2. invasion & victory

Question 1

why was it uncertain who would rule england after edward the confessor?

Answer 1

he had no children

Question 2

edwards dying words:

Answer 2

“I command this woman and all the kingdom to your protection’ (after he reached out for harold)

Question 3

why is the biography of edward including his last words untrustworthy?

Answer 3

it was written for edith (harold godwinson’s sister)

Question 4

harold godwinson as a claimant to the throne (+witans reaction)

Answer 4

-richest man in england
-‘chosen’ by edward the confessor
-good leader & fighter
-favoured by the witan
-powerful & experienced

-no direct bloodline

Question 5

william of normandy as a claimant to the throne (+witans reaction)

Answer 5

-large army
-lots of political experience
-claimed that edward had chosen him in 1051
-claimed harold godwinson had sworn an oath of loyalty to him

-didn’t have much experience as a military leader
-witan ignored his claim

Question 6

harald hardrada as a claimant to the throne (+witans reaction)

Answer 6

inspiring warrior

-no direct bloodline
-witan ignored his claim

Question 7

edgar the aethling as a claimant to the throne (+witans reaction)

Answer 7

-nearest living blood relative

-12
-not interested in being king
-witan rejected his claim
-no power, wealth or strength
-not considered strong enough to hold the throne & defend the realm

Question 8

how did harold godwinson convince edwin and morcar to let him become king?

Answer 8

he promised to marry their sister

Question 9

when was harold godwinson crowned as king?

Answer 9

6th january 1066, hours after king edward was buried

Question 10

edgar’s response to harold’s coronation

Answer 10

accepted the situation

Question 11

harold hardrada’s response to harold’s coronation

Answer 11

had been in war against the danes at the start of 1066, so he had no reaction, but took action later in 1066

Question 12

william’s responses to harold’s coronation

Answer 12

silent fury, immediate action (he planned an invasion)

Question 13

why was william of normandy so angry?

Answer 13

both normans & the english had conflicting records

Question 14

norman records as reason for williams anger

Answer 14

-the normans claim that edward promised william the throne in 1051
-in 1064, edward sent harold to normandy to confirm the promise
-edward ordered harold to take an oath while he was in normandy to support william’s succession
-harold spent some weeks hunting with william & fighting along him in battle
-harold willingly swore to support william

Question 15

english version of the events that make william eligible to be king

Answer 15

no english source mentions any visit till the 1120s

1st account:
-harold went to normandy but he wasn’t sent by edward
-he was there as his boat was blown off course
-he was forced to swear an oath before william allowed him to leave

2nd account:
-a monk agreed that harold had been forced to swear an oath & harold was in normandy to release his relatives who were held captive

Question 16

how did william gain the support of the pope before his invasion of england?

Answer 16

-he sent men to rome to win the support of the pope
-they described edward’s promise to william, harold’s oath and how he had broken his word
-they told the pope how archbishop stigand crowned harold, knowing that he saw stigand as the sign of all that was bad about the english church
-the pope gave his full support
-he sent them back to normandy with a papal banner to carry into battle as a sign that God was on their side

Question 17

how did william win over the people who doubted the success of the invasion?

Answer 17

-with the pope’s support
-he also offered great rewards to those who backed him

Question 18

what did william spend spring doing?

Answer 18

building extra ships and moving armour, weapons, food and wine to the coast

Question 19

when was william ready to fight?

Answer 19

by june

Question 20

who told king harold about william’s invasion fleet?

Answer 20

king harold’s spies

Question 21

what happened when a comet appeared in england?

Answer 21

-there was news of violent raids along the south coast of england
-attacks did not come from normandy. -were led by harold‘s brother, tostig
-tostig lost his place as earl of northumbria in 1065, was probably trying to force harold to reinstate him
-his attacks were never a serious threat

Question 22

how did harold get his defences for the battle of fulford?

Answer 22

-harold raised more in taxes than any other king
-he used it to pay for the fyrd and a fleet to defend the south coat of england
-by june 1066, thousands of englishmen were based along the south coast

Question 23

why did harold disband his fyrd?

Answer 23

-his men who began waiting in june were still waiting in early september
-provisions were running out
-men were needed on the land to bring in the harvest

Question 24

what happened after harold disbanded his fyrd?

Answer 24

-another army landed in the north-east of england
-tostig returned with harald hardrada, king of norway
-after fleeing the country, tostig had travelled to norway and had persuaded hardrada to invade england and take the throne

Question 25

what did harold do when he heard the news of tostig & harald?

Answer 25

he hastily gathered an army in the south and marched north

Question 26

what did edwin & morcar do while harold was heading north?

