Lesson video

Hello, welcome to History here at Oak National Academy.

My name's Mr. Newton, and I'll be your teacher for today guiding you through the entirety of the lesson.

Right.

Let's get started.

In these lessons, we will focus on a specific historical environment, the Battle of Hastings.

What can the Battle of Hastings tell us about the wider context of this period? What can it tell us about the background story, the people or events at the time? What's happened at the Battle of Hastings and how do we know about it? What was the composition of both armies? What planning and strategy were deployed by the respective leaders? What influenced the outcome of the battle and how did this impact the resulting conquest and rule of England? In today's lesson, we will focus on the Norman preparations.

By the end of this lesson, you'll be able to describe how the Normans prepared for invasion in 1066.

Before we begin, there are a few keywords we need to understand.

An oath was a very serious promise made on a holy item.

A papal banner was a symbol from the Pope showing his support for something.

In mediaeval society, barons were the men who the monarch had granted land to directly.

Today's listeners split into three parts.

We'll first look at how William attempted to secure support for his invasion.

Then we'll look at the building of his fleet, before finally looking at the circumstances around William waiting for a wind to sail across seeing this channel.

Okay, let's begin the lesson with securing support.

So William believed he had a legitimate claim to the throne of England from which he could draw support from.

In 1051, William's cousin Edward the Confessor, had proposed William as a potential heir to the English crown.

Furthermore, William claims that Harold had visited Normandy and made an oath to support William's claim to the throne.

Have a look at the image.

It's a scene from the Bayeux Tapestry showing Harold swearing an oath to William in Normandy in 1064.

We can see Harold standing on the right, swearing an oath to William, who is seated holding a sword on the left, and we can see that Harold is making his oath while touching a casket containing holy relics.

However, once Edward the Confessor died, the crown didn't pass to William as he was expecting.

The same day as Edward's funeral, Harold Godwinson was crowned the King of England.

Have a look at the scene from the Bayeux Tapestry showing Harold being offered the crown on the left and then being crowned.

This was after he got the backing of the (indistinct) and many nobles across England after it was claimed that Edward to Confessor had nominated Harold to be king on his deathbed.

Next, in the Bayeux tapestry, we can see men travel to Normandy to give William the news of Harold's coronation.

And I've highlighted the section of the Bayeux Tapestry where we can see the messengers on the shores of Normandy laying down their anchor.

In the next scene I've highlighted, we can see William holding a war council with his half brother Odo, the Bishop of Bayeux.

I want you to now study the next scene and determine what do you think happens next? Quickly pause the video, have a look at the scene and see if you can work out what happens next.

Okay, welcome back, and hopefully you can see then that trees are being chopped down.

We can see people holding axes and chopping down those trees and they're starting to make ships.

So the Bayeux tapestry shows that when William heard the news of Harold's coronation, he immediately decided to invade and ordered an invasion fleet to be built.

In reality, though the process was not so immediate, William sent ambassadors to Harold reminding him of his oath.

This was Harold's promise to support William's claim to the throne.

In return, Harold must have set out his own justifications.

Perhaps he said his oath wasn't binding as he had been a prisoner when he made it.

But for William, this was a portrayal that revealed Harold to be an oath breaker.

Okay, let's check your understanding on those events.

I want you to sort these events into the correct chronological order by numbering them one to five.

Use one for the first event.

Pause the video, have a think and come right back.

Okay, welcome back.

Let's check those answers.

So the first event was that in 1064, Harold swears an oath to William.

Then number two, Harold is offered and accepts the crown of England.

Three, men cross the channel to take the news to William.

Four, William holds a war council with Odo and five, William orders an invasion fleet to be built.

Okay, let's continue.

Normandy was only around the size of Wessex with a much smaller population than England.

It was also much less wealthy.

Most of William's friends and supporters thought it was impossible that the invasion could succeed.

Not only would Williams army have to fight a whole nation, first of all, they would need to get that army across the channel.

So to secure further support, Williams sent ambassadors to the Pope, Alexander II.

He persuaded the Pope that his claim to be England's king was justified and that Harold had broken a holy promise so he was not fit to be the king.

