Claimants to the English throne in 1066

• Harold Godwinson: Earl of Wessex.
• William: Duke of Normandy.
• Harald Hardrada: King of Norway.
• Edgar Atheling: Great-nephew of Edward.

Norman Conquest, the military conquest of England by William, duke of Normandy, primarily effected by his decisive victory at the Battle of Hastings (October 14, 1066) and resulting ultimately in profound political, administrative, and social changes in the British Isles.

Three Contenders for the English throne led to the Battle of…

• Harald Hardrada, King of Norway, his claim was based on an alleged agreement between King Hardicanute and King Magnus.
• Duke William of Normandy.
• The Saxon Harold, son of Godwin, Earl of Wessex.

King Harold II of England is defeated by the Norman forces of William the Conqueror at the Battle of Hastings, fought on Senlac Hill, seven miles from Hastings, England. At the end of the bloody, all-day battle, Harold was killed–shot in the eye with an arrow, according to legend–and his forces were destroyed.

There continued to be rebellions and resistance to William’s rule, but Hastings effectively marked the culmination of William’s conquest of England. Casualty figures are hard to come by, but some historians estimate that 2,000 invaders died along with about twice that number of Englishmen.

Beginning at 9am on 14 October 1066, the Battle of Hastings only lasted until dusk (around 6pm on that day). But although this might seem very short to us today — not least given the extent of the fight’s historical significance — it was actually unusually long for a medieval battle.

Norman, member of those Vikings, or Norsemen, who settled in northern France (or the Frankish kingdom), together with their descendants. The Normans founded the duchy of Normandy and sent out expeditions of conquest and colonization to southern Italy and Sicily and to England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland.

The Anglo-French War (1202-1214) watered down the Norman influence as English Normans became English and French Normans became French. Now, no-one was just ‘Norman’. As its people and settlements were assumed into these two larger kingdoms, the idea of a Norman civilisation disappeared.

He himself paid for the foundation of Battle Abbey on the spot where Harold fell. The body of Harold was eventually recovered after a long search, but its face was so badly disfigured that they had to bring it to his concubine, Edith Swan-neck, to identify by the intimate marks upon his body.

The English historian Henry of Huntingdon reports that a shower of Norman arrows fell around Harold and one ‘struck him in the eye’. Made only a few years after 1066, the Bayeux Tapestry is often considered the earliest and most convincing evidence that Harold was killed by an arrow to the eye.

It was fought between William of Normandy and King Harold – the King of England – and it was the English throne that was at stake. The Normans were victorious, beating the Anglo-Saxons (the English to you and me). King Harold was killed and William of Normandy became King.

William’s army is said to have included not only Normans, but also men from Brittany, Aquitaine, France and Maine. The latest thinking is that both armies had between 5,000 and 7,000 men – large forces by the standards of the day.

In essence, both systems had a similar root, but the differences were crucial. The Norman system had led to the development of a mounted military élite totally focussed on war, while the Anglo-Saxon system was manned by what was in essence a levy of farmers, who rode to the battlefield but fought on foot.

William the Conqueror was a Norman duke when he won the Battle of Hastings on 14 October 1066 — a victory that would ultimately lead to him taking the English crown. Although William’s army won the battle decisively, it was hard-fought on both sides and unusually long by medieval standards.

King Harold lost the battle because his army was not prepared. Some of his best fighters died at the Battle of Stamford Bridge and the rest of his army were tired out from the battle and the journey south to meet Duke William’s army.

Virtually the entire Anglo-Saxon aristocracy was eliminated following the Norman Conquest. They were either killed, or went into exile, or lost their lands and were reduced to peasants.

William was victorious at the Battle of Hastings due to his excellent leadership skills. Harold and his army because Harold made some mistakes. William won the Battle of Hastings because of his superior strategy and tactics. William was helped to victory by Harold being unlucky on a number of occasions.

The Normans that invaded England in 1066 came from Normandy in Northern France. However, they were originally Vikings from Scandinavia. The Vikings intermarried with the French and by the year 1000, they were no longer Viking pagans, but French-speaking Christians.

That said, a question could be asked, “Why did the Normans not speak Scandinavian after the Viking Rollo had been granted the Duchy of Normandy?” The Norman Vikings were very few and repelled other Scandinavian marauders; they took spouses from the Gallo-Roman populace.

As Normandy is a premium tourist destinations, many of the younger people will speak English, and will be willing to speak it. Spanish, Italian, and German are also quite widely studied at school. Although there are Norman languages, they are mostly dying out, and the speakers will also speak French.

This amalgam developed into the unique insular dialect now known as Anglo-Norman French, which was commonly used for literary and eventually administrative purposes from the 12th until the 15th century….Anglo-Norman language.

Anglo-Norman
Era	unknown, but significantly contributed to Middle English; used in English law until c. 17th century

(Entry 1 of 3) 1 : a native or inhabitant of Normandy: a : one of the Scandinavian conquerors of Normandy in the 10th century. b : one of the Norman-French conquerors of England in 1066.

Norman is spoken in mainland Normandy in France, where it has no official status, but is classed as a regional language. It is taught in a few colleges near Cherbourg-Octeville….English influences.

English	Norman French	French
wicket	< viquet	= guichet (cf. piquet)

Sanskrit

The Normans (1066–1154)

The largest number of surnames introduced by the Normans were from their castles or villages in Normandy. Arundel, Bruce, Clifford, Devereux, Glanville, Mortimer, Mowbray, Percy and Warren come to mind as well as the forms that retained the preposition such as de Courcy and D’Abernon.

After the Norman Invasion of England in 1066, the name Norman took on a new meaning as England was invaded by Normans from Normandy (in northern France). As a surname of Swedish origin the name is derived the two elements: norr (north) + man (“man”).

According to Origins of English Surnames and A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances, English surnames that have their source in the language of the Norse invaders include: Algar, Allgood, Collings, Copsey, Dowsing, Drabble, Eetelbum, Gamble, Goodman, Grave, Grime, Gunn, Hacon.

O’Clery