Taking To The Hastings

A little more than an hour's train ride south of London is the small town of Battle, the site of the Battle of Hastings. Others can do a better job of describing the events surrounding the battle, so I won't waste time doing so. However, there are a couple of interesting points to be made about the consequences of the battle.

1. The Saxons under King Harold chose to fight on foot, hand to hand, while the Normans had a combined force of infantry, cavalry and archers. Even though the Saxons chose the most favorable position in the battle--the top of a hill--the Normans won the day in part because of the effectiveness of their combined force.

2. The Norman Conquest (the last successful invasion of Britain) turned England into the second millenium country we know today, bringing with it continental-style feudalism--in the process, linking England more with continental politics and less with Scandinavian--and castles that replaced the less sophisticated Anglo-Saxon fortresses.


Battle Abbey, which William the Conquerer built as penitence for the lives lost at Hastings. This is the view the Flemish soldiers on the Norman right would have had. The Saxons would have formed their "shield wall" somewhere across this photo, but I wouldn't want to guess where. For the sake of imagination, let's say it was in front of those trees.

I thought the last English king was the guy the Romans chased out.

(Thanks to Schmutz for the photos.)