"Rule Britain over the seas" - proclaims the refrain of the famous English patriotic song written in 1740, which is already perceived as the second, unofficial anthem of this country, and the title "Lady of the Seas" seems to have forever become synonymous and second name of the United Kingdom of Great Britain. Nelson's contemporary, the English admiral St. Vincent, declared: “I am not saying that the enemy cannot come here. I am only saying that he cannot come by sea. " The narrow strip of sea water separating the British Isles from the continent became an insurmountable obstacle for the Catholic kings of Spain, Napoleon and Hitler. But this was not always the case. In 43 A. D. the Romans came to Britain, who remained there until 409. They were replaced by Germanic tribes who, pushing out the indigenous population, settled entire provinces: the Angles settled in the northern and eastern territories of modern England, the Saxons in the south (the kingdoms of Wessex, Sussex and Essex), the Jutes took over the lands around Kent. In the north, two mixed kingdoms appeared - Mercia and Northumbria. The Britons retreated westward into the mountainous area that the Saxons called Wales (land of strangers) or went to Scotland. Since the end of the 8th century, these small and constant warring kingdoms have become easy prey for new, even more terrible enemies - the Norse and Danish Vikings, who divided Britain into spheres of influence. The Norwegians got northern Scotland, Ireland and northwest England, the Danes - Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, East Anglia, Northumbria and Mercia. The successes of the Danes were so great that a vast region in the east of England was called Denlaw, or "the area of Danish law." Wessex survived only thanks to the treaty that King Alfred the Great concluded with the Danes, but the price of independence was very high: for a very long time, military taxes in England were called "Danish money." Alfred's wise policy, nevertheless, yielded results, and his successors eventually managed to subdue the Denlos and even the Scots (it is from this precedent that England's claims to Scotland originate). Everything changed under King Ethelred the Unwise (978-1016), who was forced to cede the throne to the Danish king Sven Forkbeard. In 1042 the Danish dynasty was interrupted, and the last representative of the Wessex dynasty, who went down in history under the name Edward the Confessor, was elected to the English throne. The desire for legitimacy played a cruel joke with the British: it seems impossible to imagine a more inappropriate candidate for the post of king. In his personal qualities, Edward was similar to our Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich, his reign was marked by the weakening of royal power in the country and the omnipotence of the magnates, the disintegration of Anglo-Saxon society and the weakening of the state's defenses. The founding and pressing needs of Westminster Abbey interested Edward much more than the problems of his unexpected country. He was the eldest son of King Ethelred II of England and Emma of Normandy, sister of Richard II, Duke of Normandy. As a child, his mother took him to Normandy, where he lived for 25 years. Edward practically did not know the country of his ancestors and at first relied on immigrants from Normandy, to whom he bestowed lands and church positions (including the Archbishop of Canterbury), which, naturally, caused sharp discontent among the Anglo-Saxon nobility. In 1050Edward made the fateful decision to disband the English fleet and abolish the defense tax - "Danish money". It was this circumstance that became one of the reasons for the collapse of the Anglo-Saxon monarchy in 1066. But let's not get ahead of ourselves.
