What was the real reason William the Conqueror won the Battle of Hastings?

The Battle of Hastings was the culmination of a political struggle between two competing medieval lords who both believed they had the rightful claim to the English throne.

The confusion about the successor arose immediately after the death of King Edward the Confessor in January 1066.

Edward had died without an heir, which left the English crown particularly vulnerable to rival claims.

Among the most powerful contenders were Harold Godwinson, the Earl of Wessex; William, Duke of Normandy in France; and Harald Hardrada, the King of Norway.

Each of them believed they had a legitimate right to the kingdom. 

Firstly, Harold Godwinson secured the crown almost immediately since he was the only one of the three contenders physically living in England at the time.

He was the Earl of Wessex, which meant that he was the most powerful noble in England and had proven himself in battle many times.

It is not surprising then that, on January 6, 1066, the Witenagemot, the council of Anglo-Saxon nobles, moved to elect Harold as king.

This election was supported by many of the English nobles who believed Harold was the best candidate to defend the kingdom against foreign threats.

As such, Harold Godwinson was crowned on the same day.  

However, William of Normandy disputed Harold's right to the throne. William had ruled Normandy as duke since 1035 and had spent much of his early life securing his duchy from internal and external threats.

He claimed that Edward had promised it to him years earlier. By this account, Harold had sworn an oath to support William's claim during a visit he undertook to Normandy in 1064.

Convinced of his right to rule over England, William began to gather forces for an invasion from his lands in the north of France. 

Meanwhile, Harald Hardrada asserting his right through an agreement between his predecessor, Magnus the Good, and Harthacnut, the English king before Edward the Confessor.

This agreement stipulated that if either of the two rulers died without an heir, the other would inherit their lands.

So, when Harthacnut died childless in 1042, Magnus believed he had a claim to the English throne, which Harald inherited after Magnus's death in 1047.

As a result, Hardrada launched an invasion of northern England in September 1066, hoping to seize the throne by force.  

By the early summer of 1066, William had begun gathering a large fleet, reportedly numbering around 700 ships, to transport his invasion force across the English Channel.

However, to make the expedition a success, he needed the support of his vassals and allies.

He cleverly secured this by promising them land and wealth in England if the invasion was a success.

Additionally, he obtained a papal banner from Pope Alexander II, which gave his cause a religious endorsement.

Thanks to the papal support, William amassed an army of approximately 7,000 men, including knights, infantry, and archers.

When the fleet and army were assembled at the mouth of the River Dives in Normandy, they awaited favorable winds to make the crossing. 

Harold Godwinson, meanwhile, faced a growing number of problems in England as he prepared to defend his newly acquired throne.

After being crowned in January 1066, Harold immediately recognized the threat posed by William and began organizing his defenses along the southern coast.

However, Harold's plans were complicated by the threat of an invasion from Norway from the third claimant to the throne: Harald Hardrada.

In September 1066, Hardrada, supported by Harold Godwinson's own brother, Tostig, invaded northern England with a fleet of around 300 ships.

King Harold marched his army north with remarkable speed, covering nearly 200 miles in less than a week.

On September 25, 1066, Harold's forces met Hardrada at Stamford Bridge. The battle at the site was difficult for both sides, but Harold's forces eventually emerged victorious.

However, thousands of Harold’s men were killed, which weakened Harold's army considerably. 

Then, three days after his victory at Stamford Bridge, Harold received news that William had finally landed in Sussex on September 28.

Exhausted from the previous battle, Harold immediately began the arduous march south.

He hoped to confront William before he could consolidate his position or seize any important towns.

Sadly, his depleted forces, which had suffered heavy casualties and fatigue, had little time to recover before facing a fresh and well-prepared Norman army. 

The Battle of Hastings took place somewhere near the small town of Hastings in East Sussex, most likely on the site later known as Senlac Hill.

This was approximately seven miles from the coast and appears to have been chosen by Harold Godwinson for its defensive advantages.

The battlefield itself was a ridge of high ground, where Harold's forces could hold a commanding position over the surrounding area.

Specifically, the ridge was steep in places, with dense woods on either side. These features would make it difficult for the Normans to flank Harold's army.

To maximize his strengths, Harold arranged his troops along the ridge in a solid shield wall, stretching from one side of the ridge to the other.  

The terrain of this battlefield would be crucial to the outcome of the battle. This was because the two sides had very different strengths and weaknesses.

William's invading Norman forces consisted of a well-trained army of Normans, Bretons, and Flemish soldiers, including archers.

