Battle of Hastings, The Read online

  and Edward II 23, 24, 25–9, 45–54, 126–7, 129

  handfast wife 74

  as king see Harold II, King of England

  and literacy 80

  and navy 104–6, 143

  and Tostig 123–5

  and Vita Ædwardi Regis 224–5

  and William of Normandy 47–54, 123

  campaign in Brittany 109, 170, 178, 186

  oath to 48, 50–4, 133, 138, 199, 216, 225

  Harold I Harefoot, King of England 11, 15–17

  Harold II, King of England

  coinage 130

  Danish support for 133

  death 180, 192–6, 199, 214–6, 221, 222, 230, 231

  defeat at Hastings 3–4, 33, 45–6, 171

  election and coronation 127–9, 131, 138–9, 226

  Fighting Man banner 4, 70

  laws 130

  as military leader 94, 104, 116, 164–70

  military strategy 167–83, 186

  and papacy 167–8, 175–6

  and Stamford Bridge 116, 151–2, 156–7

  succession to 199–200, 210–11

  and use of cavalry 109–10

  and William of Normandy 131

  see also Harold Godwinson; Stamford Bridge, battle of

  Harthacnut, King of England 11, 15, 16, 17, 20, 34, 36

  Hastings

  Norman bridgehead 3, 161–2, 166, 180–1, 199

  ravaging by Normans 222–3

  Hastings, battle of

  casualties 171, 184, 191

  death of Harold 180, 192–6

  desertions 172, 175–7

  documentation 3–4, 96, 143, 162, 170–8, 181–96, 217–32

  English strategy 167–71

  Norman preparations 131–3, 140, 143–6, 159–60

  Norman retreats 182, 185–6, 187–93, 222

  Norman strategy 170–1

  reasons for English defeat 171–3

  seen as holy war 52, 135–6, 140, 168

  significance 2–3

  suitability of battleground 177–8

  surprise attack 165, 170

  hauberk (coat of mail) 104, 113, 114, 117, 183

  helmets 69, 104, 113, 117, 118

  Henry the Fowler, King of Germany 235 n.xxviii

  Henry of Huntingdon, Historia Anglorum 49, 65–6, 182, 195, 221, 231–2

  Henry I, King of England 110, 211, 236

  Henry I, King of France 41–3, 131–2, 203

  Henry II, King of England 60, 79, 212, 214

  Henry III, Emperor 28

  Heptarchy, Anglo-Saxon 56, 98

  heregeld (army tax) 14, 99–100

  Hereward the Wake 205

  heriot (tax) 103–4

  heroic tradition 214–6

  hides (land) 61–2, 73, 75

  Hildebrand, Cardinal, see Pope Gregory VII

  Hildebrand (heroic poem) 81, 83

  history, written 88–90, 213–14

  hoar apple tree 3, 173, 177

  Hollister, C. Warren 102–3

  horses, and armour 120–1, 154

  housecarls

  of Cnut 13–14, 100

  of Harold 119, 120, 151, 164, 173, 178, 183, 185

  Hugh, Duke of the Franks 63–4

  Hugh Capet, King of the Franks 46

  Hugh of Ponthieu 221, 222

  hundred system

  origins of 59

  courts 59–60

  and hides 61

  infantry

  English 110, 178, 183, 186

  Norman 115–6, 175, 184–6

  Italy, Normans in 113, 134–5, 141, 209

  javelins 118–19, 194–5

  Ketel (thegn) 103–4, 108, 113, 119

  kingship

  and bastardy 45

  elective 31–3, 39, 46, 126–8, 203

  and law 59–60

  and war 93, 118, 168–9

  knights

  and Crusades 135

  Norman 110–11, 113–14, 118–19, 131, 183, 189–90

  Konrad the Peaceable, Duke of Burgundy 235 n.xxviii

  laity, and literacy 78–81

  lances 118–19

  land tenure 61

  and military service 62, 97, 100–4, 112

  post-Conquest 205, 208

  Land Waster (standard of Harald Hardrada) 150, 153, 156

  Lanfranc, Archbishop of Canterbury 205–6, 208, 220

  Latin, in Norman England 81, 207

  laws 11, 16, 80, 124–5, 209

  and Æthelberht 59–60

  and Athelstan 5

  and Cnut 14, 103, 124–5, 203

  and Edward II 124–5, 203

