Editing Battle of Hastings (section)

===Death of Harold===
[[File:Harold stone.JPG|thumb|right|Stone marking the spot of the high altar at [[Battle Abbey]], where Harold died<ref name=Gravett79>Gravett ''Hastings'' p. 79</ref>]]

Harold appears to have died late in the battle, although accounts in the various sources are contradictory. William of Poitiers only mentions his death, without giving any details on how it occurred. The Bayeux Tapestry is not helpful, as it shows a figure holding an arrow sticking out of his eye next to a falling fighter being hit with a sword. Over both figures is a statement "Here King Harold has been killed".<ref name=Gravett76/> It is not clear which figure is meant to be Harold, or if both are meant.<ref name=Lawson207>Lawson ''Battle of Hastings'' pp. 207–210</ref>{{efn|The issue is further confused by the fact that there is evidence that the 19th-century restoration of the Tapestry changed the scene by inserting or changing the placement of the arrow through the eye.<ref name=Lawson207/>}} The earliest written mention of the traditional account of Harold dying from an arrow to the eye dates to the 1080s from a history of the Normans written by an Italian monk, [[Amatus of Montecassino]].<ref name=Marren138>Marren ''1066'' p. 138</ref>{{efn|Amatus' account is less than trustworthy because it also states that Duke William commanded 100,000 soldiers at Hastings.<ref name=Rex256/>}} [[William of Malmesbury]] states that Harold died from an arrow to the eye that went into the brain and that a knight wounded Harold at the same time. Wace repeats the arrow-to-the-eye account. The ''Carmen'' states that William killed Harold, but this is unlikely, as such a feat would have been recorded elsewhere.<ref name=Gravett76/> The account of William of Jumièges is even more unlikely, as it has Harold dying in the morning, during the first fighting. The ''Chronicle of Battle Abbey'' states that no one knew who killed Harold, as it happened in the press of battle.<ref name=Marren137>Marren ''1066'' p. 137</ref> A modern biographer of Harold, Ian Walker, states that Harold probably died from an arrow in the eye, although he also says it is possible that Harold was struck down by a Norman knight while mortally wounded in the eye.<ref name=Walker179>Walker ''Harold'' pp. 179–180</ref> Another biographer of Harold, Peter Rex, after discussing the various accounts, concludes that it is not possible to declare how Harold died.<ref name=Rex256>Rex ''Harold II'' pp. 256–263</ref>

Harold's death left the English forces leaderless, and they began to collapse.<ref name=Bennett43/> Many of them fled, but the soldiers of the royal household gathered around Harold's body and fought to the end.<ref name=Gravett76/> The Normans began to pursue the fleeing troops, and except for a rearguard action at a site known as the "Malfosse", the battle was over.<ref name=Bennett43/> Exactly what happened at the Malfosse, or "Evil Ditch", and where it took place, are unclear. It occurred at a small fortification or set of trenches where some Englishmen rallied and seriously wounded Eustace of Boulogne before being defeated by the Normans.<ref name=Gravett80>Gravett ''Hastings'' p. 80</ref>