The Battle of Hastings
The Battle of Hastings changed history because it put a French king on the English throne. Harold of Wessex, who was not related to anyone of royalty, was selected to rule over England after the death of King Alfred the Great. William of Normandy did not like that idea. He was related to King Alfred and believed he was supposed to be the next king, so he devised a plan.William invited Harold over to his castle for dinner. William was being fairly kind, but still, Harold was nervous. After all he was in a stranger’s castle, and the door was locked! Harold had a reason to be nervous. William ordered Harold to put his hand on the table and swear an oath that William would be king. Harold obeyed because he was in William’s castle and was scared. When Harold was finished, William pulled off the golden cloth that was on the table, and revealed a pile of saints’ bones. Harold had been tricked! Bones of the dead were considered sacred, so William expected Harold to be bound by his promise. William was wrong. When Harold went back to his castle, he refused to keep his oath. William had another idea. He needed a wife, so he chose very carefully. Matilda was the daughter of the Count of Flanders, and as William’s distant cousin, she was also related to Alfred The Great! When William asked for her hand in marriage, she said, “No, I’d rather be a nun then be married to you.” He beat her, and then repeated the question. She answered, “yes.” When people asked her why she agreed, she always answered, “Because I did not know the Duke so well as I do now; for he must be a man of great courage and high daring who would venture to come and beat me in my own father’s palace.”William and Matilda’s marriage was located at Rouen in 1052 and made it more likely for him to be king because he had even more royalty in his family. Alfred the great was over 60 and died Jan.5 1161. Harold was crowned the very next day, still forgetting his oath to William. Almost everybody in Normandy knew war would soon follow. William gathered up about 10,000 solders, 3,600 horses and only 696 boats for them all to fit in! William and his army set sail across the channel. When they got across, they landed on a small English port called Pevensey. They camped in the countryside around the village of Hastings, and waited for Harold’s army. Finally, on October 14, 1066, at 9:00 a.m., Harold’s army arrived. First, William weakened the enemy by first using a load of archers (men shooting arrows). Second, he used the cavalry (a group of men that fought on horses). Harold got shot in the eye and stabbed in his chest. He eventually died and the war was over. Harold’s coffin had these words engraved: Harold The Unfortunate. He was buried under a church. Later, a supermarket was placed on that spot and everyone forgot about Harold. In 1999, parts of his coffin were found under a parking lot! The Battle of Hastings is really important in history because it made William (now called the Conqueror) king. William had a new way of managing things. He gave land to the Lords, and in return they gave him money and they had to fight in case of an invasion. The Lords allowed the peasants to farm the land. In return, they provided food and labor. This system lasted in England for many centuries and is called Feudalism.
My Sources: http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/harold_of_wessex.htmhttp://www.historylesrningsite.co.uk/hastin8.jpghttp://www.usborne-quicklinks_library/b690/norman_b690_p218.jpgWilliam The Conqueror by Robert GreenThe Usborne Internet linked Medieval World
