THE BATTLE OF HASTINGS AND THE BEGINNINGS OF ANGLO-NORMAN ENGLAND

THE CRISIS POINT IN THE BATTLE

The bloody toll of dead and wounded began to affect the Bretons and the other Nor-man allies on the left of the line. At last they couldn’t take it any longer; the foot sol-diers and horsemen alike broke and streamed down that blood stained slope. This dangerously exposed the “Bastard’s” flank. The Normans in the centre began to pull back perhaps partly out of prudence, or fear of being out flanked by the English, but most probably being affected by the panic spreading throughout the Norman line. Even the French and Flemish troops on the right wing began to stream down the slope. Rumour began to spread through the Norman and allied troops that Duke Wil-liam had been killed. For the invaders this point in the battle was extremely serious moment, the Englishmen on the right of their position sensed that their victory was close, their blood was up, and being filled with the adrenaline and blood lust they be-gan to stream down the slope in eager pursuit of their fleeing foe, the Bretons. A number of the Breton knights rode over the hillock that had been at their backs when they first deployed in line. Now, urging their horses over the top, they plunged floun-dering into the stream on the southern side, while other fugitives were slowed by the neighbouring marshy ground. The pursuing English Warriors, overwhelmed with blood-lust as they hit the struggling and floundering Breton infantry and horsemen, hacking, cutting and slashing, killing every Breton they caught.

At that moment William the “Bastard” reacted swiftly. In order to stifle the rumour of his death he took off or pushed back his helmet so that all might see his face, no longer obscured by the broad nasal guard. Eustace of Boulogne, who had seized the papal banner, frantically rides around the “Bastard” pointing to his lord, riding through his troops. The “Bastard” roaring that he is alive - ‘pity’, the “Bastard” re-minded his men that there was no escape except to the sea and a waiting English Fleet. Meanwhile his half-brother, Odo, seeing the debacle from his place in the rear, galloped up to confront and rally a number of young panic-stricken warriors who were leaving that bloody field, and riding towards the slopes of Telham Hill. William, taking hold of his situation on the left flank, led a body of knights – Wace rather grandly suggests a body-guard of 1,000 men – across the field down to where the English Warriors were hacking, and cutting down every invader they could get their hands on, on the marshy ground. The horsemen, coming partially down the slopes, rode into the rear of the blood crazed English Warriors, cutting and slashing as they went, cutting down the un-armoured opponents. Some of those trapped Englishmen managed to clamber up the hillock and make a stubborn, but forlorn last stand against the milling, hacking and slashing Norman horsemen, and the horsemen hacked and cut down the stubborn English survivors as they closed in, wiping out what was left. So the Norman crisis had passed, and the Norman battle line had been stabilised.

It has been suggested by some writers, that had Harold advanced his whole army, down the bloody slope, a sort of steam roller effect, he would have swept the Norman invaders off of the field in total and utter confusion, and many of the Normans would have been caught up by the boggy streams, which would have given the English, the time of their lives hacking, slashing and butchering those stragglers unable to escape the field, and very few Normans, if any at all would have escaped England. It may even be the case that this was an organized counter-attack by the English right flank, since only Wace relates that Harold ordered his men to stand firm throughout the forthcoming battle. The scene in the tapestry that portrays the death of his brothers Gyrth and Leofwine comes immediately before the scene of the Norman cavalry fal-ling by the hillock, which would suggest that they led such an attack. If it were an or-ganized counter it was launched too early, before the Norman army had been weak-ened sufficiently enough, for the English to steam roll down the slope, but it would also be in keeping with perhaps one of Harold’s weaknesses, his impetuous nature.

At this juncture, there must have been a pause in the fighting. The Normans would have needed to reform their shaken troops, the English to assess the damage to their right wing and to send men to reinforce it as and where necessary. The opportunity would also have been taken by Harold to allow whatever food and water was avail-able to be passed amongst his warriors. The Normans would have been similarly en-gaged; resting after their exertions and horses would have been watered in the streams on the valley floor. William the “Bastard” may have been inwardly worried by the course of the fighting. It was now early afternoon and the stubborn English still held onto the ridge. If Harold could hold onto his position until the evening, the Normans would have been forced to withdraw. The Normans would have been tired, low in morale, unable to forage in areas not yet devastated because of the close proximity of the English army, their retreat to Normandy cut off by the English Fleet. All of these thoughts would have gone through not only William’s mind, but the minds of his ex-hausted men as well. So William could not even afford to withdraw from the field, he and his men had no escape, they had to continue the fight, they had no choice.