Bayeux Tapestry

Dear Mother, I was just writing you to let you know that we will be able to come home soon because the Battle of Hastings is over and the enemy is retreating. The battle was called the Battle of Hasting because it was fought in Hastings, England. As a Norman soldier the Battle of Hastings was one of the most successful and memorable battles that I ever participated in. Duke William has always had a reputation of being a success on the battle field, but this victory has branded him as a victorious military leader. Harold the king of England at the time of the battle had murdered his brother and his kingship was disputed. As we all know the throne should have been Williams Duke of Normandy but that Harold cheated his way into it. Duke William had prepared for a battle with Harold months in advanced. The whole dispute started after the death of King Edward. King Edward died on January 5, 1066 and he didn’t have an official heir to his throne. The day after King Edwards death, Harold self-proclaimed himself the king of England illegally and took the throne as Harold the second. Once Duke William heard this new it outraged him and he began gathering his army and went to seek the approval of the pope to become England’s new king. After volunteering for the war, we spend the days working hard in the preparation of the ships we were going to be using to sail across the channel. It seemed like every day there were more and more soldiers arriving to help and fight for the cause. To keep the soldiers organized and working efficiently Duke William separated us into groups that would work on the ships, another group would work on weapons and another group would gather supplies needed for the journey and this battle. As the days past I became more anxious to go to battle not sure if it was the smell of fresh cut wood or seeing the ships being built or seeing the magnificent weapons that were being crafted and stock piled. The days seemed to get longer and hotter and