45 Fun Facts About Battle of Hastings

In legend, how did King Harold die at Hastings?

An arrow in the eye is the traditional story, but other accounts have Harold hacked to pieces by William's men.

Besides 'the Conqueror', which nickname did William of Normandy sometimes go by?

William the Bastard was the son of Duke Robert I's mistress, yet the duke, with no other sons, made him heir, and William inherited Normandy in 1035.

Who reputedly struck the first Norman blow at Hastings?

A minstrel, Taillefer, is said to have killed the first Englishman, and later tellings have him charging the English and dying in the attack.

Whose death in January 1066 set off England's succession crisis?

Edward the Confessor was too ill to attend the consecration of his new Westminster Abbey, and he was buried there the day after he died, the same day Harold was crowned.

Which of Harold's brothers joined the Norwegian invasion against him?

Tostig is said to have turned down Harold's offer of his old earldom back if he would switch sides, and he died fighting for the Norwegian king.

Which Norwegian king invaded northern England in September 1066?

Harald Hardrada's claim is said to have rested on a pact between Magnus the Good and the English king Harthacnut, though no contemporary record of that pact survives.

At which battle did the Norwegians defeat a northern English army on 20 September 1066?

Fulford cost Earls Edwin and Morcar so many men that their forces played no further part in the campaigns of 1066.

Where did Harold crush the Norwegian invaders on 25 September 1066?

Stamford Bridge was held up, legend says, by a lone Norwegian on the bridge, until an Englishman floated beneath it and speared him from below.

Where did William land his invasion force on 28 September 1066?

A few ships blown off course landed at Romney, where the Normans fought the local fyrd.

What tactic did the Normans adopt after failing to break the English lines?

They pretended to flee in panic, then turned on the English who chased them.

On what day was William crowned King of England?

Christmas Day 1066 saw William crowned at Westminster Abbey, a choice probably meant to cast him as the late king's rightful successor.

Which of these farmyard words came into English from Norman French?

Pork comes from Old French 'porc', and French was spoken in England's courts for centuries after 1066, reshaping the language.

The Northmen who settled Normandy followed which Viking leader?

Rollo's Northmen won Normandy in exchange for peace, then adopted French customs, language and Christianity, becoming the Normans who conquered England.

Which English council elected Harold king?

The Witenagemot's choice didn't stop Norman writers branding Harold a perjurer, who had broken an oath sworn on sacred relics to back William's claim.

Why did Norman propaganda claim it was Stigand who crowned Harold?

His appointment breached church law, so tying the crowning to him let Norman writers paint Harold's kingship as illegal.

Which landmark was founded toward the end of 1066 as part of the Norman Conquest?

The Tower of London was built as a fortress to protect the city, yet it later became one of the world's most famous prisons.

What were King Harold's paid professional soldiers called?

Housecarls made up much of the force Harold raced to Yorkshire in four days to meet the Norwegian invaders.

Why did Harold dismiss his militia and fleet on 8 September?

The men needed to harvest their crops, and with provisions running low Harold stood down both the militia and the fleet.

Before their battle in 1066, what did Harold reportedly offer the invading Norwegian king?

A few feet of English ground, a little more since he was taller than most men, was the reported offer, and the Norwegian king died in the battle that followed.

What is Pope Alexander II said to have sent William for the invasion?

A banner, the story goes, as William sought the Pope's backing to show his claim was lawful and that God was on his side.

What celestial event in April 1066 was linked to the succession crisis?

Halley's Comet is said to have been hailed by Eilmer, an old Malmesbury monk who had once tried to fly with wings, as a sign of England's coming ruin.

What made the Battle of Hastings unusual by medieval standards?

It lasted most of the day, and William's victory was far from certain until Harold fell late in the fighting.

Why did William's troops raid and burn the land around Hastings after landing?

To draw Harold south to fight, and Harold duly rushed to battle partly to stop the Normans ravaging the countryside.

What is said to have held up William's Channel crossing for weeks in 1066?

Unfavourable winds are the usual explanation, though William may also have been waiting for the English fleet to disperse, and he crossed just after Harold had gone north.

What did Harold's mother reportedly offer William in return for her son's body?

Its weight in gold was refused, and where Harold's body ended up is still disputed, with legends of burial at sea, on a cliff or in an abbey.

What shape of shield did Norman horsemen carry?

Kite-shaped shields suited riders, since the long tapering tail is thought to have shielded a horseman's leg as well as his body.

What gave Harold's army its advantage at the start of the Battle of Hastings?

Holding a hilltop let the English beat back repeated, bloody Norman assaults up the slope for hours.

Which region supplied the fleet that raided south-east England early in 1066, before the Norwegian landing?

Flanders supplied the raiders' ships, but Earl Edwin drove them out of eastern England, and their leader withdrew north to Scotland.

What weapon did most of King Harold's paid professional soldiers use?

A two-handed Danish axe could cut off a horse's head with one blow, a deadly answer to mounted Norman knights.

Late in the Battle of Hastings, what are William's archers said to have been ordered to do?

Shoot high into the air, 12th-century writers say, so arrows fell behind the English front, though earlier accounts never mention the order.

At Hastings, which contingent on William's left wing broke and fled first?

The Bretons turned to flee, and almost William's whole battle line fell back with them before he rallied it.

Which great survey did William the Conqueror order?

The Domesday Book was named after doomsday, the Day of Judgement, since its record was held to be as final as that last verdict.

When a rumour spread at Hastings that William had been killed, how did he show he was alive?

He lifted his helmet and rode among his men shouting that he was alive, then led a counter-attack on the English who had chased them.

Despite its name, what kind of work is the Bayeux Tapestry technically?

An embroidery, its wool stitched onto linen rather than woven, and its ending has been lost, so the famous story breaks off unfinished.

Harold II was the last crowned king from which people?

The Anglo-Saxons lost the throne with him, after a reign of under ten months that he spent defending his kingdom against successive invaders.

Who, by 12th-century tradition, was brought to identify Harold's mutilated body?

Edith the Fair, Harold's common-law wife, knew marks on his body that no one else did, since his face was too badly disfigured to recognise.

Which abbey, Harold's own foundation, later claimed to hold his body?

Waltham is where Harold had stopped to pray on his march to face William.

Whom did the English council proclaim king after Harold's death?

Edgar Ætheling had the strongest blood claim but was only about 14, and the earls who had backed him soon submitted to William.

At William's coronation, what did Norman guards outside do when they heard the English cheering?

Set fire to nearby houses, fearing an uprising, and the smoke sent the congregation fleeing while the bishops hurried to finish the crowning.

Which brutal campaign did William launch in 1069–70?

The Harrying of the North answered a rising by northern rebels backed by foreign invaders against William's rule.

What did William found on the battlefield of Hastings as penance for the bloodshed?

A monastery, Battle Abbey, was one William is said to have vowed to found just before the battle began.

Who helped the British government buy the battlefield estate in 1976?

They wanted to honour the 200th anniversary of American independence; English Heritage now runs it.

Who probably commissioned the Bayeux Tapestry soon after the battle?

Bishop Odo, William's half-brother, appears on the Tapestry himself, holding a club as he rallies the Norman troops.

Some English veterans later joined which elite unit in Constantinople?

The Varangian Guard met the Normans again at Dyrrhachium in 1081, where its men chased fleeing Normans, got cut off and were massacred.

What did the uphill angle do to the opening Norman arrow volleys?

With few English archers, there were hardly any arrows to gather and shoot back.