50 Fun Facts About Battle of Hastings

On what date was the Battle of Hastings fought?

It was a Saturday, and the fighting ran from about 9 am until dusk.

Which English king led the army defeated at Hastings?

He had been crowned only months earlier after Edward died childless in January.

Roughly how far from Hastings did the battle actually take place?

It was fought near the present-day town of Battle in East Sussex.

Whose death in January 1066 triggered the succession crisis?

He was childless and had spent years in exile in Normandy, where he built Norman ties at court.

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

He had raided the south coast earlier in 1066 with a fleet recruited in Flanders.

Which Norwegian king invaded northern England in September 1066?

His claim rested on a pact between Magnus the Good and the English king Harthacnut.

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

Earls Edwin and Morcar lost, and the invaders occupied York.

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

Only 24 of the original 300 Norwegian ships were needed to carry the survivors home.

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?

Archbishop Ealdred performed the ceremony at Westminster Abbey.

Some historians estimate about 2,000 invaders died — and roughly how many Englishmen?

Of named Normans known to have fought, about one in seven died, though they were all noblemen.

In which year were Vikings under Rollo allowed to settle in Normandy?

Charles the Simple granted the land; the settlers converted to Christianity and intermarried.

Which English council elected Harold king?

The same body later proclaimed Edgar Ætheling king after Harold's death.

Which archbishop actually crowned Harold, according to the article?

Norman propaganda insisted the uncanonical Archbishop of Canterbury had done it instead.

Roughly how many men could all of England furnish for the fyrd?

One man was supposed to serve for every five hides of land.

What was the name of the king's professional household troops?

They fought on foot like the fyrd but wore superior armour.

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

William landed at Pevensey just twenty days later.

How many of the 300 Norwegian ships were needed to carry the survivors home?

The English victory came at great cost to Harold's own weakened army.

Which pope is said to have given William a papal banner?

The claim appears only in William of Poitiers, not in more contemporary accounts.

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

It was widely reported across Europe and later stitched into the Bayeux Tapestry.

Where did William muster his invasion fleet?

He was ready by about 12 August but the crossing was delayed for weeks.

How many ships does a contemporary document claim William had?

Historians suspect the figure is inflated.

About what fraction of William's army was cavalry?

Roughly half were infantry and the remaining quarter archers or crossbowmen.

How many named individuals can be reliably identified as fighting with William?

Later lists of companions are padded with extra names.

What shape of shield did Norman horsemen carry?

Infantry shields were usually round, wooden and metal-reinforced.

About how far did Harold's army march each day on its way south?

The roughly 200-mile march took about a week, with a week's pause in London.

Where did Harold camp on the night of 13 October, near a "hoar-apple tree"?

It lay about 8 miles from William's castle at Hastings.

Most historians put the English army at Hastings at roughly what size?

Some Norman sources absurdly claim up to 1,200,000 on Harold's side.

What weapon did most of the king's professional household troops use?

They could also carry a sword and wore a conical helmet and mail hauberk.

What was the English army's primary defensive formation?

Front ranks locked or overlapped their shields, with axemen and javelins behind.

At what time did sunset occur on the day of the battle?

With moonrise not until 11:12 pm, the field was in full darkness by 6:24 pm.

What Norman-French name did Orderic Vitalis give the battle within 40 years?

It adapts the Old English Sandlacu, meaning sandy water, perhaps a stream on the field.

What does the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle call the battle?

By 1086 the Domesday Book was already calling it bellum Haestingas.

Which 1086 record already refers to the battle as "bellum Haestingas"?

Several settlements were closer to the battlefield than Hastings, which makes the name unusual.

Who led the Breton division on William's left?

The right wing of Frenchmen and Flemings was under fitzOsbern and Eustace II of Boulogne.

A rumour during the first retreat claimed who had been killed?

William rode through his men with his helmet raised, showing his face to prove he lived.

How many horses does William of Poitiers say were killed under William?

The Carmen puts the number at two.

Which Italian monk first wrote down the story of Harold's arrow in the eye?

He wrote in the 1080s; the Bayeux Tapestry itself is ambiguous about which figure is Harold.

What was the name of the ditch where English stragglers made a final stand?

The name means "Evil Ditch"; Eustace of Boulogne was seriously wounded there.

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

She knew private marks on his body; his mother reportedly offered his weight in gold for it.

Which abbey, founded by Harold, later claimed to hold his secretly buried body?

Other legends had him buried on a cliff, thrown into the sea, or living as a hermit at Chester.

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

William marched on London regardless and accepted the nobles' surrender at Berkhamsted.

Where did William cross the Thames on his roundabout march to London?

Stigand submitted to him there before the other leaders gave in at Berkhamsted.

Which brutal campaign of 1069–70 devastated northern England?

A further rebellion by Hereward the Wake at Ely was put down in 1070.

What did William found on the battlefield, its altar on the spot where Harold fell?

The foundation was more likely imposed on him by papal legates in 1070.

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 embroidered narrative of the conquest soon after the battle?

It may have been made to hang in his bishop's palace.

Some English veterans later joined which elite unit in Constantinople?

They met the Normans again at Dyrrhachium in 1081 and lost in similar fashion.

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.