2. Cause of the Invasion
• King Edward of England dies January 5, 1066, without an heir.
• Harold Godwinson of Wessex was crowned king because he was
supposedly the closest relative to King Edward, who was Harold’s brother-
in-law.
King Harold
3. Cause of Invasion Continued
• Duke William of Normandy claimed to be King Edward’s cousin. Duke
William also claimed that King Edward sent him a message in 1064 that
anointed Duke William the next King of England.
• Duke William took Harold’s claim of the throne as an insult and used that
to gain support from his people and the Pope.
King William
4. Cause of the Invasion
• The third rival for the throne was Harald Hardrada, the King of Norway.
• Harald claimed that his nephew Mangus had cut a deal with Harthacut the
Danish ruler of England. He said that since Magnus and
Harthacut never had a male heir, both promised their kingdom to the other
in the event of his death.
• When Harthacut died, Mangus was unable to take up his claim to the
English throne because he was too busy battling for the rule of Denmark.
Then Edward became the Anglo-Saxon ruler of England. Now with
Mangus and Edward dead, Hardrada asserted that he, as Mangus's heir, was
the rightful ruler of England.
• When Hardrada heard of Harold's crowning, Hardrada immediately
prepared to invade England.
King Hardrada
5. Hardrada's Invasion
• In September of 1066, Hardrada invasion force landed on the Northern
English coast and captured a few coastal villages before moving toward the
city of York.
• Hardrada's invasion was helped by Tostig, King Harold's brother. The
Viking army overwhelmed an English force blocking the York road and
captured the city.
• On September 25, 1066, King Harold and his troops attacked Hardrada's
army as it camped at Stamford Bridge outside York. The battle was at a
stalemate until the Norsemen's line broke. Hardrada and Tostig were killed
during the battle.
• Only 24 of the 240 ships of King Harald’s invasion force made the trip
back to Norway.
6. Battle of Hastings
•The battle of Hastings was fought on October 14, 1066.
•King Harold arrived on October 13 and positioned his army along the Senlac
Ridge, forming a shield wall.
•King William divided his troops into three zones composing of infantry,
archers, and crossbowmen. King William’s original plan called for his archers
to weaken Harold's forces with arrows, then for infantry and cavalry assaults
to break through the enemy line.
•His plan failed because of King Harold’s position on the ridge and the
protection offered by the shield wall. As William's infantry advanced, it was
attacked with spears and other projectiles which inflicted heavy casualties.
7. Battle of Hastings Continued
•King William withdrew his cavalry and infantry. He then called his men back
down the ridge. It was pursued by many of the English, who had left the
safety of the shield wall to continue the killing.
•King William rallied his cavalry and cut down the attacking Saxons. As the
day progressed, William continued his attacks, using the feigning retreats to
slowly wear down the Saxons.
•King William ordered his archers to shoot at a higher angle so that their
arrows fell on those behind the shield wall. His plan worked and his archers
began to kill King Harold's. Legend states that King Harold was hit in the eye
with an arrow and was killed.
•King William later ordered an assault which finally broke through the shield
wall. With the shield line broken and King Harold’s death, many of the
Saxons retreated and left King Harold's personal bodyguard to die.
8. After the Battle of Hastings
• King William continue his campaign to London.
• On December 25, 1066, William was crowned King of England and given
the title “the Conqueror”.
• The Bayeux Tapestry describes King William’s invasion of England and
the events that led up to it. The Bayeux Tapestry is a 230 foot long
embroidery that contains hundreds of images to teach future generations
why King William is the ruler of England. The reason that it was a
embroidery instead of a written document was because a vast majority of
the population was illiterate.
