The Battle of Hastings was fought on 14 October 1066 between the Norman-French army of William, the Duke of Normandy, and an English army under the Anglo-Saxon King Harold Godwinson, beginning the Norman Conquest of England. It took place approximately 7 mi (11 km) northwest of Hastings, close to the present-day town of Battle, East Sussex, and was a decisive Norman victory.

Harold was the last crowned Anglo-Saxon king of England, reigning from January 6, 1066, until his defeat and death at the Battle of Hastings by William the Conqueror and his Norman army on October 14 the same year.

His predecessor Edward the Confessor died childless. When the Witenagemot met (the council of Anglo-Saxon nobles) they chose Harold, Edward's brother-in-law, to succeed. His reign was beset by threats immediately; in Normandy, William the Conqueror (then just Duke William II of Normandy) began preparations to invade as he also had a claim on the English throne, believing that Edward had promised England to him and that Harold had promised to support William's claim. The basis for this claim was in an incident in 1064 when Harold was shipwrecked at Ponthieu in Normandy, with Norman sources claiming Harold was not released from Normandy until he swore on sacred relics to support William's claim.

William was not the only one after Harold's crown. The Norwegians, aided by Harold's brother Tostig and led by King Harald Hardrada, invaded northern England, but were defeated at Stamford Bridge on September 25, 1066. Three days later, William landed in Sussex, and waited for Harold's troops to march south. On October 14, the famous Battle of Hastings occurred, and Harold was killed in battle. Legend says he died from an arrow in the eye, though this claim is disputed by historians.

Though his mother offered William the weight of her son's body in gold in return for his body, William declined, and the site of his burial is not known for sure - though possibly at Bosham Church near Chichester Harbour. Harold was succeeded by Edgar Atheling but he was never crowned before William himself was crowned King of England on Christmas Day 1066.

There continued to be rebellions and resistance to William's rule, but Hastings effectively marked the culmination of William's conquest of England. Casualty figures are hard to come by, but some historians estimate that 2,000 invaders died along with about twice that number of Englishmen. William founded a monastery at the site of the battle, the high altar of the abbey church supposedly placed at the spot where Harold died.

This battle would end the period known as Anglo-saxon england :england-cool: and start the Norman-french era :france-cool: , in which the nation would be influence by the french culture of the norman nobility

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    2 years ago

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