Editing Norman Conquest (section)

==Norman invasion==
===Norman preparations and forces===

William assembled a large invasion fleet and an army gathered from Normandy and all over France, including large contingents from [[Brittany]] and Flanders.<ref name=Bates79/> He mustered his forces at [[Saint-Valery-sur-Somme]] and was ready to cross the English Channel by about 12 August.<ref name=Douglas192>Douglas ''William the Conqueror'' p. 192</ref> The exact numbers and composition of William's force are unknown.<ref name=Gravett20>Gravett ''Hastings'' pp. 20–21</ref> A contemporary document claims that William had 726 ships, but this may be an inflated figure.<ref name=Bennett25>Bennett ''Campaigns of the Norman Conquest'' p. 25</ref> Figures given by contemporary writers are highly exaggerated, varying from 14,000 to 150,000 men.<ref name=Lawson163>Lawson ''Battle of Hastings'' pp. 163–164</ref> Modern historians have offered a range of estimates for the size of William's forces: 7000–8000 men, 1000–2000 of them cavalry;<ref name=Bennet26>Bennett ''Campaigns of the Norman Conquest'' p. 26</ref> 10,000–12,000 men;<ref name=Lawson163/> 10,000 men, 3000 of them cavalry;<ref name=Marren89>Marren ''1066'' pp. 89–90</ref> or 7500 men.<ref name=Gravett20/> The army would have consisted of a mix of cavalry, infantry, and archers or crossbowmen, with about equal numbers of cavalry and archers and the foot soldiers equal in number to the other two types combined.<ref name=Gravett27>Gravett ''Hastings'' p. 27</ref> Although later lists of [[companions of William the Conqueror]] are extant, most are padded with extra names; only about 35 individuals can be reliably claimed to have been with William at Hastings.<ref name=Gravett20/><ref name=Marren108>Marren ''1066'' pp. 108–109</ref>{{efn|Of those 35, 5 are known to have died in the battle&nbsp;– Robert of Vitot, Engenulf of [[L'Aigle family|L'Aigle]], Robert fitzErneis, Roger son of Turold, and [[Taillefer]].<ref name=Marren107>Marren ''1066'' pp. 107–108</ref>}}

Though contemporary historian [[William of Poitiers]] states that William obtained [[Pope Alexander II]]'s consent for the invasion, signified by a papal banner, along with diplomatic support from other European rulers, these claims should be treated with caution and were probably made to strengthen William's claims to legitimacy.<ref name=Armstrong>Armstrong "Norman Conquest of England" ''Haskins Society Journal'' pp. 70–71</ref><ref name=Huscroft120/> Although Alexander did give papal approval to the conquest after it succeeded, no other source claims papal support before the invasion.{{efn|It is possible that the [[Bayeux Tapestry]] depicts William's forces carrying a papal banner, though it is not named as such.<ref name=Huscroft120/>}} William's army assembled during the summer while an invasion fleet in Normandy was constructed. Although the army and fleet were ready by early August, adverse winds kept the ships in Normandy until late September. There were probably other reasons for William's delay, including intelligence reports from England revealing that Harold's forces were deployed along the coast. William would have preferred to delay the invasion until he could make an unopposed landing.<ref name=Huscroft120>Huscroft ''Norman Conquest'' pp. 120–123</ref>

===Landing and Harold's march south===
[[File:BayeuxTapestry39.jpg|Scene from the [[Bayeux Tapestry]] depicting ships grounding and horses landing in England|thumb|upright=1.5|left]]

The Normans crossed to England a few days after Harold's victory over the Norwegians at Stamford Bridge on 25 September, following the dispersal of Harold's naval force. They landed at [[Pevensey]] in [[Sussex]] on 28 September and erected a wooden castle at [[Hastings]], from which they raided the surrounding area.<ref name=Bates79>Bates ''William the Conqueror'' pp. 79–89</ref> This ensured supplies for the army, and as Harold and his family held many of the lands in the area, it weakened William's opponent and made him more likely to attack to put an end to the raiding.<ref name=Marren98>Marren ''1066'' p. 98</ref>

