Battle of Hastings - Latest thoughts

Latest Thoughts on the Battle of Hastings

Just to let you know that I have been quietly beavering away on the Battle while I'm waiting for permission to metal detect on my site of choice and preparing a talk for a possible symposium later on this year.

The Bayeux Tapestry

After much thought and testing , I've come to the conclusion that scenes from the Battle were taken at 3 hourly intervals throughout the day that is at Tierce ( 0900), Sext (1200), None (1500) and Vespers (1800) and put on the Tapestry. 

Consider. 

From other sources it is generally accepted that the Battle started at 0900 (Tierce). 3 hours later, at noon or Sext, that engagement was drawing to a close as the shield wall had been shattered and the Normans where dispatching the remnants of the Huscarls. 

Now the next scene shows the Norman knights attacking fresh but unarmoured men. So according to the official version of events, these Fyrd had the sense to build prepared defences while their brothers -in-arms were being slaughtered or that they built the defences while being under attack  or even moved about about the battlefield in order to gain some advantageous high ground. In my view it is more likely that they were at a remote location being directed to build defences against the Norman knights. So if this is the case there must have been some time between the end of the first encounter and the start of the second or main engagement. 

Given that in my world there was about a 2 kilometer separation of the engagement sites then it is reasonable to assume that it would be a natural break in the fighting and the Normans could have used it to take on board sustenance and move to the start lines for the second engagement. Thus the second or main engagement started at 1500 or None as depicted by the Bayeux Tapestry.

This also ties in with Harold being killed at Vespers (1800 or approaching dusk). The Bayeux Tapestry shows the knights routing and William rallying them before showing the killing of Harold and the subsequent killing of the remaining Huscarls.

Written Sources 

I have not said much about written sources as I don't read Latin or any other languages other than English, Norwegian and a bit of modern French, so I have rely on other peoples translations. 

I'm going to be very upfront about this. I'm going to interpret the written accounts of the Battle as if I''m right and the Battle was fought in two locations. Let us see where that gets us.

Oderic 

He states that the English troops took post at a place called Senlac and after dismounting from their horses they formed their shieldwall. He also states for the record that William had deployed crossbows - an illegal weapon at that time.  So score "1" for the idea of two encounters

Carmen

In a translation by Kathleen Tyson we have the following:

Line 341                               He[William] intended to station his lancers behind the infantry

Line 342                               But encountering battle, he was not allowed

Line 343                               For he saw the approach of enemy columns not far off

Line 344                               And the woods full of gleaming weapons

To me, this states that William encountered battle before he was expecting it and there were more troops in the far distance. Hmmm, the scene is set for two encounters! So score another "1" for the idea of two encounters.

William of Jumiéges

Since the official book costs £127, all you're going to get is what I can glean from other authors and that's nothing. 

William of Poitiers

Again, since the official book costs £147 what you're going to get is nothing. 

The previous sources are all supposed to be 11th century sources. What follows are 12th century sources. 

William of Malmsbury

In my opinion, William gives a confused account of the battle  and therefore I'm reluctant to comment further. 

Henry of Huntingdon 

While Henry does not mention two encounters, he does describe the formation of an English line reminiscent of the "None" frame of the Bayeux Tapestry. So I'm going to count him as another "1" for my idea of two encounters.

An interesting point made by Henry was that King Harold "drew up his army on level ground" and William attacked with 5 squadrons of calvary. Ummm, did Henry look at the Bayeux Tapestry?

The Chronicle of Battle Abbey

This source is mainly concerned with Walter de Luci defending Battle Abbey's special status and does not go into detail as to how the battle was fought. 

Conclusion

Once I can get my hands on a copy of the two Williams reports I can give a definitive answer but it seems that the 11th century sources give indications that there were two encounters while those of the 12th century are more vague as one might suspect given the separation in time from the battle. 

  

Timeline from Pevensey Castle to the night of the 14th October 1066 revised

From Pevensey to the Aftermath

After spending many hours in study of all available free information (and not so free) I feel that I've done as much as I can before turning it over to the professionals. There are still some loose ends of course but the main thrust of the work is finished.

Right, here we go.

Pevensey

William lands his infantry at Pevensey and refortifies the fort the Romans left behind. His knights however land at Little Standard Hill and while foraging for food and supplies, secure the Port of Hastings.

After a few days, William relocates to the Port of Hastings. The most likely place that he landed is on the site of the old Priory of Hastings which is around the area of ESK, a well known shop in Hastings. This is based on a map showing an ancient boundary between alluvial deposits and head ( see https://www.westsussex.gov.uk/media/1728/hastings_eus_report_maps.pdf page 83 of 90)

which just happens to be where the Priory was located ( shown on page 75 of 90 on the same url ).

Port of Hastings

William builds a lower temporary fort in the area and I think it has been lost to the mists of time. I'd like to think that the ground plan was used to set out the building of the mews for the Priory but there is no guarantee that this is the case. 

William also has a second fort built at the top of the hill towards Battle. The motte is still visible alongside the A2100 and stands there all overgrown. There is a pond nearby called Circle Pond and I'd like to think that the bailey that went with the motte would be somewhere between the motte and the pond. Only time would tell but since we're looking for wooden buildings on farmland, it's a pretty tall ask. 