Wilgelm the conqueror
In the meantime, the military service nobility of Anglo-Danish origin gradually united around the Earl of Wessex Godwin, who at the beginning of Edward's reign was expelled from England, but returned to his homeland in triumph in 1052. The rulers of other provinces refused to give Edward troops, the “council of the wise” (the withenagemot) fully acquitted Godwin, the Norman close associates of the king were expelled from England, and Robert Jumieges, Archbishop of Canterbury, was removed from his post. From that time on, King Edward completely retired from participation in politics, devoting himself to the church. After Godwin's death (1053), power in the country actually belonged to his son Harold, who also managed to annex East England and Northumberland (transferred to his brother Tostig) to his possessions. Meanwhile, another dynastic crisis was brewing in England: Edward had no children, but there were more than enough applicants for his throne. The official heir, according to the will, was the Norman Duke William, whose candidacy, however, was absolutely unacceptable for the overwhelming majority of the British. Harold and his brother Tostig claimed the throne as the queen's siblings, their rivalry ending with the expulsion of Tostig from the country. It was Harold Godwinson, who proved to be a wise and just ruler and was very popular among the people, who was unanimously elected the new king of the country. On January 7, 1066, he was anointed, receiving from the hands of the Archbishop of Canterbury a golden crown, a scepter, and a heavy battle ax. Offended Tostig went to another challenger - the Danish king Sven Estridsson, the nephew of the last English king of the Danish dynasty, but he showed no interest in English affairs. After the failure in Denmark, Tostig turned to the King of Norway, Harald the Severe, son-in-law of Yaroslav the Wise, a renowned commander and famous skald, for help. Harald quickly navigated the situation: taking his wife, son Olav and two daughters with him on 300 ships, he went to the shores of England. It seems that he was not going to return home. And to concede the conquered country to Tostig was hardly part of his plans. And in Normandy, meanwhile, Duke William, offended by the "treachery" of Harold Godwinson, was gathering troops. The fact is that once Harold was captured by William, who held him until he forced him to swear allegiance to himself as the rightful heir to the English crown. Chronicles say that William ordered to collect together the relics and relics from all monasteries and churches in Normandy and placed them under the missal, on which his captive was to swear. Upon completion of the procedure, Wilhelm tore off the veil from the box with the holy relics, and only then Harold realized what oath he had just made: "and many saw how gloomy he became after that." Now Harold said that he did not recognize his forced promise, and that he could not relinquish power against the will of the country. Wilhelm began to prepare for war. Wanting to give legitimacy to his claims, he secured a verdict from the Pope that England should belong to him. Thus, the campaign of conquest acquired the character of a crusade, and very many knights of France and surrounding countries joined the army of William, hoping to save their souls, glorify themselves by exploits and gain unheard-of riches, generously promised to them by the Norman duke. Interestingly, despite the pope's verdict, in the surrounding countries, it seems, they still considered Harold the rightful ruler: on the famous tapestry from Bayeux (South England, 1066-1082), which reflected the official version of events, the title of Harold - rex, that is, the king.
The first blow to England was nevertheless dealt by Harald the Severe: the northeast wind, which drove his ships to the British Isles, prevented the Norman fleet from going to sea. Having visited the Orkney Islands on the way, where many local residents stood under the banner of the successful king, in mid-September 1066. Drakkars dropped anchors on the small river Uza, north of York and on English soil for the last time the fierce Norwegian berserkers set foot. After the Battle of Fulford (September 20, 1066), where the Norwegians defeated the militia of the northern English counties, Northumbria recognized Harald's authority, and some of the local Tans joined his army. Harold and his army, meanwhile, was in the south of the country, where he awaited the Norman landing. The invasion of the Norwegians confused all his plans and forced, leaving positions on the coast, to oppose the Scandinavians. Harald had by that time moved too far from his ships, and his army was divided into two parts. Raising the "danger on land" flag and quickly building up his troops, Harald entered the battle. The battle at Stamford Bridge lasted all day. In the collection of the "Circle of the Earth" sagas it is said that in that battle Harald fought like a berserker: "coming out of the ranks, he cut with a sword, holding it with both hands. Neither helmets nor chain mail were protection from him. Everyone who stood in his way was spinning back. The British were about to take flight. " But “the arrow hit King Harald's son Sigurd in the throat. The wound was fatal. He fell, and with him all who walked in front with him. " After that, the British offered the Norwegians to sail home, but they said that "they would all rather die one after the other." The battle was renewed two more times. Following Harald, Tostig and Eystein Teterev, who came up with help, perished. “Eystein and his men were hurrying off the ships so quickly that they were exhausted to the limit and hardly capable of fighting; but soon they were seized with such rage that they ceased to hide behind their shields as long as they were able to stand … Thus, almost all the main people among the Norwegians died,”Snorri Sturlson wrote about these events. The Norwegians were defeated, the Anglo-Saxons pursued them on the way for 20 km. In the manuscript "C" of the Anglo-Saxon chronicle of the XII century. describes the feat of the last hero of the Viking Age: “The Norwegians fled from the Angles, but a certain Norwegian stood alone against the entire English army, so that the British could not cross the bridge and win. One of the Angles fired an arrow at him, but did not hit. Then another climbed under the bridge and hit the Norwegian from below, where he was not covered by chain mail. " Of the nearly 300 Norwegian ships, 24 returned to their homeland, one of them was Elizabeth with her children.
