Battle Sussex United Kingdom

The Battle of Hastings opens with the Norman archers shooting uphill at the English shield wall, to little effect.

The uphill angle means that the arrows either bounced off the shields of the English or overshot their targets and flew over the top of the hill.

The lack of English archers hampers the Norman archers, as there are few English arrows to be gathered up and reused.

After the attack from the archers, William sends the spearmen forward to attack the English.

They are met with a barrage of missiles, not arrows but spears, axes and stones.

The infantry is unable to force openings in the shield wall, and the cavalry advances in support.

The cavalry also fails to make headway, and a general retreat begins, blamed on the Breton division on William's left.

A rumor starts that the duke has been killed, which adds to the confusion.

The English forces begin to pursue the fleeing invaders, but William rides through his forces, showing his face and yelling that he is still alive.

The duke then leads a counterattack against the pursuing English forces; some of the English rally on a hillock before being overwhelmed.

It is not known whether the English pursuit was ordered by Harold or if it was spontaneous.

Wace relates that Harold ordered his men to stay in their formations but no other account gives this detail.

The Bayeux Tapestry depicts the death of Harold's brothers Gyrth and Leofwine occurring just before the fight around the hillock.

This may mean that the two brothers led the pursuit.

The Carmen de Hastingae Proelio relates a different story for the death of Gyrth, stating that the duke slew Harold's brother in combat, perhaps thinking that Gyrth was Harold.

William of Poitiers states that the bodies of Gyrth and Leofwine were found near Harold's, implying that they died late in the battle.

It is possible that if the two brothers died early in the fighting their bodies were taken to Harold, thus accounting for their being found near his body after the battle.

The military historian Peter Marren speculates that if Gyrth and Leofwine died early in the battle, that may have influenced Harold to stand and fight to the end.

Harold appears to have died late in the battle, although accounts in the various sources are contradictory.

Harold's death leaves the English forces leaderless, and they begin to collapse.

Many of them flee, but the soldiers of the royal household gather around Harold's body and fight to the end.

The Normans begin to pursue the fleeing troops, and except for a rearguard action at a site known as the "Malfosse", the battle is over.

Exactly what happened at the Malfosse, or "Evil Ditch", and where it took place, is unclear.

It occurs at a small fortification or set of trenches where some Englishmen rally and seriously wound Eustace of Boulogne before being destroyed by Duke William.

Harold's body is identified, either by his armor or marks on his body, the day after the battle.

His personal standard is presented to William, and will later be sent to the papacy.

The bodies of the English dead, including some of Harold's brothers and his housecarls, are left on the battlefield, although some will be removed by relatives later.

The Norman dead are buried in a large communal grave, which has not been found.

Exact casualty figures are unknown.

Of the Englishmen known to be at the battle, the number of dead implies that the death rate was about fifty per cent of those engaged, although this may be too high.

Of the named Normans who fought at Hastings, one in seven is stated to have died, but these are all noblemen, and it is probable that the death rate among the common soldiers was higher.

Although Orderic Vitalis's figures are highly exaggerated, his ratio of one in four casualties may be accurate.

Marren speculates that perhaps two thousand Normans and four thousand Englishmen were killed at Hastings.