Year 8 re-enact 1066
鈥淚t was a silent end for a brave and true warrior.鈥 So said the Saxon noblewoman as she killed a Norman knight at The Battle of Hastings this week 鈥 bravely re-enacted by Year 8 in the School Hall.
The Battle of Hastings is one of the most famous and important battles in English history. Fought on open land on 14 October 1066, the battle changed the entire course of English and European history. After William, Duke of Normandy defeated the army of the newly enthroned King Harold, England came under the rule of an oppressive foreign aristocracy. William鈥檚 victory went on to influence the entire ecclesiastical and political institutions of Christendom.
On Monday, our Year 8 History students stepped back 954 years in time, to re-enact the Battle of Hastings as part of their Medieval History Incursion. They brought the battle to life in all its fascinatingly bloody and gory detail, as well as gaining a colourful overview of medieval times.
Student volunteers stepped into the roles of the newly enthroned Anglo-Saxon King, Harold Godwineson and William Duke of Normandy (more commonly known as William the Conqueror). Others dressed as knights, foot soldiers and peasants. They donned heavy chain mail suits (an average suit of armour weighed between 20 and 35kg) and conical helmets (or helms as they were called) with their flat, fixed nasal plates that were typical of the time. And they wielded steel swords, heavy axes and fierce looking spears.
Year 8 were fascinated to learn that half the army in medieval times were women. And while they fought for the honour of protecting their homeland and families, one of the biggest drawcards was the opportunity to loot the dead bodies on the battlefields afterwards. For this reason, they needed to safeguard all their appendages in battle. They needed their hands and feet to gather the harvest later on or their families would starve!
The students learnt how the English army, led by King Harold, took up their position on Senlac Hill near Hastings, forcing William to attack with cavalry, as well as infantry. In the classic English manner, Harold鈥檚 troops all fought on foot behind their mighty and virtually impenetrable shield wall.
Year 8 then acquired some Medieval warfare techniques, using shields and fancy footwork to thrust and parry. They learnt the meaning of 鈥榙isarming鈥, when a Saxon peasant unwittingly lost her arm in combat, only to be used as a human shield to kill the spearman beside her. And another received an axe wound to the kidneys鈥 not only bleeding to death, but also poisoned by her own urine鈥 a bloody and brutal end!
The students learnt how war wounds would have been treated in Medieval times. This included attaching leeches and maggots to flesh wounds. And if this didn鈥檛 work, they would eventually just chop your arm or leg off!
Of course, Harold鈥檚 death at Hastings by an arrow to the eye remains one of the most enduring 鈥榝acts鈥 in English history. Accounts from the years immediately following Hastings make no mention of an arrow when describing Harold鈥檚 death and although the Bayeux Tapestry supports the 鈥榓rrow in the eye鈥 story, it remains the subject of much dispute.
Legend has it that William returned to the battlefield that night where he pitched his tent among the dead. The Norman dead were recovered for burial, but the Saxon slain were left where they lay, as a carrion feast unless family members came to claim them. Noblemen were captured and held hostage unless their families paid money to free them.
All in all, it was a fascinating journey back in time and brought Medieval times to life in all its bloody and gory ways.
Well done History Department!