Battle Abbey | 10 Places That Made England with Dan Snow

It's hard to believe that this beautiful field now covered in flowers would run for the site of one of the longest and bloodiest battles in medieval history. The 14th of October 1066, a day on which the story of England changed forever. When the battle that took place here, the Battle of Hastings was fought. How did the battle end up being here, near Hastings? In September 1066, Harold Godwinson beat Viking invaders in the north, challenging him for the throne. Meanwhile William, Duke of Normandy, was readying an attack down south. Now Godwinson and his exhausted troops had to march 200 miles before preparing themselves for their second fight. Harold's English army marched down from London and took up positions on here, this ridge known as Senlac Hill. This was blocking the road north to London. Duke William was trapped down there. The trouble was that Harold's men were exhausted, they hadn't waited for all of their reinforcements. But Harold was gambling, that if surprise, quick attack on Harold Hardrada had worked in the north, surely one more use for tactic here in the south would work as well. But William was ready for him and he seems to have surprised Harold himself by marching north and engaging with the English army straight away. For hour after hour on that long day of battle, William's men marched up this slope, taking their swords and spears into the melee with the English army at the top. The fighting was long and brutal, but at one stage a cry went up and the Norman army retreated down the hill. It looked as though they were breaking. Harold's English troops were overjoyed to see the retreating backs of their Norman enemy and some of them rushed down the hill in pursuit. But what seems to have happened is that Normans rallied, they turned around and cut down these English that are now isolated down here on the hillside. This may have gone on once, twice, even more, and by a slow process of attrition the English army was ground down until William launched one last attack up that hill. The end of the battle was recorded in an epic 875 line poem known as the Carmen de Jistinga y Proelio. By the swords of both the field was cleared of English and a number deserted, exhausted. As a waning wood falls to the stroke of the axe, so the forest of Englishmen was brought to nothing. This is traditionally thought to be the spot on which King Harold died and as he fell Anglo-Saxon England fell with him. We've got a few pictures of the battle here taken from the famous Bayer tapestry and I like them because they show the different styles of fighting at the Battle of Hastings. You have the Normans here, knights in heavy armour on their horses, archers as well contributing, charging into battle. You can see this bit here taking on the English shield wall, double-handed axe there in the hands of a ferocious English warrior. As for the death of Harold we don't know whether it was the famous arrow in the eye or whether he was hacked down by a specially sent Norman death squad of elite knights. In the 19th century it's thought the Bayer tapestry was repaired and some over-enthusiastic restorers might have replaced this spear here with an arrow but this could be Harold here being cut down by this Norman knight so we just don't know. But either way when Harold was felled on this spot it was the end of Anglo-Saxon England. William was king in all but name. In the years that followed King William I would return here. He erected this mighty abbey, an act of piety giving thanks to the god who he was sure had been on his side and creating a vast statement of his own power. As for this field well this is the epitaph of Anglo-Saxon England. This marked the closing of a chapter of English history and the dawning of a new era, the arrival of the Normans and those Norman kings would make very sure that they kept a firm grip on the kingdom they'd won here by the sword.