Just a quick post to tie together the three “1066“ armies and a static page with more information on how I assembled the armies.
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Anglo-Saxons
The death of Harold Godwinson
Granted, the Vikings are more popular, and the Normans were the final victors, but the English army of 1066 had heart. Harold and his men raced north to repel a massive Viking invasion, catching the enemy by surprise and massacring them. Then they raced south to Hastings, shedding most of their (horseless) light troops and levies along the way. There Normans won the day, but only after taking shocking casualties from the Huscarl’s axes. The dismounted huscarls of Harold’s army turned back repeated charges by the Norman knights, which is pretty incredible really. (more…)
Norman, is that you?
The Normans, as you may know, were descendants of Vikings (Northmen =>Norman) in France. They spoke French but were basically vikings on big ass horses (for the time) with state of the art arms and armor. One charming account of their diplomacy is mentioned by John Julius Norwich:
Calling a halt, [the Byzantine Catapan] sent a messenger across to them, offering the choice: either they could leave Byzantine territory peaceably and at once, or they must face his own army in battle on the morrow.
The Normans had heard communications of that sort before, and knew how to deal with them. During the harangue one of the twelve chiefs, Hugh Tuboeuf, had approached the messenger’s horse, and had been stroking it approvingly; now, as the man finished, he suddenly turned and struck it one mighty blow between the eyes with his bare fist, laying the luckless animal unconscious on the ground. At this, according to Malaterra, the messenger in a paroxysm of fear fainted dead away, but the Normans, having with some difficulty restored him to his senses, gave him a new horse, better than the first, on which they sent him back to the Catapan with the message that they were ready.
—–Source (more…)
“Deliver us, oh Lord, from the fury of the Northmen”
Hide the gold and silver, and lock up your able-bodied youths (who will be enslaved) and maidens (who will be… well you know), here come the Vikings with their Land-waster banner. My banner is based on a sail design from a second-hand souvenir dragon ship , which was made in Norway or Denmark.
