AthelingHastings
William defeats Harold's army on the ridge north of Hastings. Harold is killed.
What the record says
Harold marched south from Stamford Bridge and met William on 14 October on the ridge where Battle Abbey now stands. The fighting lasted most of the day. Harold was killed, with his brothers Gyrth and Leofwine, and the English army broke. The sources differ on how Harold died: the arrow in the eye rests on a reading of the Bayeux Tapestry, while the Carmen has him cut down by knights.
Certainty
| Fact | Value | Certainty |
|---|---|---|
| Date | 14 October 1066 | Exact |
| How sure we are | High | Of this record as a whole |
People
Related events
- William lands at Pevensey
The Norman fleet crosses while Harold is in the north, and the army comes ashore unopposed.
- Stamford Bridge
Harold defeats the Norwegian host.
- Edgar submits at Berkhamsted
William crosses the Thames at Wallingford and the English leaders come out to meet him.
- William is crowned at Westminster
Ealdred of York crowns the Conqueror on Christmas Day while his guards set fire to the houses outside.
- William gathers ships
Norman preparations turn a claim into a credible threat.
Sources
Where this is recorded
- The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (Avalon Project)
- William of Poitiers, Gesta Guillelmi, ed. R. H. C. Davis and Marjorie Chibnall, Oxford Medieval Texts, 1998
- The Carmen de Hastingae Proelio of Guy, Bishop of Amiens, ed. Frank Barlow, Oxford Medieval Texts, 1999
- The Bayeux Tapestry (Bayeux Museum)
- The Chronicle of Florence of Worcester, trans. Thomas Forester
- English Heritage: Medieval Warfare
Named in the record
- Bayeux Tapestry
Suggest a correction Opens an email with the record filled in. A source helps and is not required. Submissions are reviewed against sources, and those that stand up go into the record and the game, with credit if you want it.