1066: A Turbulent Year


This blog presents two very different views of 1066. First is from the English side, using the contemporary account called the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. The theme here is 'calamity'.
Second is from the Norman side, using the text embroidered into the Bayeux Tapestry. The theme in this case is 'justification'. 

Both histories are steeped in the values of Christendom. They appeal to either side of the same coin. There is no sense of irony in these records of actual events. Each side is sincere in their belief in the rightness of their cause. Because the 'authors' report the same things (the Battle of Hastings etc) and see them through the same (or similar) religious lens, their conclusions are depressingly predictable ― God punishes sinners, God rewards the just.

The point of using these two original sources is that, despite the authors' best efforts, current readers are unlikely to come away with the same fatalism. The sadness of the first version and the triumphalism of the second provoke reactions.


ANGLO-SAXON CHRONICLE

And King Edward came to Westminster at midwinter and there caused to be consecrated the minster which he himself had built to the glory of God and of St Peter...and the church-hallowing was on Childer-mass-day. And he died on the Twelfth-day eve, and him they buried on Twelfth-day eve, in the same minster...And this year also was Harold consecrated king; and he with little quiet abode therein, the [short] while that he wielded the realm.

In this year king Harald came from York to Westminster, at that Easter which was after the mid-winter in which the king died; and Easter was then on the day 16th before the Kalends of May. Then was, over all England, such a token seen in the heavens, as no man ever before saw. Some men said that it was cometa a star, which some men called the hair star...

And king Harold...gathered so great a ship-force, and also a land-force, as no king here in the land had before done; because it was made known to him that William the bastard would come hither and win this land; all as it afterwards happened...

Then came King William earl of Normandy into Pevensey, on the eve of St Michael's-mass: and soon after they were on their way, they constructed a [wooden motte-and-bailey] castle at Hasting's port. This was then made known to King Harold, and he then gathered a great force, and came to meet him at the estuary of Appledore; and William came against him unawares, before his people were set in order. But the king nevertheless strenuously fought against him with those men who would follow him; and there was great slaughter made on either hand. There was slain king Harold, and Leofwin the earl, his brother, and Girth the earl, his brother, and many good men; and the Frenchmen had possession of the place of carnage, all as God granted them for the people's sins. This fight was done on the day of Calixtus the pope.

And William went afterwards again to Hastings, and there awaited to see whether the people would submit to him. But when he understood that they would not come to him, he went upwards with all his army which was left to him, and that which afterwards had come from oversea to him, and he plundered all that part which he over-ran, until he came to Berkhampstead. And there came to meet him archbishop Aldred [of York] , and child Edgar, and Edwin the earl, and Morcar the earl, and all the chief men of London; and they submitted, for need, when the most harm had been done: and it was very unwise that they had not done so before; since God would not better it, for our sins: and they delivered hostages, and swore oaths to him; and he vowed to them that he would be a loving lord to them: and nevertheless, during this, they plundered all that they over-ran.

Then, on mid-winter's day, archbishop Aldred consecrated him [William] king at Westminster; and he gave him a pledge upon Christ's book, and also swore, before he [Aldred] would set the crown upon his head, that he would govern as well as any king before him had at the best done, if they would be faithful to him. Nevertheless, he laid a tribute [tax] on the people, very heavy; and then went over sea to Normandy...And bishop Odo and William the earl remained here behind...and they built castles wide throughout the nation, and poor people distressed; and ever after it greatly grew in evil. May the end be good when God will!


THE BAYEUX TAPESTRY

Inscriptions related to 58 scenes, from 1065 to the end of the Battle in 1066.

ENGLAND
Scene 1:  King Edward
           2:  Where Harold, an earl of the English, and his soldiers ride to Bosham
           3.  The church
           4.  Here Harold sailed the sea

FRANCE
Scene 5:  And, the wind full in his sails, he came to the country of Count Guy
           6:  Harold
           7:  Here Guy arrests Harold
           8:  And led him to Beaurain and kept him there
           9:  Where Harold and Guy talk
          10:  Where the messengers of Duke William come to Guy Turold
          11:  The messengers of William
          12:  Here came a messenger to Duke William
          13:  Here Guy brought Harold to William Duke of Normandy
          14:  Here Duke William came with Harold to his palace
          15:  Where a certain cleric and Aelfgyva
          16:  Here Duke William and his army came to Mont St Michel
          17:  And here they crossed the River Couesnon
                 Here Duke Harold pulled them out of the sand  
          18:  And they came to Dol and Conan turned to flight Rennes
          19:  Here Duke William's soldiers fight against the men of Dinan
          20:  And Conan surrendered the keys
          21:  Here William gave arms to Harald [made him his vassal]
          22:  Here William came to Bayeux [church]
          23:  Where Harald made an oath to Duke William [touching two altars]


ENGLAND
Scene 24:  Here Duke Harald returned to the English country
           25:  And came to King Edward
           26:  Here the body of King Edward is carried to the church of St Peter the Apostle
           27:  Here King Edward in bed speaks to his faithful followers
           28:  And here he is died
           29:  Here they have given the crown of the king to Harold
           30:  Here sits throned Harold, King of the English [breaking his oath]
           31:  Stigand, archbishop [excommunicated by pope]
           32:  These men marvel at the star


          33: Harold

NORMANDY
Scene 34:  Here an English ship came to the country of Duke William
           35:  Here Duke William ordered ships to be built
           36:  Here ships are hauled to the sea
            37:  These men carry arms to the ships
                  And here they pull a wagon with wine and arms

