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.