Why did William win the Battle of Hastings?

By Ronan Y7 2002-3

There are 4 main reasons why William took over England and the Anglo-Saxons. The first reason is that the Normans were extremely well prepared. The second reason is that Harold had to hurry south after a big battle way up north at Stamford Bridge. The third reason was the Norman’s clever tactics. The Normans faked a retreat and tricked the Anglo-Saxons to leave their hill. And the most important reason is mostly luck; one Norman archer had struck Harold in the eye and disabled him from leading his army.

The Norman preparation was very important. It is said that the Normans made some foldable and lightweight castles for the battle against Harold. The Normans had skilled knights on horseback and very good archers. They were not in a hurry and had taken rest unlike the Anglo-Saxons. They were a lot more numerous than the Anglo-Saxons and were not wounded like them. They had practised their tactics for the battle while Harold was travelling south. Furthermore, if Harold had really given the oath (even though all of our proofs come from a Norman perspective), God was with them and so was the saint that Harold had made a loyal promise on.

The second important reason was the battle of Stamford Bridge. The battle of Stamford Bridge happened in the far north of England. The Norwegian Vikings invaded the whole route between their landing point and Stamford Bridge. The Vikings were very vicious and Tostig, Harold’s brother, had rejoined the Vikings because of a fight he had had with Harold earlier.

One of the Vikings killed 45 knights on the actual bridge of Stamford Bridge, and was eventually struck by a Welshman on a part of his body not protected by his armour. He kept on fighting and was finally killed. We do not know his name but he was the most vicious Viking that fought at the battle of Stamford Bridge. And even though the Vikings were very strong and cruel, the battle was an astonishing victory for the Anglo-Saxons. Though the Vikings had crossed the North Sea in over 300 drakkars they returned to Norway in only 12 drakkars!

The Norman tactics were also important. The Norman trick happened at the battle of Hastings. Before the battle, Harold had said to his army not to leave the hill and to keep the shield wall steady until the Normans would be tired, then they would wait for his command to strike. During the battle, Harold had been struck in the eye. He lost control of his army because his army had lost confidence, knowing he had being struck in the eye by an arrow. Harold had also lost control of his army because he was dying. The Anglo-Saxons fell for a simple trick. The Normans had faked a retreat, and the Anglo-Saxons herded down the hill to slaughter the Normans to their defeat, according to tradition. But the Normans turned around and slaughtered half of the Anglo-Saxon army.

And the most important reason was mostly luck. One Norman archer struck Harold in the eye and disabled him from leading his army. Eventually, the shield wall was broken and this allowed the Normans to fight to the death with the Anglo-Saxons. The Anglo-Saxons couldn’t hold on much longer and were eventually torn to pieces. Almost nobody of the Anglo-Saxon army was left alive, and four Norman knights succeeded in breaking into Harold’s tent where he was healing and killed the king of England. This is how William took over England.

In conclusion, if I had been Harold I would have given my place as king to William. I think that William won by chance. I think that the fact that Harold arrived at Stamford Bridge and that William arrived in the south at the same time was very odd. I also think that the Norman shot in Harold’s eye was very unfortunate. The battle up North was very tiring, as well as the journey South, but I think that the Anglo–Saxons would have been victorious had an arrow not struck Harold’s eye. I think this story in history was very interesting and mysterious.