Answer 26

-they led a force into battle against the invaders at fulford
-edwin and Morcar escaped but nothing could stop tostig and hardrada taking the city of york
-the invaders rested there with the intention of moving south to claim the rest of the kingdom

Question 27

what the anglo-saxon chronicle says about the battle of fulford?

Answer 27

‘great slaughter’
“the english were slain or drowned…
‘norwegians had possession of the place of carnage’

Question 28

when was the battle of fulford?

Answer 28

20th september 1066

Question 29

info about the battle of fulford

Answer 29

-english created a shield wall along the north side of the beck
-hardrada placed his weakest fighters along the beck whilst his most experienced fighters were concealed
-the water subsided & the battle began
-hardrada moved his reserve troops along the beck & behind the english
-the english fled & hardrada was victorious

Question 30

when was the battle of stamford bridge?

Answer 30

25th september 1066

Question 31

before the battle of stamford bridge (hardrada, tostig, harold)

Answer 31

-hardrada and tostig had already defeated the northern english earls
-york had surrendered to them and they had been promised hostages in return
-as soon as king harold heard of the norwegian invasion, he gathered an army & raced north rather than staying south in an attempt to defend the south from an imminent attack from william of normandy
-he caught them by surprise, they weren’t even wearing chainmail

Question 32

the battle of stamford bridge (events)

Answer 32

-the saxons surprised the norwegians, who left their armour at their ships
-only the river derwent separated each side
-a viking beserker was on the bridge, he killed 40 saxons
-a soldier paddler found an empty barrel & floated under the bridge, he speared the beserker from below
-hardrada sent riders to fetch his reserve warriors & formed a shield wall
-harold’s army formed a shield wall & advanced up the hill
-hardrada was struck in the throat
-after hardrada fell, harold offered a peace in the interest of sparing lives, but the vikings chose to fight & formed a corpse ring to defend hardrada’s body
-saxons were eventually victorious
-harold allowed the remaining vikings to sail home, with only 12 of the original 300 longships leaving englands shores

Question 33

why were king harold’s victory celebrations cut short?

Answer 33

he received news that william had invaded & his army began a weary march south to fight william

Question 34

why did william wait so long before attacking king harold?

Answer 34

-william’s army waited on coast for 6 weeks
-william couldn’t sail in the bad winds

Question 35

william’s preparation for the battle of hastings: training

Answer 35

-william built up and trained his army over three months (eventually had 7,000 soldiers: including cavalry and archers I up to 3,000 horses and 700 ships)
-chainmail armour

Question 36

william’s preparation for the battle of hastings: quickening the fight

Answer 36

william encouraged his men to raid the surroundings (to provoke harold & provide for needs)

Question 37

what advice was harold given?

Answer 37

-his brother, gyrth, and his mother both urged him to stay in london until he had a full army
-he angrily rejected their advice and headed for hastings

Question 38

why do historians think that harold was hurrying?

Answer 38

1. due to anger
2. to replicate his surprise attack

Question 39

when was the battle of hastings?

Answer 39

14th october 1066

Question 40

williams preparations just before the battle of hastings:

Answer 40

-william prayed
-according to one chronicle, he wore around his neck some of the holy relics on which harold had sworn to help him become king

Question 41

the events of the battle of hastings

Answer 41

-english formed a shield wall 400 - 600 yards long & 12 men deep on a hill
-normans fired arrows & the cavalry tried to climb the hill, the horses found it hard to climb
-the english shield wall pushed forwards & forced the norman’s back down the hill
-a rumour spread that william had died & normans began to drop back, william pulled his helmet back & showed his face, calling out that he was alive
-groups of calvary fleed & quickly turned back to trap saxons & break their wall
-william did this 2x more
-harold was struck in the eye and killed

Question 42

conflicting historians about william’s feigned retreats

Answer 42

1
some say that french chronicles pretended that the feigns were a tactic to cover up the panic of the soldiers

2.
others have found examples of feigns in the 1050s and early 1060s

Question 43

conflicting ideas about harold’s death

Answer 43

1. bayeux tapestry shows harold being struck in the eye. the bayeux tapestry may have been altered as 18th century versions show the same figure holding a spear, much longer than the arrow now. a 19th century restorer may have changed the arrow into a spear
2. only one chronicle of the 1070s says harold was cut to pieces & cut in the thigh (euphemism for groin)

Question 44

why did william win: skill & strength of his army

Answer 44

-cavalry
-feigned retreat tactic
-chainmail armour
-blessing from God

Question 45

why did william win: harold’s mistakes and weaknesses of his army

Answer 45

-no sleep
-travelled far
-had fought recenty
-less men
-no God

Question 46

williams personal qualities (normandy)

Answer 46

-didn’t trust people
-good tactician
-fearless soldier
-crushed rebels