In the Battle of Hastings what great skill did William show before and after the battle?

Answer 1

Why Did William Win The Battle Of Hastings?

The Battle of Hastings took place on the 14th of October 1066, between Harold Godwinson (the king at that time) and William Duke Of Normandy. It all started when Edward The Confessor died and 4 people had a claim to the throne, they were:

• The English person Harold Godwinson who was the earl of Wessex and had been promised the throne by Edward while he was on his death bed.
• Edgar who was a 14-year-old distant relative of Edward.
• William Duke Of Normandy had a claim to the throne also because he said that Edward had promised him the throne while they were at sea in 1051 (this evidence is not reliable because William could of just made it up).
• The last person that wanted the throne was Harald Hardrada because he should have been king when the Danish king of England died.

After Edward died, the English crowned Harold king. But as you would expect, Harald and William didn't like this news one bit (Edgar didn't mind because he was only 14 and he wasn't that bothered) so they both separately set sail to take the crown from Harold. This was how the Battle Of Hastings came about.

PreparationWilliam was well prepared for the battle in many reasons: 1.He had a strong fleet of ships to get him there. 2. William organised the army better and he also used his cleverness in the right ways too. 3. His army was stronger than Harolds because he had well trained archers and cavalry, whereas Harold did not have either archers or cavalry. 4.Williams men believed in him and he promised to reward them if they won. 5. He had the popes blessing and banner. 6. William was a good tactician and he used this to his advantage because as they were fighting up hill, they needed a tactic, so in mid-battle the Normans all pretended to retreat, and as you would expect, Harold then chased them while they were retreating. But to his surprise Williams troops then turned around and started fighting again. This helped because if you were running down a hill you build up a momentum and you cant stop, so Harolds men (in a way) just ran into Williams forces and got killed. Another reason why William won is because Harold knew that William would attack so Harold would quickly get an army together that wasn't that great (because he got it together quickly so he didn't spent much time making it a good army!) and wait for William. Harold might have been scared that William would launch a quick attack. LuckHarald was first to arrive, and he landed in the north of England so Harold had to bring a good number of his troops on a long walk to fight him at the Battle Of Stamford Bridge (This Battle went in Williams favour because Harold lost a lot of experienced men). Harold then was triumphant and won the battle. At that time as William was sailing over to England, the wind then changed just at the right time making him get to Hastings faster. Harold heard this news and had to make the long walk to Hastings. While Harold was marching, William took this opportunity to have a feast and a nights rest before waking up to fight Harold. So when Harold arrived to fight his men were exhausted from a long battle and a long walk. This battle was very important to Harold, William and us alike because it decided the fate of Englands future. Success

William went on to win the battle but only because of cunning tactics, great leadership, faithful strong men and some very useful luck. Some reasons for Harolds loss are because: Harold saw Haley's Comet as a bad omen. Harold also got shot in the eye and died in battle because of an unknown Norman archer. Harolds army didn't have the right weapons and they didn't cooperate very well. Part of Harolds army got left behind on the 3 day and 3 night walk down to Hastings. Harolds army lost some hope or success when an unknown Norman archer shot Harold in his right eye, He then looked up and got sliced down by another Norman. Harold did not have archers or horses, and this cost because archers and horses are important because: While people are fighting, if you use arrows to help you if will just be like another attack because your opponent will be being attacked by foot soldiers and archers! Horses help also because they can mow people down and squash them.

ConclusionSo in the end, Harold wasn't the future king, William was (also nicknamed "William The Conquer"). He used his brain and loyalty to prevail and I was rooting for him when we started to learn about the battle. We get most of our information of the Battle Of Hastings from the Bayeux Tapestry, which is a 70m piece of woven tapestry that tells the story of the Battle Of Hastings. But historians and other people don't know what parts of the tapestry are true because William could of just made it up to make himself look good. William was king for 21 years until he died in Rouen, and in that time he had 4 children called: William, Robert, Henry and Adela. Robert then went on to become king.