The Battle of Hastings 1066 - Why Did It Happen?

[@mpista7182]

I live in California, USA and I just want to say that I really enjoy the history that you discuss in your videos. Thank you very much History Chap !!

[@TheHistoryChap]

My pleasure. Please sign up for my weekly newsletter at www.thehistorychap.com

[@harryshriver6223]

It is a very colorful menagerie which you weave before our eyes, bringing life back to the ghosts of English history. I really enjoyed the tale and all of the characters involved in the world of English political system.

[@TheHistoryChap]

Harry, I am thinking of doing more stuff from early English history, rather than merely 19th & 20th century. What do you think?

[@harryshriver6223]

@TheHistoryChap I like the idea, the only question is with so many fascinating periods of English history is choosing one period.

[@andrewjost6714]

Harry the Wimp and his bride Meghan the Whiner are currently raising an army in Hollywood and planning their conquest of England right now!... King Charles and Prince William better be aware!

[@MikeyRumi180]

Love your channel Mate. I am from the Bronx NYC> keep the history coming!!

[@TheHistoryChap]

Thanks for watching.

[@EastSideAussieQuest]

Just found out about your channel, Did not know that 1066 was so interesting. well done.

[@TheHistoryChap]

Thank you. Glad you enjoyed it.

[@theinigosilvastation6232]

I didn’t really grasp the 1066 frontier of the English monarchy until you explained the three-king defensive system that plied their dedication to the throne. Amazing history!

[@ludwigderzanker9767]

Never saw it in a better presentation, never. Thank you Chris for this fine made piece. Ludwig

[@uwemeyer6823]

Excellent Chris! Thank you very much.

[@TheHistoryChap]

My pleasure. One of my favourite areas of English history.

[@Birdsnestboy]

Outstanding knowledge and narration. Thank you

[@TheHistoryChap]

My pleasure. I’m glad you enjoyed the video.

[@allanchurm]

years ago with my brother traced the family back to 996ad ..the monks kept records ..then family line got muddy up to and after the battle of hasting. they were thanes at the battle of Hastings.. now what we found was all the saxons that fought there lost there lands /villages ect .and this was distributed to the winning army lords and knights by william ..the refuges were all mostly moved to the welsh marshes .thats to the left of birmingham on the map..( wales was much bigger then ) around the High Ercall areas...( took us 2 years of traveling to find out all the history of the family ) what happened to the survivors is not in the history books ..but we found out by tracing family tree.there locations and visits around the country names /marriage/deaths a long list ..hundreds of them stretching back hundreds of years..

[@TheHistoryChap]

Thank you for sharing your family history. Must have taken a lot of research.

[@Sparky-ov1ot]

Another little known historical fact, when Debit cards first came out 1066 was the most common PIN, also it was also the most common code for house alarms!

[@TheHistoryChap]

I had heard about the PIN number but not about burglar alarms. Thanks for posting.

[@michaelwilliams3232]

Battle station is measured in miles and yards from Charing X. Can't recall the mileage but the yardage is 1066. A pity really, Crowhurt should hold that honour.

[@jdgooner4845]

I’ve seen untold stories on the battle of Hastings over the years, you have a wonderful way of trying to get every side & detail off history, nice one Chris 👍

[@TheHistoryChap]

Thanks for your comment

[@richarthur3069]

A history of the Bayeux Tapestry would be a fascinating deep dive into this interesting topic.

[@TheHistoryChap]

Great idea, I will add to my list. Please make sure to subscribe for future videos. kzbin.info

[@Lassisvulgaris]

As far as I know, Lindybeige has it on his channel.....

[@vetiarvind]

I love your narration and passion for history and teaching. Regards from India/Thailand. Your face reminds me of my dad uncannily, although with an English accent.

