Hello, welcome to History here at Oak National Academy.

My name's Mr. Newton and I will be your teacher 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 Anglo-Saxon preparations for the Battle of Hastings.

By the end of this lesson, you'll be able to explain how Anglo-Saxon England prepared for invasion in 1066.

Before we begin, there are a few key words that we need to understand.

An invasion is when an army or country uses force to go into and take control of another country.

The Anglo-Saxon fyrd was a way of calling up men from the general population into an army for a set period of time.

Today's lesson is split into three parts.

We'll first look at the Anglo-Saxon preparations down in the south of England before looking at the impact of the Viking invasion in the north.

And finally looking at the preparations for battle with William for the Battle of Hastings.

Okay, let's start the lesson with Anglo-Saxon preparations in the south.

After Harold Godwinson's coronation, he knew an invasion from Duke, William of Normandy was likely to follow.

He probably had spies in Normandy who reported on William's invasion plans.

In May 1066, Harold raised the fyrd to defend the southern coast and waited all through he summer of 1066.

And if you have a look at the map on the left, we can see Harold waiting on the south coast of England, and we can imagine him looking across the English channel, awaiting Williams potential invasion from northern France.

Harold knew that William would not be able to launch his invasion in the winter, and autumn storms in the channel meant a summer invasion was most likely.

Anglo-Saxon sources say that Harold's Southern fyrd was made up of ships and troops, and was bigger than any fyrd had gathered before.

Some historians think it may have numbered 16,000 men.

In May 1066, this great army was split into bands all along the southern coast.

Their role was to watch out for signs of Williams invasion fleets.

Harold and his court set up a base on the Isle of Wight, and this was a good location for organising the defences.

Okay, let's have a check for understanding.

King Harold did not take the threat of an invasion by William of Normandy seriously.

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 a, Harold raised small bands of defenders to protect the southern coast, but did not lead the defence himself.

Or b, Harold raised a huge army to defend the southern coast and took charge of it from the Isle of Wight.

Pause video, have a think and come right back.

Okay, welcome back and well done if you knew it was b.

Yes, Harold had taken the fret seriously and he'd raised a huge army to defend the southern coast and took charge of it from the Isle of Wight.

Okay, let's continue.

So Harold had also learned that William was preparing an invasion fleet.

So Harold planned to sail his ships across the channel and attack William Ships while they were still being built.

Have a look at the image on the right.

It's a scene from the Bayeux tapestry showing ships from the English fleets, and we can see Harold at the head of his fleet.

However, first the wind was in the wrong direction, and then Harold's ships were damaged and had to go for repairs.

Okay, let's have a look at Harold's army that was stationed in the South.

The fyrd was made up of local men from the south of England.

Fyrd service lasted 60 days.

Harold managed to keep the FRD out all summer, but by September he had to disband the defences as the men of the fyrd needed to return to their land to complete the harvest.

And if you have a look at the image on the right, we can see an illustration of peasants ploughing the land.

And this reminds us that much of the fyrd were from a range of backgrounds, had a range of skill and ability, and mostly they were untrained and not professional soldiers.

And of course, it was important for them to return home to harvest their crops.

It was now very late in the year to cross the channel, there was a high risk of storms. Harold probably thought that William would not take that risk.

Okay, let's have a check for understanding.

Which of the following was a way in which Harold prepared for a Norman invasion? A, imprisoned William's relatives in London as his hostages B, sailed his fleet across the channel to attack William's ships.

C, used the fyrd to defend the southern coast of England until September.

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

Okay, welcome back and well done if you knew that Harold used the fyrd to defend the southern coast of England until September.

Okay, let's move on to task A.

So I've got a statement here for you.

So let's read the statement.

King Harold underestimated the threats of invasion from Normandy.

So this is an incorrect statement.

What I want you to do is correct this statement using the information we have learned to explain your answer.

Write one paragraph.

And as a further challenge, how many of the following words and places can you use? Fyrd, fleet spies, Isle of Wight.

So try and include those words in your paragraph.

