Page:Dictionary of National Biography volume 24.djvu/438

 the invasion Harold held a council of war, and at once marched southwards. Some dissatisfaction is said to have existed among his troops because he had not divided with them the spoils taken at Stamford Bridge (Gesta Regum, ii. 228, iii. 239). Nevertheless the men of every part of southern and eastern England followed his standard. His brothers-in-law, the earls Eadwine and Morkere, refused to help him, and their defection lost him the support of the forces of Northumberland (.) He reached London probably on the 5th, and while his forces were gathering visited his church at Waltham and prayed before the holy rood. The sacristan declared that as the king lay prostrate before the rood the image of the Crucified bowed its head as though in sorrow (De Inventions, c. 20). Harold sent a message to the duke, calling on him to depart out of England, and declaring that, though King Eadward had certainly promised to make him his heir, he had revoked his promise and left the kingdom to Harold. In return the duke sent a monk of Fecamp to the king to represent his claim, and it is said to challenge him to single combat, which is of course an embellishment of the chronicler. In answer Harold appealed to the judgment of God (, pp. 128-31). According to a less trustworthy source William sent the first message by the monk of Fecamp, and Harold threatened to ill-treat his messenger, but was restrained by Gyrth [q. v.], his brother {Roman de Ron, 11891-12029 ; on these messages see Norman Conquest, iii. 746-52, where the version of Wace is preferred to that of the Conqueror's chaplain). Gyrth is further said to have urged the king not to fight against William in person ; he was, Gyrth represented, weary from the late battle ; he had sworn to the duke and should beware of perjury, and it was better that he, as the king, should not run the risk of being slain. Gyrth offered himself to lead the army, and is said to have recommended Harold to ravage the country in order to distress the invader. Harold in- dignantly rejected this advice (, vii. c. 35;, p. 500;. iii. 239; Roman de Rou, 12041 sq.)

He marched from London on 12 Oct. at the head of a large army, and took up his position on the hill on which Battle Abbey was afterwards built. This hill is a kind of promontory of the Sussex downs, and is crossed by the road between Hastings and London (see map in Norman Conquest, iii. opp. p. 445) ; it is called Senlac by Orderic (pp. 501, 502 sq.) ; the place seems to have had no special name at the time of the battle, and is simply indicated by the English chronicler as 'at the hoar apple-tree' (A.-S. Chron. Worcester). The spot was about seven miles from the Normans' fortified camp at Hastings, and was well chosen for the purpose of barring the way against an invader, and Harold's plan was to meet the enemy by defensive tactics. He therefore strengthened his position with a ditch and a palisade forming it into a kind of castle (, p. 763). When the English saw that they were to fight in a narrow space, and to hold a post instead of making an attack, a considerable number deserted ; for a fight of this sort promised little plunder, and required more steadiness than was to be found among untrained levies. Their desertion was probably no loss toHarold ; his plan did not demand a very large army ; a considerable force seems to have been left, and his housecarls and the personal followers of his brothers and the other trained warriors who formed the strength of his army would not be discouraged by the adoption of a plan of battle specially suited to them (on the English numbers at the battle see Norman Conquest, iii. 447, 752-4). Messages are said to have passed between the duke and the king, and both sent out spies. On the morning of the next day, Saturday the 14th, the festival of St. Calixtus, the Normans advanced to attack the English position. Harold and all his army fought on foot, according to the national custom. The light-armed or irregular levies, armed with javelins, clubs, or any weapons with which they had been able to furnish themselves, were posted by the king on the wings. The main body, which held the highest part of the hill, was composed of the royal house-carls and other picked troops, most of them more or less soldiers by profession; they were armed with two-handed axes and long or round shields, and were clad in armour. In the centre were planted the Dragon of Wessex and Harold's standard, which bore the image of a fighting man wrought in gold, and studded with gems. Beneath these stood Harold and his brothers Gyrth and Leofwine. All the heavy armed force fought in close order, shield touching shield, so as to present a complete wall to the enemy. The Normans began the attack at 9 A.M., and as the English received it they shouted 'God Almighty !' and 'Holy Cross !' probably Harold's special war-cry, or cried ' Out ! Out ! ' as some Norman tried to press within the palisade (Roman de Rou, 18193). The first attack of the Normans failed, and for a time their whole army was in some confu-