Editing Norman Conquest (section)

===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/>}}