Sunrise on the 15th was to find Senlac
Ridge littered with broken and discarded weapons together with the bodies of around
2000 Normans, up to 4000 Saxons and 6-700 horses. The battle had been of a length
and ferocity unheard of in medieval warfare. Normally battles were over quickly
as morale and discipline failed on one side or the other. The evenness of the
battle was shown by its duration, fought on a knifes edge all day.
With around 30 percent losses, William was unable to march directly on London.
After withdrawing to Hastings for five days, William set about subduing the surrounding
countryside. As the significance of Hastings began to be appreciated, other areas
submitted to his rule without resistance. By November, he had subdued south eastern
England and was eventually crowned king on Christmas Day, 1066.
Butler D. 1066: The Story
of a Year, Anthony Blond Ltd., London, 1966
Douglas D. C. William the Conqueror: The Norman Impact Upon England,
Eyre & Spottiswoode, London, 1966
Golding B. Conquest and Colonisation: The Normans in Britain, 1066-1100,
Macmillan, Houndmills, 1994
Oman C.W.C. The Art of War in the Middle Ages AD 378-1515 (revised
edition), Great Serial Books, London, 1963
Butler D. 1066: The Story of a Year, Anthony Blond Ltd., London,
1966
Poyntz Wright P. Hastings, The Windrush Press, Gloucestershire,
1996
Tetlow E. The Enigma of Hastings, Peter Owen Ltd., London, 1974
Whitelock D. et.al. The Norman Conquest: Its Setting and Impact,
Eyre & Spottiswoode, London, 1966
