The Last Conquest of England

1
1066

• The Last Conquest of England

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How It All Got Started

• Edward the Confessor dies (January 1066)
• Harold, as the second most powerful man in
  England, declares himself king according to the
  deathbed wishes of Edward.

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How It All Got Started Continued

• Duke William of Normandy, cousin to Edward the
  Confessor, had been promised the throne and saw
  the coronation of Harold II as a declaration of
  war.

4
Finding an Army

• Norman Army was not strong enough on its own.
• William called for aid from as far as Italy,
  promising land and titles to all nobility who
  would fight with him

5
The English Army

• Consisted entirely of infantry
• Had just finished fighting a major battle against
  the Norwegians
• Bulk of the army was minor land-owning nobility
  who were required to serve a certain amount of
  days per year
• Most formidable defense was a shield wall against
  the Normans arrows

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The Norman Army

• Derived from nobles, mercenaries and troops of
  Normans, Flemish, Bretons, and French from as far
  as Southern Italy
• Power derived from their cavalry which was
  probably amongst the best in Europe
• Heavily armored with usually a lance and a sword
• Used the crossbow for the first time in European
  history

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September 28, 1066

• William and his troops landed near Pevensey
• King Harold, determined to show his new people
  that he could rule and protect England
  decisively, rushed into battle despite the advice
  to wait and gather more men.

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October 14, 1066

• On this day, during the Battle of Hastings,
  Harold II was fatally shot through the eye and
  Duke William of Normandy was declared victor of
  the battle.
• Although some English resistance ensued, the
  Normans victory at Hastings marked the turning
  point in Williams control over England.

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Not All Downhill From There

• Williams cavalry suffered from the Malfosse (bad
  ditch) and an attack later that night, as well as
  losing men to dysentery, making them unable to
  attack more English troops until reinforcements
  came from across the channel

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All Hail King William I of England

• William finally made it to London where the
  Northern Earls all submitted to him and he was
  consequently crowned King William I at
  Westminster Abbey on Christmas

12
The Bayeux Tapestry

• 1.6 by 230 ft long depiction of the events
  before, and the actual battles of the Norman
  Conquest of England
• Most likely commissioned by Williams
  half-brother, Bishop Odo and completed in the
  1070s
• Although the narration is in Latin, the
  needlework would have been done by Anglo Saxon
  seamstresses, creating another interaction with
  Latin and Old English

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14
French Frying

• Im grateful for the French influence on English
  because of the linguistic ties it gives us to the
  Romantic language family, and it provided English
  another opportunity to interact with, and absorb
  aspects of another language. This, I feel, set
  the attitude for the sponge-like qualities
  English still holds today. Thanks to the Norman
  Conquest, the English language is not only
  capable of adaptation, but is as strong as it is
  today because of that adaptation

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Works Cited

• http//www.britishbattles.com/norman-conquest/haro
  ld-fatally-injured.jpg
• http//images.google.com/imgres?imgurlhttp//www.
  eppingforestdc.gov.uk/Library/Images/Misc/History/
  haroldII.jpgimgrefurlhttp//www.eppingforestdc.g
  ov.uk/community/history/KingHarold
• http//www.fertilizerworks.com/images/King20Willi
  am.jpg
• http//historyofscience.com/G2I/timeline/images/wi
  lliam_conqueror_bayeux_tapestry.jpg
• http//www.btinternet.com/timeref/conquest1.gif
• http//www.ashburnham-past.co.uk/mediac/400_0/medi
  a/malfosse.GIF
• http//www.mytimemachine.co.uk/images/williamcrown
  ed.jpg
• http//portal.unesco.org/ci/en/files/25648/1195550
  0315bayeux_2.jpg/bayeux_2.jpg