Battle of Hastings 1066 AD

In this third of three episodes on the Three Battles of 1066, we focus on the main event and deciding conflict at the iconic Battle of Hastings, which took place on Saturday 14th October, 1066 AD.
William, Duke of Normandy, coveted the throne of England with Norman sources stating he had been promised it in 1052 by King Edward the Confessor, his cousin.
In 1064, Harold, Earl of Wessex (the most powerful man in England after the king) had found himself in Normandy, and swore an oath to William that the Normans insisted made him bound to William.
By early 1066, King Edward the Confessor (Reign: 1042-66 AD) was dead and Earl Harold seized the crown for himself, thus prompting the ruthless and ambitious Duke William to order the building of ships in the spring of 1066.
Harold and the English, meanwhile, had troubles of their own, with the Battles of Fulford Gate and Stamford Bridge being fought in late September of the year, as recounting in our first two episodes (linked below).
William landed at Pevensey with his ten thousand or so men on 28th September, just three days after the Battle of Stamford Bridge, with Conquest on his mind.
King Harold, meanwhile marched back to London and then onto what we now call "Battle" today, taking up position initially on Caldbec Hill. William marched out to meet him, facing Harold's shieldwall arrayed on Senlac, the two men poised to decide the destiny of England!
Links:
The Battle of Fulford Gate: • The Battle of Fulford ...
The Battle of Stamford Bridge: • The Battle of Stamford...
This was a History Hub Production. All maps, logos and voice audio are copyrighted to the individual A. D. Clarke. All non-map imagery and the music are either sourced from copyright-free sites or used under "fair use" and for educational purposes only.
#hastings #williamtheconqueror #normanconquest

[@HistoryHubChannel]

Welcome to History hub! Thanks for the view. Coming soon: the early battles of Duke William the Bastard (that is Val-ès-Dunes, Mortemer and Varaville); so stay tuned for that by subscribing and hitting that notification button. Thanks. :)

[@zoetropo1]

The Siege of Ambrières in 1055 is also of interest: it featured Eudon of Brittany, Geoffrey Martel of Anjou, Aimery IV of Thouars in defence of Geoffrey of Mayenne against Duke William of Normandy.

[@seankessel3867]

You're building a nice little foundation of quality content my friend. Love to see it, keep up the good work.

[@HistoryHubChannel]

@@seankessel3867 thanks. Should have a biography on Edward the Confessor coming in a couple of weeks.

[@galloe8933]

Maybe it's about the mind of the viewer, and this is long, very long, however, it was over too soon... I swear. Glad I found this channel, History Hub.

[@jenniferyork8095]

Thanks for your detailed video. I am sure this was a great deal of work, but I learned a lot! Very entertaining.

[@HistoryHubChannel]

Thank you. :)

[@catspaw3815]

One of the best compendiums of info on this subject out there.
'Pinky swear?' lol. Next time get it in writing, William!

[@HistoryHubChannel]

Thanks. :)

[@zoetropo1]

Edwin and Morcar may have had few men to offer, after Fulford - and Stamford was costly for the English too.

[@zoetropo1]

Why does the Bayeux Tapestry’s account of events leave England (on a ship!) after Halley’s Comet appears on 24 April 1066?
By collating many sources and academic observations, that transition can be explained. The primary witness to events from Scene 10 onward was Alan Rufus.
Alan was a kinsman of King Edward and Duke William, and thus of Robert fitz Wimarc. As the BT and Orderic Vitalis recount, he served as the captain of William’s household knights.
Little Domesday Book and the BT both place Alan in South-East England on the day King Edward died (5 January 1066).
Alan’s being in England during the first third of 1066 explains his absence from the Council of Lillebonne.
Alan was one of the two envoys from William who instructed Guy to hand the captive Harold over. At that time and subsequently in Harold’s company, Alan would have obtained information about prior events.
Alan was present at Harold’s Oath: he is the figure standing between Odo and William.
It appears that Alan travelled to England with Harold. His absence from England between late April and late September explain the lack of reference to the battles at Fulford and Stamford.
He would eventually have heard of those battles, and indeed he held Gate Fulford in 1086 among his extensive Yorkshire holdings.
Altogether, Alan Rufus appears 15 or more times on the BT, recognisable by his horse, attire and shield. He is named at Edward’s funeral by the Breton rebus ‘red fox’.
Scolland, who oversaw the making of the BT at St Augustine’s in Canterbury, was the master illuminator at Mont Saint-Michel in 1064. His family held the Honour of Scolland in Lower Normandy but they were ethnically Breton. Another Scolland was steward of Alan’s Richmond castle.
The reason for the BT’s attention to the Breton campaign against Duke Conan is that it was crucial to support Alan’s father Count Eudon and enable him to spare thousands of soldiers for William’s campaign in 1066.
Gaimar and Wace lauded Alan’s prowess at Hastings. The scenes on the BT where Earls Leofwine and Gyrth face their doom highlight the role of the Breton cavalry (identifiable by their white shields) and show the confrontation between Gyrth and Alan, which probably saved William’s life.
It would have been a bitter victory for Alan, as he must have known the Godwinsons well.