He probably also promised to make the church in England follow Alexander's reforms. In return, the Pope said William was right to use force to claim the throne, and he gave William a papal banner to show that God was on William's side.

And if we have a look at the detail from the Bayeux tapestry on the right, it shows a mast from one of William's ships, and at the top of the mast we can see the papal banner symbolised with the Holy Cross.

Okay, let's check your understanding.

Why was the papal banner important to William's invasion plans? A, it's meant the Pope would send knights to fight with William in England.

B, it showed that William could not be harmed because he was under the Pope's protection.

C, it was a sign that God was on William's side and against Harold, the oath breaker.

Pause the video.

Have a think and come right back.

Okay.

Welcome back.

Well done if you knew it was C, it was a sign that God was on William's side and against Harold the oath breaker.

So armed with the papal banner, William held a meeting with his barons about the invasion.

He showed them the papal banner and explained how God would be on their side.

in taking over England.

The Barons were reluctant to take such a risk.

They argued that while they had promised a fight for William in Normandy, that promise did not cover fighting in England too.

William's close friend William FitzOsbern was given the job of convincing the barons.

He was one of Duke Williams's most trusted advisors.

FitzOsbern probably used the mixture of threats and promises to persuade the barons.

The promises were that those who followed their duke to England would be rewarded with land and a share of England's great wealth.

The plan works.

William's barons pledged their knights and paid for ships and supplies.

Williams Norman baron brought in around 800 knights.

That was not enough troops.

So William recruited troops from other regions.

For example, Eustace, Count of Boulogne joined William's army together with 50 knights.

Have a look at the detail from the Bayeux tapestry on the right, it shows Eustace of be Boulogne pointing at William.

This was the moment in the battle of Hastings when William revealed to his troops that he was still alive.

William also paid mercenaries to join his army.

These were professional soldiers from across Europe.

Okay, let's check your understanding.

What I want you to do here is name two ways in which William secured support for his invasion.

Discuss your answers with a partner.

Pause the video, have a quick discussion, and come right back.

Okay.

Welcome back.

Hopefully you had some great discussions there, and your answer may include two from the following.

So he could have mentioned getting support from Pope Alexander II.

With William using his papal banner to secure support, he could have said promising land and wealth to his Norman barons to convince them to join him and recruiting troops from other regions such as Boulogne and this helped William to make up the numbers.

Finally, you might have mentioned paying mercenaries to also join his army.

Okay, great.

Let's move to task A.

June and Izzy have different views about how William secured support for his invasion in 1066.

What I want you to do is decide who you agree with most and then explain your choice.

So let's read June's view first.

People were very religious and feared going to hell in this period.

So the papal banner was most important in securing support for the invasion.

Okay, let's have a look at Izzy's view.

The most important way in which William got supports was by promising land and wealth to those who supported his invasion.

So first decide who you agree with most, and then I want you to explain and justify your choice.

Pause the video, have a go at the task, and then come right back.

Okay, great.

Welcome back.

Now, you could have agreed with June, but have a look at my example answer, which agrees with Izzy.

So your answer may have included, I agree with Izzy because when William held a meeting with his barons, he showed them the people banner, but they were still reluctant to join his risky invasion.

It was only when they were promised land and wealth if they joined Williams invasion, that he was able to secure their support.

So we can see there that the answer really justifies why they believe Izzy to be correct.

And her answer actually explains why the land and wealth was more important than June's view of the papal banner.

Okay, great.

Let's move into the second part of the lesson With the Normans building the fleet.

Norman sources say Williams fleets numbered 776 ships.

Many of these had to be built from scratch.

Building the fleet took seven months, not long for such a massive task.

The work probably took place at Dives-sur-Mer and have a look at the image on the right.

It's a scene from the Bayeux tapestry showing the new ships being built on Williams orders.

Interestingly, the fleets also featured flat bottom ships, especially designed to carry horses.

No army had ever transported horses across the sea before.

Norman knights rode specially trained war horses.

And that is why William had to find a way to transport horses across the channel.

