28 September

NORMAN INVASION FORCE LANDS
Pevensey, 28 September 1066

A massive invasion force under William, Duke of Normandy, landed at Pevensey today, unopposed. Although an invasion has been feared for some time, the townspeople were unprepared when, shortly after dawn, some 700 ships hove into view. William’s ship, the Mora, entered the tiny harbour, but the Norman armada was so large that most of the ships beached in the lagoon or to the east of the town.

Witnesses say when William leapt ashore, he stumbled and put out his hands to break his fall. Some saw this as an ill- omen. But a quick thinking knight put some spin on the incident, claiming that William had seized the soil of his rightful kingdom with both hands. Then between 5,000 and 10,000 men – along with thousands of horse – swarmed ashore. William of Normandy has been threatening to invade since Harold Godwinsson, Earl of Wessex, was crowned King of England on 6 January, following the death of Edward the Confessor. William claims that Edward had promised the crown to him in 1051, in gratitude for his protection during Edward’s 25-year exile in Normandy. Harold himself swore an oath to support William’s succession during a visit to Normandy in 1064. Although William seems to admit that Edward named Harold as his successor on his deathbed, he believes he has a prior claim. He also accuses Harold of breaking his oath and justifies the invasion on the grounds of perjury.

The Norman force is supported by ships and men from Brittany, Flanders, Maine, Bologne and other parts of France. It formed up at Dives-sur-Mer, not far from Caen, in August, but had to wait several weeks for a favourable wind. On 12 September, the wind turned more westerly and the fleet set sail as far as St-Valéry-sur-Somme. It was only on the 27th that the wind turned south and the fleet could set sail across the Channel.

All summer, the English have feared an invasion, particularly in the Hastings-Pevensey area. But by 8 September it was thought that the beginning of the autumn gales ruled out any seaborne attack. The English fleet was dispersed and the army disbanded.

That same day, the Norwegian King Harald Hardrada, another claimant to the English throne, arrived in the Tyne estuary. Joining forces with Harold’s embittered brother Tostig, the former earl of Northumbria, Hardrada seized York after beating Mercian and Northumbria forces at the Battle of Gate Fulford on 20 September. Harold hurriedly assembled an army of no more than 2,000 men and set off northwards, leaving the south of England totally undefended.

Few expected such a seasoned campaigner as William of Normandy to risk a Channel crossing so late in the season. One squall, one encounter with English ships, and his force would have been dispersed. As it was, he lost only two ships. One, possibly both of them, made it to England but landed at Romney, far from the beachhead at Pevensey and were quickly despatched by locals.

Article by Nigel Cawthorne

TEXT SOURCE : ESSENTIAL NORMAN CONQUEST