The British victory was brilliant, but it had to be paid for with the deaths of many soldiers and commanders. In addition, it was at this time that the wind changed and on September 28 (just three days after the bloody battle at Stamford Bridge), William was able to freely land his army in Pevensie Bay, Sussex County, between Pevensie Castle and Hastings. It is said that the duke slipped while getting off the ship and fell forward on both hands. Getting up quickly, he exclaimed: “Look! By the grace of God, I grabbed England with both hands. Now she is mine, and therefore yours."
William ascended the throne at the age of 7 or 8 and by the time of the invasion of England he had a reputation as a very skillful and experienced ruler and general. Preparing for the main campaign of his life, he created a magnificent army of about 12,000 people (which, on the scale of that time, was a very formidable force), which, it must be admitted, under his leadership acted in a very coordinated and highly organized manner. The landing took place in exemplary order: Norman archers, dressed in light armor, conducted reconnaissance of the area and subsequently covered the unloading of horses, equipment and cargo. In one day, the carpenters who were in William's army assembled a wooden castle delivered by ships (the first Norman castle in England!), Which became the main base of the invasion. Two more castles were soon collected from Hastings. The mounted knights moved deep into enemy territory, destroying everything in their path. Learning about the Norman landing, Harold hastily moved his troops towards the new enemy. In London, he decided to replenish the troops at the expense of the soldiers of the southern and central counties, but after six days, having learned about the atrocities perpetrated by the invaders on the coast of his country, in a rage, without waiting for the approach of all the units loyal to him, he went out to meet William. Many considered it a mistake, but the victory over the Norwegians gave Harold confidence. Hopes to catch the Normans by surprise did not come true: his army stumbled upon one of the enemy's cavalry detachments, which warned William about the British troops approaching him. Therefore, Harold changed his tactics, and stopped at a hill about 12 km from the Norman army. He was advised to retreat to London, devastating the lands on his way, and a number of historians consider this tactic to be the only correct one. The stocked supplies from the Normans would very soon run out, and in London, those suffering from hunger and having lost some of their horses, the invaders would meet with a rested and replenished army of the British. However, Harold "decided not to set houses and villages on fire and not to withdraw his troops."
Together with Harold, his brothers came to Hastings, one of whom (Geert), on the eve of the battle, addressed him with the words: “My brother! You cannot deny that, even if by force, and not by free will, you took the oath to Duke William on the holy relics. Why risk the outcome of a battle by breaking this oath? For us, who did not take any oaths, this is a holy and just war for our country. Let us fight the enemy alone, and may the one on whose side the truth be victorious. However, Harold stated that he “does not intend to watch others risk their lives for him. The soldiers will regard him as a coward and accuse him of sending his best friends where he did not dare to go.
Modern historians believe that the Norman and English armies were approximately equal in number, but had very serious differences in composition and combat characteristics. William's troops were a typical feudal army, which was staffed on the basis of a military-fief system and included a fairly large number of well-armed knights, both Norman and other warriors who joined them. Another important feature of the Norman army was the large number of archers, who were almost absent from the ranks of the British. Most of the Anglo-Saxon army were detachments of the free peasant militia (fird), which were armed mainly with axes, pitchforks, and even clubs and "stones tied to sticks." The king's squad (the famous huscarls) and detachments of the service nobility (ten) were armed in the Scandinavian manner: heavy two-handed swords, traditional Viking battle axes, spears and chain mail. It was the "Danish axes", which easily cut through the Norman helmets and armor, that turned out to be the most terrible and effective weapon of the British. In his memoirs, one of the chaplains of Wilhelm's army called them "deadly axes." However, these elite units had suffered heavy losses in the previous battle and were weary of the long journeys from the south coast of England to York and back. Cavalry as a branch of the army did not exist in the English army: moving on horseback on campaigns, the huscarls and tens fought on foot. Given these circumstances, Harold chose a defensive tactic: he placed his troops on the top of a hill, in the rear of his troops there was a dense forest, which, in the event of a retreat, could serve as an obstacle for the enemy army pursuing him. The Huscarls and Tennes stood in the front ranks, followed by lightly armed infantry. Before the formation, the British built barricades of wooden shields and logs and dug a moat. The participants in the battle recalled later that "in no other area did so many foreign soldiers die as at the bottom of this ditch."The natives of Kent volunteered to be the first to meet the enemy and stood in the most dangerous direction. The people of London asked for the right to protect the king and his standard, and lined up around Harold. Subsequently, on the site where Harold's army stood, the Abbey of Battle was built, the ruins of which can be seen near the small town of the same name. The main altar was located where the royal standard was during the battle. Now this place is marked with a commemorative stone slab.
