The battle of hastings 1066

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The Battle of Hastings was the last time England was successfully invaded and conquered by a foreign army. It brought greater unity and strength to a country which was already wealthy and strong in governmental systems but which was dynastically and territorially insecure.

Introduction

The Battle of Hastings was the last time England was successfully invaded and conquered by a foreign army. It brought greater unity and strength to a country which was already wealthy and strong in governmental systems but which was dynastically and territorially insecure.

Origins

Centuries of conflict had preceded the Battle of Hastings. Both the Normans and the Saxons were descended from the Danes who between the fifth and eleventh centuries continually attacked, invaded and settled in England. In 911 a group of them moved across the channel to the Seine Valley where they were given land to live on by Charles III of France. They became known by the French as Northmen or Normans.

Over the years their population expanded, merged with the French culture, acquired more land, and grew in power. In 1013, King Sweyn Forkbeard of Denmark successfully invaded England and became the new king so establishing the Danish dynasty and forcing the deposed King Ethelred II to flee to Normandy.

The sister of the Duke Richard II of Normandy, Emma, forged a crucial link between Normandy and England and between England and Denmark. Firstly King Ethelred II of England married her in 1002 vainly hoping to free his country from Danish invasion by being united to Normandy.

After his death in 1016, King Canute of Denmark and England, and son of King Sweyn Forkbeard, married her in order to unite the Danish and Anglo-Saxon dynasties. She produced kings from both marriages but her son, King Edward the Confessor, from her marriage...