William now sends out raiding parties for food and to scout for the oncoming English response. According to Nick Austin's site "Secrets of the Norman Invasion " Drigsall and Salehurst are "wasted" in the Doomsday record ( http://www.secretsofthenormaninvasion.com/ parts 8 through and including 11). However since it takes many visits to render a place "wasted" ( see the other manors he mentions) Drigsall and Salehurst must have been visited many times as they were the farthest north one could get without crossing a substantial river ( River Rother). 

Eventually......

King Harold is spotted approaching. 

King Harold camps at Netherfield Down ( triangular camp mentioned by Wace) the night before the battle.  There are reports of the English camping on Caldbec Hill which I have dismissed up til now but given that the "scouts" are actually Huscarls then it makes a bit of sense to have "forward elements" of Harold's army perched on the hill.

The Morning of the Battle

From the Bayeux Tapestry, an English scout Huscarl  spots the Normans at about 8 in the morning assuming the scout Huscarl  is actually shielding his eyes from the sun and has not been posed for dramatic effect. However, this is also assuming that a modern hour is the same as an medieval hour, which I doubt but can find no information about. 

So a scout Huscarl  goes back to King Harold, who is coming away from his overnight camp on Netherfield Down . They meet about where Battle Golf Course is (or was) and the scout Huscarl  relates what he saw to King Harold. The King then orders the Huscarls forward to meet and delay the Normans. King Harold then sets the rest of his troop to building prepared defences ( as seen on plate 65 b) in The Bayeux Tapestry by David M. Wilson). 

Start the clock......

The time is about 9 ( Tierce) in the morning and the Huscarls have just got into position with the horses having just been taken away when the Normans attack.  The Normans surround the Huscarls and kill each and every one of them. Not because the Normans were particularly nasty but because the Huscarls did not and do not run. In order for the number of casualties to be equal, the Norman infantry must have taken a beating here too. Where that beating took place is still surrounded in mystery. All I know is that it wasn't Senlac Ridge or the mini roundabout but somewhere under where the town now stands. There are no clues from the Tapestry.  The ground depicted under the Huscarls is shown as "broken" and Orderic Vitalis calls the place "Senlac" or"beautiful meadow" in Anglo-Saxon. So perhaps the first engagement took place not fa from Battle Museum.....

How do I know that it was just the Huscarls getting slaughtered? Have a look at plates 61 and 62 in The Bayeux Tapestry by David M Wilson. All you can see from the English side on those two plates are Housecarls and a single token archer. No Fyrd at all!

Here endeth the first encounter ( 1200 hrs or Sext).....

The first encounter has ended but William still has to check to make sure King Harold wasn't amongst them. The Tapestry records the deaths of Gyrth and Leofwine at this battle and reinforces the Norman idea of hereditary titles ( "We left no surviving family members to inherit the throne")

The clock is still running......

William has now to deal with the rest of King Harold's army. So he relocates to area around Wadhurst Lane and Netherfield Hill Road some 2 km from his first encounter. Although the Huscarls made the journey in 40 minutes first thing this morning it takes the more tired Normans a couple of hours to make the trip. The Normans still have to winkle King Harold out too. 

 The Second or Main Encounter ( 1500 hrs or None)

The Bayeux Tapestry only gives a snapshot of this second encounter. Briefly it says that the Norman knights charged the English line but because of the prepared defences the Norman knights suffered heavy casualties even against the unarmoured men of the Fyrd. 

Perhaps I should describe this battlefield. If you look at the Bayeux Tapestry on plates 66 b) and 67 a) you are looking at the ridge from the north-east and in cross section. This ridge is now on Forestry Commission land and is therefore out of bounds to all. However, the land where the Norman knights came a cropper is open farmland so is accessible with permission.  The Tapestry does not show the ground or the knights charging before the defences but believe me there is a gentle gradient down to the defences taking away control of the horses just that tiny amount so that the outcome is as shown on plate 66. 

Whether or not the knights charged multiple times the outcome recorded by the Tapestry  on plate 67 b) remains the same - routing knights. William had to "expose" himself to rally his knights. 

Meanwhile, not shown on the Tapestry, the Fyrd run after the departing knights to harry them much to their later discomfort. The battle is now lost to the English. The remaining Fyrd scatter but the Norman knights now press home their advantage and  King Harold is killed ( 1800 hrs or Vespers). 

Any Huscarls killed at this point on the Tapestry are either late arriving or part of the Kings Detail and since their King is not leaving the battlefield neither will they. 

The Sun has now set, both on the battlefield and on Saxon England. 

Nine hours have elapsed since the first clash of sword against sword and England has a new master. 

The Malfosse

Norman knights , whose bloodlust had not been satisfied, chase after the retreating English Fyrd through the adjoining wood. In the dark and on unknown paths, they stumble and become unhorsed resulting in a loss of life greater than on the battlefield. 

What's the distance between the second battlefield and the Malfosse? Less than 300 metres. Have you ever tried to outrun a galloping horse with someone on its back intent on killing you? Let's see how far you get....

The Final Reckoning

So, according to me, King Harold was killed about 2 miles from where the monks say he was killed. 

Hopefully, with the assistance of the County Archaeologist, I'll be able to prove my theories unlike others that have gone before me. So watch this space.