Why Is The Battle Of Hastings Successful

On the 14th of October 1066, Duke William of Normandy defeated King Harold at the Battle of Hastings. His win could be summed up by the fact that William was a better leader. Other factors that contributed to William’s victory include: William was better prepared, the English army was severely weakened as Harold had just fought off an invasion in the North of England, and Harold made a fatal mistake of prematurely entering the Battle of Hastings.

they were organized and knew what to do when the time came to set sail

Another example of weapons in Beowulf references to arms and armor, very accurate to the Anglo-Saxons’ traditional shields and weapons. “Then Hrothgar's thane leaped onto his horse and, brandishing a spear, galloped down to the shore; there, he asked at once: 'Warriors! Who are you, in your coats of mail, who have steered your tall ship over the sea-lanes to these shores? .... Never have warriors, carrying their shields, come to this country in a more open manner. Nor were you assured of my leader's approval, my kinsmen's consent. I've never set eyes on a more noble man, a warrior in armour, than one among your band; he's no mere retainer, so ennobled by his weapons.’... The boar crest, brightly gleaming, stood over their helmets: superbly tempered, plated with glowing gold, it guarded the lives of those grim warriors. ... Their byrnies were gleaming, the strong links of shining chain-mail chinked together. When the sea-stained travelers had reached the hall itself in their fearsome armour, they placed their broad shields (worked so skillfully) against Heorot's wall. Then they sat on a bench; the brave men's armour sang. The seafarer's gear stood all together, a grey tipped forest of ash spears; that armed troop was well equipped with weapons. .... in common we all share sword, helmet, byrnie, the trappings of war.” (Levick, 1)

A rumor arose in the Norman ranks that William was dead, causing panic. Many of the Saxon fyrdd pursued the fleeing Normans down the hill. William raised his armies morale by loudly announcing that he was still alive. The Normans with new strength fought hard against the Saxons, Harold's brothers Gyrth and Leofwine were both slain on the battlefield.

Lanfranc was Regent for William the Conqueror while the king was away in Normandy. Lanfranc went stopping the rebellion anyway possible. Ralph de Guader fled to his home castle in Doc, Brittany. Ralph de Guader left his wife, Emma to stay behind and defend Norwich Castle, the siege lasted for three months. A deal was finally made between Lanfranc and Emma, and her soldiers received safe passage to Brittany. Lanfranc then placed the Castle with three-hundred of his best soldiers, and removed the rebels from the area. Waltheof was eventually caught and beheaded for his crime and the others were dismembered. The rebellion was at an end, from 1067, the Normans completely removed and destroyed around ninety-eight Saxon homes in Norwich. This was to clear a way for the castle ground work within which they would build a wooden fort, surrounded by deep, defensive trenches. They placed a barracks of soldiers to keep law and order and prevent any future rebellions from happening, under William the Conqueror who now ruled. Once the mound, had settled, William Rufus II began to build the stone Keep in about 1094. Following William’s death in 1100, his brother Henry I succeeded him, and completed the Keep by 1121. The Keep is about 21.5m tall; its walls were constructed to withstand most attacks from invaders, and are about 3 meters thick at the base and slowly narrowing as they get higher. The original doorway to the Keep is on the first floor on its eastern

Harold Godwinson was born in the 1022s to a powerful Anglo-Saxon family in Wessex, United Kingdom. Throughout his life, he achieved many great things, including being the last Anglo-Saxon to be crowned King of England and being the Earl of Wessex. He was at the top of the social structure from the 6th of January 1066 until his death fighting the Norman Invaders on the 14th of October at the Battle of Hastings. The Battle of the Hastings was a major event during this time period and marked the beginning of the Norman Conquest of England.

By now the fighting on Cups hill had caused and the battlefield became relatively quiet. Soldiers on each side sweated in the midday heat, waiting for whatever was going to happen next – witch to most of them was unknown (Gottlieb pg

The Battle of Agincourt is known as one of the greatest because of the circumstances surrounding it. Arguably, it is among the most distinguished battle wins of the English because nobody expected them to defeat the French. The reason was that the French army had four times more troops than it did, and everyone expected it to lose because of this. However, there are a number of factors that were at play that surpassed the numbers the French had and necessitated the English win. Such factors had to do with the strategies that were employed by the English, the conditions at the battlefield, and, most importantly, the leadership in place.

Throughout their journey and various battles, Beowulf and Wiglaf remained loyal to their lords. While in Denmark, Beowulf remains loyal to his king, Higlac, and the other warriors remain loyal to Beowulf. During his formal boast, Beowulf told his men that “my hands shall fight for me” as “My lord Higlac, might think less of me” (246-270) if he fought with weapons. Beowulf wanted to impress his lord and not disappoint him in battle. He feared that he would bring shame to his lord if he fought with weapons or

William the Conqueror, Duke of Normandy, is among the most influential of the early medieval figures. During William’s attempt to reinforce his claim to the English throne, he “changed the history of the world with his courage and power.” The Norman Invasion or the Norman Conquest refers to the crucial years between c. 1066 and 1086. This period is defined by its development and experimentation with existing cultural traditions. The Norman Conquest is regarded as not only an important British milestone but also a crucial milestone for the Western world. The years subsequent to the Norman Invasion are regarded as a great revolutionary period in England’s history; the invasion “was not only important within Normandy, but it also resonated throughout the rest of Europe” with implications stretching “as far as the Byzantine.” As the first Norman king of England, William the Conqueror is deemed a key figure in the foundation for modern English culture as shown through the advancements in law, language, and social customs. In the pages that follow, it will be argued that the Norman Conquest enhanced English culture into its most ingenious phase.

Of William I’s (1066-1087) sons, William the II (1087-1100) was a better king than his younger brother Henry I (1100-1135). William I’s was the first Norman king to rule England. He split his heritance between his three living sons. Robert received the rule of Normandy, William II received England and Henry I received five thousand pounds. In early medieval England a good king was a heroic soldier and a strong leader who was fair but enforced the law. It was also important that they were Christian and unsinful. William II “The Rufus”-because of his red face or temper, was true to himself and what he believed in while Henry I “Beauclerc”-because of his high level of education, was a brutal and selfish king, not only to his people, but also

For the English to continue further north, they would need to cross the River Forth at Stirling. If they got past Sterling, there would have been no stopping them from continuing north. So if this battle were lost, then Scotland’s independence might have been lost as well. William Wallace’s men were mostly made up of about 8,000 poor country men forming an infantry using long spears. They had about 30-40 men on horseback, while the English had 200 to 300 cavalry and 10,000 men.

King Henry makes many decisions in his life as the leader of England. His decision making and leadership skills are on full display as he leads England in the conquest of France. King Henry’s inter-personal skills, out of the box thinking, positive attitude, forward-thinking, and trust in God made the victory over France’s numerically superior army possible and the healing of wounds afterward.

The men in front carried pilums to skirmish with, while the hirdman made up the middle. A few huscarls who joined them took up the flank of the brigade, each of them holding a two handed Dane axe, capable of crushing through both shield and armor alike.

Just a year before the Norman Conquest, King Edward was dealing with the significant threat of civil unrest and a political coup and his death at the turn of 1066 worked to further set the stage for the Norman Conquest (Kapelle, 1979, p. 100). Unfortunately, the uncertainty of Edward's true intentions concerning who should succeed him to the throne of England contributed to the Norman Conquest by forcing William of Normandy to take the English throne by force. Earl Harold had quickly established who would take the throne by taking it himself (p. 101). William, who would eventually be called William the Conqueror, would have to take the throne from the largely self-appointed King Harold.