Part 3..The Battle of Hastings begins.

[PTE989]

not enough people

[mscooman]

i wish i lived in the middle ages

[Red23791]

@grendelsurmom And who says a "mut" can't be interested in their ancestry? Is there some special seat for people with "pure blood"? That means nothing, and it's the same kind of thinking alot of tyrants have used throughout history to forward their agendas. Times have changed, just because you are a descendant of some people who lived a thousand years ago does not mean you are a saxon or a viking or whatever. That was what they were in their time. But it is interesting to know your ancestry.

[Red23791]

@grendelsurmom Well it's obvious that the people that are alive now are alive due to people a thousand years ago breeding but my argument was that people now are still bickering over heritages and act as if they were there when they weren't. It's okay to take an interest in heritage but why are people even squabbling over it and trying to say who's better than who. If you stuck a viking and a saxon next to each other back then you'd likely not even tell the difference.

[wilkinson8707]

@Red23791 I agree with you. Besides heiantage is all mixed up England out of Scotland, Wales, ireland has more Celtic history and evidence of celts yet were Saxon? And there Celtic?

[rsboy5]

someone took it seriously and owned a person lol

[directorrrr]

wat a losers

[bionicillusion]

what are those weapons made out of?plastic ,foam? lol

[bionicillusion]

what are those weapons made out of?plastic foam? lol

[TheSteelKnights]

I published your video on the Medieval Blog SteelKnights.wordpress !

[hejaszpi]

kto atakuje a kto sie broni?

[RoManLP15]

The battle of hastings is not a battle you should like.

The normans would surely loose if Harold would not be hit by an arrow.

Its not only me who says that... MANY hostoricans say that and military leaders do not like this battle cause this was an frontal attack...

[Red23791]

Wow, you people are actually arguing at each other because you think you're Norman or Saxon? You're none of them! It isn't a blood type, it was a people living in that time. Their culture, their creeds, their backgrounds, so you can't sit there and act like you are Saxon or Norman because you think you are a descendant, that means nothing. You live in the 21st century. We can remember that day and learn from it, but not cause more fighting over something that happened 900 years ago. Pathetic.

[Dauntless07]

How do they make sure no one is hurt by the archer fire?

[whowantsabighug]

im from Jersey, does that mean im Celtic, Viking, or Norman?

[dansack10]

well your jersey then unless you can trace your lineage back, however the island was subject to viking occupation and norman rule then in the 1940s german. the name jersey itself comes from viking heritage possibly but the place names are french- norman

[Red23791]

@whowantsabighug

None.

[raraandraja]

you nerds should shut up

[hoppuss44]

here here, lets organize one? i mean no one is going to do it for us, we must rally the english people together under one banner, we could use harolds flag and perhaps the banner of wessex?

[Saxonsoldiers]

The Saxons did have horses urinesauce, they had used them to good effect at The Battle Of Stamford bridge. But the fact that the Saxons had walked there from the south coast, lost men at that battle and Gate Fulford then had to turn and walk back to the southcoast is why William won.Take away any of them two battles and the result would be very different. It would have been a Saxon victory and probably the end of Duke William!

[sapmmer]

erm...ok, considering it was a very long time ago and the normans won it fair and square?

[Saxonsoldiers]

They didnt win it fair and square at all. put in terms of today it would be like someone coming to England to over throw Queen Elizibeth and taking the crown of England in doing so, would that be legal and fair and square? no it wouldnt so why just because someone done it a thousand yrs ago does it become legal? Also the Normans could only overcome the Saxon shiled wall by feining retreats, couldnt beat them on might alone so resorted to dirty cowardly tatics.

[sapmmer]

no, thats pretty smart actually, its called tactics, and its not really cowardly as they are not getting out of it. And if its anyones fault its the saxons fault because their previous king did promise the crown to three people and the ill-disciplined troops they used in their army.

[Saxonsoldiers]

No its not! Its low, its decieving and its the only way they could win! That battle went on all day, william was being mauled if it went on any longer in that direction he'd have lost as it he could only pull the saxons out of the wall by dirty tactics when the brute force of his army alone wasnt enough! King Edward the conffessor promised the throne to one man alone and that was Harold Godwinson, not william! William said the crown was his just to legalise his invasion.thats it!

[sapmmer]

so your saying its a coincidence that the vikings came for it too then? Edward promised it to the vikings, the normans and to Harold. and its not dirty, Harold should have trained his men better.

