact spot where Harold Godwinson had fallen.

An Englisman’s home is his castle?

Actually the first castles in England were built by the Normans and were greatly detested by the English. William immediately began a process of constructing castles built out of mud and timber. These castles were known as the ‘motte and bailey’ variety. They were built in this way because speed was of the essence. William simply did not have the time to build stone castles. He needed to base his forces in defensive shelters dotted across the land. The motte was a high mound with a small fort on the top to enable the Normans to spot any signs of trouble.  The soldiers would live in the bailey and in the event of any serious threat would take refuge in the fort on the motte. They proved to be a most effective device in securing Norman control in England

A room with a view!

Hey Mr Saxon we are spying on you!

A victory complete?

Has William now got Saxon England at his feet?

No! William would experience resistance to his rule. The most serious uprising against William occurred in the north of England in 1070. He crushed it with a savagery that went far beyond his customary severity in dealing with opposition. His brutal thoroughness shocked even his most battle-hardened commanders. William first defeated the rebels and he then proceeded to destroy the agricultural base of the region without which human life could not be sustained. King William inflicted total war on the population by killing every living thing including crops that he encountered in northern England. This was genocide as people died in their tens of thousands! Those who escaped being put to the sword would die of starvation or sickness as disease follows famine as surely as night follows day.  It was named the ‘Harrying of the North’ and its effects would endure for decades.

 

 

The long wait, which would determine England’s fate!

Patience………., William certainly needed it. The wind stubbornly refused to change direction all summer long.   The wind was a problem, thought William, but boy was he wrong!  

The wind direction that brought William so much frustration,

would play a big part in winning control over the English nation!

Harold, expecting a visit from his Norman neighbour sometime during the summer had his reception committee, the fyrd, as the Saxon army was called, camped out along the southern coast throughout the summer months.  As autumn drew close, the members of the fyrd were anxious to go home in order to bring in the harvest.  

But from William, at summer’s end, no show!

Harold decided it was time to let his army go!

With the evenings drawing in, a relieved Harold withdrew from the coast and headed back to London. He would not expect to deal with William until sometime in 1067.  A leisurely autumn beckoned, with perhaps a spot of stag hunting around the county of Sussex before the snows descended in winter.

He could also  look forward to romantic evenings at his manor in Bosham with the love of his life, Edith Swan Neck.  Then, of course, the great feast of Christmas was but months away.  William could wait.  Unfortunately for Harold there was someone else, who couldn’t.  This threat came in the form of a gigantic, fearsome warrior ruler who lurked among the icy fjords of Scandinavia and whose reputation for military prowess stretched as far east as the arid climes of Egypt and Asia Minor. A man who stalked the inner recesses of the north like some Neanderthal alpha male and to whom the concepts of patience and diplomacy were entirely unknown. 

Yet another threat from a Viking warrior host!

The Norwegian  king has landed on England’s northern coast!

 This was Harald Hardrada, the 6 feet 6 inches tall king of Norway. He felt that he too had a claim to the English crown, and he decided it was time to come across to collect!  He was supported by king Harold’s own brother Tostig, who in a fit of unbrotherly love had aligned himself with the formidable Hardrada.

A coin depicting an image of Harald Hardrada, King of Norway.

 

Hardrada and Tostig had landed on Humberside in September and swiftly defeated the local forces at the battle of Fulford.  Hardrada then intended to march south to face king Harold.

King Harold and his army work fast with their feet!

They are in a hurry, for they have a bunch of Vikings to beat!

---

 

Harold, learning of the presence of this unwelcome visitor to his kingdom, reacted swiftly.  He decided to force march his army northwards, along the old Roman roads at breakneck speed with a view to surprising Hardrada at York.  The Saxon army included Harold’s elite bodyguards known as the housecarles. The housecarle tradition was Scandinavian in origin but had been introduced to England during the earlier years of Viking rule. They were the 11th century equivalent of the SAS, or US Special Forces, and their savagery was legendary.  They could always be relied upon to get a lot more than a pound of flesh from any foe that they might encounter.  The problem was, Hardrada had a full stable of precisely the same type of warrior.

The Battle of Stamford Bridge.

King Harold completely surprised Hardrada and his Norwegian host. The Saxons pounced on the astonished Norwegians at Stamford Bridge and swiftly defeated them. It was not a battle but an orgy of slaughter. Hardrada himself was slain.

Despite a rapid march, Harold’s army did not falter!

At Stamford Bridge, they made great slaughter!

As he waited at the port of Saint Valery in Normandy, William  would have been aware of Hardrada’s excursion into England. However, he would have been unaware of the events at Stamford Bridge. Which of the two formidable warriors would he face; Harold or Harald? Food for thought. Suddenly the wind changed an William was ready to sail.

The Norman fleet leaves Saint Valery on September 27th.

 

 

William was now a powerful continental ruler whose power rivalled that of his nominal overlord,  the king of France.  However William had his eyes on a much greater prize.

Eyes on the prize!  William desires to gain lands of a far greater size!

William considered himself to be the heir to his distant cousin, the elderly king of England, Edward the Confessor.  Edward had spent part of his formative years in Normandy and retained an affection for the Norman way of life.  Normans were made extremely welcome at his court and many settled permanently in England.

The Confessor in his younger days.

Edward would die without an heir. An event that would ultimately cause the three greatest military commanders of the era to fight to the death on English soil.

Wise career move!

William was aware that Edward enjoyed the company of Normans, so as a young man he is alleged to have taken the trouble to visit Edward in 1051 in order to become better acquainted.  William and Edward appeared to hit it off really well! So well in fact that William claimed that Edward had promised him the throne of England after his death.  During his latter years, Edward had become preoccupied with the construction of his great church just west of London, ‘the west minster’, that would one day be known as Westminster Abbey. Edward died in January 1066 and William assumed that he would now become king.

William is pipped at the post!

He finds himself rejected by the most!

The most? Yes, the Saxons of England had other ideas! They wanted one of their own to rule over them. Edward appears to have had second thoughts regarding his Norman cousin, because on his deathbed, he declared that Harold Godwinson would be his successor!  

Harold as Earl of Wessex was an experienced ruler and an accomplished soldier.  Indeed the ‘Witan’ , or the body of great nobles which advised the king, selected Harold over William as king.

Harold Godwinson.

 

Harold was crowned king within days of Edward’s death in the new abbey at Westminster.

Why?

Because as a prospective boss,

The Saxon nobles considered William a dead loss!

William had a reputation of dealing in a very tough manner with people who upset him!

William considered this an outrageous trick!

It was one that made him sick!

He prepares a mammoth invasion

that would mark a momentous historical occasion!

William decided that he would invade England and take the throne by force! He advertised all over Europe for soldiers of fortune to join his army and promised great rewards for those who would be prepared to follow! William gathered his military host at a Norman port in the summer and patiently awaited a favourable wind in order to set sail for England’s southern coast!