Hello, welcome to History here at Oak National Academy.

I'm Mr. Newton, and I'll be your teacher today breaking down any tricky concepts we may encounter.

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 happens 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 Army.

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to describe key features of the Norman infantry and cavalry.

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

Soldiers who fight on foot are known as infantry.

Soldiers who fight on horseback are known as cavalry.

A mercenary is someone who joins a foreign army in order to be paid, and innovation is a new way of doing something based on new ideas or developments.

Today's lesson is split up into two parts.

In the first part, we'll focus on infantry before moving onto cavalry.

Right, let's begin the lesson with infantry.

At the Battle of Hastings, historians estimate that both sides had between 5,000 and 7,000 men.

William's army had between 2,000 and 3,000 cavalry, those that fought on horseback.

It is likely, therefore, that the majority of his army was infantry, at least 2,000 and possibly as many as 5,000 men.

If you have a look at the image on the right, it's a detail from the Bayeux Tapestry showing Norman infantry.

They're carrying their weapons and armour as they load them onto boats.

Norman infantry at the Battle of Hastings were divided into archers and foot soldiers.

Most of the foot soldiers were well equipped.

They had chainmail armour, which protected their chest, arms, and upper legs.

They had a leather hauberk under their armour, which also provided protection.

A rounded or conical helmet deflected blows.

A kite-shaped shield covered their left side, and they were equipped with spears for throwing or jabbing and swords for hand-to-hand fighting.

Okay, let's have a check for understanding.

This is an 11th century artwork and it shows Norman infantry.

What features of the infantry's armour and weapons can you spot in this source? Pause the video, have a think, and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back.

Hopefully you identified some of the following.

So we can see in the image that they're wearing conical helmets.

And if you look very closely, we can see the small circles which identify that they're wearing chainmail armour, and of course, dominating the artwork are those big kite-shaped shields.

And again, if you look very closely on the left hand side of the image, the infantry soldier there is holding a spear.

And below the kite-shaped shields, we can see the sword scabbards hanging down.

These are the sheaths in which soldiers keep their swords.

Okay, let's continue.

The Norman infantry included archers.

Take a look at the image on the right.

It's a detail from the Bayeux Tapestry, and we can see it's showing Norman archers.

We can see them holding their bows and their arrows.

It is estimated that at the Battle of Hastings there were 1,000 Norman archers.

Archers often did not wear armour, but the Bayeux Tapestry shows that some infantry archers did If we have a look at the archer on the bottom left hand corner, we can see those small circles on his clothing representing the chainmail armour.

The Norman army also included crossbowmen.

Crossbows were powerful.

Their bolts punched through chainmail and shields.

Archers in both armies were not wealthy men.

They did not own horses.

Only one Anglo-Saxon archer appears in the Bayeux Tapestry.

If you have a look at the image on the right, it shows the only Anglo-Saxon archer.

Here he is depicted next to the shield wall.

Harold's army rode fast to Hastings possibly the English archers travelled on foot and were too late to join the battle.

Some Norman archers, especially the crossbowmen, may have been mercenaries as later Norman armies often used mercenary crossbowmen.

The Norman infantry were positioned in front of the cavalry.

Have a look at the diagram on the right.

It shows the position of all the troops in the Battle of Hastings.

We can see Harold has adopted the shield wall at the top of Senlac Hill in the red, and at the bottom of the hill in blue are the Norman troops, and we can see the cavalry right at the bottom of those Norman troops, the third row back.

The archers were in the front row.

Their job was to weaken the enemy as soon as they were in range.

And on the diagram, you can see the archers in the front row making sure they can get close enough and in range to fire their arrows at the Anglo-Saxon shield wall.

The foot soldiers were in the second row.

They advanced towards the enemy at Williams' command.

They threw spears first, then fought the enemy hand-to-hand.

Okay, let's have a check for understanding.

How many of these statements about the Norman infantry at the Battle of Hastings are true? A, the Norman army included around 1,000 archers.

B, some Norman archers may have been mercenaries.

C, some Norman infantry had crossbows.

D, Norman archers like Anglo-Saxon archers tended to be too poor to own a horse.

Pause the video, have a think.

Select the correct statements and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back.

Well done if you knew it was A, the Norman army included around 1,000 archers.

B, some Norman archers may have been mercenaries.

C, some Norman infantry had crossbows.

