Lesson video

Hi, I'm Ms. Mia.

Thank you so much for joining me in this lesson today.

In this lesson today, you will be able to describe what happened during the Battle of Hastings, and how historians can use the Bayeux Tapestry.

Your keywords are on the screen now.

You can write them down if you'd like to.

We have fyrd, shield wall, infantry, cavalry.

Let's find out what these keywords mean.

Fyrd, a group of local, untrained soldiers called up to fight in Anglo-Saxon England.

Shield wall, the defensive line of shields used by the Anglo-Saxon army.

Infantry, foot soldiers.

Cavalry, soldiers on horseback.

Super, let's move on.

So this lesson is all about the Battle of Hastings, which took place in 1066.

We have two lesson cycles today, and our first lesson cycle is to do with the narrative of the Battle of Hastings.

We're then going to be looking at the historians and the Bayeux Tapestry.

I'm super excited about this lesson.

I hope you are too.

Let's begin.

So following the death of Edward the Confessor in 1066, a succession crisis had broken out with multiple claimants to the throne.

Whilst the claimant, William of Normandy, was preparing his fleet for a major invasion off the southern coast of England, another claimant, Harold Godwinson, was forced to march north and defend his kingdom from a separate attack launched by the Norwegian king Harald Hardrada, who also claimed the English throne.

Although Godwinson was successful in defeating Hardrada at the Battle of Stamford Bridge, he lost many of his finest soldiers in the battle, and the army that survived was weakened and exhausted.

William set sail from the coast of Normandy and landed at Pevensey in Sussex in late September 1066, just after Godwinson had defeated Hardrada.

When Godwinson heard that another foreign army had established itself on English shores, he rallied his men and marched them all the way to Sussex.

They covered some 250 miles in less than two weeks.

Upon his arrival, he raised the local fyrd and was ready to meet William's army not far from Hastings at a site known as Battle on 14th October, 1066.

Over to you.

Why was Harold Godwinson at a disadvantage before the Battle of Hastings?

Is it A, he had little experience of government or warfare, B, his army was tired from the march and many of his best infantry had been killed, or C, he did not speak the same language as his soldiers, which made communication difficult?

What do you think?

You can pause the video here and click play once you got the answer.

So what did you get?

If you got B, you are correct.

His army was tired from the march, and many of his best infantry had been killed.

Let's move on.

Here's an illustration of a detail from the Bayeux Tapestry showing William lifting his helmet.

Godwinson arranged his forces along the crest of Senlac Hill, where they stood in a defensive formation known as a shield wall, which was almost impregnable to enemy attack.

William's army was arranged in three rows at the bottom of the hill: the infantry, cavalry, and archers.

When William ordered his men to advance on this shield wall, the Battle of Hastings had begun.

Can you see a person being killed in this image?

Who do you think it might be?

This section of the Bayeux Tapestry shows the death of Harold Godwinson, however, two men are shown being killed.

Historians do not know for certain which man is Harold.

Different sources give different accounts of what happened next.

Some claim that at one point in the battle, William boldly lifted his helmet to rally his men when a rumor spread amongst the soldiers that he had been killed.

At another point, sources record that William, realizing his army was not capable of breaking through the Anglo-Saxon defenses, ordered a feint, pretend, retreat, which encouraged the Anglo-Saxons to give chase down the hill and break the shield wall.

Another source claims that Harold Godwinson, fighting bravely amongst his men, was killed by an arrow through the eye.

Historians need to be mindful of these sources, as in reality, it would have been very difficult to pick out such minor details from the general violence and chaos.

Why did the Anglo-Saxon shield wall allegedly collapse?

Is it because, A, the shields were too heavy for the soldiers to hold, B, the Norman cavalry destroyed it, or C, some of the fyrd chased the Normans down the hill?

What do you think?

You can pause the video here and click play when you've got the answer.

So what did you get?

If you got C, you are correct.

Some of the fyrd chased the Normans down the hill.

Well done if you got that correct.

Let's move on.

Historians can be sure of one thing: William won a resounding victory over the Anglo-Saxon army.

And here, we have a scene from the Bayeux Tapestry depicting the coronation of Harold Godwinson.

The scene that most likely showed the coronation of William has sadly been lost, but likely resembled this one.

The age of Anglo-Saxon England, begun in the great migrations of the fifth century, had come to an end.

Following his success, William marched to London, where he was crowned King of England on Christmas Day, 1066, by Ealdred, Archbishop of York.

He was no longer merely William Duke of Normandy.

He had become William the Conqueror.

So William was crowned king on Christmas Day, 1066.

True or false, Harold Godwinson won the Battle of Hastings?

Is this true or is this false?

You can pause the video here.

So what did you get?

If you got false, well done.

Why?

You can pause the video here and click play to continue.

So what did you get?

Well, it was William of Normandy who won the Battle of Hastings, and Harold was killed during the battle.

Let's move on.

Task A, I'd like you to place the following events in chronological order in the timeline.

The first one has been done for you.

So we've got William's army land in England, and then we've got the other events.

So we've got A, Godwinson is killed, B, William's army attacked the shield wall, C, William orders feigned retreat, and D, Godwinson's army form a shield wall.

You can pause the video here and click play once you've completed this task.

So how did that go?

Well, this is what you should have got.

Let's begin at the start.

So William's army land in England, then Godwinson's army form a shield wall.

After that, William's army attacked the shield wall, and following that, William orders feigned retreat.

