The Approach to Hastings

William II, Duke of Normandy, had his forces ready to deploy to invade England. He believed he had a legitimate claim to the throne that Harold Godwinson had been given. Harold's armies had been guarding the coasts against William's invasion, but the attack in the north by Harold's brother Tostig and King Harald of Norway had drawn Harold's forces north to deal with them. After initial success by Tostig and his allies, Harold defeated them soundly at the Battle of Stamford Bridge on 25 September.

With Harold's army in the north, William saw his chance: he set sail and landed on the south coast of England on 28 September, in Pevensey Bay. Pevensey had an old Roman fort, abandoned after the 5th century. Harold Godwinson, long before he became king, had rebuilt the place in 1042. It was the location of part of his army in 1066, until they had to leave it to march north to Stamford. After 1066, William gave the fort to his half-brother Robert, Count of Mortain. The stone remains that can be seen now (see illustration) are from Robert's expansion plans.

William did not stay in Pevensey. He marched to Hastings on the coast, about nine miles away, then went several miles inland, to a place now called "Battle" and where there is an Abbey called Battle. William's men quickly built a wooden castle for his dwelling and then started gathering food and provisions from the countryside.

King Harold probably received news of William's landing while he was bringing the army south. It looks like they marched about 27 miles per day, still impressive but not as exhausting as their march north. Harold spent a week at London, resting and preparing for battle. He was unable to surprise the Normans as he had the Norwegians. By the time he got to Hastings, William had taken a defensive position on Battle/Senlac Hill, giving him the advantage of higher ground.

I've written of the battle before. Harold was killed, by an arrow to the eye. William of Jumieges wrote that William killed him. William of Poitiers offered no details about Harold's death. Harold's body was identified the next day. His mother, Gytha, offered the body's weight in gold to William, who refused the offer and ordered the corpse be thrown into the sea. (No one records that this actually happened.) Waltham Abbey, founded by Harold, claimed his body had been secretly buried there. The legend that he secretly fled the battle and became a hermit in Chester can be dismissed.

William thought his way to the throne was now clear, but the witenagamot had another idea. The year 1066 in England was the year of four kings: Edward the Confessor, Harold Godwinson, and William of Normandy were the first's second, and fourth, respectively. There was a descendant of English kings who happened to be available. Tomorrow I'll tell you about Edgar the Ætheling.