Program Information

The Battle of Hastings was perhaps one of the most decisive fights in English history but, with a slight change in tactics, the English probably would have won.

A Moment in Time is a brief, exciting and compelling journey into the past. Created to excite and enlighten the public about the past, its relevance to the present and its impact on the future, A Moment In Time is a captivating historical narrative that is currently broadcast worldwide.

Transcript

Lead: The Battle of Hastings was perhaps one of the most decisive fights in English history but, with a slight change in tactics, the English probably would have won.

Intro: A Moment in Time with Dan Roberts.

Content: Hearing the news that Edward the Confessor, the old king of England had died, William, Duke of Normandy, prepared to cross the channel and take the crown from the new king, Harold Godwinson. All during the summer of 1066, he assembled his fleet and waited for favorable winds.

Harold, who knew William was coming but didn't know when, rallied his troops, mostly untrained farmers and tradesmen, and kept them together during most of the summer. When the invasion failed to materialize the army began to break up, as his men needed to get home for harvest time. The king headed back to London but, upon arrival there, received word that Vikings led by his own brother had assaulted the territory around York in the far north. Harold quickly assembled a small force of trained professional soldiers, dashed northward in an exhausting forced march, surprised the Vikings and slaughtered them at Stamford Bridge.

Hardly had the dead been gathered from the field when the king got word that William had landed in the south. In a frenzied thirteen days he settled his affairs in Yorkshire, pulled together his tired army, and marched 240 miles from York to Hastings. On Saturday, October 14th, the two armies fought from dawn to dusk. In the end, the exhausted English foot-soldiers gave way under repeated assaults from the mounted Norman knights. Harold was first blinded by a stray arrow and then hacked apart. Leaderless, the English army fled into the forest.

The Battle of Hastings was no foregone conclusion. Had Harold waited to rest a couple of days, or taken the time to assemble more troops, or sent his other brother to pester William with guerilla raids while he fell back to prepare the real defense, the result might have been different. Nevertheless, William won and England was changed forever.

Next time: Battle to the death on the field at Hastings.

At the University of Richmond, this is Dan Roberts.

Virginia Standards