So write a paragraph which corrects the statements which I've provided you with.

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

Okay, welcome back and well done for having a go at that task that as many ways you could have answered that paragraph, but check your answer with what I have here.

King Harold did not underestimate the threat of invasion from Normandy.

Once he learned of Williams preparations from spies, he raised the biggest fyrd ever seen, perhaps 16,000 men.

And you can see I've highlighted spies and fyrd in purple there, as these were two of the prompts I asked you to try and include in your paragraph.

Okay, let's continue.

Bands of this southern fyrd were stationed all along the southern coast to watch out for the Normans.

He kept the Fyrd there all summer, well past its usual 60 day maximum.

Harold set up his base on the Isle of Wight, he planned to attack Williams' invasion fleets by crossing the channel, but the winds did not allow this, and his ships were damaged.

If William had sailed earlier in the summer, it's very likely that he would've been defeated by Harold's defences.

Okay, great.

So we now understand some of the Anglo-Saxon preparations that took place in southern England.

Now let's go to the second part of the lesson where we have a closer look at the impact of the Viking invasion.

On the 8th of September, Harold took the decision to disband the southern fyrd.

Days later he heard that Tostig Godwinson, and the king of Norway, Harold Hardrada, had invaded the northeast coast.

And if you have a look at the map on the left, we can see Hardrada, and Tostig and their viking fleet invading the northeast coast.

Around January 1066, Harold had married Ealdgyth, the sister of Edwin Earl of Mercia, and Morcar, earl of Northumbria.

Now they were brothers-in-law, Harold could count on Edwin and Morcar to defend his kingdom in the north.

When Tostig Godwinson raided Northumbria around Easter 1066, Edwin and Morcar raised the fyrd from their earldoms and drove Tostig and his followers away.

When Tostig returned with Hardrada's fleets of 300 ships, Edwin and Morcar battled the Vikings at Gate Fulford.

And if you have a look at the map on the left, we can see the Viking fleet arriving with Edwin and Morcar ready to face them in battle at Gate Fulford, which was very close to York.

So as you'll remember, Harold is stationed on the southern coast with his fyrd expecting a potential invasion from William.

So the question is, did King Harold expect an invasion in the North? Anglo-Saxon sources suggest not, and certainly not 8,000 Vikings.

So what were the consequences of the Battle of Gate Fulford? Firstly, the Vikings defeated the English army and there was a loss of many men, how many is not known? But there were many men who could not then fight the Normans in 1066 or afterwards.

Edwin and Moore survived, but are not mentioned as fighting in the Battle of Hastings, which took place soon after the Battle of Gate Fulford.

So the question here is, were they wounded? Did they refuse to fight at the Battle of Hastings? And finally, Hardrada and Tostig struck a deal with the city of York.

Might the people of York, the capital of the Danelaw, have joined in an invasion of Southern England? Okay, let's have a check for understanding.

Which of the following statements are true and which are false.

Pause the video, select your true and false statements, and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back.

So, King Harold left the north of England undefended.

and of course that was false.

Adrian and Morcar would defend the north of England.

The next statement, b, Edwin and Morcar survived the Battle of Fuford.

And of course that is true, although surviving, we do know that they're not mentioned as fighting in the Battle of Hastings.

And the c, statement, Harold was as worried about a Viking invasion as he was about a normal invasion, and that's a full statement.

As we know, Harold had stationed his army down in the southern coast, and Anglo-Saxon sources do not mention any potential Viking invasion.

And finally, statement d, the city of York was strongly against having a Viking ruler of England.

And that of course is a false statement.

Of course, we know the area has been strongly defined with the Danelaw and has a Viking history, and some have claimed that this area would welcome the return of a Viking ruler.

And indeed, after the Battle of Gate Fulford, Hatdrada and Tostig had struck a deal with the city of York.

Okay, let's continue.

We know from Anglo-Saxon sources how King Harold responded to the Viking invasion at the Battle of Stamford Bridge.

So let's read this source here and see if we can further add some details from our existing knowledge so he can put together the story of how King Harold responded to the Viking invasion.

