As you know I maintain that there were at main three engagements on 14th October 1066 namely Huscarls v Norman Army, rest of the English Army v Norman Army and the Malfosse incident. I think I have three independent early sources for this in the BT, the Carmen and Gesta Guillelmi.
If you compare the relevant cameos from the scenes you will find that the horses are presented in the same orientation ( facing inward). The only difference between the cameos is the state of the Huscarls between the horses. In the former, the Huscarls are presented as being in their "shieldwall" whilst in the later cameo the Huscarls are being "mopped up". Notice also that only Huscarls are being depicted with the exception of a solitary archer - the King is not present.
Secondly, we have the evidence that comes from the Carmen which is as follows :-
According to the translation of the Carmen (Tyson, 2014) by Kathleen Tyson we have this:-
Line 341 Ordine post pedites sperat stabilire quirtes
Line 342 Occursu belli set sibi non licuit
Line 343 Haut procul hostiles cuneos nam cernit adesse
Line 344 Et plenium telis irradiare nemu
Which according to Tyson translates to:
He intended to station his lancers behind his infantry
But encountering battle he was not allowed
For he saw the approach of enemy columns not far off
And the woods full of gleaming weapons.
Also, we have the lines 363 and 364
Line 363 Ex inproviso diffudit silva cohorts
Line 364 Et nemoris latebris agmina prosiliunt
Translation
Suddenly, a company [of English] emerged from the forest
And the column rushed from wooded cover.
The “Carmen” then describes where the King was -
Line 365 Mons sylvae vicinus erat • vicinaque vallis •
Line 366 Et non cultus ager asperitate sui
…
Translation
Nearby
was a wooded hill, neighbouring the valley,
Its
terrain was rugged and uncultivated.
…
Line 373 Ascendit montem rex bellaturus in hostem
Line 374 Nobilibusque viris munit utrumque latus
Line 375 In summon montis vexillum vertice fixit
Line 376 Affigique jubet caetera signa sibi
Translation
The King ascended the summit
that he might wage war in the midst of his army,
And the nobleman flanked him either side.
At the summit of the hill a streaming banner was planted.
[King Harold] ordered the other battle standards planted by it.
And thirdly we have the Gesta Guillelmi by William of Poitiers (WP)( English translation by Davis and Chibnall only)
16. ... The land of the Danes ( who were allied by blood)also sent copious forces [i.e. Huscarls]. However, not daring to fight with William on equal terms, for they thought him more formidable than the King of the Norwegians, they took their stand on higher ground, on a hill near to the wood through which they had come. At once dismounting from their horses, [end of page 127] they lined up on foot in dense formation. Undeterred by the roughness of the ground, the duke with his men climbed slowly up the steep slope. [ my emphasis]
The thing to note here is that only the Huscarls had access to horses so the soldiers that WP is referring to must be Huscarls. WP goes on to say that the Huscarls formed their shieldwall on higher ground that was accessed by going up a slope not that the Huscarls stood on the actual ridge. This now agrees with the Bayeux Tapestry.
WP goes on to describe the actions taken.
On page 131 we have:-
19. Emboldened by this, they launched an attack with greater determination on the main body of the army [ my emphasis], which in spite of the heavy losses it had suffered seemed not to have been diminished.
So, it seems that the first body of men that the Normans met was not part of the main body of the English Army.
In conclusion, it seems that three of the four early sources for the Battle of Hastings agree that there was a pre-main engagement tussle and that two of them agree that it took place at elevation.
You tube video - https://youtu.be/_vjAJ_xk20k
