Battle of Hastings 1066

he Battle of Hastings is one of the few truly decisive battles in history. On a single day Duke William of Normandy conquered a kingdom that had resisted Viking invasions for years on end, ending a line of Anglo-Saxon kings that claim decent from Alfred the Great. This conquest altered the whole outlook of England, taking a nation that had looked towards Scandinavia, especially under three Danish kings, and locking her into a partnership and a struggle with France that was to last for centuries.

Anglo-Saxon England was one of the strongest and wealthiest kingdoms in eleventh century Europe, and in many ways one of the most advanced, and yet it was to be conquered by a motley army raised by a duke whose rule of his own duchy had for many years been at risk. The battle has fascinated historians for centuries, and divides opinion on just about every issue, from the size and nature of the armies to the events of the battle itself. To understand the events that led up to Hastings, we need to examine the last years of Anglo-Saxon England.

 

Anglo-Saxon England suffered a period of chronic instability during the eleventh century. Its roots can be traced back to the events of 978, when the young King Edward was murdered by members of the household of his younger half-brother Ethelred. Ethelred himself was probably not directly involved, but no one was punished for the murder, and over a period of years he approached sainthood, at least in the minds of the English. This made things difficult for Ethelred, who was crowned within a month of the murder. His reign began under a cloud of suspicion which never fully lifted, but things were quickly to get worse.

In 980 the Vikings returned. Raids are recorded from 980-982 and then again from 986. These raids slowly built up momentum, partly aided by the friendly reception they received in Normandy, whose dukes were descended from Vikings. 991 started well for the English. On 1 March, a treaty was agreed between England and Normandy in which both sides agreed not to harbour enemies of the other. However, five months later a significantly larger Viking force attacked the coast of south-east England.

This expedition is famous for two reasons. Firstly, after the Vikings had ravaged Kent, Hampshire and western Wessex, they were finally bought off with a large payment from the Royal government, the first of many similar payments that were to drain the England of Ethelred. Second, one incident during their rampage, the battle of Malden, was immortalised in one of the greatest of all old-English poems which describes the defeat of a force from Essex lead by Byrhtnoth, ealdorman of Essex, who died in the battle.

Unsurprisingly, the payment of 22,000 pounds of gold and silver to the Vikings of 991 did nothing to discourage further raids. Raids in 992 and 993 were followed by a major invasion in 994, led by Olaf Tryggvason, future king of Norway and Swein, son of Harold, king of Denmark. This army was eventually bought off after it failed to capture London and started to fall apart when Olaf and Swein quarrelled.

The situation got worse in 997 when a Viking army arrived that was willing to stay for years. Between then and 1002 they ravaged almost the entire south coast, only leaving when they received 24,000 pounds of tribute. Although the Vikings had done serious damage to the south of England, there was not yet a threat to English independence. This was triggered late in 1002, when Ethelred ordered an atrocity that deservedly rebounded upon him. Afraid that they might be planning to overthrow him, Aethrelred ordered that all Danish men in England should be killed on 13 November 1002. Although this order was never going to be obeyed in the Danelaw areas of England, it does appear to have been followed in large parts of the country. One of the victims may have been Gunnhild, sister of King Swein of Denmark.

This was a fateful mistake. By 1002, Swein was King of Denmark, controlled most of Norway and was allied to the king of Sweden. His position was not completely secure, but he was able to launch a raid in every year from 1003 to 1006, before returning with a large army between 1009 and 1012. This army only left after being paid 48,000 pounds of bullion and murdering the Archbishop of Canterbury. Finally, in 1013 Swein launched a full invasion of England, with conquest in mind. He first landed at Sandwich, before sailed up the east coast to the Humber. At Gainsborough he was accepted as King by most of the Danelaw. From there he marched into Mercia, and then Wessex, accepting the surrender of Oxford and Winchester on his way. After a temporary failure before London, where Ethelred had decided to make his stand, he moved west, completing his conquest of England. Finally, London surrendered, forced Ethelred to flee into exile in Normandy.

Swein’s triumph was short-lived. On 3 February 1014 he died at Gainsborough, and for a brief moment English independence was restored. The Danish fleet recognised Swein’s son Cnut as King, but the English turned back to Ethelred, who was recalled from Normandy. Faced with an English army, Cnut withdrew to Denmark. Unfortunately, the English proved unable to take their chance. While Cnut spent his time building up support for a new invasion, Ethelred found himself involved in a dispute with his son Edmund that ended in 1015 with Edmund in open rebellion and in control of the Danelaw. It was at this point that Cnut returned with a fleet. Aware that he was unpopular in the Danelaw after abandoning his allies there in 1014, he landed in Wessex. He was quickly joined by Eadric, recently appointed earl of Mercia. This split the English defence into two, with Edmund raising a force in the Danelaw, and Ethelred another in London. However, by now Ethelred was seriously ill, and on 23 April 1016 he died.

Nothing demonstrates the disrepute into which Ethelred had brought the monarchy into than the speed with which a representative assembly at Southampton acclaimed Cnut as king. A somewhat smaller assembly at London declared for Edmund, and what had been an invasion started to resemble a civil war. For some time Edmund appeared to have the upper hand, but on 18 October 1016 at Ashingdon the English army was smashed. Edmund briefly became a fugitive, before negotiating a settlement with Cnut – Edmund was to rule Wessex, Cnut the rest of England. This would have at best been a short term truce, but on 30 November Edmund Ironside died, and Cnut became undisputed King of England.

