Dear father,
I know it has been a while since I last wrote, but It has been almost a year since the death of the childless English king Edward the confessor, Harold the second has been crowned king but he faces succession disputes. His army was weakened by the recent battle of Stamford Bridge which occurred about three days ago. In the battle king, Harold faced his brotherTostig and Harold the third of Norway, who was not lucky enough to survive the battle. These deaths have brought Duke William the seconds of Normandy claims to the throne legitimate (Bridgeford 20)
Before we crossed the passage we were joined by knights I noticed Charles Martel, Roger de Beaumont, and Roger de Montomerie. There was also the presence of the clergy; Odo bishop of Bayeux and Monk Rene accompanied by about twenty fighting men and a ship. We crossed the passage in a fleet of about one thousand vessels under the command of Robert le Blount (Hilliam5).
We managed to cross safely and upon reaching Pevensey bay we erect a fort then moved further east into Hastings in pursuit of supplies and food. Duke William planned to attack King Harold as a surprise, but he got the news of our successful passage and were marching south to face us at Hastings east of Sussex (Hilliam44)
King Harold arrived in the Hastings region on 13th October 1066, and his military strategist chose a hill northwest of Hastings as their vantage point. To fortify their position they dug a ditch that was backed by a rough fence and sharpened sticks. Our scouts gathered information that king Harold ordered his men not to move even if they were provoked (Rex66).
The day of the battle was on the 14th October 1066, most men in our army were nervous and anxious, and the tension of the battle could be felt as we assembled to charge towards King Harold’s position. Our ranks consisted of infantry, cavalry and archers. Most men in our ranks dressed according to individual fortune. The soldiers, who could afford, adorned leather jackets with steel chain sewn into the leather to act as armour
King Harold's soldiers dressed according to ranks and personal fortune, and the ranks consisted of housecarls, theigns and fiad. The housecarls regarded as elite troops, and they wore maille hauberk, the theigns being land owners wore haubergun. The fiad being peasant farmer wore sack clothes to the battle.
King William ordered as to charge towards King Harold position early in the morning of 14th October 1066. The weapon of choice for men in our ranks was the single-handed sword, but we also used spears, axes, and short bows depending on the regiment a soldier belonged. The archer’s weapon of choice was short bows and arrows. The infantry and cavalry favored swords and spears
King Harold's men also had a variety of weapons the housecarls, and Theigns used the two handed axe and single handed sword as a weapon of preference. The peasant Fial could not afford the sophisticated swords and lacked the military techniques of handling them, so they preferred to use crude weapons mainly farm tools
The English battle lines were particularly hard to break. The formidable force of Fiads and Theigns appeared unmovable. There were incidences when our mounted knights were hacked to pieces on horseback by these axe-wielding forces. The battle was evenly matched till evening with both sides facing equal casualties (Bridgeford16).
In the late afternoon, our left flank consisting of Bretons gave way creating to a pursuit by the Fiads who they were engaging. This pursuit led to breaking of the flank allowing us to penetrate King Harold's army. With the archers raining arrows into their front, we were able to charge uphill inflicting damage on King Harold's camp. The English king suffered an arrow injury to the eye as his housecarls developed a savage fighting tactic before they eventually lost
Late in the afternoon king Harold fell alongside his brothers Earl Gurth and Earl Loufwin. Both camps suffered a large number of casualties, but King William won, we cleared the casualties from the battlefield the erected a tent to celebrate our victory in Hastings .
Our army was justified to engage in this war because upon the death of King Edward the confessor, King William had a claim to the throne based on a promise by the confessor to William in the early 1950’s. King Harold had also sworn allegiance to William upon his release from capture by Count of Ponthieu (Hilliam 20).
History should remember how the men who perished in this war fought for a course they believed in. Most of the men in both the camps were fighting for the man they believed had the legitimate claim on the England crown, the military tactics employed by both camps should not be forgotten.
I will be headed home as soon as we are discharged from our posts. Hope all is well in health and the harvest this year was plentiful,
Work cited
Bridgeford, Andrew. 1066: The hidden history in the Bayeux Tapestry. New York: Walker, 2006, Print.
Hilliam, Paul. William the Conqueror: First Norman king of England. New York: Rosen Central, 2005, Print.
Rex, Peter. Harold II: The last Saxon king. Stroud: Tempus, 2005, Print.