[Saxonsoldiers]

Of course it was dirty, Williams Might couldnt break the shield wall and the onoly way he could was fein retreat. A dirty trick! Secondly, Harald Hardrada took his chance For the throne of England, theres less chance that he was promised it than there was William. The Old King Conffessor died, and Normand and Norway See a chance. Thats all it was! Iv studied for over 10 yrs now so i know what im talking about!

[hoppuss44]

here here saxonsoldiers, i could do with your support against a few of these haters!

[Saxonsoldiers]

im here mate, 13 hrs late but better than never a lol?

[hoppuss44]

harold didnt have a standing army, his men came from the "fyrd" and those that came from his "hearth" were the incredibly experienced powerful huscarls with their massive axes and huge shields, it was these men that while the fyrd was running away formed a circle around harolds dying body and fought to the death SO SHUT THE FUCK UP YOU NORMAN SCUM

[sapmmer]

ok jerk, number 1: I'm not Norman. I'm totally differant.

And number 2: Experience or nay, they still got beat.

and number 3: Sprecaþ gē Englisce?

and number 4: Swearing and adhominum (personal attacks) isn't the right way to go about things, especially to under 21s.

So why don't you shut the fuck up you hippy.

[OW41N]

no his men were well trained but exhausted from fighting in the north then had to force march half the country to fight william get ur facts straight

[OW41N]

exactly and most of harolds army was still up north after the battle of stamford bridge!!!

[dansack10]

i thought willaim was promised the throne by edward who then changed his mind and gave it to harold. and i thought tostig godwinson came with the vikings to claim the throne for harold of norway after an agreement supposedly by magnus and hearthacnut. so it was a scramble for the throne. but i totally agree it was the end of true england however you cant help but wonder if it never happened who of us would be alive today? so good thing it did really

[iam13013]

Too bad Edward didn't have the authority to promise the crown. The next king was chosen by the Witenagemot, not the current king. He could certainly recommend someone. He may have told William that he would recommend him to the Gemot, and William, used to a strict autocracy, mistook that as a promise. But either way, William was not guaranteed the crown.

[sapmmer]

ok. Just as I thought it was getting impossible to learn something new other than how the Saxons were hard done by.

thanks. =]

[MeleeCommando]

To win the normans used a cheap strategy to draw off saxon millitia into an ambush,outnumbering them vastly!,otherwise head to head they were'nt getting anywhere, saxons were kicking there arses even after a long haul from fighting the danes,Oh yes i have saxon dna, so they didnt get wiped out did they!!!!

[castoro83]

Wow i've studied this battle right now!!!!! Amazing moment of history!!!!

[undergroundman1993]

Whoa arrows?!

there's a little thing called the "hand canon" if you haven't heard about it :- ]

[kickasscow123]

the normans were much stronger than the saxons and much more cleverer than you

[Urinesauce]

Stronger definately not, cleverer, not necessarily. The real downer for the Saxons was because they didn't use horses. If they did they could of beat the Normans once and for all.

[humungus3]

Weren't they essentially the same people? I mean the Normans were descendants of Vikings who settled in France under Rollo, and the Anglo-Saxons were descendants of Danes who were Viking ancestors.

[Saxonsoldiers]

The Normans were not stronger at all. They were maybe even but only due to the fact that king harold had fought two battles in the weeks leading up to Hastings. England was richer, more heavily populated and just generally bigger than Normandy in everyway.The reason it was such a prize for the invading criminal Normans in the first place!

[sapmmer]

and they liked it so much they decided to stay and give up normandy. I still see it as rather silly all this saxon uprising, its happened hundreds of years ago and the current government proberbly dosn't give a toss whether their saxon or norman. But hey, the normans must have done something right because Britain never been successfully invaded since.

[hoppuss44]

i love the way they let him down gently at 2:00 mins : ) fuckin legends to a man these guys are

[scarff94]

the normans got lucky, the saxons were going to win, if the weak saxon militia diddnt chase down the normans and got slaughted my norman cavalry.

[humungus3]

I think you're wrong about this, it was just a matter of time before the Normans won this battle.

The Saxons never had a means of shifting over to the offensive, their shield wall was purely defensive. When repelled the Normans would regroup like the professional warriors they were and attack again and again.

