In October 1066, one of the bloodiest battles of the Middle Ages took place near the English city of Hastings. It was the next link in the confrontation between the Normans and the Anglo-Saxons. This battle, whose outcome had a huge impact on the further course of European history, turned out to be disastrous for the British and their king Harold II. In the memory of posterity, it was preserved as the Battle of Hastings.
Events leading up to the battle
But before we start talking about the battle itself, let's say a few words about the events that preceded it and served as a pretext for it. The fact is that the leader of the Normans, Duke William, received an oath from the former English king Edward the Confessor that he would make him the heir to the English crown. The reason for this was that even before taking the throne, Edward, having reason to fear for his life, spent 28 years in Normandy under the auspices of the duke of this country.
However, when the danger passed and Edward, returning to England, safely spent the years allotted to him by fate on the throne, he forgot his oath and, dying, did not leave any ordersin favor of the Norman Duke William, who was waiting for the promised crown. After his death, a relative of Edward, the new king of England, Harold II, ascended the English throne. Like any deceived person, William was indignant, and the result of his anger was the landing of a seven thousandth Norman army on September 28, 1066 on the coast of England and the Battle of Hastings, which became tragic for the English crown.
Norman invasion
The appearance of the Normans off the coast of Foggy Albion looked unusually impressive. According to contemporaries, they crossed the English Channel on a thousand ships. Even if this number is somewhat exaggerated, all the same, such a flotilla should have filled the entire visible space, right up to the horizon.
I must say that Duke Wilhelm chose a very favorable moment for the invasion. The year of the Battle of Hastings was very difficult for the British. Shortly before that, they were conducting military operations against other invaders - the Norwegians. The English army defeated them, but was exhausted and needed rest, because its opponents were fearless and famous warriors - the Vikings. The Battle of Hastings was thus doubly difficult for them. King Harold received the report of William's invasion while in York, where he was in the process of replenishing the reserves and other matters related to the army.
The two strongest armies in Europe
Immediately gathering all the forces at his disposal, the monarch hastened to meet the enemy and already on October 13 came close to the camp,defeated by the Normans 11 kilometers from the city of Hastings. Only a day remained before the start of the battle - the last days of the life of King Harold II and many of those who stood under his banner.
On a damp autumn morning on a field already harvested by peasants and therefore naked and unattractive, two of the largest armies of medieval Europe converged. Their numbers were approximately equal, but qualitatively they were strikingly different from each other. Duke Wilhelm's army consisted mainly of professional warriors, well-armed, trained and with rich military experience behind them.
Weak spots of King Harold's army
Unlike their opponents, the Anglo-Saxons brought an army to the battlefield, the main part of which was staffed by the peasant militia, and only a small part of it was made up of representatives of the service nobility and elite troops - the personal royal squad. Only they carried two-handed swords, battle axes and spears, while the armament of the militias consisted of the most random items - peasant pitchforks, axes or just clubs with stones tied to them.
And two more important shortcomings of the Anglo-Saxon army - it did not have cavalry and archers. It is difficult to say why this happened, but in those days, moving on horseback, the British dismounted before the battle and went on the attack only on foot. It is also incomprehensible that they do not have bows, this powerful and effective weapon of the Middle Ages. To top it all off, it should be noted that the rapid march through the whole country could not help but exhaust those who were already tired of previous battles.troops.
The day the Battle of Hastings took place
So, everything is ready for the decisive battle. At 9 am on October 14, 1066, the famous Battle of Hastings began. Briefly describing the position of both armies before it began, it should only be noted that the British lined up, pushing forward well-armed, but not numerous elite units, and behind their close shields were poorly armed, albeit full of fighting spirit, peasant militias.
The Normans, on the other hand, lined up in three battle columns, which allowed them to maneuver in accordance with the situation. Their left flank consisted of Bretons, their right flank of French mercenaries, and in the center the main forces were concentrated - heavy, armored Norman knights led by the duke himself. Ahead of these main forces were archers and crossbowmen, hitting the enemy even before they made contact with him.
Start of battle
The Battle of Hastings is covered with many legends, and now it is difficult to distinguish real events from fiction. So, in some literary sources it is told that it began with a duel, traditional for those times. A mighty Norman knight named Ivo challenged an equally glorious warrior from the ranks of King Harold to a duel. Having defeated him in a fair fight, he, in accordance with the mores of that era, cut off the Englishman's head and took it as a trophy. So unsuccessfully for the Anglo-Saxons began the battle of Hastings. Not just one of the soldiers was killed, the one who personifiedall of King Harold's army.
