This Day in History: The Norman Invasion
As a foreword to a newsletter I like to read (they also swordsmith one of the top swords available today), here’s some dates to keep in mind. Edward the Confessor died in 1066 CE. The Crusades are typically stated as beginning in 1095. And the Templars banded together to protect pilgrims to the holy land after the 1st Crusade, around 1099. With the Pope endorsing them in 1118, they became a force to reckon with. And so the weapon during this time is t... more This Day in History: The Norman Invasion
As a foreword to a newsletter I like to read (they also swordsmith one of the top swords available today), here’s some dates to keep in mind. Edward the Confessor died in 1066 CE. The Crusades are typically stated as beginning in 1095. And the Templars banded together to protect pilgrims to the holy land after the 1st Crusade, around 1099. With the Pope endorsing them in 1118, they became a force to reckon with. And so the weapon during this time is the Norman or Crusaders sword.
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In the long history of the English crown – a history rife with murder, betrayal, intrigue, and marriages of questionable virtue and value – it would almost be easier to take less space in our weekly newsletter to list the times when the crown passed peacefully as opposed to when there was some conflict around it. The frequent deaths of short-lived heirs, and the wildly confusing intermarriages of relatives both close and distant, made for a web of interspersed potential paths for the rule of England to pass down upon the death of the current monarch. Often, more than one noble claimed that they were the true successor to the throne, which created political havoc and sometimes military responses by the one whose royal arse was currently sitting on it. The claimants to the throne who were not blessed with access to that chair were often referred to as “pretenders,” and it is one of these pretenders who On This Day in History launched the most famous and successful invasion force for nearly a thousand years to come.
Upon the death of Edward the Confessor in 1066 CE, the throne passed to English count Harold Godwinson. This was due to the fact that Edward had no direct descendants, and so he had been required to appoint a successor on his deathbed. This was, expectedly, a controversial decision, and several pretenders emerged to challenge. Poor Harold was beset upon on all sides, including by his brother Tostig, his uncle the Danish King Magnus I, and the King of Norway Harald Hardrada. Harald and Tostig raised armies against the King of England, and Harold managed to thwart their efforts to take the throne. However, another pretender lived, and this pretender had an unusual supporter – Harold Godwinson himself.
Prior to being named as Edward’s successor, even prior to his death, the Duke of Normandy known as William I had laid claim to the English throne. He had been a pretender since 1050, and had been soliciting support among English nobles for years before Edward’s death while increasing his power and holdings in Normandy. According to William, Edward the confessor had promised him the throne step, and several nobles have sworn their support. Unfortunately for Harold Godwinson, he had also sworn his support for William, and so when he was named Edward’s successor it put him in a bit of a bind. Clearly, Harold chose to take his chances as King, gambling that power and might of England would be enough to deter William from making an official bid for the throne.
It was not.
Enraged by Harold’s betrayal, William sent an embassy to remind him of his oath. Harold responded by fortifying the English Channel in the summer of 1066. Having recently dealt with Tostig and Harald’s forces, the English King chose to leave a significant number of resources North to guard against additional attacks from those fronts. This proved to be an unwise decision, as on this day in history, September 27, 1066, one of the most powerful armies yet assembled in human history crossed the English Channel and began the Norman Invasion. Students of history know what happened next – Harold would be killed during the Battle of Hastings just two weeks later, and William would be crowned King before Christmas.
The Norman invasion did more than put a different Royal arse on the throne. It changed British history forever, mingling the Norman and Anglo-Saxon peoples, cultures, and futures. If Harald had kept his oath to William, it’s entirely possible that these two people may have remained separated. Who can tell what this to the world would look like if that had been the case?
With its iconic crucifix guard and wheel-shaped pommel, the Norman sword (1000-1300 AD) is arguably the most recognizable sword in human history. The Norman or Crusader sword (Type Xa) is frequently depicted in medieval art including the Bayeux tapestry (an historically rich and important embroidery that depicts the Norman Conquest).
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