However, the most dangerous troops were a large contingent of cavalry. They were fast and heavily armored.

When used effectively, they could quickly ride around the sides of infantry groups and destroy them from behind. 

This is why Harold chose to stand his for forces at the top of the ridge with trees on either side.

This way, the Norman knights couldn’t outflank them. Instead, they would have to exhaust themselves riding uphill to face his soldiers.

Harold’s own army was composed entirely of infantry, since cavalry was rare in England at the time.

There were the fearsome housecarls, professional warriors, and the fyrd, a militia of local men who were called up in times of need.

Although his army was larger than William’s, it was mostly infantry, it did not have cavalry and archers that William's did. 

William and Harold’s armies finally met on the morning of October 14, 1066.

During the open movements of the battle, William realized that Harold's shield wall formation was highly effective in repelling any direct assaults.

The shield wall, which was a dense line of interlocked shields, presented a formidable barrier.

Nevertheless, William ordered his infantry and cavalry to charge up the hill and break through.

Unfortunately, they struggled to achieve this, as the Normans were forced to cross a marshy area at the base of the hill before trying to ascend the uneven ground up to the ridge.

Once there, the shield wall consistently held Norman forces at bay, and, as the hours ticked by, the number casualties were increasing among William’s forces. 

However, William had a clever strategy in mind to create a gap in the solid wall of shields.

Later in the morning, he ordered his cavalry to retreat from the shield wall in a way that looked like they were defeated and running away in fear.

This move is called a ‘feigned retreat’. When the English forces saw the Normans retreating, they believed that victory was within reach.

Flushed with success, many of Harold’s troops broke ranks and pursued the cavalry down the slope, which meant that they left the safety of the shield wall.

As large sections of the solid wall disappeared, it created significant gaps in the English lines.

With portions of Harold's army now hopelessly exposed on the flatter ground below the hill, William ordered the retreating Norman cavalry to quickly regather, turn around, and charge back into the fray.

Without the security of a single line of shields, individual soldiers were now cut down quickly.

By repeating this tactic several times, William gradually wore down the English defenses, causing disorder and chaos. 

Before the battle had even started, William had called upon his archers to try and soften the English lines before launching first assault.

Since they were positioned behind the Norman infantry, the archers could unleash volleys of arrows that arced over the battlefield without risking their own lines.

These arrows would rain down on the English soldiers who had limited protection from above.

Although initially the arrows had little effect against the tightly packed shield wall, as the feigned retreats drew more soldiers out of position, they became increasingly more deadly. 

Harold Godwinson had remained at the top of the ridge, as part of the infantry lines.

As the day wore on, he continued to rally his troops. He knew that his presence on the battlefield provided a crucial source of morale.

As a result, as the battle raged on, the fatigued English forces continued to hold their ground. 

According to most accounts, Harold’s death came late in the battle, possibly from an arrow striking him in the eye, although some sources suggest he was cut down by Norman knights.

When news of Harold's death spread through the English ranks, it had an immediate and catastrophic effect.

In the confusion that followed, the English soldiers, who had been fighting fiercely to defend their king and their land, lost their primary source of motivation.

Many began to retreat, while others continued to fight, but now without a coherent command structure.

As the ranks of the English forces broke apart, the Norman forces capitalized on the chaos and pressed their advantage. 

Harold’s death ultimately caused a rapid disintegration of their organizational structure.

Consequently, the once formidable shield wall collapsed entirely, which led to a complete rout of the English forces. 

After his victory at the Battle of Hastings, William of Normandy moved swiftly to consolidate his control over England.

On Christmas Day 1066, he was crowned King of England at Westminster Abbey.

This transferred authority from the Anglo-Saxons to the Normans. However, William faced multiple uprisings from various English nobles who refused to accept his authority.

To try and secure his reign, William used both more military force, strategic marriages, and even the construction of formidable castles, such as the Tower of London. 

William systematically replaced the Anglo-Saxon nobility with his Norman followers.

This redistributed vast estates to ensure loyalty among his new barons. So, by 1070, most of the English lands had been transferred to Norman hands, and the old Anglo-Saxon elite had been almost entirely displaced.

Also, the introduction of the feudal system, where land was held in exchange for military service, created a new hierarchy dominated by the Normans. 

The additional introduction of Norman law, language, and customs would go on to alter the culture of England.

For example, the language of Old English was supplanted by Norman French, which eventually evolved into Middle English.

Finally, this began a new era in English history, one where Norman influence would overhaul the country’s direction for many centuries.