50 free Battle of Hastings trivia questions with answers — history quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
The Battle of Hastings is the one date every English schoolchild knows, and the details are stranger than the headline. Edward the Confessor died childless, Harold Godwinson took the crown, and within nine months he had beaten a Norwegian king at Stamford Bridge, marched 200 miles south, and died on a Sussex ridge as William of Normandy's archers, infantry and cavalry finally broke the shield wall at dusk on 14 October 1066. These 50 questions cover the whole campaign: Rollo's Vikings in Normandy, the Witenagemot, Tostig and Hardrada at Fulford, the landing at Pevensey, Halley's Comet, the fyrd and the housecarls, the kite shields and Danish axes, the feigned flights, the rumour that William was dead, the arrow-in-the-eye story and who first wrote it down, the Malfosse, Edith the Fair identifying the body, Edgar Ætheling, the surrender at Berkhamsted, Christmas Day at Westminster, the Harrying of the North, Battle Abbey and the Bayeux Tapestry. Every answer is cited to a page we checked and comes with a short explanation, so you learn something even when you miss. Play it solo or print it for a pub quiz history round.
30 of 50 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01On what date was the Battle of Hastings fought?
14 October 1066
It was a Saturday, and the fighting ran from about 9 am until dusk.
Q 02Which English king led the army defeated at Hastings?
Harold Godwinson
He had been crowned only months earlier after Edward died childless in January.
Q 03Roughly how far from Hastings did the battle actually take place?
7 miles
It was fought near the present-day town of Battle in East Sussex.
Q 04Whose death in January 1066 triggered the succession crisis?
Edward the Confessor
He was childless and had spent years in exile in Normandy, where he built Norman ties at court.
Q 05Which of Harold's brothers joined the Norwegian invasion against him?
Tostig
He had raided the south coast earlier in 1066 with a fleet recruited in Flanders.
Q 06Which Norwegian king invaded northern England in September 1066?
Harald Hardrada
His claim rested on a pact between Magnus the Good and the English king Harthacnut.
Q 07At which battle did the Norwegians defeat a northern English army on 20 September 1066?
Fulford
Earls Edwin and Morcar lost, and the invaders occupied York.
Q 08Where did Harold crush the Norwegian invaders on 25 September 1066?
Stamford Bridge
Only 24 of the original 300 Norwegian ships were needed to carry the survivors home.
Q 09Where did William land his invasion force on 28 September 1066?
Pevensey
A few ships blown off course landed at Romney, where the Normans fought the local fyrd.
Q 10What tactic did the Normans adopt after failing to break the English lines?
Feigned flight
They pretended to flee in panic, then turned on the English who chased them.
Q 11On what day was William crowned King of England?
Christmas Day 1066
Archbishop Ealdred performed the ceremony at Westminster Abbey.
Q 12Some historians estimate about 2,000 invaders died — and roughly how many Englishmen?
4,000
Of named Normans known to have fought, about one in seven died, though they were all noblemen.
Q 13In which year were Vikings under Rollo allowed to settle in Normandy?
911
Charles the Simple granted the land; the settlers converted to Christianity and intermarried.
Q 14Which English council elected Harold king?
Q 21What celestial event in April 1066 was linked to the succession crisis?
Halley's Comet
It was widely reported across Europe and later stitched into the Bayeux Tapestry.
Q 22Where did William muster his invasion fleet?
Saint-Valery-sur-Somme
He was ready by about 12 August but the crossing was delayed for weeks.
Q 23How many ships does a contemporary document claim William had?
776
Historians suspect the figure is inflated.
Q 24About what fraction of William's army was cavalry?
The Witenagemot
The same body later proclaimed Edgar Ætheling king after Harold's death.
Q 15Which archbishop actually crowned Harold, according to the article?
Ealdred of York
Norman propaganda insisted the uncanonical Archbishop of Canterbury had done it instead.
Q 16Roughly how many men could all of England furnish for the fyrd?
14,000
One man was supposed to serve for every five hides of land.
Q 17What was the name of the king's professional household troops?
Housecarls
They fought on foot like the fyrd but wore superior armour.
Q 18Why did Harold dismiss his militia and fleet on 8 September?
The men needed to harvest their crops
William landed at Pevensey just twenty days later.
Q 19How many of the 300 Norwegian ships were needed to carry the survivors home?
24
The English victory came at great cost to Harold's own weakened army.
Q 20Which pope is said to have given William a papal banner?
Alexander II
The claim appears only in William of Poitiers, not in more contemporary accounts.
One-quarter
Roughly half were infantry and the remaining quarter archers or crossbowmen.
Q 25How many named individuals can be reliably identified as fighting with William?
About 35
Later lists of companions are padded with extra names.
Q 26What shape of shield did Norman horsemen carry?
Kite-shaped
Infantry shields were usually round, wooden and metal-reinforced.
Q 27About how far did Harold's army march each day on its way south?
27 miles
The roughly 200-mile march took about a week, with a week's pause in London.
Q 28Where did Harold camp on the night of 13 October, near a "hoar-apple tree"?
Caldbec Hill
It lay about 8 miles from William's castle at Hastings.
Q 29Most historians put the English army at Hastings at roughly what size?
7,000–8,000
Some Norman sources absurdly claim up to 1,200,000 on Harold's side.
Q 30What weapon did most of the king's professional household troops use?
A two-handed Danish axe
They could also carry a sword and wore a conical helmet and mail hauberk.