Norman Conquest Encyclopedia
Omens
Even today many people believe in good and bad signs, omens of events yet to come. To avert bad omens people salute magpies, avoid walking under ladders and observe other irrational rituals. When William the Bastard landed at Pevensey to claim the English crown in 1066 he tripped and fell. An onlooker turned the mishap to advantage by pointing out that William had already taken hold of the soil of the land. Again, when William was preparing for battle at Senlac Hill he at first put on his hauberk the wrong way round, but laughed off any suggestion of ill-fortune. In both cases William was right. Harald Hardrada fell from his horse before the battle of Stamford Bridge but claimed it was good luck. He was wrong.
See also: Harald Hardrada; Pevensey; Stamford Bridge; William the Bastard
Related Reading:
- Hastings 1066 (Revised Edition)- The Fall of Saxon England
(Campaign 13 )
William stumbles as he lands at Pevensey. Some said this was an omen. (© Osprey Publishing Limited, from Landmarks in History The Norman Conquest , by Christopher Gravett, artwork by Ivan Lapper)