[@andrewbaker495]

Hi. I've just found you on KZbin and have thoroughly enjoyed your storytelling. You have a unique skill in bringing history to life. I have subscribed to your site and will work my way through your uploads. I've always enjoyed history since school and would like to thank you for educating and entertaining me.

[@TheHistoryChap]

Andrew, thanks for your kind words. Please make sure to subscribe for future videos. kzbin.info

[@martinjarvie4925]

Excellent series thanks Chris

[@TheHistoryChap]

Martin, thanks for watching.

[@colinsarah120]

Hey that's me at the 21 minuete mark. Awesome! Love your videos and now I'm in one 😂

[@TheHistoryChap]

Glad you enjoyed. Thanks for watching.

[@klingonwarrior1206]

I thoroughly enjoy you impartial presentatioon of history. It would be good to listen to your presentations on British wars in the Far East, for example, the first & secondAfghanistan war, the Opium wars, and British invasion of Tibet.

[@TheHistoryChap]

Ha ha, those are coming. Indian / Sepoy Mutiny too.

[@avengerkdr]

I recently discovered you and think you're amazing. You bring history to life in an engaging and enjoyable fashion.

[@TheHistoryChap]

Very kind of you. Thanks.

[@venividiviking]

Great video old chap 👌👌 Yes, we the vikings🇩🇰 did some 'business travels' to other parts of the world, to exchange culture, meet other people and taste some new food, England among others 😄 As a former trawlerman/fisherman/sailor through many years, i've often landed fish in Grimsby, Peterhead, Wick, Aberdeen and even Scrabster up north. I've felt welcome everywhere. Especially Grimsby. A Viking, is a sailor/navigator, fisherman, farmer, warrior and caretaker of family, my history teacher taught me. I've tried to live up to that. Have to admit, i don't know anything about farming, and i got divorced as well, but i became a very good navigator with top grades. Can't have it all, can i? I really enjoy your stories, you're very good. I often do housework, while listen to your stories, like i do with audiobooks, it's great. I'm a big fan of Mark Felton as well, but the difference between you and him is, he has focus on WW2. You cover everything. Have you considered making stories, like Mark does? I mean, longer stories. You should give it a try. Thanks again for uploading these vids. Brillant 👍🙏 Cheers mate. I'm looking forward to the next one.

[@TheHistoryChap]

Thanks for watching my video

[@akacadian3714]

I enjoy your "Lectures". This was like The Sopranos meet Monty Python!

[@TheHistoryChap]

I aim to please :) If you haven’t already, please make sure to subscribe for future videos. kzbin.info

[@suleimanlauderyoung6833]

awesome history and story telling. esp liked the unknown fact, to me, re. the bloodline of the current Queen. Please, keep up the great work. Kia Ora and best wishes from Aotearoa/New Zealand :)

[@TheHistoryChap]

Many thanks, I'm so please you enjoyed it. Please make sure to subscribe for future videos. kzbin.info

[@james3368]

Thanks Chris , wonderful stuff 👍

[@TheHistoryChap]

Glad you enjoyed it, James. kzbin.info

[@MrTeja41]

I love this channel:-) You have such a interesting way of explaining even for an austrian!

[@TheHistoryChap]

Thank you. Glad you like it.

[@MrTeja41]

@@TheHistoryChap I love it, especially the series about Isandlwana and Rorkes Drift

[@MrTeja41]

@@TheHistoryChap You should be on BBC because you really have talent

[@ladymeghenderson9337]

Wonderful history telling Chris., but fortune favours the prepared mind, not the brave😊

[@TheHistoryChap]

Indeed it does. I find 1066 and the build up to it, a fascinating period in England's history.

[@davidwoods7720]

Thanks as always

[@TheHistoryChap]

No, thank you for taking the time to watch.

[@gezzarandom]

New subscriber, really enjoying your videos. It could be argued that William’s victory opened Pandora’s Box, a new ruling class which spoke a different language to the common people, and it laid the foundations for centuries of war and bloodshed between England and France.

