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Saxon thegn | Anglo Saxon History 
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| | Battle of Hastings 1066AD - P - Places named in the Chronicles |
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| | Senlac, Hecheland and Herst |
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Three place names recorded in the chronicles and land grants of the decades
following the Battle of Hastings are directly relevant to understanding where the
battle was fought and how William's forces approached it. None of them survives
clearly in the modern landscape, and all three have been the subject of debate.
This page summarises what is known about each and links to the detailed analysis.
The names are Senlac, the place where the English forces took
post according to Orderic Vitalis; Hecheland, the hill where
William's forces assembled according to the Battle Abbey Chronicles; and
Herste, the location the monks of Battle Abbey initially preferred
for the siting of the Abbey before William overruled them.
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| Senlac |
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The name Senlac appears in only one chronicle — Orderic Vitalis — who describes
the English forces taking post at a place anciently called Senlac. He does
not mention a hill. The name was later popularised by the Victorian historian E.A.
Freeman, who identified it with the ridge on which Battle Abbey stands and suggested
it meant sand lake in Old English, with the Normans rendering it as
Sanguelac — blood lake — after the battle.
However the Saxon name Santlache — the form used in the Abbey Chronicles
— appears in the leuga land records simply as ordinary farmland of 31 acres near the
Abbey infirmary, with no special significance attached to it by the monks who were
writing within living memory of the battle. Several alternative Saxon derivations are
possible, including isen lacu (iron pond), æscen lacu (ash tree
lake) and sand lacu (sandy lake), each of which points to a different
location. If isen lacu is correct, the battlefield may be considerably
further from the present Abbey than tradition holds — most likely near Netherfield,
where the main ancient ridgeways from Hastings and Rye converged on the edge of the
Forest of Andredsweald.
For the full analysis of the documentary evidence, the Victorian identification,
and the alternative Saxon derivations and locations, see
Senlac Hill — where is it
and what does Senlac mean?
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| Hecheland |
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Hecheland is mentioned in the Battle Abbey Chronicles as the hill where William's
forces assembled before the battle, described as situated in the direction of
Hastings. It appears in three variant spellings — Hecilande, Hecheland and
Hechilande — across different passages of the Chronicles, and is also recorded as
one of the three woods within the Abbey leuga alongside Bodeherste and Petlee, with
two wists of agricultural land.
Its position in the leuga boundary description — between Bodeherste (modern
Bathurst, now Battle Great Wood) to the west and Telham to the east — places it on
the Hastings road ridge near modern Telham Hill. Scholars have generally translated
the name as hedge land, from the Saxon hecge. An alternative
reading — heáge land, meaning high land — fits both the landscape and the
military context more naturally. The highest point on the ridge above the Hastings
road, commanding a clear view toward Hastings, would be the obvious assembly point
for an invading force and a natural candidate for the name high land among
the local Saxon population.
For the full documentary evidence, name derivations, and location analysis, see
Hecheland — where is it
and what does it mean?
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| Herst |
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Herste is mentioned in the Battle Abbey Chronicles as the location the monks of
Marmoutier initially chose for the Abbey building, before William instructed them to
build on the spot where Harold fell. It appears to have been near the quarry to the
south east of the present Abbey, a short distance from Powdermills. The name derives
from the Saxon hyrst — a clearing in the forest — and suggests an existing
woodland clearing that the monks considered a more practical building site than the
exposed ridge William insisted upon.
The significance of Herste is that it confirms the monks had a clear alternative
in mind — one that was practical for building but not on the battlefield — and that
William specifically overruled them to place the high altar on the spot where Harold
died. If the Abbey's traditional location is correct, this exchange is straightforward.
If the battlefield was elsewhere, it raises the question of why William was so
insistent about a ridge that may not have been the actual site of the fighting.
Herste is discussed further in the context of the Senlac analysis — see
Senlac Hill — where is it
and what does Senlac mean?
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| Conclusion |
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It is worth noting that all three names come from a limited and potentially partial
set of sources. Senlac appears in only one chronicle — Orderic Vitalis, writing
decades after the battle. Hecheland and Herste both come from the Battle Abbey
Chronicles, written by monks whose institution had a direct interest in placing the
battlefield at its current location. This does not make the evidence worthless, but
it does mean these names cannot be treated as independent corroboration of each other.
They may reflect genuine local Saxon place names accurately recorded, or they may
reflect a narrative shaped to support the Abbey's claim to be standing on the actual
battlefield. The detailed analysis on each page linked above attempts to weigh that
evidence as carefully as possible.
For the Abbey lands and leuga boundary in full, including all place names and
their Saxon derivations, see
The Lands of
Battle Abbey in the 11th Century.
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Local Interest
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