Eventually a gap would have opened and the Norman horsemen would have penetrated the Saxon line and started to break the Saxons into smaller groups.

[McLarenMercedes]

@scarff94

True, but it's likely the normans were going to return again... It's one of those inevitable events in history that just would have happened anyway later, especially considering if you take all factors into account.

[ADZ01982]

The Normans got lucky start to finish ... Harold could not oppose Williams landings in England because he had to fight off the Danish army at Stamford bridge in Northern England, which he won, he had to march all the way down to Southern England which exhausted his troops and by that time Williams Army had already landed in England. He was beating the Normans untill his army chased after the Normans who feined at retreat who later encirled the Saxons who then got overwhelmed.

[TheSunMoon]

I like the idea there IS a commentary XD

Can you imagine, back then, jesters (dunno, "funny-men" or so) from each side sit on a platform to report the battle? as if it's a sport hahah! but i'd love to be one of these re-enactments (i always think i was born in the wrong era HAHA)

[Urinesauce]

Swinebyrd hath the offensive...OOOOHH Henric of Normandy just did overwhelm him with hiseth horse. The Saxons are coming from the right, OUCH lovely blow with that axe from that there man.

[RodericoPondivino]

Magnífica la carga de la caballería.

[GourangaGirl]

Haha nice one, I was one of the water carriers standing by the giant blue water butt around 2mins 48 (in red+white blokes costume) and my Mr is a member of Conquest - the group with the red+yellow kite shields moving forward about 4mins 48... Haha, am glad I spent a couple of hours that morning re-painting the shields now with all those close ups!

That was my first re-enactment, what a corker!

Hannah x

[cdillio]

how old do you have to be cuz im geting my armor in 2 months

[GourangaGirl]

Depends on which re-enactment society you belong to as to how old (generally 16/18 to fight). We were there with Conquest and are also joining Regia Anglorum :D ... So lots of Norman, Viking and Saxon stuff for us!

I would suggest you join a society and then see what kind of armour you need after coz it's costly stuff. A decent chainmail tunic is generally about £300 let alone scale or plate mail!

Hope that helped :)

[cdillio]

woah.

i really didnt ask that.

ive never even seen this video.

WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?!

[whowantsabighug]

u can easily make a butted chainmail suit, its cheaper and gives you a sense of personal victory, and you feel safer in it cause u made it if u see wat i mean

[ew1951]

A hatchet at the end of a long pole looks like one of the deadliest weapons ever devised.

Just holding one upright, for a few minutes would take a lot of strength.

The history of weapons would be a mighty big subject if a person delved into it. From rocks to arrows to missles. Humans get very creative when dealing with opposition.

War is the ultimate mother of invention.

[londonpenda]

Agreed Erik, 'man' is very inventive when comes to war.

Those axes, in the right hands, could slice through rider and horse.....

[kcuf2007]

Didn't help that day.

[Rangerfull3]

@londonpenda i think mankind has kind of an..instinct for warfare because it helps us survive? idk it just always seemed that without warfare we'd be lost because we have so much technology today all thanks to warfare..

[beowulfsword08]

It's called a Dane Axe

[whowantsabighug]

theyre pretty small heads though, better for armour piercing

[Heinsey]

where was this filmed?

[londonpenda]

At Battle, near Hastings.

[Heinsey]

HAHA!

very simple lol. Might go there myself sumtime and see these guys.

thx anyway.

[csrtitus]

These fuckers talk to much.

[crusader269]

the saxons almost won as they broke the norman shield wall this is all after they had marched up to north england fought 1 battle then marched back broke the norman shield wall the normans ran the saxons followed and then the normans turned around and killed them

[shoe7000]

the FRENCH not the english!!!

[219970]

Actually it was the Saxons and Normans.

[erikarabin8924]

Awesome, I love reenactments, and my dad especially likes the BAttle of Hastings, because it was fought on his birthday, not the year though obviously. :)

[ceawlin]

If this is Sunday, I'm in there with the Saxon infantry on the right wing.

[londonpenda]

Sorry ceawlin, it was on the Saturday.

[Sunray6]

I was in the Saxon centre under the standards amongst some great lads from Finland. It was a truly multi-national event. If I remember right there were about 2000 foot each side and 100 horse coming up the hill. The ground shook. One thing about being in the Saxon line on the ridge, you may lose in the end but at least you didn't have to climb the hill in the Sun again and again and again...