After defeating Tostig and Harald Hardrada in the north, Harold left much of his force there, including Morcar and Edwin, and marched the rest of his army south to deal with the threatened Norman invasion.<ref name=Carpenter72>Carpenter ''Struggle for Mastery'' p. 72</ref> It is unclear when Harold learned of William's landing, but it was probably while he was travelling south. Harold stopped in London for about a week before reaching Hastings, so it is likely that he took a second week to march south, averaging about {{convert|27|mi|km|abbr=off}} per day,<ref name=Marren93>Marren ''1066'' p. 93</ref> for the nearly {{convert|200|mi|km|abbr=off}} to London.<ref name=Huscroft124>Huscroft ''Norman Conquest'' p. 124</ref> Although Harold attempted to surprise the Normans, William's scouts reported the English arrival to the duke. The events preceding the battle remain obscure, with contradictory accounts in the sources, but all agree that William led his army from his castle and advanced towards the enemy.<ref name=Lawson180>Lawson ''Battle of Hastings'' pp. 180–182</ref> Harold had taken up a defensive position at the top of Senlac Hill (present-day [[Battle, East Sussex]]), about {{convert|6|mi|km|abbr=off|sigfig=1}} from William's castle at Hastings.<ref name=Marren99>Marren ''1066'' pp. 99–100</ref>

Contemporary sources do not give reliable data on the size and composition of Harold's army, although two Norman sources give figures of 1.2&nbsp;million or 400,000 men.<ref name=Lawson128>Lawson ''Battle of Hastings'' p. 128</ref> Recent historians have suggested figures of between 5000 and 13,000 for Harold's army at Hastings,<ref name=Lawson130>Lawson ''Battle of Hastings'' pp. 130–133</ref> but most agree on a range of between 7000 and 8000 English troops.<ref name=Gravett28>Gravett ''Hastings'' pp. 28–34</ref><ref name=Marren105>Marren ''1066'' p. 105</ref> These men would have comprised a mix of the ''[[fyrd]]'' (militia mainly composed of foot soldiers) and the ''[[housecarl]]s'' (nobleman's personal troops), who usually also fought on foot. The main difference between the two types was in their armour; the ''housecarls'' used better protecting armour than the ''fyrd''. The English army does not appear to have had many archers, although some were present.<ref name=Gravett28/> The identities of few of the Englishmen at Hastings are known; the most important were Harold's brothers [[Gyrth Godwinson|Gyrth]] and [[Leofwine Godwinson|Leofwine]].<ref name=Gravett20/> About 18 other named individuals can reasonably be assumed to have fought with Harold at Hastings, including two other relatives.<ref name=Marren107/>{{efn|Of these named persons, eight died in the battle&nbsp;– Harold, Gyrth, Leofwine, Godric the sheriff, Thurkill of Berkshire, Breme, and someone known only as "son of Helloc".<ref name=Marren107/>}}

===Battle of Hastings===
{{Main|Battle of Hastings}}
[[File:Bayeuxtapestrydeathofharold.jpg|Likely depiction of Harold's death from the Bayeux Tapestry|thumb]]

The battle began at about 9&nbsp;am on 14 October 1066 and lasted all day, but while a broad outline is known, the events are obscured by contradictory accounts in the sources.<ref name=Huscroft126>Huscroft ''Norman Conquest'' p. 126</ref> Although the numbers on each side were probably about equal, William had both cavalry and infantry, including many archers, while Harold had only foot soldiers and few archers.<ref name=Carpenter73>Carpenter ''Struggle for Mastery'' p. 73</ref> The English soldiers formed up as a [[shield wall]] along the ridge, and were at first so effective that William's army was thrown back with heavy casualties. Some of William's Breton troops panicked and fled, and some of the English troops appear to have pursued the fleeing Bretons. Norman cavalry then attacked and killed the pursuing troops. While the Bretons were fleeing, rumours swept the Norman forces that William had been killed, but William rallied his troops. Twice more the Normans made [[Feigned retreat|feigned withdrawals]], tempting the English into pursuit and allowing the Norman cavalry to attack them repeatedly.<ref name=Huscroft127>Huscroft ''Norman Conquest'' pp. 127–128</ref> 

