145. NORMAN CONQUEST OF ENGLAND; WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR
HAROLD AND WILLIAM
Edward the Confessor having left no direct heirs, the choice of his successor fell lawfully upon the Witenagemot, [21] as the national assembly of noblemen and higher clergy was called. This body chose as king, Harold, earl of Wessex, the leading man in England. Harold's right to the succession was disputed by William, duke of Normandy, who declared that the crown had been promised to him by his cousin, the Confessor. William also asserted that Harold had once sworn a solemn oath, over a chest of sacred relics, to support his claim to the throne on Edward's death. When word came of Harold's election, William wrathfully denounced him as a usurper and began to prepare a fleet and an army for the invasion of England.
WILLIAM'S PREPARATIONS
Normandy under Duke William had become a powerful, well-organized state. Norman knights, attracted by promises of wide lands and rich booty, if they should conquer, formed the core of William's forces. Adventurers from every part of France, and even from Spain and Italy, also entered his service. The pope blessed the enterprise and sent to William a ring containing a hair from St. Peter's head and a consecrated banner. When all was ready in the late fall of 1066 A.D., a large fleet, bearing five or six thousand archers, foot soldiers, and horsemen, crossed the Channel and landed in England.
[Illustration: A SCENE FROM THE BAYEUX TAPESTRY (Museum of Bayeux,
Normandy)
The Bayeux Tapestry, which almost certainly belongs to the time of the Norman Conquest, is a strip of coarse linen cloth, about 230 feet long by 20 inches wide, embroidered in worsted thread of eight different colors. There are seventy-two scenes picturing various events in the history of the Norman Conquest. The illustration given above represents an attack of Norman cavalry on the English shield wall at the battle of Hastings.]
BATTLE OF HASTINGS, 1066 A.D.
William at first met no resistance. Harold was far away in the north fighting against the Norwegians, who had seized the opportunity to make another descent on the English coast. Harold defeated them decisively and then hurried southward to face his new foe. The two armies met near Hastings on the road to London. All day they fought. The stout English infantry, behind their wall of shields, threw back one charge after another of the Norman knights. Again and again the duke rallied his men and led them where the foe was thickest. A cry arose that he was slain. "I live," shouted William, tearing off his helmet that all might see his face, "and by God's help will conquer yet." At last, with the approach of evening, Harold was killed by an arrow; his household guard died about him; and the rest of the English took to flight. William pitched his camp on the field of victory, and "sat down to eat and drink among the dead."
[Illustration: Map, DOMINIONS OF WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR]
WILLIAM BECOMES KING
The battle of Hastings settled the fate of England. Following up his victory with relentless energy, William pressed on to London. That city, now practically the capital of the country, opened its gates to him. The Witenagemot, meeting in London offered the throne to William. On Christmas Day, 1066 A.D., in Westminster Abbey the duke of Normandy was crowned king of England.
WILLIAM'S PERSONALITY
What manner of man was William the Conqueror? Tall of stature, endowed with tremendous strength, and brave even to desperation, he seemed an embodiment of the old viking spirit. "No knight under heaven," men said truly, "was William's peer." A savage temper and a harsh, forbidding countenance made him a terror even to his closest followers. "So stern and wrathful was he," wrote an English chronicler, "that none durst do anything against his will." Though William never shrank from force or fraud, from bloodshed or oppression, to carry out his ends, he yet showed himself throughout his reign a patron of learning, a sincere supporter of the Church, and a statesman of remarkable insight. He has left a lasting impress on English history.