And yes, hopefully you all got this right, that it was also D, Norman archers like Anglo-Saxon archers tended to be too poor to own a horse.

<v ->Okay, let's move on to task A.

</v> What I want you to do here is complete the table to compare the Norman infantry with the Anglo-Saxon infantry at the Battle of Hastings.

So you can see the left hand column, the Anglo-Saxon infantry has been done for you.

So for the first row from numbers, the Anglo-Saxon infantry was around 5,000 to 7,000.

And if we move to the next row down the type of armour they had, housecarls had chainmail and helmets.

Many of the fyrd had shields only.

And then we move on to the weapons row.

Battleaxes, spears, swords.

Again, move down to the next row.

The role that they had was that they'd hold the shield wall, then attack weakened enemy.

And then the last row, the discipline that infantry had was they may have ran after fleeing enemy.

Their discipline was not that great.

So now you have that as an example of how to complete the table for Anglo-Saxon infantry.

I want you to do the same for the Norman infantry.

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

Okay, welcome back.

Well done for having a go at that task.

And so hopefully the answers you have are very similar to what I have here.

So for the Norman infantry numbers, it was between 2,000 and 5,000, The type of armour they had foot soldiers had mail armour, conical helmets, and kite-shaped shields.

Archers often had no armour.

And for weapons, spears, swords, bows, crossbows, and the infantry's role archers shot at the enemy, foot soldiers advanced to fight hand-to-hand.

And their discipline, they attacked and retreated on command, commanded by William.

Okay, excellent.

Let's move on to the second part of the lesson where we can focus on cavalry.

Between 2,000 and 3,000 knights fought for the Normans at the Battle of Hastings.

Knights were new to Anglo-Saxon England, like motte-and-bailey castles, and crossbows.

They were military innovations.

Some of Williams knights were his closest companions, Norman nobles.

Others were professional soldiers from Normandy or allied regions such as Brittany.

Have a look at the photo on the right, it's a reenactment of the Battle of Hastings, and it shows what a Norman Knight on his horse might look like.

These heavily armoured knights on horseback are considered to be the tanks of mediaeval Europe.

Knights in 1066 wore armour, and fought with a lance plus a sword, mace or club.

Have a look at the image.

It's a detail from the Bayeux Tapestry, and we can see the Norman knights on horseback holding swords.

If you look at the knights on the far left, we can also see he's holding a lance, and we can also see William on the right tipping back his conical helmet whilst holding a club.

Okay, let's have a check for understanding.

True or false.

The knights that fought at the Battle of Hastings were all Norman nobleman.

Is that true or false? Pause the video.

Have a think and come right back.

Okay, welcome back.

Well done if you knew that was false.

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

Is it because A, Norman knights were farmers who had to fight for their Duke when he commanded them to, or B, although many were nobleman, some were not Normans and others were professional soldiers, not nobles.

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

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

Although many were nobleman, some were not Normans and others were professional soldiers, not nobles.

Okay, let's continue.

Have a look at this scene from the Bayeux Tapestry.

It shows a Norman cavalry charge against the Anglo-Saxon shield wall.

The Norman cavalry are on the left charging towards the Anglo-Saxon shield wall on the right.

Norman knights fought together in a unit of 20 to 30 knights Each unit had its own flag called a gonfanon.

Their horses were trained for battle and were known as destriers.

These were big, powerful animals.

Knights rode in saddles with high pommels.

These innovations held the knight up so he could fight from the saddle with his kite-shaped shield protecting his left side while he wielded his weapon with his right arm.

Knights could stand up in their stirrups so they could strike downwards with their lance.

They had spurs to make their horse move faster and in specific ways.

Let's have a look at another scene from the Bayeux Tapestry where we can identify some of the features we've mentioned to do with the Norman knights and the cavalry.

So first of all, we can see here Duke William on horseback.

The Bayeux Tapestry shows him depicted on different horses showing that he may have had to change horses at least three times as two of his horses were killed or injured during the battle.

And here you can see I've highlighted Norman knights holding their gonfanons and we can see the Norman knights have placed their feet inside the stirrups and we can see poking out the back of their heels are their spurs, and we can see their saddle design has those high pommels providing that solid foundation from which to fight from.

Okay, let's have a check for understanding.

What can you tell about Norman cavalry from this source? Choose two correct things.