  and Harold II 130

  and Henry II 60

  and women 74

  Lawson, M. K. 182

  Lemmon, Lieut. Col. C. H. 186–7, 188–9, 191

  Leo IX, Pope 136

  Leofric, Earl of Mercia 19–21, 23, 39, 204

  Leofwine Godwinson, Earl of Kent 3, 24, 25–6, 186–7

  Leonidas, King of Sparta 1

  Lepanto, battle of 1

  Lincoln, battle of 110

  Lindisfarne, sack of (793) 66

  Lindisfarne Gospels 70

  literacy

  Anglo-Saxon 78–80, 88

  Norman 80–1

  literature

  Anglo-Saxon 81–91

  English 209, 213

  London

  Norman conquest 200

  rights and privileges 204

  maces, Norman 120

  Magna Carta 2

  Magnus Olafson, King of Norway 34, 35, 36, 148

  Malcolm III, King of Scotland 131, 148, 201

  Maldon, battle of 7–8, 58, 88, 95, 100, 109, 215

  Malfosse, the 196

  Malory, Sir Thomas 110

  Morte d’Arthur 91

  Marathon, battle of 1–2

  Margaret, daughter of Edward the Atheling 29

  Marianus Scotus, Chronicle of 226

  Marie de France 214

  marriage, handfast 11, 74, 233 n.iv

  Martel, Geoffrey, Count of Anjou 41–3, 94, 132, 203

  Matilda, Empress 212, 214

  Matilda of Flanders (wife of William I) 25, 42, 43, 132, 168

  Mauger, Archbishop of Rouen 236 n.xlvi

  mercenaries

  English fleet 105

  Norman army112, 115, 134, 135–6, 183, 190

  Mill, John Stuart 1–2

  monarchy see kingship

  monasteries, English 57, 66, 136, 206

  and education and learning 75–6

  and poetry 82, 85

  Morcar Leofricson, Earl of Northumbria 124, 130, 149–50, 152, 157, 199, 205

  Mortemer, battle of 52, 94

  Morton, Catherine 140–1

  Napoleon Bonaparte, Emperor of France 185, 199

  navy, English

  and Alfred 99, 105

  and Harold Godwinson 104–6, 143–4, 179

  and mercenaries 105

  navy, Norman 106, 131, 144–5, 160, 227

  navy, Norwegian 148–9, 157

  Nicholas II, Pope 133, 134

  Nieder-Altaich, annals of 231–2

  Nithard (chronicler) 190

  Normandy

  and feudalism 96–7, 105–8, 111–12

  Harold Godwinson in 47–51, 109, 123

  military service 106–8, 110–12, 115

  and Norman England 211

  Viking settlement 6, 106

  Normans

  post-Conquest risings against 201

  in pre-Conquest England 25, 146–7, 162

  as ruling class 204–6, 211–12

  in south Italy 113, 134–5, 141, 209

  Northumbria

  and Harald Hardrada 149–50, 152

  uprising 47, 123–5, 148

  see also Danelaw

  Odo, Bishop of Bayeux 120, 138, 142, 201, 229

  Offa, King of Mercia 13, 64

  Olaf I Tryggvason, King of Norway 6–8

  Olaf II, St, King of Norway 35

  Ola
f III, King of Norway 157

  Old English see English language

  ordeal, trial by 232

  Orderic Vitalis 33, 80–1, 98, 163, 168, 171, 201–2, 203, 207–8, 213

  and Carmen de Hastingæ Proelio 220, 221

  value as source 226

  and William of Poitiers 224

  Osbern FitzOsbern, Bishop of Exeter 147

  Oswald, St 136

  pallium 27, 43, 64, 137

  papacy

  and English Church 136–41

  and Harold II 167–8, 175–6

  and Normans in Italy 133–5, 141

  and sanction for battle 52, 133–43, 165, 168, 199

  Paul Thorfinnsson, Earl of Orkney 148, 157

  peasantry 61, 73

  and military service 95, 100, 103, 178

  Pevensey, Norman bridgehead 3, 160–1, 181, 223

  Philip II, king of Spain 2

  pilgrimage

  to Jerusalem 27, 64

  to Rome 13, 64–5, 103

  pitched battles 93–5, 166

  Platæa, battle of 1

  plurality of benefices 27, 137–8

  poetry 7, 81–8, 214–15

  Portskewet, hunting lodge 123, 125

  property, of women 74–5

  prose, Anglo-Saxon 88–91

  punishments 16–17, 194

