Battle of Hastings
The Battle of Hastings took place on 14th October 1066, when the defending English army, also called the Anglo-Saxon army, led by King Harold, engaged invading Normans on Senlac Hill near Hastings, England (now the town of Battle). The Normans won decisively and Harold was killed, effectively ending Anglo-Saxon rule of England and establishing the Norman line of monarchs. For the next three centuries, Norman French would be the language of much official correspondence, and English would absorb a substantial amount of its vocabulary.
The battle was ostensibly fought to assert a Norman claim to the throne by William, Duke of Normandy. Edward the Confessor, had became king of England in 1042, dying childless. "It is neither clear nor likely that Edward had designated William as his heir, as the Norman duke claimed when Edward died, but it is possible."[1]
Following the death of Edward the Confessor, William, Duke of Normandy (later William I, also known as William the Conqueror) came to the English throne.
The battle was memorialised in the Bayeux Tapestry, and Battle Abbey was built on the battlefield, founded by William.
References cited in text
- ↑ Morillo S(editor and author), multi-authored. (1996) The Battle of Hastings: Sources and Interpretations. Boydell Press. ISBN 9780851156194.