3.9 Battle of Hastings

Question 1

What was the situation before the battle began? (3)

Answer 1

• Harold had marched to meet William quickly
• Wanted to surprise William by arriving so quickly as this had proved successful at Battle of Stamford Bridge
• William was taunting Harold to get Harold to come to him

Question 2

What had William been doing prior to the battle? (2)

Answer 2

• Normans were terrorising the local population
• Destroying the land => setting fire to things

Question 3

When was the Battle of Hastings?

Answer 3

14th October 1066

Question 4

Where was the Battle of Hastings?

Answer 4

Senlac Hill in Hastings

Question 5

When did the battle begin? What happened?

Answer 5

• The Battle began when William’s archers unleashed a volley of arrows at the Anglo-Saxon army at around 9 am
• The shield wall proved to be an effective defence against the arrows

Question 6

What did William do after he unleashed the archers?

Answer 6

William then sent his infantry up the hill into the attack => they were unable to force a break in the shield wall

Question 7

What did William do following the failed attempt of the infantry?

Answer 7

• A second of Normans ran away from Norman line and some AS fyrd followed - became stuck in mud at bottom of hill
• Normans turned and slaughtered the AS who chased them => feigned retreat - slowly broke AS shield wall

Question 8

What happened at midday?

Answer 8

Battle stopped to collect wounded and dead.

Question 9

What did William do following the break?

Answer 9

• Changed tactics
• Moved archers to behind infantry
• Now arrows hitting AS directly - surprised them

Question 10

What was happening by 4pm?

Answer 10

AS shield wall was beginning to disintegrate and Normans began to attack + break down through sides of shield wall.

Question 11

How did the battle end?

Answer 11

• Remaining housecarls fell into a retreating position around Harold
• Harold was killed
• Seeing his death, fyrd broke rank and fled
• William won the battle but still had to conquer England

Question 12

What were the strengths of King Harold in terms of - army numbers, weapons and state? (2)

Answer 12

• House carls and Thegns = part of army
• House carls = well-equipped with armour, double handed axes, pikes and large circular shields

Question 13

What were the weaknesses of King Harold in terms of - army numbers, weapons and state? (3)

Answer 13

• Fyrd army of 7000 people
• Unequipped fyrds who used pitch forks + farming equipment
• Had marched army north in 4 days to face Hadrada. He then marched south to London before heading to Battle of Hastings => exhaustion

Question 14

What were the strengths of King Harold in terms of - previous battle experience, style of fighting? (2)

Answer 14

• Shield wall formation => interlocking round shields to prevent enemy soldiers from penetrating the line
• King Harold position in middle of his troops on foot

Question 15

What were the weaknesses of King Harold in terms of - previous battle experience, style of fighting? (2)

Answer 15

• Most soldiers => infantry
• No horses

Question 16

What were the strengths of King Harold in terms of - position on the battlefield? (2)

Answer 16

• Positioned at top of Senlac hill
• As they’re fighting in their homeland thy could get reinforcements + people often fight more fiercely in defence of homeland

Question 17

What were the strengths of William in terms of - army numbers, weapons and state? (5)

Answer 17

• Mixture of trained mercenary forces from Normandy + W Europe => 7000
• Knights trained from age 3, riding horses that were trained to kick and bite
• Bows, large tear-shaped shields => cover from knee to chin, pikes + armour
• Landed at Pevensey + built castles before travelling along S coast + burning villages
• Had several days to rest and prepare for Battle of Hastings, with food + supplies to refuel pre-battle

Question 18

What was the weakness of William in terms of - army numbers, weapons and state?

Answer 18

Lack of communications from a language perspective

Question 19

What were the strengths of William in terms of - previous battle experience, style of fighting? (3)

Answer 19

• Had conquered many areas around Normandy - far as Sicily
• Infantry on foot, archers, troops organised into divisions and used a system of flags to communicate
• Knights on horseback => cavalry + carried lances

Question 20

What was the strength of William in terms of - position on the battlefield?

Answer 20

Arrived first, chose site at base of hill - road was battle field surrounded by marshy land => Harold used road to get to William + William used it to get to London

Question 21

What was the weakness of William in terms of - position on the battlefield?

Answer 21

Didn’t have the height of the hill

Question 22

What happened to William’s horses?

Answer 22

William had 3 different horses throughout the day - all of which were killed, but he wasn’t