Historical Figure
Battle of Hastings: Harold Godwinson
d. 1066
Battle between English and Normans in 1066
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Biography
The Battle of Hastings was fought on 14 October 1066 between the Norman-French army of William, Duke of Normandy, and an English army under the Anglo-Saxon King Harold Godwinson, beginning the Norman Conquest of England. It took place approximately 7 mi (11 km) northwest of Hastings, close to the present-day town of Battle, East Sussex, and was a decisive Norman victory.
Timeline
The story of Battle of Hastings: Harold Godwinson, told in moments.
Son of Godwin, Earl of Wessex, one of England's most powerful nobles under King Cnut. Rose through the ranks of Anglo-Saxon aristocracy.
Inherited his father's earldom of Wessex after Godwin's death. Became the most powerful lord in England, eclipsing the king himself in land and influence.
Traveled to Normandy. Norman sources claim he swore an oath to support William's claim to the English throne. Harold later denied it, or said it was coerced.
Crowned King of England the day after Edward the Confessor died. Probably the first English king crowned at Westminster Abbey. His reign lasted nine months.
Defeated a Norwegian invasion at Stamford Bridge in Yorkshire. His army marched 185 miles in four days to get there. Then turned south immediately.
Killed at the Battle of Hastings. The last Anglo-Saxon king of England. The Bayeux Tapestry depicts him struck by an arrow, though historians debate the exact manner of his death.
Artifacts (15)
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it painfully difficult for John to reconcile with Tom. In the eulogy he delivered at Tom's funeral, he said: "We wanted to grow up and be musicians. I guess we achieved half of that, becoming rock 'n...
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ul" and "insulting" to allow the performance to continue without them. During the induction speech, Springsteen said, "As a songwriter, only a few did as much in three minutes [as John Fogerty]. He...
The title track is Fogerty's indictment of the Iraq War as another Vietnam, a se...
through DreamWorks Records, which had taken over distribution of Fogerty's Warner catalog. Rolling Stone wrote: "The title track is Fogerty's indictment of the Iraq War as another Vietnam, a senseless...
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