  Ralph ‘the Timid’, Earl of Hereford 34

  retreats, feigned 182, 185–91

  Richard I, Duke of Normandy 6

  Richard II, Duke of Normandy 6, 11, 41

  Richard III, Duke of Normandy 34

  riddles, Anglo-Saxon 85–6

  Robert I, duke of Normandy 15, 34, 41

  Robert II (Curthose), Duke of Normandy 211

  Robert of Eu 94

  Robert FitzWymark 129, 162–3

  Robert Guiscard de Hauteville 134–5, 142

  Robert of Jumièges, Archbishop of Canterbury 23, 24, 26–7, 39, 43, 53, 137

  Robert le Frison, Count of Flanders 190

  Roger de Hauteville 142

  Roland 215; see also Chanson de Roland

  Rollo (Hrolf Ganger), Duke of Normandy 6

  The Ruin 84

  St Valéry, William’s forces at 115–16, 140, 144–7, 159–60, 222

  Scarborough, burning 149, 150, 151

  Scotland

  support for Tostig 131, 148–9

  support for Edgar the Atheling 201

  seax (cutlass) 120

  Senlac, alternative name for battle of Hastings 182

  serfs 61

  service, military

  feudal system 96–7, 105–7

  five-hide system 61–2, 73, 101–3, 107

  see also fyrd

  shield wall 110, 153, 156, 178

  shields 69, 113–14, 118, 184

  shires

  courts 59, 60

  levies 9–10, 65, 96, 99, 100–4, 164, 167, 178

  Sigeric, Archbishop of Canterbury 64–5

  Siward, Earl of Northumbria 19–20, 23, 26, 27, 39, 123, 204

  Snorre Sturlason, Heimskringla 117, 147–9, 185, 232

  and Stamford Bridge 108, 119–21, 152–6, 204, 228–9

  value as source 108, 228–9, 232

  society, Anglo-Saxon 58, 60, 72–5, 93

  spears 118–19, 185

  spies

  of Harold II 146, 168

  of William of Normandy 146–7, 161, 163

  Stamford Bridge, battle of 108–9, 116, 117, 151–7, 163–4, 167, 179

  booty 176, 228

  and cavalry 108

  documentation 108, 119–21, 152–6, 161, 204, 228–9

  English forced march 151–2, 156, 167, 179

  and Harold’s housecarls 119, 120, 151, 164, 173

  and surprise attack 153, 169–70

  Stenton, Sir Frank 12–13, 61, 210

  Stephen, King of England 110, 203, 212, 214

  Stigand, Bishop of Winchester 24, 27

  Archbishop of Canterbury 27, 104

  and coronation of Harold II 128, 226

  and death of Edward II 128–9

  and Edgar the Atheling 199–200

  and Godwin 24, 27, 39

  and papacy 27, 128, 137–8, 140–1, 226

  plurality of benefices 27, 137

  and William I 205

  Stiklestad, battle of 35

  Sugar, Max 167–8

  Sutton Hoo, excavation 63, 67, 118

  Sweyn Estrithson, King of Denmark 34, 35–6, 45, 126, 133, 157

  and battle of Hastings 178

  and Edgar the Atheling 201

  Sweyn Forkbeard

  as King of Denmark 8–9

  as King of England 10, 76

  Sweyn Godwinson 23, 27, 36

  swords 12, 64

  Taillefer (juggler) 184, 221

  Tancred de Hauteville 134

  taxation

  Anglo-Saxon 59, 61–2, 73

  heriot 103–4

  Norman 67, 208

  see also Danegeld

  Telham Hill 177–8, 231

  thegns 73, 103, 114, 209

  Thermopylæ, battle of 1

  Thorkell the Tall 100

  Tinchebrai, battle of 110

  Tostig Godwinson, earl of Northumbria 24–5, 27–8, 49, 104

  outlawing 47, 123–6, 132, 148

  raids by 130–1, 143

  and Harald Hardrada 147–9, 151–6, 181

  in Vita Ædwardi Regis 225

  and William of Normandy 143–4

  death 156–7

  trade, Anglo-Saxon 12, 62–6, 73

  Ulf Thorgilsson 35

  Val-ès-Dunes, battle of 41, 93

  van Houts, E. M. C. 221

  Varangian Guard 35, 209

  Varaville, battle of 94

  Vegetius, Publius Flavius, De Re Militari 94–5, 166

  Vexin, County of 132; see also Drogo, Count of the Vexin;Walter, Count of the Vexin

