The End of England:

By Neil Smith

HAStINGS 1066

Anyone who reads history knows it is never neat and tidy. Ambiguity surrounds the most seemingly clear-cut events; the so-called great leaders tend to disappoint on closer scrutiny; and even eras and epochs rarely start or finish according to our pre-determined schedules. Historians traditionally believed, however, that William the Conquerors invasion of Anglo-Saxon England and his decisive defeat of King Harold at the Battle of Hastings was the exception to that rule. That notion prompted the classic spoof history title 1066 and All That by Sellar and Yeatman who parodied such decisive events in English history. Nevertheless, and at the risk of being mocked, it is difficult to find a more complete break between two eras than the Norman invasion and the subsequent battle near Hastings.

The Battle of Hastings (as seen in WI305), all models by Kallistra.

England Becomes Britain had become the prime destination for invading forces even before the Romans finally left in the 5th century. The Jutes, Angles, and Saxons all penetrated into the interior to a greater or lesser extent by way of the convenient river system, while in the far north the Picts and Scots fought for supremacy. The British found themselves pushed further and further west until the Welsh highlands provided them with some security and a base for counter-attacking operations. Time passed and invaders of this new England became settlers and defenders against more invasions, this time from the rapacious Vikings from Scandinavia. The Norsemen eventually settled too even as they continued to expand south and west, fighting the Anglo-Saxons all the way. The furnace of war created by these invasions finally ossified as neither side could find the telling blow that would secure them the whole country. That left the country split between the Anglo-Saxons and the Viking controlled Danegeld region of the north-east. Anglo-Saxon counterexpansion and cultural assimilation over more than a century meant that by the 11th century, England had therefore more or less fused into a single, if uncomfortable, political and economic state with a single dominant king. At the beginning of 1066, that king was the ailing Edward the Confessor.

The Vikings did not limit themselves to attacking the British coast; they were equal opportunity raiders throughout Europe and beyond. One region they successfully invaded was the French coast opposite southern Britain. They liked it so much they opted to stay and there was not a lot the weak French monarchy could do about it. In 911, the French king, Charles the Simple, wisely decided to come to terms with the invaders under their leader, Rollo. In return for protection, these northmen could keep their lands, and so the Norsemen became Normans living in Normandy. Throughout the rest of that century, the Normans flexed their muscles, improving their status at the expense of their neighbours. At the beginning of the new millennium, the Normans and English came together in a dynastic marriage between King Aethelred and the Duke of Normandys daughter Emma. Their son was Edward the Confessor who came to the throne in 1042 and brought over many Norman advisors. However, he also had to cooperate with the powerful Anglo-Saxon Godwins. When the childless Edward died, it was the Godwins who occupied pole position for the English crown, but the Normans believed they had the legitimate claim in the person of William the Bastard, Duke of Normandy.

The Great Debate Harold Godwinson was the richest man in England and had undertaken diplomatic missions for the dying king Edward. His election to the crown by the Witenagemot council of English nobles was therefore quite predictable and all neat and tidy. Maybe it was just a bit too tidy, according to Harald Hardrada of Norway, and William of Normandy. They each had their own ideas of who should be king. Haralds claim was based on a promise given by a previous English King, Canute, he of tidal prevention infamy. England, argued Harald, should therefore be tied to Norway. Williams claim also lay in a promise, this time from Harold Godwinson himself, who the Normans now labelled a usurper. Apparently, when Harold had been on one of his diplomacy tours a few years previously, he had been taken prisoner by a Norman noble. William rescued Harold and in return asked for and was granted the Englishmans fealty. Furthermore, Harold would act as Williams agent in England and support his claim for the throne. Whatever case either the Norwegian or Norman had against him, Harold took the crown and they would have to pry it from his cold, dead hands. As the months dragged by in 1066, Harald and William set about doing just that. Harald was first off the mark. He sailed in early September with 15,000 men in 300

Action from our Isle of Ely battle in WI305, Hereward the Wake against Coleswain of Lincoln.

Artists impression of the Battle of Hastings, from the cover of WI305.

ships and landed in the north of England. Harolds exiled brother, Toscar, was there to meet the Norwegian contender with open arms while Harolds northern earls Edwin and Morcar raced to prevent them reaching York. The news of Haralds arrival could not have come at a worse time for the English king. He had spent his summer with his army mustered on the south coast, waiting for Williams expected invasion. When that had not happened by 8 September, Harold dismissed his army to go back to their farms. Two weeks later, he was hastily gathering troops on his way north after news came in of Edwin and Morcars defeat at the Battle of Fulford. Harolds arrival with a few thousand heavily armed friends shocked the Norwegians, but they grabbed their shields and weapons and made ready to fight.

The northern showdown took place at Stamford Bridge on 25 September and it was a fatigued and blood-soaked English army that ended the day victorious. Harald and Tostig lay dead and very few Norwegians made it home to tell the story. The Battle for England That left William. If Harold thought the Norman threat had receded until the following Spring he could not have been more wrong. In fact, William had been kicking his heels across the Channel since early August, but typically uncharitable late season weather and the ever-present threat of the English fleet prevented an early invasion. It was a fortunate coincidence for the Normans then that a window for invasion opened almost immediately after Harolds great victory,

and William landed unopposed on the beach at Pevensey on 28 September. It was not long before Norman knights rode out across the nearby country to wreak havoc. Harold, who by now was back in London, had no choice but to march his weary army out to fight again. The English king marched rapidly down towards Hastings on the south coast, hoping to catch the Normans on the hop as he had caught the Norwegians. Instead, Harolds scouting parties reported William approaching with his whole army only a few miles distant. He moved the Saxon army on to nearby Senlac Hill where his shield-wall could be used to its greatest effect and blunt the Norman superiority in cavalry. The armies clashed on the morning of 14 October. The Normans advanced under

an umbrella of arrows which the Saxons, with few archers of their own, could not hope to match. Rather, the English stood resolutely behind their heavy, wooden shields and braced for the assault. The Norman troops launched themselves at the thrusting spears and hacking axes of the Saxons but could make no headway. Again and again they came on in wave after wave but still could not break the English line. After one such charge, fearing all might be lost, and wary of losing more men for a Norman cause, some of Williams Breton contingent broke and ran. Harolds jubilant but illdisciplined soldiers cheered and charged after the Bretons down the hill and into the open. What the Normans had failed to breech, therefore, the Saxons had dismantled. The Norman cavalry seized the moment, charging into the now exposed Saxons while William rallied his

army behind them. The Normans feigned retreat two times, pulling the English out of position, but still the Saxons held the hill. Fate now took a hand, however, opening an avenue to the English king into which Normans poured, killing Harold. English defiance crumbled; their king dead and the battle lost. Despite some limited opposition, Williams march to Westminster and the crown of England became a procession, and with that, 500 years of English history came to a sudden, jolting end.

Norman knights by Crusader Miniatures.

Artists impression of an attack by Herewards outlaws on a group of Norman knights in Ely.