Anglo Saxon History Home Background Landscape Changing Landscape and Language Sea Levels in AD400(Pevensey) Sea Levels in AD400(The Wash) Sea level changes last 2000 years Andredsweald Modern Andredsweald at Domesday Where is the Forest Boundary Where are the Roman Roads History of the Romney Marsh Stuff The Haestingas The Cinque Ports Romans First Invasion 55BC Second Invasion 43AD Ptolemy Geographica Tribes MAP-Margary Roman Roads MAP-Roman Roads South East MAP-Roman Roads South West MAP-Roman Roads Wales MAP-Roman Roads South Midlands MAP-Roman Roads South Yorkshire MAP-Roman Locations Norfolk MAP-Roman Locations Essex MAP-Wealden Roads/Bloomeries Wealden Bloomeries 1st Century Wealden Bloomeries 2nd Century Wealden Bloomeries 3rd Century Wealden Bloomeries 4th Century MAP-Antonine Itinery I Roman Industry in the Brede Valley Decline in Roman Wealden Ironworking The Gallic Empire 260AD - 274AD Saxon Chronicles 449AD Hengest & Horsa arrive 455AD Hengest & Horsa defeat Wurtgern 457AD Hengest & Horsa take over Kent 460AD Hæstinga Saxons arrive 477AD Cymensora 485AD Suth Saxons Mercredesburnan 491AD Suth Saxons Pevensey 914AD Burghal Hideage Locations - 449AD Ebbsfleet Locations - 455AD Agelesþrep Locations - 485AD Mearcredesburnan Stede Locations - 914AD Eorpeburnan 1066 Battle Documentary Evidence Available Documents 1 Anglo Saxon Chronicles 2 Battle Abbey Chronicles 3 Bayeux Tapestry 4 Carmen Guy d'Amiens 5 Florence of Worcester 6 Henry of Huntingdon 7 Master Wace 8 Orderic Vitalis(Gesta) 9 William of Jumièges(Gesta) 10 William of Malmesbury 11 Quedam Exceptiones Reference to Locations Phases of the Events Phases 1 Background 2 In Normandy 3 Channel Crossing 4 The Landing 5 Feast after Landing 6 Building the Forts 7 Raiding the Area 8 Warning to Harold 9 Stamford Bridge 10 Harold returns to London 11 William is Alerted 12 Exchange of Messages 13 Defenses 14 Harold Reconnoitres 15 Preparations 16 The Night Before 17 The Battle 18 Harold is Killed 19 The English Rout 20 After the Battle 21 The Malfosse Warriors, Weapons & Snippets Saxon - Huscarl Saxon - Fyrd(Fyrð) Senlac Hill The Malfosse The Hoar Apple Tree The Shield Wall Salt Production near Hastings The Battle of Jengland 851AD The Time Team view of the Battle 1066AD Landscape Details 1066AD Sailing from Normandy 1066AD Norman Landing 1066AD Possible Fort 1066AD to Pevensey and Hastings 1066AD Manors Wasted 1066AD Manors All 1066AD Warning to Harold 1066AD Harold to Hastings 1086AD Domesday Boundary of Anderida Domesday Hursts Post Domesday Hursts Domesday Manors Wasted UK Norfolk Salt Production Salt Production near Hastings The Wash at 1086 The Humber estuary at 1086 Domesday County details B Bedfordshire Domesday Population Berkshire Domesday Population Buckinghamshire Domesday Population Domesday County details C Cambridgeshire Domesday Population Cheshire Domesday Population Cornwall Domesday Population Domesday County details D Derbyshire Domesday Population Devon Domesday Population Dorset Domesday Population Domesday County details E Essex Domesday Population Domesday County details G Gloucestershire Domesday Population Domesday County details H Hampshire Domesday Population Herefordshire Domesday Population Hertfordshire Domesday Population Huntingdonshire Domesday Population Domesday County details K Kent Domesday Population Domesday County details L Leicestershire Domesday Population Lincolnshire Domesday Population Domesday County details M Middlesex Domesday Population Domesday County details N Norfolk Domesday Population Northamptonshire Domesday Population Nottinghamshire Domesday Population Domesday County details O Oxfordshire Domesday Population Domesday County details R Rutland Domesday Population Domesday County details S Shropshire Domesday Population Somerset Domesday Population Staffordshire Domesday Population Suffolk Domesday Population Surrey Domesday Population Sussex Domesday Population Domesday County details W Warwickshire Domesday Population Wiltshire Domesday Population Worcestershire Domesday Population Domesday County details Y Yorkshire Domesday Population Place names Translate my Location Jutish name snippets Roman name snippets Saxon name snippets Viking name snippets Norman name snippets Modern name snippets Villages containing EY/EYE/SEA Villages containing HAM Villages containing TON Villages containing CASTLE Sussex Locations with ING Domesday Sussex with ING Kent Locations with ING Sussex Locations with HURST Domesday Sussex with HURST Res 1. Senlac Hill where is it? and what does Senlac mean? Table of Contents Senlac Hill was there only one? and what does it mean? Current location of Senlac Hill Senlac Hill from the Bayeux Tapestry Firstly what evidence is there that Senlac Hill was relevent to the Battle of Hastings? The local landscape Possible alternative locations Conclusion Senlac Hill was there only one? and what does it mean? ▲ On this page I will try to put forward various comments on the origination of Senlac, and the possibility of a different location from where the monks of Battle Abbey claimed it was. Current location of Senlac Hill ▲ Senlac Hill is nowadays inside Battle Abbey in the small town of Battle in East Sussex and is shown by the red dot on the map below. Senlac Hill from the Bayeux Tapestry ▲ The ground looks very broken, either from man made ditches (see our Malfosse page) or just implying broken ground. Firstly what evidence is there that Senlac Hill was relevent to the Battle of Hastings? ▲ By looking at the documents available from the time of the Battle, there is only one reference to Senlac which comes from Orderic Vitalis(Gesta Normannorum Ducum) the relevent passage reads ' On the