The Role Of Harold Unlucky In The Battle Of Hastings

Satisfactory Essays

Open Document

Open Document

View Writing Issues

463 Words

Grammar

Grammar

Plagiarism

Plagiarism

Writing

Writing

Score

Score

The Role Of Harold Unlucky In The Battle Of Hastings

The Battle of Hastings was between William of Normandy and Harold Godwinson in 1066. William won the battle and became king, Harald lost for many reasons such as bad luck, mistakes and bad leadership. When Edward the Confessor died, there was no direct heir to the throne and the throne was passed to Harold Godwinson. Then William claimed that Edward the confessor had promised the throne to him. So they fought at the battle of Hastings for the throne. Harold was unlucky because he made his army walk 300 miles to fight Harold Hadrada then he walked another 300 miles back to Hastings to fight William and so his army were very tired before they even started to battle. He lost the battle of Hastings because he was not as prepared as William. William had the idea of building a wall of shields and Harold just wasn't as prepared also Harold’s men had just fought a battle before and was rushing in to fight another. Some of Harold’s men were killed and …show more content…
He was making his return to Winchester (then the capital of England), and disbanding his army as he went, when he got news that William, Duke of Normandy had invaded at Hastings on the South Coast. Harold immediately recalled his men and made a forced march south. The speed with which Harold's army moved took William by surprise and as a consequence Harold was able to choose his ground to his best advantage. Harold had the high ground, but he suffered from two disadvantages; first, he had just fought a battle in the North and had lost many men that he had not had time to replace, and Second, having marched the length of Britain his men were exhausted. In spite of this he managed great discipline and fought off charge after charge from the mostly mounted knights of William. His shield wall proving impossible to

Continue Reading

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

Good Essays
How Did William's Actions Respond To 1066
- 9305 Words
- 38 Pages
How Did William's Actions Respond To 1066

William 's later chroniclers claim (after the fact) that Edward the Confessor offered William the crown and sent Harold to pledge it to him in the Winter of 1064/5. In fact, reading between the lines we can see that Harold was shipwrecked in Normandy whilst trying to visit France, and took advantage of the situation by trying to secure the release of his brother & nephew who were held as hostages in…
- 9305 Words
- 38 Pages
Good Essays

Read More
Good Essays
Summary The Year Of The Conquest By David Howarth
- 896 Words
- 4 Pages
Summary The Year Of The Conquest By David Howarth

When the two armies finally met at the Battle of Stamford Bridge, Harold proves to be victorious. This was thought to be a huge victory and a defining moment for England until Harold discovers some interesting news. As Harold and his men were just enjoying a huge victory in battle, they learn of Duke William and his army coming in on the southern coast of England. This was important because right after a critical battle in the northern part of England, Harold must now navigate his troops back down to the southern coast in a desperate attempt to defend…
- 896 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays

Read More
Satisfactory Essays
How Did Harold Godwinson Become King In 1066
- 189 Words
- 1 Page
How Did Harold Godwinson Become King In 1066

Harold Godwinson was the richest man in England and had been Earl of Wessex for many years. He had been the advisor for Edward the Confessor as well as Edward’s brother-in-law because his sister married Edward in 1045. Harold was one of the most powerful nobles in England, which proves he was an experienced warrior; the Godwin family had also established alliances with all of the major noblemen in England. He understood how England should’ve been governed therefore proving himself to be a good leader. Additionally, Harold was the Witan’s choice to become king.…
- 189 Words
- 1 Page
Satisfactory Essays

Read More
Satisfactory Essays
Explain Why William Win The Battle Of Hastings
- 443 Words
- 2 Pages
Explain Why William Win The Battle Of Hastings

Williams victory in 1066 is suprising in some ways, this is because King Harold came up with some good choices. Harold was smart enough to think of making a shield wall with his army. By making a shield wall, William's army would have been struggling to fight them. The shield wall was formed by every man in the army to stand shoulder to shoulder to make it more stronger. Each shield was made from wood and covered in metal which would help the shield wall more protective and stronger. Another good choice from King Harold was positioning his army at the top of Senlac Hill. This was a good choice because William's army were firing arrows at them. This would result in the arrows being fired and missing Harold's army completely.…
- 443 Words
- 2 Pages
Satisfactory Essays

Read More
Good Essays
William Winder's Bladensburg Battle
- 524 Words
- 3 Pages
William Winder's Bladensburg Battle

William did not know it yet, but by allowing this to happen he had already lost the battle before it began. All William had to do was put more guards…
- 524 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays

Read More
Good Essays
‘Gloucester Was Determined to Steal the Throne from the Moment His Brother Died.’ Do You Agree
- 926 Words
- 4 Pages
‘Gloucester Was Determined to Steal the Throne from the Moment His Brother Died.’ Do You Agree

When Edward VI died in 1483, there was debate as to who was most suited to take up his position on the throne. It has been argued that Richard, Duke of Gloucester had himself set on usurping the throne from the rightful heir Edward V, as soon as his brother died. Others argue that it was never the case that his immediate wishes were to seize the throne; actions after his brother’s death led him to this decision. There is evidence for and against to support the principal statement.…
- 926 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays

Read More
Good Essays
Richard and the Battle of Bosworth Essay Example
- 474 Words
- 2 Pages
Richard and the Battle of Bosworth Essay Example

Another reason Richard lost the Battle of Bosworth was because of the Stanley’s changing sides. The Stanley’s controlled around 6000 of Richards troops, around half of his overall army. Although the Stanley’s began the battle on the side of Richard, they changed during the battle. This meant that Richard has far fewer troops than he may have anticipated, and had the Stanley’s not changed sides, it is possible that Richard would have won. Many of Richards other nobles were also unreliable, such as Northumberland. He did not help Richard when he needed it, refusing to bring in Richards reserves, and eventually surrendering, giving Henry an advantage over Richard, helping him to win.…
- 474 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays

