Broadwater School History Department 1 Glossary King Edward the Confessordied in December 1065, without a son to become King. King Harold Godwinsonchosen by the Witan to be King. Crowned Jan King Harald Hardradaof Norway. Claimed the throne and invaded in Sept Duke William on NormandyClaimed the throne and invaded in Oct Crowned King William I on 25 th December NormansPeople from Normandy, in northern France. BayeauxA town in Normandy. Bayeaux TapestryA woven cartoon strip that tells the Norman version of the story of InvaderA person, or people who try to take over a country by force. SettlerA person, or people who stay in a country they have conquered. Conquer/ConquestSuccessfully invade a country. Invaders Why did the Normans win the Battle of Hastings?

Broadwater School History Department 2 Step 1: William was determined The Normans had knights on horseback who were skilful fighters. This helped the Normans to win the Battle of Hastings because... The Normans prepared carefully. They brought with them a useful mixture of well- equipped foot soldiers, archers and cavalry. This helped the Normans to win the Battle of Hastings because … William was skilful, ambitious and determined to be king of England. This helped the Normans to win the Battle of Hastings because... Invaders Why did the Normans win the Battle of Hastings?

Broadwater School History Department 3 Step 1: William was determined The Normans had knights on horseback who were skilful fighters. This helped the Normans to win the Battle of Hastings because the English did not have cavalry. When the battle was being fought men on horseback had an advantage because they could move quickly and were higher up than their enemies. The Normans prepared carefully. They brought with them a useful mixture of well- equipped foot soldiers, archers and cavalry. This helped the Normans to win the Battle of Hastings because during the battle the archers were used to kill the English from a distance and the cavalry were able to kill the English who were tricked into chasing after the faked retreat. William was skilful, ambitious and determined to be king of England. This helped the Normans to win the Battle of Hastings because William planned in advance, had well equipped and trained soldiers in the battle and he expected to win. Invaders Why did the Normans win the Battle of Hastings?

Broadwater School History Department 4 Step 2: The English were not ready The wind changed allowing William’s troops to cross the channel at a time when Harold’s troops were away in the north. This helped the Normans to win the Battle of Hastings because … Some of Harold’s best fighters died at the Battle of Stamford Bridge. This helped the Normans to win the Battle of Hastings because … Stamford Bridge and the journey south made Harold’s troops very tired. This helped the Normans to win the Battle of Hastings because … The battle began before Harold’s troops were ready. This helped the Normans to win the Battle of Hastings because … Invaders Why did the Normans win the Battle of Hastings?

Broadwater School History Department 5 Step 2: The English were not ready The wind changed allowing William’s troops to cross the channel at a time when Harold’s troops were away in the north. This helped the Normans to win the Battle of Hastings because the Norman soldiers were not tired. Some of Harold’s best fighters died at the Battle of Stamford Bridge. This helped the Normans to win the Battle of Hastings because Harold’s army lacked the experienced soldiers needed to win the battle. Stamford Bridge and the journey south made Harold’s troops very tired. This helped the Normans to win the Battle of Hastings because it meant that the English would not have as much energy to fight a battle that was going to last all day. The battle began before Harold’s troops were ready. This helped the Normans to win the Battle of Hastings because the Harold did not have time to assemble a bigger army that contained more experienced soldiers. Invaders Why did the Normans win the Battle of Hastings?

Broadwater School History Department 6 Step 3: The Battle William arranged his troops carefully and used them skilfully in the battle. This helped the Normans to win the Battle of Hastings because … The Normans’ clever trick of pretending to retreat caused the English to leave their strong position on the hill. This helped the Normans to win the Battle of Hastings because … In the middle of the battle Harold was killed. The English were weak without their leader. This helped the Normans to win the Battle of Hastings because … Invaders Why did the Normans win the Battle of Hastings?

Broadwater School History Department 7 Step 3: The Battle William arranged his troops carefully and used them skilfully in the battle. This helped the Normans to win the Battle of Hastings because the English were forced to fight a defensive battle, where they never left Senlac Hill. This gave William the upper hand, because they were able to control what happened in the battle. The Normans’ clever trick of pretending to retreat caused the English to leave their strong position on the hill. This helped the Normans to win the Battle of Hastings because it enabled the Normans to use their cavalry effectively. They were able to lure many of the English soldiers from the safety of the shield wall at the top of the hill and to kill them. In the middle of the battle Harold was killed. The English were weak without their leader. This helped the Normans to win the Battle of Hastings because there was nobody to inspire and command the English forces. The loss of Harold weakened their determination to win. Invaders Why did the Normans win the Battle of Hastings?

Broadwater School History Department 8 Thinking your enquiry through : 1 Things to do with the Normans’ strength and skill. Good planning, for example … The use of archers, where they … The clever trick, where they … The use of cavalry where they … Things to do with Harold’s bad luck. Harold had to fight a battle just before Hastings at … Many of Harold’s best soldiers had been killed at … Harold’s army faced a long march from …. Harold’s soldiers were inexperienced so, … Invaders Why did the Normans win the Battle of Hastings?

