For Hours, Harold’s Shield Wall Held. Then the Battle of Hastings Turned

For Hours, Harold’s Shield Wall Held. Then the Battle of Hastings Turned

On the morning of the 14th of October 1066, Harold Godwinson and William of Normandy finally faced one another.

Harold positioned his army on high ground near what is now Battle in East Sussex. His men fought on foot, packed closely together behind overlapping shields. At the centre were Harold’s housecarls, experienced warriors armed with heavy two-handed axes.

William had a different sort of army. He could use archers, infantry and mounted knights, but to reach Harold’s men they had to attack uphill.

The battle appears to have begun at around nine o’clock in the morning.

Norman archers fired towards the English position before infantry and cavalry moved against the shield wall. William launched successive attacks, but the English line continued to hold.

At one point, part of William’s army began retreating and a rumour spread that William himself had been killed. According to Norman accounts, William rode forward and showed his face to reassure his men that he was still alive.

Some English soldiers left the safety of the ridge to pursue the retreating Normans. William’s men turned on them.

Norman accounts describe later retreats being used deliberately to tempt more Englishmen away from their defensive position. It did not immediately destroy the shield wall, but after hours of fighting Harold’s army was gradually being worn down.

The fighting continued for most of the day, which in itself shows just how difficult the English position was to break.

Late in the day, William’s army launched another fierce assault.

Harold was killed during the final stages of the battle, although exactly how he died remains uncertain. The famous story that an arrow struck him in the eye is only one version of his death and cannot be treated as certain.

With Harold dead and the English line finally breaking, survivors began to flee.

By the end of the 14th of October, William had won the Battle of Hastings, but he had not yet been crowned King of England. His path from the battlefield at Hastings to Westminster was another part of the story.

If Harold’s men had stayed completely behind their shield wall, do you think the result might have been different?

Bayeux Tapestry, Battle of Hastings: Norman knights and archers, 11th century. Public domain/CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.