[@taramilton8695]

Most interesting, thank you Zoe. I have read published works which have not gone into such detail.

[@zoetropo1]

@@taramilton8695 Alan Rufus's career is fairly well attested, but the information is distributed over very many charters, writs and other documents preserved in numerous locations across England, Brittany, Anjou and Normandy.
I still occasionally encounter a 'new' instance in the secondary literature: for example, a few weeks ago, I stumbled across a paper discussing the evolution in usage of the name 'Yves' in which a footnote mentions a charter dated 1047x1067 that Alan witnessed as 'Alan Rufus, son of Count Eudon', alongside Ivo de Belleme, Bishop of Seez. Within the notorious House of Belleme, Ivo was the only member about whom Orderic Vitalis had nothing negative to report.

[@MICHAEL-wg2lh]

Just think how tough and skilled the anglo saxons were to defeat a great viking army then literally days later very nearly beat the Norman's after basically running half way down the length of the entire land , if the Norman's landed a month before or after Stamford then I'd bet my life we would all still be speaking a more germanic language, harold was a true warrior King 👑 🛡

[@HistoryHubChannel]

It was certainly a close run thing. Not as one-sided as it's sometimes made out to be.

[@kevincasey5035]

Ed the Con was Will's first cousin once removed via Ed's maternal line ( Emma, Ed's mum, was Will's Great Aunt) Given it was 1066 and not 2006, Will had no claim on the English throne. Btw, Harold must have persuaded the Witan that he was the best candidate to replace Ed the Con. One didn't just ride roughshod over powerful Earls etc. Well, not if you wanted a long and peaceful reign that is.
The only way that Will had any claim to the English throne was if Ed the Con was really Will the Monk, Will's Uncle which explains why Will went away from London confident that he was going to inherit the throne from "Ed" after all, all titles in France seemed to be inherited rather than the top job be granted by "committee". Other peculiar oddities about Ed's reign could also be explained by "Ed" being played by "Will the Monk".

[@stellakitty2755]

I feel this battle took place in Crowhurst right next to the port of Hastings the sea was up near crowhurst .

[@SirWilliamKidney]

That "seized the kingdom with both hands" line is Caesar's, he said it (or something similar) upon landing in Africa during the civil wars, when he fell down whilst wading ashore. Seems fishy to me that Billy the Conk said it too!

[@Shannon-rq2hc]

Firstly, I thank you for your wonderful work. Second is just a note on the red footnote color. I cannot read them 😆. I don’t think I am color blind, but the red just bleeds into the background. Am I the only one?

[@HistoryHubChannel]

Thanks for the feedback. I'll keep an eye on that. :D

[@leeneon854]

Harold had 11,000 men plus 3000 northern English 14,000, he destroyed over 9000 vikings, you need large army, too sustain that damage output, he probably lost about, 2000,3000 of his army. northern army, probably did not want follow after 2 previous battles, so Harold probably had good 8000, it's almost probable, that Harold sent scouts to London, and when he,arrived he might have had another 3- 5000 men waiting for him, I think Harold, had a about 12000-15000 men, at Hastings, Don't forget you need large army, withstand, that type drawn out fighting, that lasted, from 9am to dusk, you need the resources last that long.

[@benshorse1]

Well you left out Williams greatest friend and soldier roger montgomery whom legend and family history recall he killed a thousand men by lance sword and long bow and his reward if you call it that was wales to bring the welsh under control. Hugh of montfort was also a Montgomery. Thus without the Montgomery's William wins no battles at all. So you should refine these and give credit where its due This brief account is from a true blood descendant .

[@thaddeusbent9432]

I reckon you should make that video 😂