Lastly, Godwinson is killed.

Well done if you managed to order that correctly.

Let's move on.

Lesson cycle two, Historians and the Bayeux Tapestry.

The Bayeux Tapestry depicts the events of 1065 to 1066.

The Bayeux Tapestry has therefore been used by many historians to help construct accounts of the Battle of Hastings.

And here, we have a photo of the Bayeux Tapestry.

This makes it an incredibly rich and useful source for historians when studying the weaponry, armor, and clothing of the time.

The tapestry is a very useful source, but it cannot tell historians everything.

Back to you.

What does the Bayeux Tapestry depict?

Is it A, the events of 1065 to 1066, including the Battle of Hastings, B, William's consolidation of power after the Battle of Hastings, or C, London citizens reaction to news of the Battle of Hastings?

What do you think?

You can pause the video here and click play once you've got the answer.

So what did you get?

If you got, A, you are correct.

The Bayeux Tapestry depicts the events of 1065 to 1066, including the Battle of Hastings.

Let's move on.

The tapestry is a very useful source, but it cannot tell historians everything.

Here we can see Odo seated next to William and Robert in the Bayeux Tapestry.

Odo was William's half brother, and he likely wanted to demonstrate his own role in the impressive Norman conquest, therefore, the tapestry might overstate Odo's involvement.

It was probably commissioned by Odo of Bayeux.

Here, we have a scene from the Bayeux Tapestry in which Godwinson is referred to here as king, or otherwise "rex" in Latin.

No Norman's source ever refers to him in this way.

It was probably crafted somewhere near Canterbury in Southern England, and the people who made the tapestry were probably English.

Therefore, sections of the tapestry might show sympathy to Harold Godwinson's claim, as he was the one English claimant.

Some sections of it do not appear in other sources.

For example, the section which shows the death of Godwinson gave rise to the claim that he had been killed by an arrow to the eye.

However, as this is not mentioned in any other source, it is difficult for historians to know whether he was actually killed in this way.

Given the limitations of the source, historians need to approach the Bayeux Tapestry mindfully.

This illustrated section of the Bayeux Tapestry shows the death of Harold Godwinson.

Back to you.

True or false?

The Bayeux Tapestry is a useful source for historians studying the Battle of Hastings.

Is this true or is this false?

You can pause the video here and click play to continue.

So what did you get?

If you got true, well done.

Why do you think this is?

You could pause the video again.

So what did you get?

Well, although the tapestry does not provide an entirely accurate account of the battle, it does contain detailed depictions of the armor and weapons used at the time.

Let's move on.

A depiction of the deaths of Harold Godwinson's brothers based on the Bayeux Tapestry can be seen here.

Back to you.

How can historians corroborate the events depicted in the Bayeux Tapestry?

Is it A, they can look at other contemporary sources, B, they can trust that the events took place as depicted, or C, they can look it up in a school textbook?

What do you think?

You can pause the video here and click play once you've got the answer.

So what did you get?

If you got A, you are correct.

Historians can look at other contemporary sources to corroborate the events.

Let's move on.

Back to you again.

True or false, the Bayeux Tapestry provides a comprehensive account of the Battle of Hastings.

Is this true or is this false?

You can pause the video here.

So what did you get?

If you got false, well done.

Why do you think this is?

You can pause the video again.

So what did you get?

Well, the Bayeux Tapestry is just one source used by historians to build up a fuller picture of the Battle of Hastings.

Super, let's move on.

Task B, I'd like you to explain why each of the following is something historians need to consider when using the Bayeux Tapestry to study the Battle of Hastings.

It was commissioned by Odo of Bayeux.

It was crafted by people near Canterbury in England.

Some sections do not appear in other sources.

You can pause the video here and click play once you've completed this task.

So how did that go?

Well, let's have a look.

It was commissioned by Odo of Bayeux, which means that Odo's role in the events of 1066 may be overstated.

It was crafted by people near Canterbury in England, which means that some of its sections may be sympathetic to Harold Godwinson's claim.

And lastly, some sections do not appear in other sources, which means they are difficult to corroborate.

Explain in two or three sentences how historians have attempted to overcome some of the difficulties with using the Bayeux Tapestry.

You can pause the video here and click play once you've completed this task.

So how did that go?

Well, your answer could include something like this.

Historians have attempted to overcome some of the difficulties when using the Bayeux Tapestry by corroborating sections of the tapestry with other sources.

For example, the deaths of Harold Godwinson's brothers are also described in the "Gesta Guillelmi" and the "Anglo-Saxon Chronicle," suggesting that this event did likely happen during the Battle of Hastings, as the tapestry depicts.

Well done for completing this task.

We've now reached the end of this lesson.

Let's summarize our learning.

So this lesson was to do with the Battle of Hastings, which took place in 1066.

You now understand that the Battle of Hastings was fought between the armies of Harold Godwinson and William of Normandy in 1066.

Harold's force mainly consisted of fyrd, whilst William had a mix of infantry, cavalry, and archers.

We've also learned that William was victorious and Harold was killed during the battle.

The Bayeux Tapestry depicts events from 1065 to 1066, including the Battle of Hastings and Godwinson's death.

And lastly, we've learned that historians have been able to corroborate many details from the tapestry with information provided in other sources, such as the "Gesta Guillelmi" and the "Anglo-Saxon Chronicle.

" However, they must be mindful of the source's providence.

Thank you so much for joining me in this lesson.

I hope you enjoyed it.

Bye.