The Battle of Hastings
1066 · one day that changed the language and the law of England
- Date
- Where it happened
- Battle Abbey, Battle, East Sussex, United Kingdom
Harold's army had marched two hundred and fifty miles south in under a fortnight, having just destroyed a Norwegian invasion in Yorkshire. They held the ridge all day against William's cavalry and archers until the shield wall broke and Harold was killed.
William founded an abbey on the site as penance, with the high altar said to stand where Harold fell. Within a generation the ruling language of England was French, and it left several thousand words behind in English.
This page was written by the site, from public historical records.