Events Around 1066 Flashcards
The norman
William of Normandy, king since he was seven. Edward lived in Normandy and when he went back to England, William gave him some of his troops so was promised the throne.
The englishman
Harold Godwinson Earl of Wessex, one of the most powerful people in England, his father argued a lot with Edward and was banished for a year, Harolds sister was married to king Edward.
The viking
Harald Hardrada King of Norway, he had previously taken part in raids on the English coast and later planned to fully invade England when he came king, he had no links to throne but a viking called Canute had ruled England and Normandy previously.
Why were people trying to claim the English throne
Because in January 1066, King Edward the confessor died at the age of 62
What happened at the Battle of Stamford bridge
300 longboats carried the vikings there, but only 24 returned. King Harold of England sat on his throne and on september 1066 Harald Hadrada sailed over and tried to take the throne with 10,000 vikings but failed. Some of the vikings left their armour on their boats and were caught off guard. One viking beserker stood on the bridge and killed 40 englishmen with his axe but a brave english soldier went under the bridge and threw a spear through it and killed him.
The battle of Hastings (morning)
King Harold had already defeated Hadrada but he had to trek 250 miles to face William. On 14th October, around 9:30 in the morning, the battle began with Harold looking up the hill at the English. Neither of tyem made any advance but they did try to break through each others shield walls unsucessfully.
The battle of Hasting (afternoon)
Still, neither of them were advancing, so William came up with a clever plan. He told his soldiers to pretend to retreat and run away. The English thought they had won so chased after them only to lose the high ground. The French then killed all of the English from the horseback and eventually killed Harold. Harold’s mum offered her sons body weight in gold for his body but William buried it in a secret location instead.