ENGLAND           
Scene 38:  Here Duke William in a great ship crossed the sea and came to Pevensey
           39:  Here the horses leave the boats
           40:  And here soldiers have hurried to Hastings to seize food
           41:  Here is Wadard
           42:  Here the meat is cooked
                  And here it has been served
                  The servants
           43:  Here they made a meal
                  And here the bishop blesses the food and drink
           44:  Bishop Odo, William, Robert
           45:  This man has commanded that a fortification should be thrown up at Hastings
           46:  Here news is brought to William about Harold
           47:  Here a house is burned
           48:  Here the soldiers went out of Hastings and came to the battle against Harold
           49:  Here Duke William asks Vital if he has seen Harold's army
           50:  This man tells King Harold about Duke William's army
           51:  Here Duke William exhorts his soldiers that they prepare themselves 
                   manfully and wisely for the battle against the army of the English
           52:  Here were killed Leofwine and Gyrth, the brothers of Harold
           53:  Here at the same time English and French fell in battle
           54:  Here Bishop Odo holding a wand encourages the young men
           55:  Here is Duke William
           56:  Here the French fight and have killed those who were with Harold
           57:  Here King Harold has been killed


           58:  And the English have turned to flight


The moral argument that the Normans relied on is illustrated by the scenes above.

Harold promised William that he would support him in his claim for the English realm. He swore this on two holy altars in the church at Bayeux in Normandy

After King Edward's death, Harold received the English crown as the new king, forfeiting the oath he swore to the Duke of Normandy. The falseness of his coronation is emphasised by the the officiating archbishop of Canterbury, Stigand, who had been excommunicated by the pope. Another sign of heavenly displeasure is the appearance of the 'warning' comet.

At the battle, Harold's 'shield-wall' of battle-axe wielding house-carls is unable to withstand repeated attacks by William's archers and cavalry. Harold is killed by an arrow to his eye, which was considered proof of God's retribution for a perjurer.

The ultimate argument though is that the Normans won the Battle of Hastings. Trial by combat was a central principle of traditional justice and the English lost.

The Anglo-Saxon chronicler is having none of this. On Harold's death, he records, "Archbishop Aldred and the townsmen of London would then have child Edgar [Harold's son] for king, all as was his true natural right; and [surviving earls] Edwin and Morcar vowed to him that they would fight together with him."

The document is forced to admit though, that it was already too late: "But in that degree that it ought ever to have been forwarder, so was it from day to day later and worse; so that at the end all passed away."

The irreversible outcome of William's victory at the Battle of Hastings was Norman rule. It was sealed, not by 'right', but by might.


__________________________________________________________________________

REFERENCES:

Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, composite text from manuscripts A,B,C, D,E,F,G, edited from Monumenta Historica Britannica by JA Giles (1914), pp136-140. <ia801601.us.archive.org/25/items/anglosaxonchroni00gile/...pdf>

Bayeux Tapestry. <bayeuxmuseum.com/en/the-bayeux-tapestry/discover-the-bayeux-tapestry/explore-online> scenes 1-58.


 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

THREE BISHOPSGATE FOUNDATIONS

Image
A fifteenth century chronicler, William Gregory of the Skinners Company, Mayor of London in 1451, made a list of the parish churches and monasteries within and without the walled city (153 in total). In addition to the mere names and numbers of the churches, he provided  descriptive comments about some of the monastic foundations. Three of these were in the area close to Bishopsgate and operated as charitable institutions, or 'hospitals' ― in medieval usage, 'an institution supported by alms or bequests for care of the needy'.  1    Pappy Chyrche in the Walle be twyne Algate and Bevysse Markes       And hyt ys a grete frateryte of prestys and of othyr seqular men. And there ben founde of almys cetayne prestys, both blynde and lame, that be empotent; and they have day masse and xiiij d. [14 pence] a weke, barber and launder, and one to dresse and provyde for hyr mete and drynke. 2    A chyrche of Owre Lady that ys namyde Bedlem     ...
Read more

CASUARINAS

Image
There are three main types of Casuarinaceae  growing in western Victoria. Ranging from the southwest coast (Southern Ocean) northwards to the Milewa Mallee, each species tends to occupy its own geographic zone. Nearest to the sea is the Drooping Sheoak, Allocasuarina verticillata, (formerly Casuarina stricta ), also called the Coast Sheoak. In the middle zone of the Wimmera is the Buloke, Allocasuarina luehmannii , sometimes spelled Bull-Oak. Farthest inland is the Belah, Casuarina pauper , (so-named because it is a smaller version of Casuarina cristata that occurs in New South Wales and Queensland). Drooping Sheoak, Buloke, and Belah also abut and cross over the border into South Australia. Casuarinas resemble pine trees with their needle-like foliage and woody seed-cases. The foliage is actually made up of segmented branchlets, with tiny blades (residual leaf tips) radiating from each joint of the thin stem. Their distinctive appearance is described in the word 'casuarina', w...
Read more

Steps Toward Answering 'The Problem Of The Picts'

Image
  "Modern interest in the ancient Pictish peoples of Scotland was both reflected and stimulated by the publication in 1955 of a book called The Problem of the Picts . Unfortunately this choice of title has led to a situation where the Picts have continued to be perceived as essentially enigmatic, even unknowable ... Because we have no written records from the Picts themselves, they can seem almost historically invisible. Scotland as a whole has virtually no surviving documents from the First Millennium ... "  (pp. 21,17, A New History of the Picts ) Two publications have caused some of this historical mist to clear. Both articles extend the reality of Pictland back to the era of Roman Britain. "The development of the Pictish symbol system: inscribing identity beyond the edge of Empire" (G Noble and others, 2018, Antiquity , 92.365, 1329-1348), uses radiocarbon dating of archaeological sites to establish a cultural continuum of stone art. " Picti : from Roman na...
Read more