Anglo-Saxon preparations for invasion in 1066 | History

Starter quiz

Identify which of the following are tactics and which are strategies.

a direct attack on the shield wall

⇔

tactic ✓

to defend until reinforcements arrive

⇔

strategy ✓

a feigned retreat

⇔

tactic ✓

to take the offensive

⇔

strategy ✓
Identify the weapons used by Norman knights in this scene from the Bayeux Tapestry.

battle axe

crossbow

cudgel (or club)

lances ✓

sword ✓
What is the technical term for the suit of chainmail worn by Norman knights and some Norman infantry?

couch

hauberk ✓

onesie

nasal
William's army at the Battle of Hastings was divided into three: match the divisions with the troops who were positioned there.

left

⇔

French allies ✓

centre

⇔

Breton allies ✓

right

⇔

Normans ✓
Where had Normans previously used feigned retreat tactics in battle?

Constantinople

Spain

Sicily ✓

Wales
Which of these points best supports the argument that the Bayeux Tapestry underplays the importance of Norman archers in the Battle of Hastings?

The Tapestry shows Harold being killed or injured by an arrow.

Few of the Norman archers are shown wearing armour.

Norman archers are shown with bows instead of crossbows.

Norman archers are usually in the margins of the Tapestry. ✓

Exit quiz

Which of these is the best definition of the fyrd?

a group of trained warriors who protected their lord in battle

a place where an army could cross a river or area of marshy land

a tax on every five hides that was used to equip one soldier for battle

a way of calling up men from the general population into an army for a period ✓
When did Harold first call up the fyrd to defend the southern coast from an expected Norman invasion?

January 1066

May 1066 ✓

September 1066

October 1066
Put these events in chronological order.

1

⇔

Harold learns William is preparing an invasion fleet.

2

⇔

Fyrd defences are set up along the southern coast.

3

⇔

Harold is forced to disband the southern fyrd.

4

⇔

Hardrada invades the northeast coast.

5

⇔

Edwin and Morcar lead the English forces in the Battle of Gate Fulford.
Which of the following suggest that Hardrada and Tostig's invasion might have found support in the north?

Edwin and Morcar survived the Battle of Gate Fulford.

People remembered Tostig's time as earl of Northumbria.

The city of York struck a deal with Hardrada and Tostig. ✓

The Vikings returned to Norway after the Battle of Stamford Bridge
Complete the missing number: Harold and his troops made the 185-mile journey to Tadcaster in just ______ days.

'four' ✓
Who advised Harold to wait in London until all fyrd troops had been assembled, according to Norman sources?

Archbishop Stigand

Edwin and Morcar

His mother and brothers ✓

The Witan

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Lesson Details

Key learning points

King Harold made careful preparations against William of Normandy's invasion.
The invasion by Hardrada and Tostig had not been expected, but the north had defences.
Different factors contributed to Harold's defeat of the Viking invasion.
Norman plundering of Wessex may have been designed to provoke Harold to battle William.
Harold was advised to spend longer preparing for the Battle of Hastings than he did.

Common misconception

The English were unprepared for William's invasion.

Harold led detailed preparations for the invasion, with those preparations delivering an army for the Battle of Hastings despite the disbanding of the southern fyrd and the previous formation of two fyrd armies to combat the earlier Viking invasion.

Keywords

Invasion - an invasion is when an army or country uses force to go into and take control of another country
Fyrd - the Anglo-Saxon fyrd was a way of calling up men from the general population into an army for a set period of time