Mike Loades investigates the Bayeux Tapestry’s climactic battle sequence in a quest to unpick what this iconic embroidery tells us about the Battle of Hastings.
Working alongside a small band of expert practitioners and re-enactors, in a hands-on investigation, Mike examines fresh interpretations for some of the Tapestry’s key scenes.
This was a clash between two very different forces. The Anglo-Saxon English had their shield-wall and the Normans used 'combined forces' – cavalry, infantry and archers. But, according to the Tapestry, how exactly could these contrasting military systems have operated on the day?
Up Next in 1066 Collection
-
Meet the Normans - Part One
They were the Northmen who changed history. Starting as heathen Viking warriors who plundered and settled in Northern France and forged the new Duchy of Normandy, becoming the most ferocious conquerors that medieval Europe had ever seen, and giving England its most famous date: 1066.
In this tw...
-
Meet the Normans - Part Two
They were the Northmen who changed history. Starting as heathen Viking warriors who plundered and settled in Northern France and forged the new Duchy of Normandy, becoming the most ferocious conquerors that medieval Europe had ever seen, and giving England its most famous date: 1066.
In this tw...
-
1066: The Year of Conquest
1066 - one of the most famous years in English history. In a succession crisis like no other three warlords separated by hundreds of miles and savage seas vied for control of the English throne in a series of bloody battles. From Harald Hardrada's crowning victory at Fulford to the renowned Battl...
