In 1066, King Harold of England led his men 200 miles south to the Battle of Hastings on foot. But a historian is claiming to have uncovered proof that the alleged march never happened—overturning two decades of historical consensus.
Tom Licence, a researcher at the University of East Anglia, Norwich, in the UK, was putting together a new biography of King Harold when he made the discovery. Understandably, Licence planned to include Harold’s legendary march south, turning to Latin and Old English sources for reference in his book. Except he didn’t find any evidence of this alleged march. Probing further, Licence realized that Victorian academics had falsely assumed that Harold dismissed his navy in 1066.
However, revisiting the literature strongly implied that Harold did not, in fact, ditch his ships and force his men to trudge hundreds of miles on foot. Rather, he probably took an easier route by sea—just around 60 miles (97 kilometers), according to a university statement.
A cornered king
In 1066, England faced invasions from multiple hostile forces—Vikings led by Harald Hardrada of Norway from the north and William of Normandy from the south, allied with feudal nations from modern-day France. After dealing with the Vikings, Harold hurried south to confront William at the Battle of Hastings, where the medieval king met his demise.
The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles report that Harold’s navy “came home” prior to Hastings, which historian Sharon Turner in 1801 took to mean that the ships returned to their various ports. The interpretation eventually “became part of Harold’s legend,” Licence wrote in a column on his research for The Conversation. The Chronicles, one of the “most complete written records of English history,” had zero mention of any marching troops—just referrals to many ships, he added in the statement.
“This was a big surprise, because historians have been talking about a forced march for more than 200 years,” Licence said in a university video on the findings. “And I was expecting to find it in the sources.”
Working out inconsistencies
This reinterpretation is perhaps disappointing news for scholars and pop culture scriptwriters, but it does reconcile multiple incongruencies surrounding various accounts of Harold’s death, Licence said. For instance, aside from the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles, other contemporary Latin records mention that Harold sent fleets against William.
Licence wasn’t even the first to notice this puzzling record. In fact, researchers did take note and expressed confusion, Licence wrote, although that never really prompted a reconsideration of the march hypothesis. In fact, some researchers were “so wedded to the idea of a forced march” that a Latin phrase meaning “returning speedily to attack you” was translated into “advancing against you by forced marches,” Licence said.
A legacy renewed
If further validated, Licence’s findings might warrant major reevaluations of King Harold. As legendary as it was, Harold’s forced march was seen as an “incredible feat of generalship” for some, whereas others criticized his “reckless and impulsive haste,” Licence noted.
“Harold’s campaign was not a desperate dash across England; it was a sophisticated land-sea operation,” he added in the statement. “The idea of a heroic march is a Victorian invention that has shaped our understanding, or misunderstanding, of 1066 for far too long.”
Other experts had varying opinions on the work. Erin Goeres, a historian at University College London in the U.K., told The New York Times that it’s true that the march legend was “probably overblown,” but it’s also likely that Harold “moved troops by both land and sea.” Still, Goeres added that the research is a “useful reminder of what we don’t know.”
“What we know about Harold’s previous military campaigns fits with the idea that he used naval forces to transport soldiers and threaten William,” Roy Porter, a historical curator who manages the Hastings battlefield, said in the statement.
“The idea of Harold’s weary men marching all that way only to fight a battle at the end never made any sense,” Licence said in the video. “Only a mad general would force his army to go through that before a battle.”
Licence will present his findings at the Maritime and Political World of 1066 conference this week.
English (US) ·