3.9 Battle of Hastings Flashcards
What was the situation before the battle began? (3)
- 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
What had William been doing prior to the battle? (2)
- Normans were terrorising the local population
- Destroying the land => setting fire to things
When was the Battle of Hastings?
14th October 1066
Where was the Battle of Hastings?
Senlac Hill in Hastings
When did the battle begin? What happened?
- 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
What did William do after he unleashed the archers?
William then sent his infantry up the hill into the attack => they were unable to force a break in the shield wall
What did William do following the failed attempt of the infantry?
- 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
What happened at midday?
Battle stopped to collect wounded and dead.
What did William do following the break?
- Changed tactics
- Moved archers to behind infantry
- Now arrows hitting AS directly - surprised them
What was happening by 4pm?
AS shield wall was beginning to disintegrate and Normans began to attack + break down through sides of shield wall.
How did the battle end?
- 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
What were the strengths of King Harold in terms of - army numbers, weapons and state? (2)
- House carls and Thegns = part of army
- House carls = well-equipped with armour, double handed axes, pikes and large circular shields
What were the weaknesses of King Harold in terms of - army numbers, weapons and state? (3)
- 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
What were the strengths of King Harold in terms of - previous battle experience, style of fighting? (2)
- Shield wall formation => interlocking round shields to prevent enemy soldiers from penetrating the line
- King Harold position in middle of his troops on foot
What were the weaknesses of King Harold in terms of - previous battle experience, style of fighting? (2)
- Most soldiers => infantry
- No horses
What were the strengths of King Harold in terms of - position on the battlefield? (2)
- 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
What were the strengths of William in terms of - army numbers, weapons and state? (5)
- 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
What was the weakness of William in terms of - army numbers, weapons and state?
Lack of communications from a language perspective
What were the strengths of William in terms of - previous battle experience, style of fighting? (3)
- 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
What was the strength of William in terms of - position on the battlefield?
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
What was the weakness of William in terms of - position on the battlefield?
Didn’t have the height of the hill
What happened to William’s horses?
William had 3 different horses throughout the day - all of which were killed, but he wasn’t
