Another big factor that played a part in the battle was the strong character of their leader. When William was about eight, his father decided to go on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Before leaving, Robert-his father called his vassals together and ordered them to swear fealty to William. Reluctantly the men obeyed. Perhaps Robert did not expect to return from the Holy Land; if so, he was right. He died on his journey, and his illegitimate son became the new Duke of Normandy. Like most children of that time, William grew up fast. At around age fifteen he was knighted, and when he was nineteen or twenty he went to war against his cousin Guy of Burgundy to defend his inheritance. With the help of French king Henri I, he defeated Guy and forced the rebels to swear allegiance to him. But the battles of "William the Bastard," as his enemies called him, were far from over. He was always fighting someone -- even his erstwhile ally, Henri I. The beleaguered boy became a
ruthless, powerful, and greatly feared conqueror. In the battle everything did not go to the Normans plan however. At nine in the morning the Norman archers walked up the hill and when they were about a 100 yards away from Harold's army they fired their first batch of arrows. Using their shields, the housecarls were able to block most of this attack. The Norman infantry then charged up the hill. The English held firm and the Normans were forced to retreat. Members of the fyrd broke ranks and chased after them. William ordered his cavalry to attacked the English who had left their positions on Senlac Hill. English losses were heavy and very few managed to return to their place at the top of the hill. At about twelve noon there was a break in the fighting for an hour. This gave both sides a chance to remove the dead and wounded from the battlefield. William, who had originally planned to use his cavalry when the English retreated decided to change his tactics. At about one in the afternoon he ordered his archers forward. This time he told them to fire higher in the air. The change of direction of the arrows caught the English by surprise. The arrow attack was immediately followed by a cavalry charge. Casualties on both sides were heavy. Those killed included Harold's two brothers, Gyrth and Leofwine. However, the English line held and the Normans were eventually forced to retreat. The fyrd, this time chased the Flemings down the hill. William ordered his knights to turn and attack the men who had left the line. Once again the English suffered many casualties. It was now four in the afternoon. Heavy English casualties from previous attacks meant that the front line was shorter. The Normans could now attack from the side. The few housecarls that were left were forced to form a small circle round the English standard. It was then that an archer shot Harold in the eye. Many of Harold’s most loyal housecarls kept on fighting but the battle was over. As you can see Williams clever tactics pretty much won the battle for the Normans.
The battle was not completely won on account of William’s fantastic leadership skills however. Harold made some mistakes before and during the battle. Firstly Harold had positioned himself on the south coast as he knew William and the Normans were coming. He had been waiting all summer with his housecarls and his fyrd. Then, disaster struck. A messenger came from the north warning Harold that Harald Hardraada (king of Norway) and his army of Vikings had landed and were ready for invasion. Harold and his army marched quickly up to Stamford Bridge where they won the battle easily. However he decide to keep all the treasures
he had won from the battle to himself. As you can imagine this didn’t go down too well with his army and many of them abandoned him on the way down from Stamford Bridge. He had lost many of his men in the battle itself and many more of his men abandoned him on the way down from Stamford Bridge. This loss of men gave Harold a disadvantage at Hastings.
Harold also didn’t perform too well in the battle itself. For example he organized his men in a shield wall, which was effective, but it was hard for them to move. He also let his fyrd chase after the Normans when he should have called them back. This caused many of his men to be slain. These mistakes helped the Normans win although Harold couldn’t help himself getting shot in the eye.
Another big factor that had a huge effect on the Battle of Hastings was luck. For example the wind changing just as Harold was in the North did not help matters for the Saxons. Also the arrow that hit Harold in the eye as it effectively won the battle for the Normans. As you can see luck played a huge part in reducing the Saxons as a fighting force.
In this essay I have sought to outline some of the key factors that led to the Normans success at Hastings. The factor that I think played the biggest part was the fact that Harold had to fight two battles instead of one. This led to a mass reduction of the numbers in his army.