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In England, the phrase ‘Norman Conquest’ immediately conjures up images of arrows in the eye, the Bayeux tapestry and an abrupt transition from Anglo-Saxon rule to Norman feudalism. But the conquest of England was just one facet of the extraordinary expansion of Norman power throughout the 11th Century.
The loss of the Battle of Hastings in 1066 brought about a seismic change in English society. As the conquering Normans came to dominate the country, many English noblemen and elite warriors found themselves dispossessed and with enormously diminished prospects. The contemporary English chronicler, Orderic Vitalis, tells us that ‘the English groaned aloud for their lost liberty and plotted ceaselessly to find some way of shaking off that which was so intolerable’. For many, the solution they found was to leave the country and seek their fortune in foreign lands.
1068
It is two years since King Harold Godwinson was defeated at the Battle of Hastings. His son, Godwin, is in exile in Dublin and amassing an army of mercenaries to invade England and reclaim the English crown. At his side is Cadman, survivor of the battle and leader of a small band of English warriors.
As Cadman watches Godwin lose control of the wild mercenaries - and sees them ravage the land they had come to free - he knows that he can no longer serve Godwin with honour.
The Bayeux Tapestry is one of our key sources for understanding the events around the Norman Conquest but, much though it contains plenty of fascinating detail, it remains a work that is shrouded in mystery. It asks as many questions as it answers.
In the whole tapestry there is perhaps no scene more enigmatic than scene 15. In this scene a woman stands between two spiral pillars facing a man who is dressed as a priest. The man’s hand is outstretched, touching the woman’s face, and his other hand is on his hip. Beneath the woman, in the margin of the tapestry, a naked man with oversized genitals is squatting.
Harold Godwinson has spent the last thousand years being widely criticized for being too hasty to get to the battle and arriving at the battle with a fatigued and understrength army. The march to Hastings is often portrayed as an act of great hubris, a critical misjudgment made by a man overconfident after a stunning victory against the legendary Viking king. But Harold was an experienced military commander who had commanded numerous campaigns in his life. So, was the dash to Hastings really just an act of overweening arrogance? Or were there sound tactical reasons for Harold’s rush to fight the Normans?
When coalition forces invaded Afghanistan in 2001, the Taliban government rapidly collapsed, and the Islamist movement re-established itself as an insurgency. The coalition responded by moving through the country, setting up bases on a hub and spoke model as it went. The biggest of these bases, those such as Camp Bastion in Helmand Province, were as big as towns, holding thousands of soldiers, stores, hospitals, and logistics equipment. These big bases were ringed by progressively smaller bases, the smallest of which might hold just 15 or 20 men.
1064.
Harold Godwinson, Earl of Wessex, sails for Normandy where he seeks the release of his kinsmen from captivity in Duke William’s court. n his company is Cadman, an untested, young warrior who hungers for glory.
The price of freedom for Harold’s relatives is that he join William on his campaign against Brittany. There, amidst the blood and fury of siege and battle, Cadman proves his worth.
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