1.4 The Norman Invasion

When was the battle of Hastings?

14 oct 1066

How did the battle start off for harold?

he did not achieve he element of surprise because Williams scouts informed him

Harold was on the high ground where he organised his shield wall along the ridge

How did William try to break the shield wall?

he sent his archers forward but the English caught the arrows on their shields

Norman foot soldiers then went up but the heavy axes of the English did a lot of damage

the cavalry went up but failed to break the wall

What eventually broke the wall and weakened harold’s army?

William was rumoured to be dead so some soldiers broke off, but they were cut off at the bottom and slaughtered

the Normans then managed to reduce the Saxon forces until the shield wall began to break up

they were now outnumbered and Harold was killed

What were the advantages of Williams knights?

devastating charge potential, height advantage for the mounted knight to strike downwards in combat, highly skilled, horses were specially bred to be strong

What were the disadvantages of Williams knights?

horses vulnerable to attack, advantage of charge lost when charging up a hill

What are the advantages of Harold’s housecarls?

a disciplined shield wall was proof against arrows and very hard to break, heavy axes caused severe injuries and took down horses, elite skills

What were the disadvantages of Harold housecarls?

depended on the discipline and endurance, one the shield wall was broken its advantages disappeared, opponents can charge through and it can turn into general chaotic combat

What did Williams foot soldiers consist of?

Normans and mercenaries ~ most were not trained to fight in coordination with the Norman knights

archers and crossbowmen

What did Harold’s fyrdsmen consist of?

men he had levied from the fyrd on his trip south

the thegns had good weapons but the general fyrd only had farming tools o fight with

What arguments are there that favour the shield wall?

they were sophisticated

they are effective against archers

proved effective against the cavalry

What different attacking tactics did William have?

his archers made little impression on the shield wall because they had to shoot up[ and stay out of the shield walls javelin range ~ once the wall was broken the archers could get closer and be more effective

used the cavalry against the shield wall ~ once it had broke the mounted knights can charge though and break it up

When did william show good leadership?

he waited throughout the summer for the fyrd to disband ~ strong strategic leadership

keeping his army and fleet together took strong leadership

crossing was highly ambitious _ flat bottomed boats were designed to transport the horses

he brought a pre-fabricated castle to be brought with them from Normandy to give his soldiers some security from attack

once in England, he caused destruction to the surrounding area

What decisions did Harold make that may have influenced if he won?

calling out his southern fyrd in may was a problem as he had to maintain it for four months before disbanding it

he could have waited for William to come to him in London

he didn’t have the element of surprise

What were the benefits of Harold staying in London?

it was well fortified and William would have to lay siege to it

this would have been difficult for an invading army to do as they needed to find food and infectious disease spread quickly

What are criticisms of harold’s decision?

in getting done as soon as possible he weakened his chances of success because he did not have a full levy of men

he may have attacked in a rage because of what William was doing to Wessex

What are justifications of harold’s decision?

if he moved quickly enough he could have bottled William up in Hastings where he would be starved or he could have attacked him by surprise

if Harold waited, William could have gotten reinforcements from London

towns were not well developed and William was highly experienced in sieges

its a possibility Harold was let down by Edwin and morcar, perhaps he left without all his troops because they refused to help him

he had a responsibility to protect his countrymen from Norman pillaging as Wessex was his home

What lucky things happened to William which helped his victory?

Harald Hardrada’s invasion to happen when it did ~ the consequences of the defeat at gate Fulford and Harold’s journey up and down were to weaken Harold’s defence

William decided to sail after winter storms had begun which made the channel very dangerous ~ his fleet was lucky to not be destroyed

medieval battles were chaotic and the two sides were evenly matched ~ he was vey lucky to have not lost