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1066

THE BATTLE OF SENLAC

97

he took advantage of the lie of the ground by posting his men with their shields before them on the edge of the hill. The position was a strong one for purposes of defence, but it was not one that made it easy for Harold to change his arrangements as the fortunes of the day might need. William, on the other hand, had not only a better armed force, but a more flexible one. He had to attack, and, versed as he was in all the operations of war, he could move his men from place to place and make use of each opportunity as it arrived. The English were brave enough, but William was a more intelligent leader than Harold, and his men were better under control. Twice after the battle had begun the Norman horsemen charged up the hill only to be driven back. The wily William, finding that the hill was not to be stormed by a

Men fighting with axes. (From the Bayeux Tapestry.)

direct attack, met the difficulty by galling the English with a
shower of arrows and ordering his left wing to turn and fly.
The stratagem was successful. Some of the English rushed down
the hill in pursuit. The fugitives faced round and charged the
pursuers, following them up the slope. The English on the height
were thus thrown into confusion; but they held out stoutly, and as
the Norman horsemen now in occupation of one end of the hill
charged fiercely along its crest, they locked their shields together
and fought desperately for life, if no longer for victory. Slowly and
steadily the Normans pressed on, till they reached the spot where
Harold, surrounded by his house-carls, fought beneath his standard.
There all their attacks were in vain, till William, calling for his
bowmen, bade them shoot the arrows into the air. Down came
rk Public
the arrows in
upon the felde English warriors, and

New

CIRCULATI

ary,

FRARTMENT

H

one of them pierced Harold's eye, stretching him lifeless on the ground. In a series of representations in worsted work, known as the Bayeux Tapestry, which was wrought by the needle of some unknown woman and is now exhibited in the museum of that city, the scenes of the battle and the events preceding it are pictorially recorded.

25. William's Coronation. 1066.-William had destroyed both the English king and the English army. It is possible that England, if united, might still have resisted. The great men at London chose for their king Eadgar the Ætheling, the grandson of Eadmund Ironside. Eadwine and Morkere were present at the election, but left London as soon as it was over. They would look

Death of Harold, who is attempting to pull the arrow from his eye.
(From the Bayeux Tapestry.)

after their own earldoms; they would not join others, as Harold had done, in defending England as a whole. Divided England would sooner or later be a prey to William. He wanted, however, not merely to reign as a conqueror, but to be lawfully elected as king, that he might have on his side law as well as force. He first struck terror into Kent and Sussex by ravaging the lands of all who held out against him. Then he marched to the Thames and burnt Southwark. He did not, however, try to force his way into London, as he wanted to induce the citizens to submit voluntarily to him, or at least in a way which might seem voluntary. He therefore marched westwards, crossed the Thames at Wallingford, and wheeled round to Berkhampstead. His presence there made

Coronation of a king, temp. William the Conqueror.
(From a drawing in the possession of the Society of Antiquaries.)

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the Londoners feel utterly isolated. Even if Eadwine and Morkere wished to do anything for them, they could not come from the north or north-west without meeting William's victorious army. The great men and citizens alike gave up all thought of resistance, abandoned Eadgar, and promised to take William for their king. On Christmas Day, 1066, William was chosen with acclamation in Eadward's abbey at Westminster, where Harold had been chosen less than a year before. The Normans outside mistook the shouts of applause for a tumult against their Duke, and set fire to the houses around. The English rushed out to save their property, and William, frightened for the only time in his life, was left alone with the priests. Not knowing what was next to follow, he was crowned king of the English by Ealdred, Archbishop of York, in an empty church, amidst the crackling of flames and the shouts of men striving for the mastery.

Books recommended for further study of Part I.

DAWKINS, W. Boyd. Early Man in Britain.

RHYS, J. Early Britain.

ELTON, C. J. Origins of English History.

History of the Norman Conquest. Vols. i.-iii.

GUEST, E.

Origines Celticæ. Vol. ii. pp. 121-408.

FREEMAN.
GREEN, J. R.

The Making of England.

BRIGHT, W.

The Conquest of England.

History of the English People. Vol. i. pp. 1-114.
Chapters of English Church History.

STUBBS, W. The Constitutional History of England. Chaps. I.-IX.
CUNNINGHAM, W. The Growth of English Industry and Commerce

during the Early and Middle Ages, pp. 1-128.

1066-1067.-Though at

the time when William was crowned he had gained actual possession of no more than the south-eastern part of England, he claimed a right to rule the whole as lawful king of the English, not merely by Eadward's bequest, but by election and coronation. In reality, he came as a conqueror, whilst the Normans by whose aid he gained the victory at Senlac

A silver penny of William the Conqueror, struck at Romney.

left their homes not merely to turn their Duke into a king, but also to acquire lands and wealth for themselves. Wil. liam could not act justly and kindly to his new subjects even if he wished. What he did was to clothe real violence with the appearance of law. He gave out that as he had been the lawful king of the English ever since Eadward's death, Harold and all who fought under him at Senlac had forfeited their lands by their treason to himself as their lawful king. These lands he distributed amongst his Normans. The English indeed were not entirely