  Vikings

  defences against 98–9

  in Normandy 6, 106

  raids on England 5–10, 11, 24, 55, 57, 58, 61, 66, 75–6, 95, 136–7, 157

  tribute paid to 8–10

  Vita Ædwardi Regis 18, 29, 49, 80, 123, 125–7, 168, 224–5

  Wace, Maistre, Roman de Rou 106, 182, 184, 221, 227

  Waldere (heroic poem) 83

  Walker, Ian W. 53, 141, 234 n.xx, 237 n.lxxix

  Walter, Count of the Vexin 33, 52

  Waltham Abbey 69, 128, 138, 164, 206

  Waltham Chronicle 45–6, 172, 217

  The Wanderer 84–5

  war, and pitched battles 93–5, 166

  Waterloo, battle of 1, 185

  wealth, Anglo-Saxon 2, 9, 12, 55–6, 62–72

  weaponry 113–14, 118–20, 184–5

  wergild (blood-price) 73

  Wessex, harrying by William of Normandy 95, 166, 180

  Westminster Abbey 126, 128, 200

  Wherwell, abbey of 24, 27

  Whitelock, Dorothy 63–4, 68, 76–7

  Wilfrid, St 70

  William the Bastard see William of Normandy

  William, Count of Arques 42

  William I (the Conqueror), King of England

  campaign of oppression 201, 207–8

  coronation 141–2, 200, 222, 223

  death 207–8

  and English Church 205–7

  harrying of the north 201–2, 208

  rebellions against 205

  see also Domesday Book; William of Normandy

  William II Rufus, King of England 40, 67, 208, 211

  and English army 102, 108

  William FitzOsbern, Earl of Breteuil 201

  William of Jumièges, Gesta Normannorum Ducum 34, 38, 43, 141, 170–1, 174

  value as source 106, 223, 227

  William of Malmesbury (chronicler) 135, 195, 197, 205, 213, 218

  and Cnut 10

  and English Church 67

  value as source 176, 227–8

  William of Normandy

  battle of Val-ès-Dunes 41, 93
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  and county of Maine 33, 52, 132

  and death of Harold II 192–3, 197

  education and literacy 80–1

  and Harold Godwinson 47–53, 131

  Harold’s oath to 48, 50–4, 133, 138, 199, 216, 225

  marriage 25, 42, 168

  as military leader 93–4, 112, 115–6, 203

  military strategy 170–1, 173, 179–81, 183, 193, 199

  and navy 105, 106, 131

  and Norwegian invasion 161, 181

  and papacy 52, 138–43, 165, 168, 199

  and papal banner 4, 140, 142–3

  preparation for invasion 131–3, 140, 143–5, 159–60

  and succession to Edward II the Confessor 29, 32, 37–44, 49–50, 53–4, 129, 165, 223, 229

  and Tostig Godwinson 125–6, 143–4

  visit to Edward II the Confessor 25, 38–9, 42–3

  William of Poitiers, Gesta Guillelmi

  and battle of Hastings 162, 170–1, 173–5, 178–9, 181, 183–8, 191–2, 194, 196, 199

  and battle of Stamford Bridge 161

  and Carmen de Hastingæ Proelio 220–1

  and English wealth 63, 67, 71

  and Harold II 52–3, 105, 128–9, 164–5

  and Norman army 111, 115, 118, 120, 185–6

  and Norman rule of England 205

  and papal banner 142

  and preparations for invasion 131, 133, 138, 140–1, 145–6, 160

  and succession to Edward II 37, 38–9, 47–8, 50–3

  and succession to Harold II 200

  value as source 45, 141, 217–18, 223–4

  Williams, Ann 128

  Winchester, as seat of treasury 20