Battle of Hastings AD1066 - Phase 8 - Warning to Harold
Warning is sent to King Harold in Yorkshire.
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Anglo Saxon Chronicles
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Meantime Earl William came up from Normandy into Pevensey on the eve of St. Michael's mass; and soon
after his landing was effected, they constructed a castle at the port of Hastings.
This was then told to King Harold; and he gathered a
large force, and came to meet him at the estuary of Hoar Appuldran.
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Battle Abbey Chronicles
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He therefore prepared himself a great fleet ; and many counts, nobles, and illustrious men, and many
barons who were not his
subjects, but belonged to neighbouring provinces, from motives of respect associated themselves in his
retinue.
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Bayeux_Tapestry
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No reference to this subject in this document.
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Carmen de Triumpho Normannico
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One Englishman kept hidden under the sea cliffs
He sees countless ranks pour forth
Blazing flames devoured homes
He swiftly mounted a horse
He hastened to tell the king
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Florence of Worcester
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No reference to this subject in this document.
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Henry of Huntingdon
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No reference to this subject in this document.
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Master Wace
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They waited long at St. Valeri for a fair wind, and the barons were greatly wearied. Then they
prayed the convent to bring out the shrine of St. Valeri, and set it on a carpet in the plain ; and all
came praying the holy reliques, that they might be allowed to pass over sea. They offered so much money,
that the reliques were buried beneath it ; and from that day forth, they had good weather and a
fair wind. The duke placed a lantern on the mast of his ship, that the other ships might see it, and
hold their course after it. At the summit was a vane of brass, gilt. On the head of the ship, in the front,
which mariners call the prow, there was the figure of a child in brass, bearing an arrow with a bended
bow. His face was turned towards England, and thither he looked, as though he was about to shoot;
so that whichever way the ship went, he seemed to aim onwards.
Of so large a fleet with so many people, only two ships were in any peril, and those perhaps from being
overloaded. The duke had a great chivalry in his ships ; and besides these, he had many archers
and Serjeants, many brave men and warriors, carpenters and engineers, good smiths and other handicraftsmen.
A KNIGHT of that country heard the noise and cry made by the peasants and villeins when they saw
the great fleet arrive. He well knew that the Normans were come, and that their object was to seize
the land. He posted himself behind a hill, so that they should not see him, and tarried there, watching
the arrival of the great fleet. He saw the archers come forth from the ships, and the knights follow.
He saw the carpenters with their axes, and the host of people and troops. He saw the men throw the
materials for the fort out of the ships. He saw them build up and enclose the fort, and dig the fosse
around it. He saw them land the shields and armour. And as he beheld all this, his spirit was
troubled ; and he girt his sword and took his lance, saying he would go straightway to king Harold, and
tell the news. Forthwith he set out on his way, resting late and rising early; and thus he journeyed on
by night and by day to seek Harold his lord.
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William of Jumièges/Orderic Vitalis(Gesta)
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At last when by God's grace it suddenly came round to the quarter which was the object of so many prayers, the duke,
full of ardour, lost no time in embarking the troops, and giving the signal for hastening the departure of the fleet.
Meanwhile the English usurper, after having put to the sword his brother Tostig, and his royal enemy, and slaughtered
their immense army, returned in triumph to London. As however worldly prosperity soon vanishes like smoke before the wind,
Harold's rejoicings for his bloody victory were soon darkened by the threatening clouds of a still heavier storm.
Nor was he suffered long to enjoy the security procured by his brother's death ; for a hasty messenger brought him the
intelligence that the Normans had embarked. Learning soon afterwards that they had actually landed, he made preparations
for a fresh conflict.
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William of Malmesbury
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No reference to this subject in this document.
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Quedam Exceptiones de Historia Normannorum et Anglorum
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And while he was returning from this slaughter he met a messenger on the way who revealed the fleet of the Normans had landed at Hastingas. And when he had heard, just as he was, still drenched in his brother’s blood, so under the same arms with a countless multitude of English and Danes he was impatient to meet up with the army of the Normans.
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Phases of the Battle of Hastings 1066AD
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No reference to this subject in this document.
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