Cnut turned out to be a surprisingly good king. The main external threat to his position came from the sons of Ethelred and Emma of Normandy, including the future Edward the Confessor. Cnut dealt with this by marrying Emma himself. She promptly abandoned her young children in Normandy and threw her support behind her new husband. Cnut’s rule in England was largely trouble free, although his Scandinavian empire proved more troublesome. In an interesting contrast to the reign of William the Conqueror, by the end of his reign, the two most powerful men after the King were Godwin, earl of Wessex and Leofric, earl of Mercia, both Englishmen promoted by Cnut.

While Cnut lived, the exiled princes in Normandy seemed to have no chance of recovering their position. However, the one weakness in Cnut’s dispensation was the succession. In order to marry Emma of Normandy, Cnut had had to put aside his first wife, Elfgifu of Northampton, with whom he already had a family. However, this first family was not forgotten, with Elfgifu even acting as regent of Norway. Thus, when Cnut died in 1035 there were two claimants to his empire – Harold Harefoot, the son of Elfgifu, and Harthacnut, son of Emma of Normandy.

Harthacnut had been Cnut’s choice, but when his father died Harthacnut was in Denmark dealing with a threat from King Magnus of Norway, and was unable to return in time to prevent his half brother seizing the throne as Harold I Harefoot. Harold had initially been appointed Regent (1036) but seized the throne for himself in the following year. Harthacnut was only able to move against him in 1039 and even then he moved sluggishly. However, before he could launch an invasion, Harold died (17 March 1040). Harthacnut was invited to take the throne, but even then it took him until 17 June 1040 to reach England.

Harthacnut’s reign saw a dramatic reversal of the fortunes of Prince Edward (Alfred had died after an abortive invasion of England in 1036). Edward was invited to London, where he was made a member of the King’s household. Harthacnut may even have had Edward declared as his heir. Harthacnut was childless, and had already made arrangements for the succession in Denmark (it was to pass to Magnus of Norway if Harthacnut died without an heir). When the king died on 8 June 1042 (at a wedding feast), Edward was the obvious heir, and he was elected King by public acclaim in London. The line of native kings had been restored.

The one remaining cloud on the horizon was the succession. In 1042 Edward the Confessor was already 37 and was unmarried and childless. The new king’s marriage was a prize worth fighting for, and the winner was Earl Godwin. In 1045, Edward married Godwin’s daughter Edith. In due course, the Godwines could expect one of their own to inherit the throne.

Edward turned out to have his own views on this. Godwin had played an important part in the death of Edward’s brother Alfred, and Edward held this grudge until he had a chance to strike back. The trigger was the death of Archbishop Eadsige of Canterbury in 1050. Godwin had his own candidate for the post, a relative who was already a member of the monastery at Canterbury. However, in 1051 Edward chose to promote Robert of Jumieges, bishop of London, and a Norman. In order to be recognised as Archbishop by the pope, Robert had to travel to Rome to receive his pallium. On the way he passed through Normandy. The French sources, including William of Jumieges, claim that Robert brought with him an offer from King Edward to make Duke William his heir.

A possible result of this offer was a visit by Count Eustace of Boulogne, Edward’s brother in law, who had his own claim to the throne. The visit itself was insignificant, but on his way home Count Eustace’s party was involved in a brawl with the people of Dover. King Edward ordered Earl Godwin, whose lands included Dover, to punish the town. Godwin refused, and prepared to raise an army.

Edward responded by ordering Earl Leofric of Mercia and Earl Siward of Northumbria to raise an army to oppose him. Faced with the threat of royal displeasure, Godwin’s army collapsed. The Godwins were forced into exile, with Queen Edith forced into a nunnery. For a short time, Edward was supreme. This brief period also saw a visit from Duke William, quite probably to accept the offer of the throne.

Edward’s period of glory was short. In 1052, Godwin and his sons returned, and this time they had more support. Civil war was only averted by negotiation, or rather by Edward’s virtual surrender. The Godwins were reinstated, Queen Edith returned to her husband’s side, and Archbishop Robert (along with several other Normans) fled. Robert was replaced by Archbishop Stigand, who was never approved by the pope, something that Harold was later to regret. William of Poitiers claims that in return Earl Godwin swore to support William of Normandy as heir to the throne. Even if this was the case, the events of 1052 were a humiliation for King Edward. Earl Godwin didn’t survive long to enjoy his triumph. In 1053 he died, and his son Harold inherited his position as Earl of Wessex.

The next few years saw the Godwin family expand their influence. Harold’s brother Tostig became earl of Northumbria in East Anglia, Gyrth got East Anglia, and Leofwine received Middlesex and Hertfordshire. However, in 1065 they suffered a significant setback. Northumbria rose against Tostig in favour of Morcar, brother of earl Edwin of Mercia. King Edward accepted their actions, perhaps even approved of them, and ordered Tostig into exile. This was a double blow for Harold – he lost the support of Northumbria, and faced the possibility that Tostig would return to trouble him later.

The next significant event came in 1064 or 1065. The most likely series of events is that King Edward sent Harold to Normandy to swear loyalty to Duke William as heir to the throne. Harold landed in Ponthieu, to the north east of Normandy, where he was held captive by Count Guy until Duke William was able to arrange his release. Once safely in Normandy, Harold swore to support William’s claim to the throne of England, making his oath on holy relics. They then went on campaign together in Brittany, before Harold returned to England. This series of events has often been discounted by English historians, but they have had little or no evidence for this other than a general desire to portray Harold in a good light. That King Edward had promised the throne to William is generally accepted. That Harold visited Normandy in 1064 or 1065 is also accepted. Alternative motives for his trip to France have been many and varied, although few are as unconvincing as Eadmer’s claim that Harold was on a fishing trip when he was blown to Ponthieu. Whatever the truth, once Harold returned to England, everybody was left waiting for King Edward to die.