A, their horses did not have any armour.

B, horses would not charge towards the shield wall.

C, Norman knight's used stirrups and spurs.

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

Okay, welcome back.

Well done if you knew it was A, their horses did not have any armour.

And C, Norman knights used stirrups and spurs.

Okay, let's continue.

The Norman cavalry began the battle behind the infantry, and we pointed them out earlier.

They're right at the bottom of this diagram on the right, the bottom of Senlac Hill in the third row of Norman troops.

The knights could use their height to strike down at the shield wall, but their horses were vulnerable to spears, axes, and arrows.

Breton knights retreated on the left after facing the shield wall.

Norman knights then led feigned retreats successfully.

Knights were effective against small groups and those running away, and this shows you some of the tactics that were at play during the Battle of Hastings.

After those feigned retreats and the breaking of the shield wall into smaller groups, this made it easier for the Norman knights to come in and attack those smaller groups.

Okay, true or false, if William had more knights, he would have won the Battle of Hastings much more quickly.

Is that true or false? Pause the video, have a think and come right back.

<v ->Okay, welcome back.

</v> Well done if you knew it was false.

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

Is it A, knights were important in the Battle of Hastings, but foot soldiers and archers were equally or more important B, knights played little part in Williams' victory because without armour, their horses were too easy to kill.

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

Okay, well done if you knew it was A, knights were important in the Battle of Hastings, but foot soldiers and archers were equally or more important.

Okay, let's move on to task B.

What I want you to do here is study this 19th century illustration of the Battle of Hastings.

Identify two details the illustrator has got right, and two details that are inaccurate.

So closely study that illustration and find those two correct details and two incorrect details.

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

Okay, welcome back.

Well done for having a go at that task.

Your answer may include the four details that I have here.

So for the accurate details, the Normans used cavalry, and we can see cavalry in the illustration.

Knights were armed with lances and swords.

We can see that too, and horses were unarmored.

And gonfanon flags were used in battle.

And now for the inaccurate details.

Norman chainmail armour did not cover the whole body as depicted in the illustration.

The cavalry charged uphill, up Senlac Hill.

In the illustration, it looks like they're sort of charging downwards.

And the English did not have many archers, as we've said before.

On the Bayeux Tapestry, it only shows one Anglo-Saxon archer whereas on this illustration, it looks like arrows are raining down on the Norman cavalry.

William fought with a club rather than a sword.

The Normans faced a shield wall and the Norman attack involved archers and foot soldiers as well as cavalry, and we can't really see any of those details depicted here on the illustration.

Okay, let's move on to the second part of task B.

What I want you to do here is write two paragraphs that support this statement, "Williams army featured military innovations." I want you to consider both cavalry and infantry in your answer.

Okay, so write two paragraphs that support the statement that Williams army featured military innovations.

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

Okay, welcome back.

There's many ways you could have written your answer, but compare what you have with what I have here.

One way in which Williams army featured military innovations was that it was the first time Anglo-Saxons had fought against cavalry.

Normans and their allies had developed new technology to allow knights to fight from horseback, including saddles with high pommels.

Norman knights also trained together and could carry out special battle moves such as feigned retreats.

This brought in a new way of fighting that was very different from the traditional shield wall.

Okay, let's look at the second paragraph.

Another way in which Williams army featured military innovations was that the Norman infantry included archers and crossbowmen.

Crossbows were a new technology that fired bolts with so much power that they went through shields and chainmail armour.

Norman infantry also fought in a coordinated way with cavalry units, but the Norman army split into three rows of archers, foot soldiers, and then the knights.

This was a new way of fighting that was different from the traditional shield wall and allowed different combinations of attacks to be carried out.

Okay, hopefully you can see then the military innovations that the Normans had, which gave them a great advantage in the Battle of Hastings.

Okay, let's summarise today's lesson on the Norman army.

The Norman army was very different from the Anglo-Saxon army and featured several military innovations.

It contained a mix of infantry and cavalry, which could be positioned on the battlefield in different combinations.

The Norman soldiers were mainly professionals.

Their job was fighting and they were highly trained and well equipped.

This included mercenaries and Anglo-Saxon armies had not faced trained knights before, and knights may have had a decisive role in some parts of the battle, particularly feigned retreats.

Okay, 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 with our focus today being on the Norman army.

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

See you in the next lesson.