The available sources are more confused about events in the afternoon, but it appears that the decisive event was the death of Harold, about which different stories are told. [[William of Jumièges|William of Jumieges]] claims that Harold was killed by William. The [[Bayeux Tapestry]] has been claimed to show Harold's death by an arrow to the eye, but this may be a later reworking of the tapestry to conform to 12th-century stories that Harold had died from an arrow wound to the head.<ref name=Huscroft129>Huscroft ''Norman Conquest'' p. 129</ref> Other sources state that no one knew how Harold died because the press of battle was so tight around the king that the soldiers could not see who struck the fatal blow.<ref name=Marren137>Marren ''1066'' p. 137</ref> William of Poitiers gives no details about Harold's death.<ref name=Gravett77>Gravett ''Hastings'' p. 77</ref>

===Aftermath===

The day after the battle, Harold's body was identified, either by his armour or marks on his body.{{efn|A 12th-century tradition stated that Harold's face could not be recognised and [[Edith the Fair]], Harold's [[common-law wife]], was brought to the battlefield to identify his body from marks that only she knew.<ref name=Gravett80>Gravett ''Hastings'' p. 80</ref>}} The bodies of the English dead, which included some of Harold's brothers and his ''housecarls'', were left on the battlefield,<ref name="Huscroft131" /> although some were removed by relatives later.<ref name=Gravett81>Gravett ''Hastings'' p. 81</ref> [[Gytha Thorkelsdóttir|Gytha]], Harold's mother, offered William the weight of her son's body in gold for its custody, but her offer was refused. William ordered that Harold's body be thrown into the sea, but whether that took place is unclear.<ref name=Huscroft131/> Another story relates that Harold was buried at the top of a cliff.<ref name=Marren146>Marren ''1066'' p. 146</ref> [[Waltham Abbey Church|Waltham Abbey]], which had been founded by Harold, later claimed that his body had been buried there secretly.<ref name=Huscroft131>Huscroft ''Norman Conquest'' p. 131</ref> Later legends claimed that Harold did not die at Hastings but escaped and became a hermit at Chester.<ref name=Gravett81/>

After his victory at Hastings, William expected to receive the submission of the surviving English leaders, but instead [[Edgar Ætheling]]{{efn|Ætheling is the Anglo-Saxon term for a royal prince with some claim to the throne.<ref name=Bennett91>Bennett ''Campaigns of the Norman Conquest'' p. 91</ref>}} was proclaimed king by the Witenagemot, with the support of Earls Edwin and Morcar, [[Stigand]], the Archbishop of Canterbury, and [[Ealdred (archbishop of York)|Ealdred]], the Archbishop of York.<ref name=Douglas204>Douglas ''William the Conqueror'' pp. 204–205</ref> William therefore advanced, marching around the coast of [[Kent]] to London. He defeated an English force that [[Burning of Southwark|attacked him at Southwark]], but being unable to storm [[London Bridge]], he sought to reach the capital by a more circuitous route.<ref name=Douglas205>Douglas ''William the Conqueror'' pp. 205–206</ref>

William moved up the [[River Thames|Thames]] valley to cross the river at [[Wallingford, Oxfordshire|Wallingford]], Berkshire; while there he received the submission of Stigand. He then travelled north-east along the [[Chiltern Hills|Chilterns]], before advancing towards London from the north-west, fighting further engagements against forces from the city. Having failed to muster an effective military response, Edgar's leading supporters lost their nerve, and the English leaders surrendered to William at [[Berkhamsted]], Hertfordshire. William was [[Coronations of William the Conqueror and Matilda|acclaimed King of England and crowned by Ealdred]] on 25 December 1066, in [[Westminster Abbey]].<ref name=Douglas205/>{{efn|The coronation was marred when the Norman troops stationed outside the abbey heard the sounds of those inside acclaiming the king and began burning nearby houses, thinking the noises were signs of a riot.<ref name=Gravett84>Gravett ''Hastings'' p. 84</ref>}} King William attempted to conciliate the remaining English nobility by confirming Morcar, Edwin, and [[Waltheof, Earl of Northumbria]], in their lands as well as giving some land to Edgar Ætheling. William remained in England until March 1067, when he returned to Normandy with English prisoners, including Stigand, Morcar, Edwin, Edgar Ætheling, and Waltheof.<ref name=Huscroft138>Huscroft ''Norman Conquest'' pp. 138–139</ref>