Broadwater School History Department 9 Thinking your enquiry through : 1 Things to do with the Normans’ strength and skill. Good planning, for example, where the cavalry were able to attack with speed. The use of archers, where they showered the English with arrows during the battle. The clever trick, where they pretended to retreat to lure the English down the hill. The use of cavalry where they pretended to retreat then killed the English. Things to do with Harold’s bad luck. Harold had to fight a battle just before Hastings at Stamford Bridge in Yorkshire. Many of Harold’s best soldiers had been killed at the Battle of Stamford Bridge. Harold’s army faced a long march from Yorkshire to Sussex. Harold’s soldiers were inexperienced so they were tricked into chasing down the hill. Invaders Why did the Normans win the Battle of Hastings?

Broadwater School History Department 10 Thinking your enquiry through : 2 Things that happened before the battle. Good planning, for example … The type of soldiers that the Normans had … Harold had to fight a battle just before Hastings at … Many of Harold’s best soldiers had been killed at … Harold’s army faced a long march from …. Things that happened during the battle. Being on top of a hill was a mistake for Harold because … The use of archers, where they … The clever trick, where they … The use of archers by the Normans, where they … The use of cavalry by the Normans, where they … Invaders Why did the Normans win the Battle of Hastings?

Broadwater School History Department 11 Thinking your enquiry through : 2 Things that happened before the battle. Good planning, for example William had enough boats to get his army to England. The type of soldiers that the Normans had included archers and cavalry. Harold had to fight a battle just before Hastings at Stanford Bridge. Many of Harold’s best soldiers had been killed at the Battle of Stamford Bridge. Harold’s army faced a long march from Yorkshire to Sussex. Things that happened during the battle. Being on top of a hill was a mistake for Harold because he fought a defensive battle. The use of archers, where they could kill the English from a distance. The clever trick, where they managed to weaken the shield wall of the English. The use of archers by the Normans, where they able to injure Harold. The use of cavalry by the Normans, where they able to turn on and kill the English. Invaders Why did the Normans win the Battle of Hastings?

Broadwater School History Department 12 Thinking your enquiry through : 3 Things to do with armies. The Norman army was better prepared, for example … The Norman army had cavalry, this meant that … Harold had to fight a battle just before Hastings at … Many of Harold’s best soldiers had been killed at … Harold’s army faced a long march from …. Harold’s army had many inexperienced soldiers, which meant that … Things to do with leaders. William was determined to win, so … Harold positioned his army on the top of a hill, so … When the rumour spread William had been killed he … When Harold was killed his army … Invaders Why did the Normans win the Battle of Hastings?

Broadwater School History Department 13 Thinking your enquiry through : 3 Things to do with armies. The Norman army was better prepared, for example they had rested before the battle. The Norman army had cavalry, this meant that they could move quickly in the battle. Harold had to fight a battle just before Hastings at Stamford Bridge. Many of Harold’s best soldiers had been killed at Stamford Bridge. Harold’s army faced a long march from Yorkshire, so they were tired. Harold’s army had many inexperienced soldiers, which meant that they were tricked. Things to do with leaders. William was determined to win, so he made careful preparations and expected victory. Harold positioned his army on the top of a hill, so they fought defensively. When the rumour spread William had been killed he rallied his troops. When Harold was killed his army felt they had lost the battle. Invaders Why did the Normans win the Battle of Hastings?

Broadwater School History Department 14 Writing up your Enquiry Why did the Normans win the Battle of Hastings? It was, of course, a combination of all of the reasons you have studied. You will need to decide on the best way to summarise the reasons. Was it events leading up to the battle, the personalities of the leaders, skill or luck? Perhaps you feel that one of them might have been more important, after all, Harold was an experienced soldier and commander, who had just won an overwhelming victory over the Norwegians. Write an introduction that summarises your answer. It must list the reasons in what you think was their order of importance in explaining the Norman victory. Write a paragraph about each of the reasons. Begin each paragraph with a topic sentence, that introduces the reason. Then carefully explain how it led to the Norman victory. Finally write a brief conclusion that summarises the main points you have made. Invaders Why did the Normans win the Battle of Hastings?

Broadwater School History Department 15 Writing up your Enquiry Why did the Normans win the Battle of Hastings? Your introduction might say … The Normans won the Battle of Hastings because of a of events before and after the battle and because of the skill and personalities of the leaders. Luck was also an important reason, as was the fact that there were two invasions during Your first paragraph should be about how events before the battle led to the Norman victory. It could begin … The fact that Harold had already won the Battle of Stamford Bridge helped the Normans to win at Hastings because … Your second paragraph should be about how the skill and personality of the leaders led to the Norman victory. It could begin … In the Battle of Hastings the skills of the leaders helped the Norman victory. Harold fought a defensive battle and this helped the Normans to win because … Your first paragraph should be about how events before the battle led to the Norman victory. It could begin … The Normans also won because of luck. They were the second invasion that Harold had faced and this helped them to win because … Finally write a brief conclusion that summarises the main points you have made. Invaders Why did the Normans win the Battle of Hastings?