Have a look at the scene from the Bayeux Tapestry.

It shows the invasion feet carrying the worried looking horses across the channel.

Okay, let's check for your understanding.

Identify two correct facts about the Norman fleets.

A, it featured ships designed to carry war horses.

B, it was constructed in the town of Caen.

C, many of the ships were newly built.

D, many of the ships took years to build.

Pause the video, have a think and come right back.

Okay, welcome back, and well done if you knew it was A, it featured ships designed to carry war horses and C, many of the ships were newly built.

William's barons contributed to the fleets.

Records show that Odo provided 100 ships and William FitzOsbern 60 ships.

As well as ships, William needed to get supplies for the invasion.

The Bayeux Tapestry shows ships being loaded with hauberks which is chainmail, helmets, weapons, barrels of wine and water, and sacks of flour.

If you have a look at the scene from the Bayeux Tapestry on the right, you can see those supplies, weapons and armour being loaded onto the Norman Fleets.

By July 1066, the fleet was ready.

By August, William had also gathered his army together.

It is hard to say how large the army was.

Norman sources are not very reliable here.

Seven to 8,000 troops seems most probable.

William and his barons gave large gifts to the church in preparation for the difficult times ahead.

Okay, let's check your understanding.

What made the building of the fleets an impressive achievement? Discuss your thoughts with a partner.

So pause the video, have a quick discussion, and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back.

So there's a few things you might have mentioned.

Let's have a look what I have here.

So the fleet was built quickly by July, which equals seven months from Harold's coronation in January 1066.

And many ships were newly built, so they were built from scratch.

And the fleets included ships specially designed for carrying warhorses, which had not been done before.

And the fleet was very large, 776 ships.

Okay, great.

Let's move on to task B.

Study the four statements below.

Support each statement by providing additional evidence.

So if we have a look at the first statements, William assembled a large fleet, Norman sources say.

And so I want you to complete that sentence, offering an additional piece of information or evidence which supports the statement that William had a large fleet.

Then you can move on to do the other statements.

Pause the video, have a go at the task, and then come right back.

Okay.

Welcome back.

Now, there's many ways you perhaps could have answered those questions, but your answer may include some of what I have here.

So for the first one, William assembled a large fleet.

Norman sources say there were 776 ships in total.

So using factual information or stats or numbers in this case is a great way of providing an extra bit of evidence to support the feature.

Let's have a look at the next statement.

The fleet had specially designed ships.

For example, flat bottom ships specially designed to carry horses.

And statement number three, Williams barons contributed to the fleet.

For example, Odo provided 100 ships and William FitzOsbern 60 ships.

And finally, building the fleet happened quickly.

It was ready by July 1066, seven months after Harold's coronation.

Okay, excellent.

We've reached the final part of the lesson.

William has secured his support.

He's built his fleet.

He now needs to wait for the wind so that he can sail across the English channel.

So although both the fleets and the army were ready by August, the invasion was delayed.

The ships needed wind from the south to sail across the channel, but through August, the right wind did not come.

William's fleet was stuck in Dives-sur-Mer and so was his army.

The invasion was delayed by six weeks.

William could use his time to train his army, but the delay also caused problems. A large army needed a lot of supplies.

William forbade the army from raiding the surrounding countryside for supplies, which was a common tactic for soldiers to do at this time.

Instead, thousands of tonnes of food and water and hay for the horses had to be brought to Dives-sur-Mer from across Normandy.

Like Harold with the fyrd, there were limits on how long Norman barons could keep their troops away from their homes.

Mercenaries also needed to be paid for their time.

Okay, let's check your understanding.

Why did delays to the invasion cause problems for William? Discuss reasons with a partner.

Pause the video, have a quick discussion and come right back.

Okay, great.

Welcome back.

Hopefully you had some great discussions there.

So your answers may have included the following.

William had to organise supplies for the army, and this was quite tricky and such a large army.

William had to also prevent his soldiers from raiding Normandy for food, which was quite common at the time, and William had to spend money on supplies.

Finally, William had to pay the mercenaries for their time.

