Lesson 2: The battles of 1066
Harold fought at Stamford Bridge before marching south to face William on 14 October.
Part of your national curriculum
- Historical enquiry: Understand historical concepts such as continuity and change, cause and consequence, similarity, difference and significance
- Britain 1066-1901: Understand the impact through time of the Norman Conquest on society and the establishment of feudal government
- Historical enquiry: Understand how our knowledge of the past is constructed from a range of sources, and how and why historians have interpreted the past in different ways
Lesson overview
What you'll learn in this lesson
Understand the impact through time of the Norman Conquest on society and the establishment of feudal government
Key learning points
- • Armies and tactics
- • Contingency
This lesson at a glance
- 38 minutes
- 25 parts to scroll through
- 3 quick checks
- Marked quiz at the end
- Gentle pace: short sittings with pauses
Words to know
Scroll down — the lesson carries on below
Watch & discover
Part 1 of 25
Watch first
Lesson 2: The battles of 1066
A short film setting up the three claimants and the battles of 1066.
In a nutshell
Understand the impact through time of the Norman Conquest on society and the establishment of feudal government
What you already know
Part 2 of 25
Before we start
What you already know
You should already know the four claimants of 1066 and that armies in this period marched on foot and depended on food, weather and shipping.
Key words
Part 3 of 25
Key words
Words you'll need today
- Fyrd
- The part-time army raised from English landholders and their men.
- Housecarl
- A professional, well-armed soldier in the king's household.
- Shield wall
- A defensive line of overlapping shields.
- Contingency
- A chance event, such as a wind change, that affects an outcome.
Reset break
Part 4 of 25
Pause
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Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.
Your lesson plan
Part 5 of 25
Lesson brief
Why did William win at Hastings?
By the end, you will be able to
- • Place events accurately in the conquest chronology
- • Explain causes and consequences rather than list them
- • Use the named evidence with attention to provenance
Resources
- • Bayeux Tapestry (c.1070s)
- • The Norman Conquest and resistance (1066–1071)
- • Lesson notes and marked knowledge check
Learning cycle
Part 6 of 25
Learning cycle 1 of 2
Two battles in three weeks
A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.
Explore the idea
Part 7 of 25
Learn
Armies and tactics
English housecarls and fyrd formed a shield wall; Norman infantry, archers and cavalry attacked uphill.
Reset break
Part 8 of 25
Pause
That's sitting 2 of 6 done
Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.
Quick check
Part 9 of 25
Quick check
Part 10 of 25
Learning cycle
Part 11 of 25
Learning cycle 2 of 2
Explaining the outcome
A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.
Reset break
Part 12 of 25
Pause
That's sitting 3 of 6 done
Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.
Explore the idea
Part 13 of 25
Learn
Contingency
Leadership, feigned retreats, exhaustion and battlefield decisions interacted. Avoid treating victory as inevitable.
Quick check
Part 14 of 25
Investigate evidence
Part 15 of 25
Evidence 1 of 2
objectBayeux Tapestry
Unknown embroiderers, probably Canterbury, c.1070s
The embroidered narrative shows Harold's oath, the crossing, Hastings and Harold's defeat from a Norman-centred viewpoint.
Made soon after the conquest, this is both narrative and political artefact. Its pictures require interpretation; captions are in Latin.
Think like a historian
Whose story does the embroidery centre, and where might it simplify events?
Source: Musée de la Tapisserie de Bayeux, UNESCO Memory of the World
View the archive record ↗Reset break
Part 16 of 25
Pause
That's sitting 4 of 6 done
Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.
Investigate evidence
Part 17 of 25
Evidence 2 of 2
mapThe Norman Conquest and resistance
Modern historical reconstruction from chronicles and archaeology, 1066–1071
The mapped sequence links Hastings, coronation, castle-building, rebellions and the Harrying of the North.
This is a modern interpretation, not a medieval object. Its value lies in making distance and sequence visible; its choices must still be questioned.
Think like a historian
How does geography help explain where resistance lasted longest?
Source: English Heritage, History of the Norman Conquest
View the archive record ↗Common mix-ups
Part 18 of 25
Common mix-ups
Things people often get wrong
- People often think Hastings was inevitable. Harold won at Stamford Bridge first, and a different wind or a fresher army could have changed the result.
- People often say Harold lost because of one arrow. The long march, cavalry, archers and a broken shield wall all mattered.
Challenge round
Part 19 of 25
Game · Sort it
Which of these are true?
Drag each card into the right column. Tap a card first if dragging is fiddly.
True
Not true
Reset break
Part 20 of 25
Pause
That's sitting 5 of 6 done
Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.
Challenge round
Part 21 of 25
Game · Fill the gaps
Finish the sentences
Choose the word that belongs in each gap.
English housecarls and fyrd formed a shield wall; ____ infantry, archers and cavalry attacked uphill.
Challenge round
Part 22 of 25
Game · Recall cards
What was the domestic system?
Card 1 of 4
Exit quiz
Part 23 of 25
Exit quiz
Show what you've learned
6 questions, marked together at the end. Nothing is timed.
1. Where did Harold fight before Hastings?
2. English defence at Hastings relied mainly on…
3. William's army had an advantage in…
4. Why should you avoid one-cause answers about Hastings?
5. The march from Stamford Bridge mattered because…
6. A contingency in this story is…
Mastery quiz
Part 24 of 25
Marked quiz
End of lesson quiz: Lesson 2: The battles of 1066
4 questions, marked with the reasoning shown. No timer.
1. What was the domestic system?
2. Which is the best example of continuity during industrialisation?
3. Why can enclosure be judged in different ways?
4. Why did textile production move into factories?
Lesson round-up
Part 25 of 25
Lesson round-up
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Ask LunaPart 1 of 25 · Watch & discover
How this is going
- Not looked at yet
Understand historical concepts such as continuity and change, cause and consequence, similarity, difference and significance
- Not looked at yet
Understand the impact through time of the Norman Conquest on society and the establishment of feudal government
- Not looked at yet
Understand how our knowledge of the past is constructed from a range of sources, and how and why historians have interpreted the past in different ways