[@TheHistoryChap]

Interesting to wonder if the ruthless streak exhibited in the future British Empire was due to Norman blood.

[@gezzarandom]

Very interesting, but it’s hard to say as the British Empire wasn’t formed until centuries later.

[@neiloflongbeck5705]

Some of the rebels who rose up against William hide out in Coatham marshes on the Yorkshire side of the River Tees. When Wiiliam came north he camped on the Cleveland Hills, these face north and in the valleys the winter snow still lay unmelted and legend has it that William kept himself warm by the camp fire swearing. There is an old, almost forgotten, saying on Teesside: He swears like Billy Norman.

[@TheHistoryChap]

Fascinating. Thanks for sharing.

[@martinwarner1178]

I've read everything I can get my hands on about this period, you have, just about included most of what I have gathered, I praise you on your broadcast, and knowledge. But, the question is this; What would have modern history been, if we had remained Saxon? Peace been unto you.

[@TheHistoryChap]

Martin, glad you enjoyed. You raise a great question. Who knows what would have happened?

[@josemauriciosaldanhaalvare1507]

Dear friend. Your explanation of the stage and actors that will converge on the Battle of Hastings is breathtaking. Forgive me, but no Hollywood screenwriter can tell a digestible narrative like Game of Thrones compared to the story you masterfully explained. I imagine all these plots leading up to 1066 by candlelight! With letters written by hand and sent on foot, horseback, or boat across the Channel. Danes, Saxons, Normans (and even the distant Pope) were all involved in the dispute for the throne of the Island. Only Shakespeare could describe these tremendous people, incredibly alive and active. Compared to these remarkable people, the people who made Brexit are pickpockets. What powerful, cunning wills and what names. William, the Bastard, imagine the bastard until 1066. How powerful names are! Let me play with Scandinavian names: Asgard, the wicked, begot Harald, the worst of all the wicked, who begot Gunnar, the one whom even the devil feared. All this tremendous drama of humans, so many powerful wills converging on the battle of Hastings. I just don't understand one thing. In the superb museum of the City of London I found some magnificently illustrated brochures. The first was entitled Invaders. The Romans. Then Saxons, then Danes (or Vikings) and, finally, Normans. But none of these after the Romans "invader." I asked the pretty young lady at the museum shop if the inhabitants of the Island considered only the Romans invaders. If the others were invited by the inhabitants. So, if you didn't invite Saxons, Danes and Normans, aren't they invaders too? Congratulations on the wonderful videos you produce. Your historical research is impeccable. I watch them with great pleasure and benefit.

[@TheHistoryChap]

Thanks watching, glad you enjoy my video.

[@Skipper.17]

Great stuff. Would love to hear more about the doomsday book.

[@TheHistoryChap]

Hi Dale, I will put that on my list. Please make sure to subscribe for future videos. kzbin.info

[@Skipper.17]

@@TheHistoryChap already subscribed and looking forward to seeing more. I love history.

[@1TruNub]

As an American it's a little harder to research my family past 1607 which is the 1st recorded family member on this side of the pond. I do know that my family descend from both Ireland and England

[@TheHistoryChap]

Thanks for sharing. I haven’t been able to get back that far with mine!

[@slidefirst694]

This is more informative than Monty Python.

[@TheHistoryChap]

Thank you for the compliment.

[@swampwiz]

I have just finished an extensive research project of my genealogy, and it seems that just about every big name (of course, excepting Edward the Confessor) in this video, including King Harald Godwinson, Edward III, Malcolm III & Henri I, and the Prince of Rus Volodymyr II & his English wife Gytha, is an ancestor. Of the 21 "Companions of William The Conqueror", 11 are ancestors, including William himself.

[@TheHistoryChap]

Interesting!

