Highlands Ranch High School - Mr. Sedivy
THE BAYEUX TAPESTRY VII
| THIS MAN INFORMS KING HAROLD ABOUT DUKE WILLIAM'S ARMY |
HERE DUKE WILLIAM |
On Senlac, an English scout informs a mounted Harold of the enemy's approach.
William dispatches his troops with stirring words: "Now is the time for you to show your strength. ...
You fight not merely for victory but survival. ... There is no road for retreat."
| EXHORTS HIS SOLDIERS TO PREPARE THEMSELVES BRAVELY |
With shouts of "God help!" the first rank moves forward. "Terrible sound of trumpets on both sides
signalled the beginning of the battle," recorded William of Poitiers. Wearing only
leather jerkins or quilted coats for protection, Norman bowmen advance within arrow range.
| AND WISELY FOR BATTLE |
One-hundred-yards from the enemy line, the Nornam archers let loose a barrage of shafts that clatters against
the shield wall like a hailstorm. When they make not a dent in the human fortress, William orders up his knights.
Armed with lances, mailed horsemen charge into the fray.
| AGAINST THE ENGLISH ARMY |
Bretons, Normans, and European mercenaries pound toward the seasoned housecarls, Harold's personal troops on the hilltop.
Ranks stand so packed that the slaughtered cannot fall. Steel clashes against steel, and the awful drone of javelins fills the air.
|
HERE |
Wielding battle-axes and hurling spears and stones, the English give measure for measure.
"They bravely withstood and successfully repulsed those. ... at close quarters," wrote William of Poitiers,
and inflicted loss upon the men who were shooting missiles at them from a distance."
|
LEOFWINE AND GYRTH HAVE FALLEN, THE BROTHERS OF KING HAROLD |
Norman swords claim important victims in the fierce hand-to-hand
combat as
Harold's brothers Leofwine and Gyrth topple in death.
But during the first hours of battle the English line, holding firm and unbroken,
turns back the onslaught of cavalry.
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Mr. Sedivy's History Classes
| Colorado History | American
Government | Advanced Placement Modern European
History | Rise of Nation State England | World
History |
World History: Dawn of Civilization
to Napoleon - Units of Study
| Prehistory | Mesopotamia
& Phoenicians | Ancient Egypt | Greece
| Rome | Medieval History
| Renaissance and Reformation | Exploration
| National Monarchies |
| The Scientific Revolution and the Enlightenment
| Colonial America and the American Revolution
| The French Revolution and the Napoleonic Era |
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