King Harold’s 200-mile pressured march to Battle of Hastings ‘implausible’, historians say | EUROtoday

New analysis means that the extensively accepted narrative of King Harold’s military enterprise a close to 200-mile pressured march to the Battle of Hastings in 1066 is probably going incorrect, with proof pointing to troops largely travelling by ship as a substitute.

The conventional account posits that after his victory on the Battle of Stamford Bridge in Yorkshire, Harold’s forces have been compelled to hurry south on foot to face the Norman invasion.

However, Professor Tom Licence, a medieval historical past and literature knowledgeable on the University of East Anglia, argues this narrative stems from a Victorian “misunderstanding”.

He contends that the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, a key early file of English historical past, was misinterpreted.

While the Chronicle seems to indicate Harold dismissed his fleet, forcing a foot march, Professor Licence suggests a file stating ships “came home” was mistakenly taken by Victorian historians to imply Harold disbanded his navy.

They truly returned to their residence base of London and remained operational all year long, he argues.

“Harold’s weary, unmounted men covering nearly 200 miles in 10 days and then continuing straight to the Hastings peninsula is implausible given medieval roads and the aftermath of battle,” mentioned Prof Licence.

“Only a mad general would have sent all his men on foot in this way if ship transports were available.”

He mentioned that he seen “multiple contemporary writers referring to Harold’s fleet, while modern historians were dismissing those references or trying to explain them away”.

“I checked the evidence for him having sent the fleet home and found that it was just a misunderstanding,” Prof Licence mentioned.

“I went looking in the sources for evidence of a forced march and found there wasn’t any.

“Harold’s campaign was not a desperate dash across England, it was a sophisticated land‑sea operation.

“The idea of a heroic march is a Victorian invention that has shaped our understanding, or misunderstanding, of 1066 for far too long.”

Contemporary sources describe Harold sending lots of of ships to dam Duke William of Normandy – often known as William the Conqueror – after the Norman touchdown.

Prof Licence mentioned the fleet was used to defend the south coast, then to assist Harold’s marketing campaign towards the Viking invasion led by Harald Hardrada, then to go again south to face the Norman invasion.

Prof Licence mentioned the analysis “reframes the events of 1066 and highlights a previously overlooked aspect of Anglo‑Saxon maritime capability”.

“Harold was not a reactive, exhausted commander, he was a strategist using England’s naval assets to wage a co-ordinated defence,” he mentioned.

Harold’s loss of life within the Battle of Hastings is depicted within the Bayeux Tapestry, which reveals him clutching an arrow to his eye.

The victorious William grew to become the primary Norman king of England.

Professor Michael Lewis, curator of the Bayeux Tapestry Exhibition on the British Museum, mentioned: “With the Bayeux Tapestry coming to the British Museum later this year, Prof Tom Licence’s research shows there is much still to be learned about the events of 1066.

“It is clearly a fascinating discovery that following the Battle of Stamford Bridge Harold took an easier, more logical, trip south by ship to meet Duke William in battle, rather than a long trek overland, as has long been supposed.

“Hopefully this new research inspires people to also come and see the tapestry whilst it is in London.”

Prof Licence is to current his analysis at The Maritime and Political World of 1066 convention at Oxford University on March 24.