Wilhelm, apparently, was still not completely sure of the success of the upcoming battle. One way or another, it was he who on October 13 sent the monk Hugo Maigro to the English camp, who first demanded Harold's abdication from the throne, and then, in exchange for a vassal oath, offered him the whole country above the Humber River, and his brother Girt - all the lands that belonged to Godwin. In case of refusal, Maigro had to threaten Harold and his army with excommunication, which, allegedly, is mentioned in the bull of the Pope. The Norman Chronicles claim that this threat caused confusion in the ranks of the British commanders. However, after a moment of silence, one of them said: “We must fight, no matter what threatens us … The Norman has already divided our lands between his barons, knights and other people … he will make them the owners of our property, our wives and daughters. Everything is already divided in advance. They came not just to defeat us, but to deprive everything of our descendants and take away from us the lands of our ancestors. And what will we do, where will we go if we no longer have our country”? After that, the British unanimously decided to fight the foreign invaders. The night before the battle, the Anglo-Saxons sang national songs, the Normans prayed in unison.
The battle that decided the fate of England began on the morning of October 14, 1066. The chronicles of that time brought to us the words addressed by the leaders of the opposing sides to their armies. Duke Wilhelm urged his soldiers not to be distracted by collecting trophies, assuring that the loot would be shared, and there would be enough for everyone. "We will not find salvation if we stop or run from the battlefield," he said. They will not distinguish between those who cowardly fled from the battlefield and those who fought bravely. Everyone will be treated the same. You can try to retreat to the sea, but there will be nowhere to run, there will be no ships, no ferry to your homeland. The sailors will not wait for you. The British will capture you ashore and put you to shameful death. More people die in flight than in battle. And since running away will not save your life, fight and you will win. " Dressed in armor, he put on chain mail backwards and, noticing how the faces of his comrades-in-arms had darkened, he said: “I never believed and do not believe omens. I believe in God, who by his will determines the course of events. And everything that happens will be His will. I have never believed soothsayers and fortune tellers. I commit myself to the will of the Mother of God. And do not let this oversight of mine bother you. My dressing up means that we are all on the cusp of change. You yourself will witness how I will turn from a duke into a king. " Harold, in turn, urged the soldiers to stand in the battle, defending their land, and urged them to stick together, protecting each other in formation. “The Normans,” he said, “are loyal vassals and brave warriors, both on foot and on horseback. Their equestrian knights have taken part in battles more than once. If they manage to break into our ranks, then everything will be lost for us. They fight with a long spear and sword. But we also have spears and axes. And I don't think their weapons will stand against ours. Strike where you can strike, do not spare your strength and weapons."
