When William the Conqueror sealed his place in history at the Battle of Hastings, his victory was only the beginning of a brutal campaign to claim the English crown. After defeating the English forces, William faced a final challenger in Edgar Ætheling, and the retaliation that followed was so devastating that it became one of the darkest chapters of his reign. The path to Hastings began more than a century earlier. In 911 AD, a Viking leader named Rollo led a series of raids into Normandy.
Fearing a prolonged conflict, the Carolingian king Charles the Simple granted the Vikings land to settle. The Vikings assimilated quickly, and within roughly a century, Normandy had become a powerful duchy with close ties to England. That connection deepened when Duke Richard II of Normandy married his sister Emma to the King of England. Their son, Edward the Confessor, spent years in exile in Normandy during Viking invasions of England.
When he took the English throne in 1042, Edward surrounded himself with Norman advisors and allies, establishing a strong Norman presence in English politics. He also developed a close relationship with Duke William of Normandy, who frequently advised the king on matters of state. Edward remained childless throughout his 24-year reign, which created an unstable succession situation. When he died on January 5, 1066, several powerful men claimed the right to succeed him.
A comet, now known as Halley’s Comet, appeared in April 1066 and was widely interpreted across Europe as an omen of crisis. The English had reason to worry. Harold Godwinson, the Earl of Wessex, took the throne, but he faced two immediate challengers: William of Normandy and Harold Hardrada, the King of Norway. Harold’s exiled brother Tostig also joined forces with the Norwegian king.
King Harold learned of the Norwegian invasion first and marched his army north. The English caught the Norwegians by surprise and defeated them decisively at the Battle of Stamford Bridge on September 25. Hardrada and Tostig both died in the fighting, but the victory came at a heavy cost. Harold’s forces were significantly weakened and left positioned far from the southern coast.
William had spent months assembling a large invasion force, drawing troops from Normandy, Brittany, and Flanders. He had also built a substantial fleet of ships. Some historical accounts claim he secured diplomatic support from Pope Alexander II, who reportedly provided a papal banner as a sign of church approval. William’s forces landed in Sussex on September 28, just days after the English victory in the north.
They quickly built a wooden castle at Hastings to fortify their position. The exact size of William’s army is unknown, with estimates ranging from 7,500 to much larger figures. What is known is that his force was more diverse than Harold’s, including cavalry and archers alongside infantry. Harold marched south after defeating the Norwegians, but he left a significant portion of his forces behind.
He apparently had not yet learned of William’s landing when he made that decision. By the time he heard the news on his march south, it was too late to gather additional troops. William sent scouts ahead who spotted the English approaching. The opposing forces met on the morning of Saturday, October 14, 1066, near Hastings.
Although the battle bears Hastings’ name, it actually took place about seven miles north of the town. The English army consisted entirely of infantry. They took a strong defensive position on a steep slope, forming a shield wall with wooded areas on their flanks and marshy ground in front. Harold’s men were equipped with conical helmets, mail hauberks, shields, swords, and their signature battle axes.
A small number of archers supported them, but they had no cavalry. William arranged his forces in three groups based on their origins: Bretons on the left, Normans under his direct command in the center, and Frenchmen on the right. The battle began around 9 a. m.
with a volley of Norman arrows fired uphill, but the English shield wall deflected them effectively. William then sent his infantry forward. The spearmen clashed with the shield wall but failed to break it. The Norman cavalry followed, yet still could not penetrate the English line.
As the Norman forces began to retreat, a rumor spread among them that William had been killed. The English pursued the fleeing Normans, a move some historians believe was the result of overconfidence rather than a direct order from Harold. This pursuit may have been a turning point. William, still alive, rode through his troops to rally them, reportedly announcing that reports of his death were greatly exaggerated.
According to some accounts, both armies paused for lunch. Whether or not this break actually happened, William used the time to develop a new strategy. He ordered his cavalry to charge the English line again, but this time to feign retreat. The tactic, known as a feigned flight, was intended to draw the English into breaking their formation to pursue.
The fighting resumed with intensity. William reportedly had two or three horses killed beneath him during the battle. The Normans fought relentlessly, and their mix of cavalry, archers, and infantry gradually wore down the English defenses. At some point late in the day, Harold was killed.
Most accounts agree he died from an arrow to the eye. With their king dead, the English forces quickly deteriorated. Many fled the battlefield, though the fighters from Harold’s royal household reportedly gathered around his body and continued fighting until the end. The Battle of Hastings ended around dusk with a decisive Norman victory.
Historians point to several factors in the English defeat. Harold had weakened his forces at Stamford Bridge and then compounded the problem by dismissing half his remaining men in the north. He also failed to gather additional troops on his march south. William, by contrast, was the more experienced military leader with more tactical flexibility due to his cavalry.
The day after the battle, Norman troops identified Harold’s body and presented his personal standard to William. William then sent the standard to the papacy, signaling that new leadership in England was imminent. William’s forces buried their own dead in a communal grave that has never been found. The English bodies were left on the battlefield, with some later collected by relatives.
Several stories surround the fate of Harold’s body. One account claims his mother offered William her son’s weight in gold for its return, which William allegedly refused. Another claims William ordered the body thrown into the sea. A legend even suggests Harold survived and lived out his days as a hermit in Chester.
With the battle won, William marched toward London. He faced resistance, however. With the support of several earls, Edgar Ætheling, the last male member of the royal house of Wessex, was briefly declared king in Harold’s place. Edgar sent forces to attack the marching Normans, but they were easily dispersed.
William took a longer route around the coast of Kent, leaving a trail of destruction along the way. When Edgar later captured the city of York and declared himself the true king, William’s response was horrific. One biographer wrote of the resulting brutality, “I have often praised William, but I can say nothing good about this brutal slaughter. God will punish him.
” When Edgar refused to face William in battle, William starved the north, with an estimated 100,000 people perishing. In December 1066, William approached London with his forces. The remaining English leaders surrendered at Berkhamsted in Hertfordshire. On Christmas Day, 1066, William was proclaimed King of England at Westminster Abbey, forever changing the course of English history.
Resistance to Norman rule continued for years after the coronation. William faced a rebellion in Exeter, an invasion by Harold’s sons, an uprising in Northumbria, and a Danish invasion. He crushed each challenge, earning his reputation as a conqueror through sustained bloodshed. William’s end was as grim as parts of his reign.
In his final years, once physically imposing, he had grown to massive proportions. During a battle, his horse reared, slamming his gut against the saddle pommel and rupturing his intestines. He lingered in agony for several days before dying. His funeral added one final gruesome chapter.
William’s bloated remains would not fit in the stone tomb prepared for him. Attendants tried to force the body inside, causing his abdomen to burst. The stench was so overwhelming that mourners fled the church in horror. The battle that brought William to power lives on through the Bayeux Tapestry, an embroidered narrative of the events leading to the conflict.
Likely commissioned by one of William’s bishops, the tapestry has served for a thousand years as the most famous visual representation of a battle that reshaped English history.