Editing Norman Conquest (section)

===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>