[@harryhatter2962]

Actually at Stamford Brig Harold met his brother in battle, fighting for the other side with Harold Haadrade and in the meeting during the battle Harold offered Tosti FULL reinstatement and a pardon, Tosti turned him down and Harold slew him./

[@TheHistoryChap]

Thanks for adding to the story.

[@ThaiSoup39]

NB

[@DaveAinsworth-y8h]

The Duke of Normandy had knights and soldiers of Bretons and Flanders, two Flanders family was later King of Scotland and then the king of Scotland and England. The Bretons are originally from Cymru and escaped against Anglo, Saxon and the other Germanic people to invade to Brition.

[@harryhatter2962]

The extra "soldiers" available to Harold on the march to Senlac were mainly farmers, recruited along the way. His tactics were abysmal and he should paused, regrouped and decide to allow William to attack him, history as we know it would have been different had he done that,

[@TheHistoryChap]

History may have been very different.

[@anthonytaylor9232]

2:18 Cnute Didn't try to hold back the waves ! (typo)

[@anthonytaylor9232]

No mention of the topography of the battle field or the 'missing' fosse', and not to mention the lack of any artifacts from the site at Battle! I am of the view that the Tapestry is an actual record, from eye witness account, Possibly/probably from Bishop Odo. The French certainly afford the Tapestry's Historical Account, a more venerated position, than do the English, some of whom, in the past, have described it in terms of being, a 'Comic Illustration' ! Where ever the Truth lies, it most certainly Ain't on the English Heritage 'Battle Site'.

[@TheHistoryChap]

Thank you for taking the time to comment.

[@brettmccardle9303]

My understanding is that Canutes followers said he could do anything. So he sat and waited for the tide to come in to prove that he was only mortal. Or so I believe

[@michaelwilliams3232]

@@anthonytaylor9232 hear hear! Crowhurst is the real battle site. It was Harold's manor so why wouldn't William the Bastard go for that first?

[@neiloflongbeck5705]

​@brettmccardle9303 you missed a bit. Cnut ordered the sea not to come in and wet his feet. It did and he needed new shoes.

[@Lassisvulgaris]

I thought the last successful invasion of England was in 1688, when William of Orange invaded? We know James II refused to fight, and fled, but he was still the King of England...? It's also nice to hear you pronounce "Hardråde" faitly correct, with the pressure in the beginning, like HARDråde. Svein and Knut have been changed into English writing, as the Scandinavian languages are pronounced different.... BTW, I read somwhere, that Knut did not try to stop the sea, but rather wanted to show that only God was more poweful, so Knut could NOT stop the sea. Interesting twist to a wll known legend.... Anyway, thanks for an interesting channel.

[@TheHistoryChap]

Thank you for taking the time to comment. I heard that Knut's holding back the waves was a sneaky nefgotiation about a land deal with some nobles. They could have all the land the beach that the sea didn't take. Either way it seems it wasn't about personal vanity. On 1688, most historians consider it a coup rather than an invasion as James was deposed by his daughter (& her husband) at the invitation of parliament.

[@Lassisvulgaris]

@@TheHistoryChap Thanks for your answers. I agree that 1688 was more a coup, than invasion, but still an interesting and important happening in English history. Anyhow, "what if" will always be the curse of history..... I am currently grinding through your videos, and enjoy it very much. I particularly like the format of (mainly) max 30 minutes. Keep up the good work.....

[@andybt3989]

So where was the battlefield? Certainly wasn’t Senlac Hill as it would have been too Marshy.

[@TheHistoryChap]

Thank you for taking the time to comment.

[@Hilts931]

England has been successfully invaded since 1066 - it just depends what you name it. Glorious revolution comes to mind.

[@TheHistoryChap]

Internal coup within the Royal Family. Happened to be backed up by Dutch troops who never went into action.

[@Hilts931]

@@TheHistoryChap a foreigner landing in the kingdom with troops to depose the lawful English king isn’t an invasion?

1066 wasn't the last time England was successfully invaded by a foreign power. In 1688 the Dutch took over the country.