"When King Harold learned that Hardrada and Tostig had landed near York, he gathered his household troops and marched north, day and night as quickly as he could call up his levies.

Then Harold arrived in Tadcaster near York with all his levies, and there he organised his household troops into battle order.

Taking the Norwegians unaware, they fought and countless numbers of men, both English and Norwegians, were slain." So we can see in the source there that Harold learned that Hardrada and Tostig had landed near York.

And we know that reports reached Harold quickly and he took immediate action.

And then in the source it says that Harold gathered his household troops on marched north, day and night as quickly as he could call up his levies.

And we know that Harold travelled with his housecarls, gathering fyrd levies from each shire on the way.

And then in the source it says, "Then Harold arrived in Tadcaster near York with all his levies." And we know that the distance of 185 miles from London to Yorkshire and that Harold made it there in four days, and that's sort of very impressive speed.

And this also shows us, of course, that Harold was able to very rapidly assemble a large fyrd army, his levies.

And then in the source it says that Harold then organised his household troops into battle order.

And this shows Harold's military leadership showing his organisation of his troops.

And then finally, the source says, "Taking the Norwegians unaware they fought and countless numbers of men, both English and Norwegians were slain." And this demonstrates also what we know about Harold and the fact that this would've taken great skill to take a Viking army by surprise and defeat them and then negotiate their surrender.

Okay, let's have a check for understanding.

True or false.

Harold's response to the Viking invasion shows that the English were well prepared.

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 true.

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

Is it true? Because a, the fyrd system quickly delivered a large northern army capable of defeating the Viking invasion.

B, Harold's military leadership skills meant he was able to defeat the invasion, unlike Edwin and Morcar.

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

Okay, welcome back, and well done if you knew the correct answer was A.

So what can we learn from the battle of Stamford Bridge? Well, firstly, King Harold ended a serious threat in the North.

Secondly, the fyrd system could deliver a large army very quickly, and one capable of defeating 8,000 experienced Viking warriors.

And thirdly, Harold clearly had impressive military leadership skills, the surprise attack and victory against Harold Hardrada clearly demonstrating that, however, victory came at a cost.

How many of Harold's household died fighting the Vikings? How many thegns from the select fyrd were killed or wounded? Furthermore, how ready were the survivors to march South again to face another fyrd military leader, William Duke of Normandy? Okay, let's have a check for understanding.

How did each of the following help towards the defeats of the Viking invasion? Discuss with a partner.

And I've given you four aspects to consider in your discussions.

Harold's military leadership, the fyrd system, housecarls, the Battle of Gate Fulford.

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

Okay, welcome back.

Your answers may include the following, Harold's military leadership.

Perhaps some of you discussed how Harold's surprise attack helped defeat the Vikings.

The fyrd system delivered a large army quickly that was able to defeat the Vikings in the north.

And then the housecarls, perhaps some of you discussed how Harold already had household troops of house calls ready to travel north with him.

And finally, the Battle of Gate Fulford, the Vikings won here, but they would've lost men and been tired from fighting.

And of course, that's going to have an impact on the battle of Hastings, which would occur soon after.

Okay, let's move on to task B.

What I want you to do here is explain what each of the following tell us about Anglo-Saxon preparations for invasion in 1066.

And you can see in the table, I've given you three events, Harold's march North, the response of the fyrd system and the victory at Stamford Bridge.

And in the right hand column, I want you to explain what it tells us about Anglo-Saxon preparations for invasion.

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

Okay, welcome back.

So let's have a look at the first event.

Harold's march North.

What does Harold's march North, tell us about Anglo-Saxon preparations for invasion in 1066.

So Harold was able to respond quickly to the news of the invasion.

He did not rely on his allies, Edwin and Morcar to defeat Hardrada.

Okay, now let's have a look at the next event, the response of the fyrd system.

What does this event tell us about Anglo-Saxon preparedness? The fyrd system delivered a large army very rapidly that was skilled and well equipped enough to defeat a very experienced Viking army of perhaps 8,000 men.

