The Battle of 1066: a brief story
A battle in Hastings that took place north of Hastings in 1066 is considered one of the most important in the history of English. Many historians and professional writers do research on this topic. This event significantly influenced British culture and lifestyle.
The Battle of Hastings. A great topic for a research paper or essay
Important historical events interest not only experts who are specialized in history. The battle of Hastings is one of such key events in world history. Our academic writing service wrote lots of essays on this topic. And if you study history, we bet that you run across this topic countless times.
To study this even in detail requires hours of research. Many professors around the world share this opinion by giving their students assignments to write papers on that topic. Anyone will have to get into it sooner or later, thus, we recommend reading this brief story. After all, you may even find it quite exciting.
The year of 1066. The beginning
The key event that resulted in this epic Hastings battle was the death of English king Edward, who was called the Confessor. His inheritance became a popular object of scholars’ research. Thousands of academic papers were written on this topic. One of his children could be a throne successor, but he had none of them.
Nevertheless, there were lots of candidates who wanted to become the new king of England. Many noble people from England and neighboring countries claimed the crown after the passing of Edward. Three throne claimants gathered their personal armed forces in order to win the crown in a battle.
Harold Godwinson was the first person who proclaimed himself a new English king. It happened on the day when Edward the Confessor left this world. Although, quite soon two other strong contenders emerged. The first one was the duke of Normandy known as William the Bastard, the second one was the Norwegian king Harald Hardrada.
The crisis of throne succession was the main reason for the battle of Hasting in 1066. In fact, it led to its ending and laid the foundation of modern England.
Most important historical facts of the Battle of 1006
All researchers that work in the field of English history are sure that the Battle of Hastings began long after it was expected. When William got information that Harold Godwinson had occupied an English King’s title, he immediately sent his envoy to inform the impostor about his claim for the throne. After he was informed that his claim had been rejected he decided to begin fighting for the title with his troops.
Strong winds did not allow him to conquer mainland England on the first attempt. It resulted in a situation when two armed forces were waiting for the start of a 1066 battle Hastings on both sides of the English Channel. It lasted longer than a year and one day Godwinson’s troops felt bored and got back to their houses and grounds.
Right after the winds had quietened William’s men crossed the channel to give a fight to Godwinson’s army. His men ruined several villages located close to the coast. To obtain a more complete picture we have to tell a few words about two main candidates for the English throne.
Harold Godwinson
In 1066 Godwinson was an official governor of England. He influenced many processes within a country and received support from noble people, but he was not a direct successor of the late King Edward.
Nevertheless, he was closer to a royal genus than other contestants. Besides, he was Edward’s personal advisor. All that made him a strong candidate for taking the crown.
Anyway, there were a number of people who saw in Godwinson an obstacle to getting a throne. Political intrigues of that time became a topic of lots of essays and research papers. The situation of uncertainty was the key reason for the battle of Hastings.
William the Bastard
William the Bastard, who was later called the Conqueror, by that time, had a title of a Duke of Normandy. William was an influential politician of his epoch. King Edward respected William and they had good relations until Edward made his testament. It is important to say that Harold Godwinson even recognized William as the King of England at a certain point.
Harold spent the spring and the summer of 1066 in the south of England with his powerful troops and fleet preparing for William’s invasion. The militia was the heart of his armed forces, but warriors it consisted of were away in the fields cropping the harvers. The same happened with the fleet. Having defeated the Norwegian invaders, Godwinson began to believe that the big war was over and it was time to set a peaceful life. Although, the English army lost lots of soldiers and navy in battles against the Vikings which made it weaker and disorganized. Because of this, William and his troops were pretty much sure that they were able to conquer English without any excessive effort.
Historians are not sure of whether all these things had any importance in 1066 when a battle for the English throne began. This topic is very exciting so it is worth purchasing an essay online. Having received blessings from popes William the bastard along with his armed group crossed the channel to conquer the kingdom of England.
The role of William in the Battle of 1066
When William and his troops reached the southern coast of England, Godwinson had just defeated the Norwegian king Harald Hardrada and celebrated this victory. At first, he had chosen to stay in London waiting for William’s army to come, when he heard about the burnt coastal villages he made a decision to move his troops towards William.