William then made a mistake.

In mid-September, he gave the order to sail for England, only for a wind from the west to blow the fleet off course.

Some ships may have been wrecked.

The rest ended up further up the coast of France at Saint Valery.

This near disaster spooked his army and many began to talk of going home.

William saved the day by displaying the body of Saint Valery himself and leading prayers for a wind from the south.

The wind arrived and the invasion set off.

And from this scene from the Bayeux Tapestry showing the fleet crossing the channel, we can see William's ship in front with the papal banner attached to the mast.

William's ship was called the Maura and was a gift from his wife Matilda.

Okay, let's check for understanding.

True or false.

Williams' preparations for invasion went smoothly.

Is that true or false? Pause the video.

Have a think and come right back.

Okay, welcome back and well done if you knew that was false.

But why is that false? I want you to justify your answer.

Is it false because Williams's organisation was good, but his decision to set sale in mid-September nearly led to disaster, or B, William's bad organisation meant the invasion was delayed from August to October.

Pause the video, have a think and come right back.

Okay, welcome back.

Well done if you knew it was A, Williams' organisation was good, but his decision to set sail in mid-September nearly led to disaster.

Okay, excellent.

Let's move on to task C.

What I want you to do here is read the interpretation about Williams's planning and explain how far you agree with it.

So let's read the interpretation together.

William's planning for the invasion of England was very impressive.

Besides the diplomatic coup of the papal banner, his achievement in holding his invasion force together through the long summer of 1066 was an incredible achievement.

Every step of the invasion plan was carefully considered and successfully implemented.

And we can see at the bottom we've got an asterisk, which has given us the definition of coup.

A coup means achieving something that is very difficult to do.

So the interpretation is describing William's efforts to obtain the papal banner as a coup.

So we can see then that the interpretation is glowing with praise of William.

However, perhaps we know that wasn't wholly the case.

So when the question asks us how do we agree with this interpretation, we can probably agree to a certain extent, but not the whole way.

So in your answer, try to write a paragraph in which you agree with the interpretation, but also offer a paragraph in which you don't fully agree with the interpretation.

In other words, you disagree, and therefore your explanation will be a balanced argument.

Pause the video, write your balanced arguments, and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back.

Now, there's many ways you could have answered that question, but compare your answer with what I have here.

So the first paragraph here is going to pick out the details, which it agrees with.

William's planning was indeed an impressive achievement, constructing a large fleet of 776 ships, designing special transports for horses and keeping his army together and supplied with food and water between August and mid-September showed exceptional organisational skills.

Williams's leadership was also very impressive because he was able to stop a large army from raiding the surrounding Normandy countryside for food.

I agree that convincing Pope Alexander II to support the campaign was also important.

Okay, let's move on to the next paragraph, which is going to explain why we don't quite fully agree with the interpretation.

And you can see this paragraph starts with however, and that's a great signpost to the reader to let them know that this paragraph is going to offer an alternative explanation.

However, the weather meant that it was not the case as the interpretation claims, that every step of the invasion was carefully planned and successful.

Williams' decision to sail to England in mid-September nearly wrecked the whole fleet.

As a result of this poor decision, all of William's planning nearly came to nothing as troops lost their nerve about making another attempt to cross the channel.

William was able to save the day by using religion.

But this example shows that not every step of the invasion went to plan.

Okay, excellent.

Let's now summarise today's lesson.

William ordered an invasion of England soon after hearing that Harold had broken his oath by being crowned King.

William's barons were not enthusiastic about the invasion because it was such a huge risk.

The support of Pope Alexander II helped William to convince his barons to follow him, plus the promise of land and wealth.

The invasion was an enormous organisational challenge requiring hundreds of new ships and tonnes of supplies.

Bad weather held up the invasion for months and Williams fleet was nearly wrecked by storms before the invasion itself.

Well done on a brilliant lesson, and thank you for joining me as we delve deeper into the historical environment of the Battle of Hastings, where we focused on the Norman preparations for the invasion in 1066.

I really hoped this has sparked your curiosity in the drama of military history.

See you in the next lesson.