And finally, the victory at Stanford Bridge, Edwin and Morcar's local fied army was defeated, but Hangar Saxon preparations meant another army could follow up rapidly under Harold's skillful military leadership.

Okay, great.

So we now have an understanding of Anglo-Saxon preparations with regards to Harold expecting William invading the South.

And we also have an understanding of the preparations that Harold made against the Viking invasions in the north.

Let's now finally move on to the preparations for battle with William.

So the Battle of Stamford bridge was fought on the 25th of September.

William's invasion fleet arrived at Pevensey on the 29th of September.

And the Battle of Hastings takes place a few weeks later on the 14th of October.

So what preparation was Harold able to make for battle with William? We do not know when Harold learned of William's arrival.

He probably stayed in Yorkshire after Stamford Bridge to negotiate the Viking surrender and to bury his brother Tostig.

He then travelled south and was in London for six days.

His trip from York to London was very rapid once again, and he must have travelled by horse with housecarls only.

In other words, not bringing his whole fyrd army with him.

And if you have a look at the map on the right, we can see the journey that William would've had taken from York to London.

Okay, let's have a check for understanding.

What's happened in each of these three dates.

Work with a partner to check your answers.

So we're looking for the events that took place on the 25th of September, 1066, 29th of September, and the 14th of October.

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

Okay, welcome back.

So for the 25th of September, 1066, that was the battle of Stamford Bridge, and then a few days later on the 29th of September, we have the Norman fleet arrives at Pevency, and then a few weeks later on the 14th of October, it's the Battle of Hastings.

And of course those dates are quite important because it's showing that Harold's army is fighting a few weeks before the Battle of Hastings.

So unfortunately for Harold, the southern fyrd had been disbanded on the 8th of September, so William's invasion was not opposed.

And if you have a look at the image, it's a scene from the Bayeeux Tapestry showing Norman ships unloading at Pevensey.

The Anglo-Saxon fleets was also not in place to attack Williams ships, it was being repaired in London.

So as Harold was travelling south from York, as we've said already, he did not take the fyrd with him only housecarls.

Instead, Harold sent out orders for a new fyrd as he travelled south.

And during this time, Harold and William exchanged messages, and we can imagine how tense this period of history must have been.

And on the Bayeux Tapestry, on the images on the right, we can see Harold and William receiving messages.

So what did those messages say? Firstly, William said Harold could be his earl of Wessex if he accepted William as king.

And Harold's message to William was that William would not be attacked if he went back to Normandy having paid for the damage he had caused.

Of course, during this time the Normans were destroying houses and plundering supplies.

From the messages we can see that neither side wanted to surrender, and so William wanted to provoke Harold into coming south to fight him.

And this meant that much destruction was happening in Wessex, which was very important because that was Harold's home.

Some sources suggest that Harold's wife, Edith, was caught up in the violence.

And if you have a look at the image on the right, it's a scene from the Bayeux Tapestry of Norman's burning down a house and we can see a mother and child in front of the house, and that possibly could be Harold's wife.

Okay, let's have a check for understanding.

Which two of the following explained why William ordered his troops to burn and plunder Wessex.

A, his army needed food and supplies.

B, his knights needed horses to ride.

C, his strategy was to provoke Harold.

Pause the video, select your two correct answers, and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back and well done if you knew it was A, his army needed food and supplies and C, his strategy was to provoke Harold.

Okay, so what's happened next? So Harold did rush South from London, just as William wanted.

Anglo-Saxon sources say he left London before all the levies for the fyrd had arrived, perhaps with only half the levies.

Norman sources report that his mother and brothers tried to persuade him to wait because his households were exhausted from the fight against the Viking invasion.

However, Harold Swift and decisive action had worked well before.

So Harold must have been confident about launching another surprise attack by land, but also by sea with a fleet to stop William retreating to Normandy.

So an important question here is then did Harold need to fight the Battle of Hastings? Did he need to rush from London to try and meet William at the Battle of Hastings? So William's troops were harrying Wessex, and that might have been a big part of Harold's motive.

