The Battle of Hastings, 1066
History · Key Stage 2 · The School
A king with two rivals
Edward the Confessor died in January 1066 with no son. HAROLD GODWINSON was crowned king almost at once. Two other men also believed the throne was theirs: HARALD HARDRADA, king of Norway, and WILLIAM, Duke of Normandy. Both prepared to invade. England had no clear rule for who should be king next. This left the throne genuinely open to argument.
A battle in the north, then a march south
Hardrada landed first, in the north. Harold marched his army there fast and won a hard fight at STAMFORD BRIDGE on 25 September. Days later, word came that William had landed in the south. Harold turned his tired army around and marched about 250 miles in roughly two and a half weeks. The two armies fought hard, on both sides.
The battle
On 14 October 1066, the armies met near Hastings. Harold's soldiers formed a SHIELD WALL on a hill. William's Norman army had cavalry and archers, which Harold's army lacked. Fighting lasted most of the day. Late on, Harold was killed. His army broke apart soon after. A shield wall could hold, if nobody broke ranks. Losing formation, even for a moment, could be fatal.
William's army had waited, rested, near the south coast for weeks. Harold's had just fought one battle in the north, then marched for over two weeks straight south. Tired soldiers, on foot, against fresh cavalry and archers. The exhausting double journey did not decide the battle by itself, but it left Harold's army with far less in reserve when it mattered most. Fresh legs matter more than most people realise.