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.
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.
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