Anglo Saxon and Norman England: 1.4

Question 1

Describe the features of William’s troops in the Battle of Hastings (14/10/1066)

Answer 1

• had cavalry
  [] horses had massive charging power
  [] height given by horses would’ve been ideal for downstrikes on Anglo-Saxon foot soldiers
  [] however, horses were vulnerable to attack and didn’t have much advantage when fighting uphill
• had around 800 knights/cavalry, and 4-6000 foot soldiers
• his foot soldiers were a mix of European mercenaries, Norman archers, Norman swordsmen and Norman javelin-users
  [] this mix of non-Normans and Normans may have been a disadvantage, as the army then would’ve been less cohesive as a unit, language barriers may have been present, and the different motives of the different parties may have affected how hard they fought in the event that the Normans were losing
  [] the range of different weapons among William’s army meant that he could cover more ground and modes of attack, giving better chance of success
• THE NORMANS WERE WELL-RESTED AND READY FOR WAR, UNLIKE THE VIKING ARMY, GIVING THEM THE ADVANTAGE

Question 2

Describe the features of Harold’s troops in the Battle of Hastings (14/10/1066)

Answer 2

• his elite soldiers were housecarls
  [] extremely loyal to Harold, thus willing to fight hard and long
  [] had good endurance, HOWEVER, this was weakened by the constant marches and fighting
  [] were battle-hardened and had much tactical experience in terms of traditional Saxon and Scandinavian battles
  [] formidable shield wall (effective against archers, which William had a lot of)
  [] their axes were heavy and good at cutting down horses
  [] their efficiency depended on discipline, which was weakened by their exhaustion (disadvantage; meant was easier for Normans to overpower them)
• had 6-7000 men in total
• most of the army was from the general fyrd
  [] armed with farming tools and not proper weapons or armour (only thegns and earls had this)
  [] many lacked the discipline and training of housecarls or the Norman troops
  [] Harold didn’t wait for all the fyrd to be levied before going into battle, which weakened his forces’ numbers and meant that he had less archers

Question 3

Describe the key events of the Battle of Hastings (14/10/1066)

Answer 3

• the battle lasted around 8 hours; VERY long for a medieval battle
  [] shows the two sides were evenly matched
• Harold didn’t achieve surprise over William as he had hoped
  [] Norman informants told William he was in the area and the Norman army prepared accordingly
  [] showed that the Anglo-Saxons underestimated the organisation of the Normans
• Harold gained the high ground on Caldbec hill
  [] Normans had marshland at their backs, meaning that they couldn’t retreat safely
  [] Harold was able to block the way to London
• William’s archers didn’t do anything to penetrate the English shield wall and Norman foot soldiers were cut down by the English’s axes
  [] battle started in Harold’s favour
  [] morale of English high, vs low morale for Normans
• at a point particularly difficult for the Normans, rumour began to spread that William was killed; tipped his helmet back to prove he was still alive
  [] raised previously very low morale of the Normans drastically
  [] showed that the battle was pretty evenly matched; William could have died just as easily as Harold
• William employed the “feigned retreat” tactic, where he had his foot soldiers run down the hill, seemingly fleeing, then hit the English troops in pursuit with his cavalry
  [] broke the discipline of the English shield wall; this is absolutely necessary for victory
  [] particularly devastating to the English due to the downwards momentum making soldiers unstable and unable to react in time to the cavalry
• after the devastation of the cavalry, many remaining fyrdsmen left, whilst only Harold’s housecarls remained in a circle around him, Gyrth and Leofwine. fighting to the death
  [] shows disadvantage of not having an army composed of trained soldiers - many just want to live and won’t self-sacrifice
• Harold was reportedly killed by an arrow to the eye (in the Bayeux Tapestry), and both Leofwine and Gyrth were killed
  [] extremely common death; Harold’s death could have easily happened to William if he was less lucky earlier in the battle
  [] the fact that both the other brothers were killed shows that William understood that the Godwinsons had much power and influence and following in England; keeping them alive would only cause problems

Question 4

Explain why William won the Battle of Hastings

Answer 4

• feigned retreat tactic
  [] took advantage of the English fyrdsmen’s lack of professionalism, as well as their exhaustion and over-confidence due to earlier success
• paid close attention to the morale of his troops and made sure to keep motivation to win high
  [] dispelling death rumour, etc.
• William had many different demographics of soldiers in terms of weaponry
  [] the only reason that Harold didn’t have this is because he didn’t want to wait for other units of the fyrd to be levied, and lost numbers and diversity in troops
  [] this was a HUGE disadvantage later in the battle, where diversity of troops able to attack as well as defend like the shield wall would’ve been vital and would have made feigned retreat dangerous for William (archers could shoot Norman cavalry down)
• William waited for Harold to disband his fyrd before attacking
  [] required keeping his own army provisioned and stationed for a LONG time - needed to continuously keep morale up too; all of this shows William’s strength as a leader
• the Normans made pre-fabricated castles to provide shelter once landing in Hastings
  [] organisation
• Normans made special boats to carry their specially bred war-horses over the channel, as they were vital to the cavalry unit
  [] organisation
• William + Norman army baited Harold into rushing to Hastings rather than sheltering behind the fortifications of London and strengthening the numbers of the Anglo-Saxon army by attacking + devastating Hastings and the surrounding areas in Wessex
  [] Wessex was Harold’s home; this destruction would have angered him greatly and been a challenge to him by William
  [] the Anglo-Saxons may ALSO have rushed to Hastings instead of staying in London because they knew that Normans and William in particular had a lot of experience with siege tactics, whilst the Anglo-Saxons didn’t - if it came to a siege, the Anglo-Saxons may have been massacred
• Harold wasn’t able to use his fleet (the Anglo-Saxon fleet was the strongest of their army due to frequent tension with Scandinavia) because William waited so long to attack and forced Harold to disband his fyrd at the shore
• LUCK !!!!!!!!!!!!
  [] many Normans and Anglo-Saxons regarded the Normans’ extreme luck as God outwardly supporting the Norman Conquest
  [] this religious narrative greatly aided in the Anglo-Saxons accepting William as their new king