Encouraged by this success, the Normans were the first to start the battle. The chroniclers of those years testify that their archers and crossbowmen showered the ranks of the Anglo-Saxons with a cloud of arrows and crossbow bolts, but, hiding behind the closed shields of the elite units standing in front, they were practically invulnerable. And then the Normans showed the true skill of shooting. They sent their arrows almost vertically upward, and they, having described the corresponding trajectory in the air, hit the opponents from above, causing significant damage to them.
Attack of Norman heavy cavalry
The next bright episode of the battle was the attack of the heavy Norman cavalry. Armored knights rushed forward, sweeping away everything in their path. But we must pay tribute to the courage of the British: they did not flinch in the face of this avalanche of steel. As yours said, their front ranks were well-armed warriors from the Duke's personal squad.
They had the so-called Danish axes at their disposal. These are specially made battle axes with a handle up to one and a half meters long. According to contemporaries, a blow with such a weapon cut through both a knight clad in armor and his horse. As a result, the Norman cavalry retreated, while suffering significant losses.
False Retreat Tactics
But at that time, events took place on the left flank that were completely unexpected for the British. The Normans very skillfully applied the tactics of a false retreat, showing outstanding skill and coherence of actions. Having convincingly simulated panic in their ranks andretreat, the Normans provoked the Anglo-Saxons into an unprepared counterattack that upset their positions and turned out to be disastrous.
Having lured a significant part of the soldiers out of the general battle ranks, the Normans suddenly turned around, covered them in a dense ring and destroyed every single one. Unfortunately, King Harold's soldiers did not learn from this failure, which allowed the opponents to repeat this trick repeatedly.
Death of King Harold
The losses suffered by the British, of course, weakened their combat capability, but nevertheless they continued to put up serious resistance to the enemy, and it is not known what the outcome of the Battle of Hastings would have been, if not for an accident, which in many ways became the cause of the tragedy for England outcome of the battle.
The historical chronicle of those years tells that the fearless King Harold II was seriously wounded by a random arrow. She pierced his right eye, but, according to the same chroniclers, the courageous warrior did not leave the ranks - he tore out the arrow with his hands and, bleeding, again rushed into battle. But, weakened by the wound, he was soon cut down by the Norman knights. Almost simultaneously with him, both of his brothers, who commanded the troops, also died.
The defeat and death of the Anglo-Saxon army
So, the king is killed at the Battle of Hastings along with his brothers. The Anglo-Saxon army, left without command, lost the most important thing - morale. As a result, in a matter of minutes, from a formidable army, it turned into a crowd, demoralized and fleeingflight. The Normans caught up with the distraught people and ruthlessly killed them.
So ingloriously ended the Battle of Hastings for the English crown. The king was killed, and his chopped body was taken to London for burial. His brothers also died, and with them on the battlefield several thousand soldiers who fell for their king remained lying. The English are careful about their history, and on the site where this battle took place many centuries ago, a monastery was founded, and the altar of its main temple is located exactly where Harold II died.
The defeat that gave impetus to the development of the state
Having won a victory at Hastings, Duke William sent his army to London and captured it without much difficulty. The Anglo-Saxon aristocracy was forced to recognize his rights to the throne, and already in December 1066, the coronation took place. According to modern researchers, these events radically changed the entire course of European history. With the accession to the throne of Duke Wilhelm, the ancient and obsolete Anglo-Saxon state went down in history, giving way to a centralized feudal monarchy based on strong royal power.
This served as a powerful impetus that allowed England to become one of the most developed European powers in a short time. Despite the fact that the king was killed at the Battle of Hastings and his army was defeated, this defeat turned out to be an undoubted benefit for the state. One of the paradoxes for which history is so generous has occurred. Ask yourself the question: "Who won thebattle?" The answer suggests itself - the Normans. And tell me, who ultimately benefited from this historical benefit? English. So the answer to the question of who won the Battle of Hastings should not be rushed.
Reflection of this event in modern culture
This historical event, which took place nine and a half centuries ago, is constantly of interest to scientists, artists, and just those who like to dig in the dust of past centuries. In literature, G. Heine and A. K. Tolstoy dedicated their works to him. The Italian power metal band Majesty released an album dedicated to this battle in 2002. It includes 12 songs. And British filmmakers made two films based on the famous battle.
A computer game created on the plot of this event has gained popularity among young people. But its real name is often mispronounced, using the expression "battle of the Hastings." However, these are only the costs of the youth subculture. In general, such a wide interest in the history and events of bygone centuries is, of course, a very encouraging fact.
