1066
Battle of Hastings
On a ridge above Hastings, William of Normandy's mounted knights and archers shattered the Anglo-Saxon shield wall and killed King Harold, possibly with an arrow to the eye. The Norman conquest reshaped England's language, law, and aristocracy for centuries. Within days William was marching on London. The battle lasted from morning until dusk, one of the longest pitched engagements of the entire medieval period.
William the Conqueror crowned at Westminster
On Christmas Day, the Norman duke was crowned King of England in the newly built abbey where Edward lay buried. Norman guards outside, mistaking the coronation acclamations for an uprising, began setting fire to London houses. The smoke drifted into the church as the bishop placed the crown on him.
Death of Edward the Confessor
The pious Anglo-Saxon king died at Westminster with the abbey just consecrated, leaving the question of succession unresolved between Harold Godwinson, William of Normandy, and the Norwegian Harald Hardrada. Chroniclers recorded his deathbed murmurings, which could be interpreted to favor whichever claimant one preferred. The Bayeux Tapestry shows his final moments with pointed ambiguity, his hand reaching simultaneously toward Harold and toward heaven.
Harold Godwinson crowned King of England
The day after Edward's funeral, the Witan declared Harold king and he was crowned at Westminster. The speed was unseemly. William of Normandy and Harald Hardrada were both outraged. Within ten months Harold would face both invaders and lose his crown and his life at Hastings. He had reigned long enough to prove himself a capable administrator and warrior, but not long enough to secure his dynasty.
Battle of Stamford Bridge
Harold Godwinson marched two hundred miles in four days and fell on the Norwegian army resting in their mail shirts by a bridge over the Derwent. Harald Hardrada was killed by an arrow in the throat. The last Viking invasion of England was destroyed. Three days later the Normans landed at Pevensey.
William of Normandy lands at Pevensey
The Norman duke's fleet of perhaps seven hundred ships disembarked horses, knights, and archers on the Sussex coast, beaching their vessels and building an immediate motte-and-bailey at Hastings. William is said to have stumbled on the shingle and, laughing, declared he had already taken England in both hands. His army had waited weeks in Normandy for a favorable wind, and the delay nearly cost him the campaign.
Halley's Comet appears over Europe
The periodic comet blazed for weeks above England and Normandy in the spring of the conquest year. Astronomers east and west recorded it. English chroniclers saw an omen of doom. William of Normandy called it a sign of victory. The Bayeux Tapestry would sew it as a streaking star above Harold.