Read More
Satisfactory Essays
Battle of bosworth
- 700 Words
- 2 Pages
Battle of bosworth

Moreover Tudor had a very strong tactical setup going into the war, the vanguard, under the control of the Earl of oxford, was strengthened by the mercenaries of Philibert de Chandee, Sir Gilbert Talbot commanded the right wing and john savage on the left wing. However, the most important part of their strategy was the Stanley’s. The Stanley’s had been pushing towards the side of Richard due to the capture of Lord Strange, However during the time leading up to the battle negotiations and meetings between Tudor and the Stanley’s were building and Richard started to question whether he could trust them. Tudor began to gain more and more support as he travelled through wales and the key sign of allegiance to Tudor was when the Stanley family advised the bailiffs of Shrewsbury to open the town gates to let them in. So, the Stanley’s did not actively fight at the beginning of the battle but their betrayal soon became apparent when they attacked Richard near the conclusion of the battle. Other higher powers that Richard thought he would have the support of also backed out, for example Northumberland decided to not take part in the battle at all.…
- 700 Words
- 2 Pages
Satisfactory Essays

Read More
Good Essays
why the normans won the battle of hastings
- 407 Words
- 2 Pages
why the normans won the battle of hastings

William reset his archers to a good position enabling his archers to get a good aim, as a result of this it created the smallest of cracks in the shield wall, the Norman’s took their chance and ran up to them. After about an hour some Norman’s on the left side retreated and drew some Saxons out with them creating a big gap William started to use that tactic more until there where cracks everywhere, William then lined his archers up once again and shot. This was the fatal moment; Harold got an arrow in his eye therefore causing his death. This had a big effect on the Saxon’s, they didn’t fight as well, some ran away, but others stayed to fight…
- 407 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays

Read More
Good Essays
Henry Tudors Success in Replacing Richard
- 803 Words
- 4 Pages
Henry Tudors Success in Replacing Richard

Clearly the death of Richard at the battle of Bosworth in 1485 was the final contributing factor to his demise, but it had certainly been brought about by Henry Tudor’s efforts and was undoubtedly not an event of simply sheer fortune for Tudor. It is the act of Richard breaking rank in a seemingly desperate final drive for victory that many site as the reason for the succession of Henry Tudor, though it is the events prior to this that determine whether Richard was left with no other choice.…
- 803 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays

Read More
Good Essays
Walter Map: The Reign Of Henry The Young
- 443 Words
- 2 Pages
Walter Map: The Reign Of Henry The Young

Defeated but not surrounded he died of dysentery meanwhile he was attending for another conspiracy. This young rebel, whose entire life was a record of disloyalty, found an undoubted popularity among both his contemporaries and the posterity. He is described as being tall, handsome, blond, jovial and graceful, but among all those things his principal quality was his chivalric way of life. The author of William Marshal’s chronicle says that but for the Henry the Young chivalry would have been dead (vv. 2640-41). The Young King’s reputation as a patron of young landless knights increased with his continuously participation in different tournaments. We have to remember that tournaments were prohibited in England by Henry II and the whole chivalric attitude of Henry the Young could be see as a counter-attraction on his father’s policies and imaginary which was strongly centred on the new conceptualization of the royalty growing up al across Europe, a royalty which power is less shared with the nobility (Cantarella, 1997). Therefore as the landless knights were attracted by Henry the Young, the same Henry was attracted by one of…
- 443 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays

Read More
Good Essays
Henry VI and the Nobility
- 1329 Words
- 6 Pages
Henry VI and the Nobility

under-mighty king Henry who did not make the right decision between York and Somerset. The king is…
- 1329 Words
- 6 Pages
Good Essays

Read More
Good Essays
How Successful Was Edward The Confessor
- 558 Words
- 2 Pages
How Successful Was Edward The Confessor

There was some focus on Edwards’s failure to provide a direct heir to the throne when he died. Even though there was still an element of election made by Edward as the King not the Witen appointing an successor as William of Normandy was promised the throne in 1051 and then again in 1064 by Edward and then appointing Harold the next King on his death bed. Harold exercised a powerful position as the pre-eminent Anglo-Saxon earl, second to the King, but his position was not paramount during the reign of Edward. He was strong enough to make a bid for…
- 558 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays

Read More
Good Essays
The Year Of The Conquest Analysis
- 1341 Words
- 6 Pages
The Year Of The Conquest Analysis

While I was reading 1066 I learned a lot about the history of England and how the Battle of Hastings nearly destroyed it, but the English refused to let their country die. Some of the events of that year are still being debated over but there is no way to know exactly how the events played…
- 1341 Words
- 6 Pages
Good Essays

Read More
Better Essays
Bayeaux Tapestry Experience
- 983 Words
- 4 Pages
Bayeaux Tapestry Experience

Thanks to the friendly winds which guided us across the channel, we arrive unopposed on English shores. Defenses are built and fortified as the men, motivated by my words feast on food and wine as we await the moment of truth. We have the advantage over the enemy, for the horses we ride provide us strength and quickness. We are truly blessed that the English have turned back Harald Hadrada and the Norwegians at Stamford Bridge. Now there is one less opponent to fight for my crown. Though battle tested and weary, Harold of Wessex will not easily relinquish what is rightfully mine. Remember, it is Harold who swore allegiance to me after I freed him from Count Guy of Ponthieu. I gave him arms and armor as he swore the sacred oath upon saintly relics. That oath, a pledge to support my claim to the English throne was broken (New World Encyclopedia, 2009).…
- 983 Words
- 4 Pages
Better Essays

Read More

Related Topics