Knee-length chainmail hauberks were used as the main armor. They had slits for riding, some of them had sleeves to the elbows. There were also hauberks made of scales that were attached to tunics. Those scales were made of metal, hardened leather, or horns. For head protection warriors used conical metal helmets with extending bands that protected noses. Both cavalry and infantry used metallic or wooden shields. A majority of horsemen used straight double-edged swords. The infantry threw javelins and long spears into enemies. There were also archers in both troops who did not have any equipment for protection.
Thus, Godwinson’s army went to the south of England. Warring troops faced each other at the northern border of Hastings. Godwinson’s men took a position on top of the hill which was considered an advantage. The troops started to fight early in the early morning of the next day. Godwinson’s army was defeated and its commander was killed during the battle.
Was it a long-lasting battle?
Historians say that the battle of Hastings took place on the 14th of October 1066 and was going from about 9 in the morning till twilight. This date has huge importance for British history.
This was not a long-lasting battle even for the Middle Ages. Although, the scale of this clash of troops is so impressive. But it was really huge in terms of the number of warriors that took part in it. According to historical records, this battle looked more like a siege. Godwinson’s army was heroically holding back William, who was forcing the hill with his troops.
Who took part in the Battle of 1066 and who won in the battle of Hastings?
Both armies were pretty much standard for this historical epoch. They consisted of cavalry and infantry. Godwinson’s troops were formed mostly by Anglo-Saxons of various classes, while Williams’ army had a majority of normans. Commanders were nobles, while ordinary soldiers were peasants.
But this historic victory was not easy for William and his troops. Harold Godwinson’s brave men held the hill for long hours. William the Conqueror used the tactic of multiple cavalry attacks, but soon his forces got tired.
Even today no one still can tell why William’s warriors of the front line decided to retreat. Godwinson’s army that defended the hill for hours began chasing the enemies, being sure that they had won the battle. It resulted in a disorder in their rank that allowed William’s troops to destroy the opponents almost effortlessly.
Battle of Hastings historical importance
The battle of 1066 has huge historical importance not because the king had changed. This is not unusual for the Middle Ages. The most important fact is that the doors to the British Islands were now opened for the continental Europeans. It was the beginning of a new historical era for England.
A lot of changes in lifestyle, architecture, and culture occurred after the English throne was occupied by William the Conqueror. The links between Britain and Inland Europe became stronger and tighter.
William’s troops: details and numbers
The number of people that took part in the battle of 1066 is really impressive. On William’s side were about ten thousand warriors of both cavalry and infantry. According to approximate historical estimates, Godwinson’s army consisted of five to twelve thousand people.
It is almost impossible to obtain exact figures since historical records are very much inaccurate. By ordering an essay on this topic, you will be able to learn more about this epic clash of armed forces.
Brief description of the Fullford’s battle
As we mentioned before, there were three candidates for the English throne. The third one, Harald Hardrada got killed by Godwinson’s army long before the battle of Hastings began.
His most famous achievement was a victory in the battle of Fulford. It was a successful beginning of the Norwegian invasion. No one can tell what happens if Hardrada’s forces took control of the British Isles a couple of months later Harald’s army was defeated and demolished.
Consequences of the Battle of Hastings
The English nobility of that time did not want to recognize William as a new king of England. It led to numerous riots and revolts that William had to deal with. He started a brutal campaign against rebels in order to strengthen his rule.
Normans that came from Inland Europe became a new noble class that ousted Anglo-Saxon nobility. The new king William introduced several important reforms and changed traditional British culture quite significantly.
A brief summary of the Battle of 1066
All historians admit that the battle of Hastings should be considered an epic historical event. Indeed there were greater and more cruel battles in the history of Europe and England. But the cultural impact of this encounter can hardly be compared to any other event.
The result of this clash triggered several historically important processes and opened a new era for England. It is true that events like this may inspire many people to become essay writers that specialize in history. It is really exciting to see how one event resulted in numerous historical and cultural changes.