Tapestry from Bayo. Attack of the Norman Knights
The battle was started by Norman archers, who showered the ranks of the British with their arrows, but they could not inflict heavy losses on the enemy soldiers who were hiding behind wide shields. Having shot the ammunition, the arrows retreated behind the line of the spearmen, who went on the offensive, but were thrown back by the British. The cavalry attack also drowned, and the Bretons on the left flank fled. Forgetting about Harold's order to keep the line, the Anglo-Saxons, leaving the hill, rushed in pursuit of the retreating enemy and came under attack from the knightly cavalry. Historians disagree about the deliberate retreat of the Bretons: some consider this maneuver a military cunning, others, referring to the testimony of one of the chroniclers, explain it by panic that gripped some of the Normans at the news of William's death. Other participants in the events report that at this moment the squires, who were in the rear of the fighting army, guarding the property of the knights, almost fled, and were stopped by the brother of Duke William, Bishop Bayeux Odo. Wilhelm had to take off his helmet and gallop along the ranks of his army. One way or another, part of the English army recklessly leaving the hill was surrounded and destroyed at its foot, but others continued to stand, holding back the enemy. For several more hours the Normans alternated shelling from bows and crossbows with foot and horse attacks. Archers changed their tactics: they were now shooting in an overhead trajectory so that arrows would fall on their opponents from above, hitting them in the face. This led to significant losses, but even in the early evening, Harold's army was still holding positions on the hill, although the fatigue of the British from constant shelling and continuous attacks was such that many of them were already struggling to stand on their feet. It was at this moment that an accidental arrow hit Harold in the eye. He tore it out and broke it, but now, due to the intense pain and blood filling his face, the king could not control the course of the battle. The Anglo-Saxons, who had lost their command, disrupted the formation, and the Norman cavalry crashed into their ranks. Wilhelm personally took part in the battle, and all his contemporaries celebrate the duke's courage and outstanding military skill, under which two horses were killed. The Norman Chronicles report that the soldiers of Kent and Essex fought especially steadfastly and bravely in the ranks of the British. The decisive attack on them was led by Duke William: about a thousand horsemen in a close formation fell on the British and scattered them. In that attack, many noble warriors died on both sides, but the Normans broke through to the royal banner, where King Harold, who fought to the end, stood. In the course of the last fight, he received so many wounds that only his wife Edith Swan Neck could identify his body by some signs only known to her. Together with Harold, his brothers died. After that, the militia units (fird) fled, but the huscarls still continued to stand around the body of the deceased king. By nightfall, the Normans had taken possession of the hill, but it was not the war that was lost, but only the battle. The tragedy of the British was that there was no one to gather the retreating troops and lead further resistance. But it was quite possible: the Normans lost at least a quarter of the army in the battle, while the British, despite the losses incurred, could hope to replenish their ranks with soldiers who did not have time to approach the beginning of the battle. In the evening of the same day, Duke William himself almost died in the forest while pursuing the retreating housecarls. The surviving English Earl Waltow that same night, having lured about a hundred Normans into an oak grove, ordered to set it on fire, none of the invaders was able to get out of the burning forest. However, after the heroic death of Harold, the British could not choose a worthy leader, and when William's troops approached London, Harold's nephew, elected by the king, was the first to speak about the surrender of the capital. He himself appeared in the Norman camp and swore allegiance to William. Meanwhile, Harold's three sons and two daughters fled to the western ancestral domain. Only in 1068 the city of Exeter, where they took refuge, was taken by William's army after a three-month siege, but on the eve of the decisive assault, Harold's mother (who was 70 years old!), Edith and her children by rope descended from the fortress wall and left England. Harold's sons went to Ireland and harassed the Normans for another 10 years with raids. And one of Harold's daughters, Gita, came to Denmark, later she married Vladimir Monomakh (1074).
As the British feared, in addition to his inheritance, Wilhelm divided England into 700 large and 60 small sections, which he gave to the Norman barons and ordinary soldiers, obliging them to carry out military service for this and make a monetary tax. The inhabitants of the conquered country were treated like slaves by the Normans. No one, not a noble earl, not a simple farmer in his land and in his house could feel safe. Resistance was suppressed extremely brutally: entire villages were burned, families were destroyed. To keep the population of the country in obedience, during the reign of William, 78 castles were built, including the famous Tower. Only a few generations later erased the differences between the Normans and the Anglo-Saxons, and on the basis of the French language of the conquerors and the "northern" language of the indigenous population, modern English was formed. Gradually, the conquerors and the conquered population closely intermixed with each other, subsequently creating one of the greatest empires in the history of world civilizations. "The British combine Anglo-Saxon practicality, Celtic dreaminess, pirate bravery of the Vikings and the discipline of the Normans," - this is how the Austrian writer Paul Cohen-Portheim spoke about the modern English national character.
