October 14, 1066 · Southern England Theater
October 14, 1066
Harold rushed his weary army south and took position on Senlac Hill, his housecarls forming a shield wall along the ridge. For most of a day William's cavalry and archers failed to break the English line. The Normans turned the tide with feigned retreats that lured the English from their wall, and a hail of arrows; by dusk Harold was dead — by tradition, struck in the eye — and the leaderless English broke. The Bayeux Tapestry would immortalize the day.
Commanders