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1066 And All That

© Stuart Buchanan MacWatt

1066 And All That
On 14 October 2000 year a colourful army of metal helmed Anglo-Saxons clad in chain mail and heavily armed with battle axes, swords, spears and shields gathered on an East Sussex hill near Hastings. Led by King Harold they fought and lost their battle to defend Saxon England from William the Bastard and his invading Norman henchmen. They were reenacting the Battle of Hastings where, on that day 935 years ago, Harold was killed in battle and his shire levees of axe wielding huscarls and fyrd were routed and slaughtered by William and his army after 10 grueling hours of battle.

In 1066 William rode at the head of a combined force of French, Flemish and Breton archers and infantry bolstered and supported by his cavalry of knights; a motley crew of Norman landowners and freebooters who had financed his invasion with ships men and provisions in the expectation of William's promised spoils of victory. They are woven into illustrated history in the Bayeux Tapestry, a remarkable 230 ft long embroidery documenting the story of William's invasion and victory at Hastings.

The reenactment of the Battle of Hastings takes place just once in every five years, when the date falls on a weekend as it in the millenium year. The weekend is one of the great events in the European historical reenactment calendar, and it drew society members from not only around England but from all over the world. Reenactors are a dedicated band and groups came from Canada,USA, Scandinavia, Germany and Normandy to join their fellow British enthusiasts for the weekend in the medieval tent encampment, (made soggy by drenching rain), that was set up adjacent to the historic battlefield. There, as battle reenactors typically do whatever the weather, they caroused lustily through the night and fought lustily through the day.

The carefully choreographed battle between the latter day King Harold and William, Duke of Normandy, was organized by English Heritage to raise money for the upkeep of England’s historic castles, battle sites and ancient places. They manage 120 sites from prehistoric Stonehenge to 19th century Osborne House, Queen Victoria’s sumptuous Italianate residence on the Isle of Wight. 1000 or more battleaxe and broadsword wielding soldiers and 100 cavalry sounded their 'clarions of war' and engaged forthwith in noisy simulated combat on the soggy slopes of the original battlefield, aptly named Battle Hill, watched by onlookers who had braved the rain.