. A history of mediaeval and modern Europe for secondary schools. were not readilybroken. When Edward died in 1066, without sons, the Nor-man Duke William was ready to claim the succession to theEnglish crown on the strength of a promise made him by thelate king. Edward had no legal right to make such a grantwithout the consent of the Witan (the Wise Men <rf therealm), but here was a plausible claim for a capable, ambitious,unscrupulous warrior. The native party declared for Harold,the leader of the Anti-Norman reaction, and a gallant warrior THE ORIGINS OF THE ENGLISH NATION 115 and worthy
. A history of mediaeval and modern Europe for secondary schools. were not readilybroken. When Edward died in 1066, without sons, the Nor-man Duke William was ready to claim the succession to theEnglish crown on the strength of a promise made him by thelate king. Edward had no legal right to make such a grantwithout the consent of the Witan (the Wise Men <rf therealm), but here was a plausible claim for a capable, ambitious,unscrupulous warrior. The native party declared for Harold,the leader of the Anti-Norman reaction, and a gallant warrior THE ORIGINS OF THE ENGLISH NATION 115 and worthy of Williams steel. The sword was clearly to be thearbiter. William assembled his Norman liegemen and a great host ofFrench volunteers. The prize was the whole land of in southern England, the duke soon confrontedHarold, the new king, at Hastings1 (October 14, 1066). Seldomhas there been a more decisive battle, and if victory went tothe Normans the Anglo-Saxons proved themselves dangerousfoemen. For long through the day Harolds army of infantry. THE BATTLE OF HASTINGS {From the Bayeux Tapestry) men with their mighty axes maintained their shield wall againstthe headlong charges of Williams mounted knights. Finally,the better discipline of the Normans and their great superiorityin archers gave them the battle. Harold fell, with his twobrothers and all their bodyguard, battling to the last. It wasa hard-won victory but decisive. Anglo-Saxon resistance col-lapsed. On Christmas Day, 1066, William the Conqueror wascrowned in London. England, on the whole, submitted to William (reigned 1066-87) with surprisingly little resistance. There were several fierce 1 Sometimes known as the battle of Senlac. u6 HISTORY OF EUROPE revolts against his authority, but he crushed them with aheavy hand, and the rebels brought about nothing but theirown ruin, and the confiscation of their estates to rewardWilliams Norman followers. A whole horde of military adven-turers had accompanied
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