Norman Conquest Timeline

HOW TO DEFEAT THE NORMAN FOE

London, 3 October 1066

In the inns and eating houses of London, the debate is raging over what strategy the English should adopt to repel the Norman invaders.

Reports say that Harold has begun a hasty march south, giving his men only a few days rest after their great victory over the Vikings at Stamford Bridge. Although his men are all on horseback, making a second 200-mile journey in less than two weeks cannot be wise. His men are certain to be exhausted when they arrive and may not be up to a fight.

Meanwhile William's men are rested. Having established base camps at Pevensey and Hastings, they have done no more than send out a few raiding parties to harry the countryside. With the livestock and other foodstuffs they have taken, the Normans are now well provisioned. They are making no effort to move out of their beachhead and, for the moment at least, London is safe.

Public house strategists believe that Harold should stay on in London when he returns and his men should rest. A small English force stationed at Sedlescombe could keep William penned up in his beachhead for the winter. William could not resupply his army from Normandy during the winter and it would be hard to find further provisions from the surrounding countryside, which the Normans have already devastated. By spring William's men would be hungry and demoralised, while Harold's would be rested and ready to fight. Or so the barroom conversation has it.

But there are real fears that when Harold arrives in the South he will plunge headlong into a premature battle. Certainly a precipitous attack worked against the Vikings at Stamford Bridge. This was because the Norwegian King Harald Hardrada was caught unawares, but William has well-prepared fortifications and holds an easily defensible position.

However, Harold has political problems. When he was crowned king, he did not renounce the earldom of Wessex, which includes the area of East Sussex being razed by William. Londoners are asking, if Harold cannot defend his own lands, how can he be trusted to defend England? It is also admitted that William does have some claim to the throne. If Harold does not settle the matter quickly by force of arms, unscrupulous English landowners of Norman descent might go over to his side. The hairy long-tailed star or comet seen in the sky this summer was widely seen as an ill-omen for Harold. His victory at Stamford Bridge has gone a long way to counter this, but only a quick victory over William will overturn it completely.

William is a shrewd commander. He knows that Harold has a reputation for being impetuous. He is banking on Harold attacking at the first possible moment — and certainly before the autumn is over. Otherwise he would have marched on London. Taking the city would mean his men could winter in comfort. With Harold stuck out in the provinces all winter, he would look increasingly like a king without a throne

Article by Nigel Cawthorne