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 and Anderida Where are the Roman Roads History of the Romney Marsh The Great Storm 1287AD List of Landscape Documents Local The Haestingas The Cinque Ports 914AD Alfred the Great's fort in Hastings Battle Museum Battle History Society Villagenet Local Gazeteer World War 2 Tank database Simon the Piman(Raspberry Pi) Tourist Guides for the area Romans First Invasion 55BC Second Invasion 43AD Roman roads in Britannia 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 Types of Roman Fortification List of Roman Documents 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 List of Saxon Chronicles Documents 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 1066AD  1 Background 1066AD  2 In Normandy 1066AD  3 Channel Crossing 1066AD  4 The Landing 1066AD  5 Feast after Landing 1066AD  6 Building the Forts 1066AD  7 Raiding the Area 1066AD  8 Warning to Harold 1066AD  9 Stamford Bridge 1066AD 10 Harold returns to London 1066AD 11 William is Alerted 1066AD 12 Exchange of Messages 1066AD 13 Defenses 1066AD 14 Harold Reconnoitres 1066AD 15 Preparations 1066AD 16 The Night Before 1066AD 17 The Battle 1066AD 18 Harold is Killed 1066AD 19 The English Rout 1066AD 20 After the Battle 1066AD 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 William's Ship List Norman/Viking Ships and stuff Norman bows and crossbows Harold was NOT killed by an arrow 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  List of 1066AD Documents List of 1066AD Weapons 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 Celtic name snippets 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 Loads of Village Translations Res Battle of Jengland AD851 - implies a quick defeat for Harold at Hastings 1066AD   The Battle between the Bretons and Charles the Bald of the Franks This is an extract from the Wikipedia article In August 851AD, Charles left Maine to enter Brittany by the Roman road from Nantes to Corseul. The king arranged his troops in two lines: at the rear were the Franks; in front were Saxon mercenaries whose role was to break the assault of the Breton cavalry, which was known for its mobility and tenacity. In the initial engagement, a javelin assault forced Saxons to retreat behind the more heavily armoured Frankish line. The Franks were taken by surprise. Rather than engage in a melée, the Bretons harassed the heavily armed Franks from a distance, in a manner comparable to Parthian tactics, but with javelins rather than archers. They alternated furious charges, feints, and sudden withdrawals, drawing out the Franks and encircling over-extended groups. After two days of this sort of fighting, Frankish losses in men and horses were mounting to catastrophic levels, while the Bretons suffered few casualties. With his force disintegrating, Charles withdrew from the field during the night. When his disappearance was noticed the following morning, panic seized the Frankish soldiers. The Bretons quickly raided the camp, taking booty and weapons and killing as many fugitives as they could. How could the Saxon Fyrð hold off the Bretons in 1066AD ?   If the style of fighting the Bretons used could defeat heavily armoured troops with supporting Saxon mercenaries using Axes how could the Fyrð manage to hold back the Bretons at the Battle of Hastings ? The Saxon Fyrð were much less well armed and armoured than Charles the Bald's troops and were much more susceptible to damage from thrown spears as their armour was predominantly leather and they were likely to have less shields. So this begs the question how did they achive this apparent impossible task? The Shield Wall has been used to explain the apparent effectiveness of the Saxon forces, but this was just a theoretical formation invented by historians in the 1800's to explain their views of the Battle of Hastings. It’s a widespread misunderstanding that the Vikings stood shield by shield and created a close formation in battle with their round shields, says archaeologist Rolf Warming, director of the Society for Combat Archaeology. For an article on the Saxon Shield Wall please follow this link, for this article please visit our Battle of Hastings - Saxon Shield Wall - did it really exist? page. Another related article is to do with the Malfosse which gives an alternative to the Shield Wall theory, for this article please visit our Battle of Hastings AD1066 - Evidence for the Malfosse page. Henry of Huntingdon and Master Wace both talk about a ditch during the battle, with Master Wace claiming that this was a Saxon made defence (and they had moreover made a fosse, which went across the field), this is a possibility if the Normans broke through the Shield Wall and hence into the Saxon lines, but were then pushed back into the ditch(fosse) great losses would have occurred. Before the battle Master Wace also describes Saxon defences (There he said he would defend himself against whoever should seek him ; and he had the place well examined, and surrounded it by a good fosse, leaving an entrance on each of three sides, which were ordered to be all well guarded.), this potentially explains the battle ditch description. Copyright saxonhistory.co.uk 2013 - 2025 Contact Simon Author Simon M - Last updated - 2024-10-15 08:07:04 All pages on our site (Sitemap)