Discover the people, places and power struggles that reshaped England forever. Few moments in history changed the course of English history as dramatically as the Norman Conquest. In 1066, a struggle for the crown reached its brutal climax at the Battle of Hastings – an event that transformed not only the monarchy but left a lasting impact on the nation’s language, laws, architecture and sense of identity.
Now, nearly 1,000 years on, there’s no better place to explore the Norman legacy than 1066 Country. From the beaches where William’s army first landed to the battlefield where England’s fate was sealed, via ancient abbeys, mighty castles and spectacular landscapes, this remarkable region offers a rare opportunity to step inside one of Europe’s most defining moments.
WHO WERE THE NORMANS?
The Norman story is one of ambition, rivalry and conquest. Descended from Vikings who settled in northern France in the early 10th Century, this land of the Norsemen (north men) became known as Normandy. Whilst they adopted the French language and converted to Christianity, the Normans still held on to many of their ancestral Scandinavian traits – including a piratical passion for courageous conquests.
With strong bloodlines to the Anglo-Saxon court, William the Duke of Normandy, believed he had been promised the English throne by King Edward the Confessor with whom he had formed close ties during a period of political exile. But, when Edward died without an heir in January 1066, his brother-in-law – a powerful English Earl named Harold Godwinson – was crowned. This perceived betrayal promptly set in motion one of the most dramatic chapters in English history.
1066: THE BATTLE THAT ALTERED ENGLISH HISTORY
Determined to follow through on his claim to the throne, William framed his invasion as a holy crusade against a perjured king and secured religious backing from Pope Alexander II.
To avenge the broken oath, he gathered an army of knights and mercenaries from across France and sailed across the Channel to Pevensey Bay. From there, on 14 October 1066 his troops advanced inland to confront Harold’s army near Hastings, in what we now call the Battle of Hastings.
William’s decision to bring heavy cavalry and archers proved pivotal. Facing an Anglo-Saxon army that fought entirely on foot, his combined forces gave him a tactical edge that Harold’s infantry could not match. The two sides clashed fiercely for much of the day and, by nightfall, Harold lay dead, William had won, and the country would never be the same again.