other side, the English troops, assembled from all parts of the neighbourhood, took post at a place which was anciently called Senlac, many of them personally devoted to the cause of Harold, and all to that of their country, which they were resolved to defend against the foreigners.' The Battle Abbey Chronicles make no mention of Senlac - that seems odd as its in the current Abbey Grounds, and if important would have had a mention in the text, the Chronicles refer to Hegeland as the hill. The name Senlac was introduced into English history by the Victorian historian E.A. Freeman who suggested that Senlac meant Sand Lake in Old English with the Norman conquerors calling it (in French) Sanguelac('Blood lake'). OK so what does Senlac mean, there are a lot of possibilities some being decidedly unlikely. If we look at Anglo Saxon words and not Norman ones as Vitalis claims that it was anciently called Senlac, what are the possibilities for Senlac Hill:- lac appears to derive from lacu a pond or lake. sen There are a number of possibilities as to the derivation of sen which is not a saxon word as it stands, so most likely has been shortened over time(a few hundred years from its early Saxon name), the monks who wrote the Chronicles of the time were mostly Norman and wrote in latin so they may have been trying to write the sound of the locations. The nearest words that could have been shortened are:- sand meaning sand hence sandlacu So this would mean sandy lake, senn meaning to sin therefore sennlacu So this would translate to sinners lake, but as the area was supposed to be unoccupied before 1066 I have discounted this word. isen meaning iron so isenlacu Translating to iron pond - interesting aescen meaning ashen so aescenlacu This would translate to the ash tree pond - again interesting So Senlac would seem to be a descriptive term, and we are now left with Ash Tree Pond/Lake, Iron Pond/Lake or Sandy Pond/Lake, so lets look at the landscape around Battle to see if we can find anything that might relate to the above translations, as it is possible that there were a number of Senlacs in the area. The local landscape ▲ To the north of modern Senlac Hill there is a very steep valley with a spring that flows down into the Brede valley, the nearest pond in that direction would have been towards Marley Lane a mile or so away but no reason to call it senlac as marley means marl island(marl meaning clay). To the south east are a few small ponds, but just the clayey ponds that cover the area. Please be aware that a lot of ponds that are now in the area were caused by doodlebug explosions from World War 2 falling short of London or being turned over by typhoon fighters. To the south there is now the pond created at Powdermills, but originally this may have been created by the Romans digging iron at Pepperingeye a few hundred metres to the south east. To the west towards Ashburnham we have an area known for its ash trees, and near to Ashburnham(Meaning the Stream in the Ash trees) there are a number of lakes, probably formed again for iron working , so there may be a second Senlac hill. Please see the map below. Finally to the North West of the abbey lies the hamlet of Beech(now Beech Farm) which was in the Domesday Book and was an iron working site that made cannons for the Royal Navy in the early 1700's.(please refer to the Wealden Iron Research Group's database ) Possible alternative locations ▲ The above map shows possible other Senlac Hills based on the local geography, please take a look at the above details and make your own judgement on the location of the real Senlac. The larger circles with names show the Domesday settlements in the area, the red lines are ancient Celtic ridgeways that the Romans and Saxons used, the green shaded area shows the Forest of Andredsweald. The shading of the settlements denotes the damage recorded in the Domesday Book, red denotes wasted, the yellow denotes damaged and green undamaged settlements. Conclusion ▲ If Senlac is derived from isenlacu then this would mean that the real Isenlac Hill would have been either at Netherfield, as this was the point where the main ancient ridgeways (taken over by the Romans) from Rye and Hastings to London joined or on the B2096 at Netherfield High Wood. These were both very close to the edge of the great Forest of Andredsweald, which is recorded in some of the chronicles. And finally the B2096 is also known as Kane Hythe Road(Cyne hyð rad) which can be translated from the Saxon as 'the starting point of the King'. The location of Battle Abbey (St Martin of Tours) Regarding the current placement of Battle Abbey, this was built 20 years after the Battle of Hastings (when the majority of the participants had died), on a position well suited to the monks as it was on a hill, it had nearby water and ponds for fish, and was built across the Hastings to London main road hence capturing all the traffic on that route. If the abbey was not the actual location for the Battle of Hastings then this legend could have been created as a counter to other monastries that had relics that pilgrims (tourists) would pay to see. My personal belief is that if Senlac Hill is a valid reference to the Battle of Hastings then Isenlac was the iron pond near to modern Beech Farm, this was called Beech in the Domesday book. If this is the case then there is a distinct possibility that the Abbey Battle site is not the real site of the Battle of Hastings, and that it is along Kane Hythe Road either at Netherfield High Wood, or at Netherfield itself. Copyright saxonhistory.co.uk 2013 - 2023Contact SimonAuthor Simon M - Last updated - 2023-11-20 08:32:09All pages on our site (Sitemap)