[@TheHistoryChap]

Most historians would disagree with you. It was a regime change which placed James II's daughter on the throne. There was no Dutch take-over of government or transfer of land ownership. English and Scottish troops accompanied William of Orange (who was a nephew of James II).

[@Captainnjackk]

Well, and the ongoing invasion of middle eastern and North African men over the channel on dinghys

[@wimmeraparanormal6581]

Odd that you dont mention that even the 'Normans' were originally Vikings.... The term 'Norsemen' became 'Norman' and hence Normandy.

[@TheHistoryChap]

Thank you for sharing. Not odd that I didn’t mention. Don’t think it is specifically relevant to the story of 1066.

[@wimmeraparanormal6581]

@@TheHistoryChap probably not significant, but weird that all 3 claimants who fought to gain the English crown were all Vikings!!!

[@vetiarvind]

William was a Norman, but they were a mix of Viking and local french and they spoke French, not a norse language, although they spoke a dialect that had norse words.

[@BobAbc0815]

A slight Oversupply of Royal Contenders.

[@TheHistoryChap]

Thanks for your comment.

[@neiloflongbeck5705]

Of our own will we took the field Our spears like stands of pine Though battle-weary shield to shield We vowed to hold the line Far to the north we had put to flight An army twice this size But marching south three days and nights Til we heard the Norman cries Breme fell at Hastings And under bitter skies Pieced by the cruellest blackest reign The heart of England lies The heart of England lies In hearth and home and family We had welcome fires to burn But they'd burnt their boats behind them No hope of safe return. Now beaten down and broken We are driven from our homes And the foreign tongue is spoken now Within our Saxon walls Breme fell at Hastings And under bitter skies Pieced by the cruellest blackest reign The heart of England lies Oh the heart of England lies In forests taken by the crown We hunt our game in fear For if we're found they'll ride us down And trap like common deer From castle gates their lord's hand down The edicts of the King. Now in every shire and county town In bondage now we sing Breme fell at Hastings And under bitter skies Pierced by the cruellest blackest reign The heart of England lies Breme fell at Hastings And under bitter skies Pieced by the cruellest blackest reign The heart of England lies Oh the heart of England lies Words by Steve Knightly of Show of Hands. PS Breme was a farmer from Suffolk recorded as fighting and dying in this battle.

[@TheHistoryChap]

Thanks for taking the time to write out that poem.

[@harryhatter2962]

Harolds Brother, Leofic actually survived the battle,

[@TheHistoryChap]

Thanks for taking the time to comment.

[@tabletopwarrior]

Dysentery aka Harold's Revenge

[@TheHistoryChap]

It says something about Williams mindset that he overcame it

[@DaveAinsworth-y8h]

King Harold II was not killing by an arrow, the Kings of Anglo-Saxon didn't used a sword but an axe, the famous Bayeux Tapestry made in Kent by Nun's.

[@TheHistoryChap]

Thanks for your comment.

[@kevin5073]

Never happened at Battle. No physical evidence supports it. No reputable written evidence supports it. Other than that, I enjoyed your video.

[@TheHistoryChap]

Glad you enjoyed.

[@TervelKamenovElohim]

☘ 🇸🇴 Greetings ⚜ 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 from Harold Godwinson Anglo-Saxon 🇫🇮 Wyvern God better than Norwegian and 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Norman

[@TheHistoryChap]

Greetings. I hope you enjoyed?

[@DaveAinsworth-y8h]

King William I wife was Matilde of Flanders,daughter of law was called Matilde which from House of Wessex and two granddaughters called Matilde one is wife of King Stephen and the Duchess of Brittany.

[@haroldgodwinson832]

Surely Alfred united the various Anglo-Saxon kingdoms into an amalgam of territories known as Angle-land; not England. Presumably 'England' is a much later corruption of the original name.

[@TheHistoryChap]

Thanks for commenting.