Cross Section of the Main Battle Area
In my last post I showed where I thought the main battle took place in 3D and what it looks like today courtesy of Google Earth. Today I bring you a cross section of the area to show Harold's battle planning.
At zero on the "x axis" is Wadhurst Lane where according to Wace the accompanying clergy of the Norman Army decanted to in order to watch the battle and pray. Looking at the slope now I think they might have been a little closer to the battle at the 80 metre mark say in order to see the debacle at the prepared defences. It is interesting to note that English Heritage when questioned about Wace's comment referred me to that Wace is describing a battle that happened in 1105 at Tinchebray but offered no supporting evidence.
I would also draw your attention to the fact that the Normans would have charged downhill towards the English line. I don't know if you have tried running downhill with abandon but it usually ends in a loss of control and crashing into something! In this case the Norman knights met with the defensive ditch as per Scene 53 of the Bayeux Tapestry
The bottom of the slope is reached at approx 230 metres from Wadhurst Lane in what looks like a shallow ditch. Wace records in his work, Roman de Rou, that the English had made a ditch which ran through the fields. Now, it takes time to prepare defences like this. So, the earlier encounter the Normans had with the Huscarls must have been an attempt to slow down the invaders in order to give Harold's less able troops time to get things in place. Henry of Huntingdon has the Normans falling into a "deep trench" unawares due to the trenches being covered. In my reading of other modern reports on where folk think the battle happened, none have shown this ditch.
The ground now rises from the 260 metre mark to 320 metres from Wadhurst Lane. How close the English were to the ditches is unknown but Harold, I would assume, would be at the peak of the ridge. This could explain why there is confusion over the "arrow in the eye" incident. The Norman archers could not closer than the 260 mark and thus Harold being higher in elevation and 60 metres away would be outside the killing range of a bow and arrow. It is interesting to note that the Bayeux Tapestry show two members of the Fyrd exiting stage right with arrows in their eyes.
Btw, I'm an electronics technician by training. This means I was trained to take on board all symptoms when trying to diagnose faults on a complex system, not just those which fit one's pre-determined idea. I've applied the same approach in trying to find the true battle site of Hastings.
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