The English are a strange lot. They consider the Battle of Hastings one of the most famous events in English history. It was the only time that England was invaded by a foreign power, their king was slain on the battlefield and their army was soundly defeated. It most certainly was not their finest hour!
The year 1066 began badly. King Edward the Confessor died in early January without an heir and the Anglo-Saxon nobles chose Harold Godwinson, as his successor. Not everyone was pleased with the choice, especially Harald Hardrada of Norway and William of Normandy, both of whom thought they had a legitimate claim to the throne. In late September, newly crowned King Harold defeated Harald’s army at the Battle of Stamford Bridge. Exit Harald.
William of Normandy believed that Harold had previously sworn an oath to him, making the crown rightfully his. With the winds of war in his favor, William’s army landed in England near Pevensey, about ten miles from Hastings. Harold force-marched 7000 battle-weary troops over 200 miles to intercept William. Eventually William’s tactics and his archers carried the day. King Harold died on the battlefield from, as legend has it, an arrow in the eye.
There were no battlefield reporters imbedded with the troops—only some panels on the Bayeaux Tapestry, commissioned by William’s half-brother, tell the tale. No longer Anglo-Saxon, the Kingdom of England would become a Norman dynasty heavily influenced by French. And it was now ruled by William the Conquerer.
But wait! The fields where the battle took place were too muddy for us to walk around; but what we would be able to see was the Battle Abbey. The partially ruined Benedictine abbey stands on the spot where King Harold supposedly fell. William ordered the building of the abbey as penance from Pope Alexander II for all the deaths the Normans caused in conquering England.
The English Heritage audio guide mentioned that the monks who were tasked with building the church decided doing so on level ground would make more sense than trying to build on the hillside. William was adamant about the location and ordered them to tear down their construction and do what they had been told. As Mel Brooks said, “It’s good to be the King.” But William died before the abbey was finished.
At its peak, Battle Abbey was home to about 140 monks who slept in the communal dormitory. The church was destroyed during Henry VIII’s dissolution of the monasteries and much of the land was given to a friend of the king. The church and cloisters were destroyed and the abbot’s house was converted into a country mansion. Since then it has been a barracks and is now the Battle Abbey School.