It was a king's duty to protect his people, especially the house of Godwin's Wessex.

And we can see from the mediaeval illustration on the right, a house being plundered by soldiers, and this was quite a common occurrence during mediaeval times.

And Harold would've been aware of this type of violence, plunder, harrying, and he wanted to uphold his king's duty to protect his people.

Another motive for Harold leaving London early, was that Harold had just won by attacking an invasion force by surprise.

So he may have felt he was on a roll, it worked before it's strike by the iron is hot.

However, it is important to note that Harold had other options.

For example, he could have cut William off from reinforcements and supplies by sea.

He could have waited for William to attack the well defended London.

He could have waited for the fyrd to deliver a much bigger army.

And finally, he could have sent someone else to fight William rather than risk everything by leading his army into battle himself.

Okay, let's have a check for understanding.

Here is an extract from an Anglo-Saxon source from 1066.

"Meanwhile, Duke William landed at Hastings on St.

Michael's Day 29th of September.

King Harold marched from the north and fought against William before all his host, the army came up and there he fell with his two brothers, Gyrth and Leofwine." What evidence does this source provide that Harold was not as prepared as he could be for the Battle of Hastings? Pause the video, have a think and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back.

So your answer may include the following, and fought against William before all his host army came up.

So the evidence to source is clearly stating for Harold not being prepared is that he left London too early before all his hosts, his levies, his fyrd army were ready to go and fight.

Okay, let's move on to the final task, task C.

Read Andeep's opinion and decide whether you agree or disagree with him.

So Andeep's opinion is that Harold was not prepared for the Battle of Hastings.

So what I want you to do here is write one or two paragraphs justifying your answer, using your knowledge of Anglo-Saxon preparations for invasion, impacts of the Viking invasion, and Harold's preparations for battle with William.

So decide whether you agree or disagree with Andeep, and then write your paragraphs and justify your answer.

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

Okay, welcome back.

Now, you could have answered that in many ways, but compare your answer with what I have here.

So this first paragraph is a paragraph which agrees with Andeep's opinion.

I agree with Andeep's opinion.

Harold rushed into battle with William on the 14th of October despite being advised by his mother and brother to wait in London because those who fought with him at Stamford Bridge were still exhausted.

Anglo-Saxon sources also state that Harold arrived at Hastings without his full army, which shows he was not as prepared as he could have been.

That all shows very clearly that Harold was not prepared for the Battle of Hastings.

Okay, now let's look at a couple of paragraphs which disagree with Andeep's opinion.

I disagree with Andeep's opinion.

Harold had spent all summer setting up preparations for invasion, raising an enormous southern fyrd and splitting these into bands all along the coast, as well as organising the fleet with a plan to attack William's ships before they even set sail across the channel.

In the event, these were not available to him because the fyrd had to be disbanded on the 8th of September, but Harold was well-prepared for the whole period when William's invasion should have happened according to the reports from Harold Spies in Normandy.

And a final example paragraph here, it is true that Harold rushed to meet William in battle before all the fyrd levies have arrived in London.

However, Harold's victory at the Battle of Stamford Bridge showed how well prepared Harold was to make rapid unexpected attacks.

In this case, Harold also planned to attack the Norman Invaders from the sea as well as the land.

Above all else, Harold knew he could rely on the Anglo-Saxon fyrd system together with his housecarls, to gather a powerful army, which it did in what was probably only around a week after Harold first heard news of William's arrival.

Okay, great.

Let's summarise today's lesson.

Harold made extensive preparations for a Norman invasion, which he kept up all through the summer of 1066.

Almost as soon as Harold had disbanded the southern fyrd on the 8th of September, a Viking invasion hit the north.

Edwin and Morcar's fyrd army was defeated in the north, but the strength of the fyrd system meant Harold could attack the Vikings again rapidly and successfully.

Harold's preparations meant he still had many options regarding William, but he chose instead to rush into battle with him.

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, the Anglo-Saxon preparations for invasion in 1066.

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

See you in the next lesson.