[budulgan12]

lol

[NWM11Bravo]

I had a dream about something like this not to long ago....im not into this kinda stuff but that dream made me wonder.

All i know is that i was scared to death and knew i was about to be chopped onto peaces by a group of crazy guys with large swords.

[NWM11Bravo]

imagine the real thing....good god.

the sound would be fantastic and the blood and the crying would be allover the place.

FO KING AN COUNTRY YEA.?

[BrandirHuscarl]

Sorry- from the angle it's shot looked more like last year- watching it again and the number of cavalry is a giveaway! Don't know the exact number we had in 2006 but it was pretty damn big!

[BrandirHuscarl]

Yeah the guy doing the commentary got the line wrong- in 1066 there were about 12000 Saxons there and about the same number of Normans-no there aren't that many in this reenactment but we managed several thousand in 2006!

Great fun still!

As fotr overarm spear- the tapestry does have this but that doesn't make it realistic- too high for infantry hits! But yes H+S take over there. Having had a horse jump over me in 2006 (BIG adrenalin rush!) it's risky enough without getting silly!

[londonpenda]

This vid was taken in 2006...

[MuddAngel6]

1.2 million men hahaha.. yeah..

[templar1258]

Shoot?? They use firearms?? lol

[emokid870]

WHATEVER!!

[JKno1]

I havent watched the entire vid yet but the announcer said i have 1200,000 warriors thirsting for battle. Twelve Hundred Thousand yeah right

[coobicek]

dude....they were just saying what hapened in the rea; history no shit they didnt have 12000 warriors

[TyrsKrieger]

Great!

I've read about the reenactment of the battle in a german magazine about medieval warfare and was amazed and enthused about this great event.

Much much better then these curious LARP-"Battles". ;-)

[castroherman]

Great video thank you for sharing. 1066 is truly a wonderful year for history. These re-enactments are a great way to show appretiation for your nation's history. My country lacks that completely, dont ever take it for granted.

[londonpenda]

Glad you enjoyed this castroherman.

England's government, the 'British Parliament'is trying to ignore England's past history, so, you are not alone;)

Be safe.

[LordCerneAbbas]

England's history? You mean, some government dishes out shit, and the English eat it, the same as they have always done, since 1066.

[greyhoundmadness]

i was there i was one of the fostri's of the saxon army

those people who doesnt no wot a fostri was we were the ones that gave out water, collected the arrows and running away when we lost

[xosddo]

I was there too; commanding the archery unit furthest from the camera...

and yes... its the best fun you can have with your clothes on!

[zaccc]

This looks like so much fun. Wish they did stuff like that where I live.

[FinalFreek]

for saying this is at a english heritage property it's not historicly acurate. firstly pikes wouldn't of been dicovered,secondly the cavelry wouldn't ride with spear underarm they would fight with it over arm and use it like a javelin not a lance they would actualy ride in throw the spear at the wall then ride off and charge using they're swords.

[xosddo]

All the weapons allowed on the field were historically accurate (except the rubber blunts on the arrows). I know, I was there and one of the organisers so get your facts straight... As for the use of cavalry I don't know, but health & safety would have something to say about what you propose!

[xosddo]

This was supposed to be a reply to finalfreek...

[FinalFreek]

i'm wanting to make a video about health and safty ruining fun but seriously next time your there read the book on it and look the the baeux tappestry they'll both say and show you the norman knights using spears over arm. I know becuase i've read the book and seem programs on the tappestry.

[Paeremannen]

I think I heard some children shouting "ut! ut! ut!".

Allready nationaloists. ;)

[londonpenda]

Very true:)

Thanks for taking time to comment.

[Rauhbauty]

Thanks for the response. I sent you a message. Hopefully you got it. I have been right in the middle of it and it was great. The best I've ever done in reenactment.

Thorsaie

[londonpenda]

I saw your green shield with the red lion on.

I'm replying now. :))

[DethDefied]

normans were french

[Rauhbauty]

Hey Londonpenda, great video. I enjoyed it very much, especially since I was right in the middle of the battle together with my companions from the Franco Flemic Contingent who fought on the right flank, of course on the Norman side, lol. Green shields. Is there any chance to get maybe a copy of this video?

Thorsaie

[londonpenda]

Sorry for the delay in getting back to you,I wasn't notified...!That was some day wasn't it.?? I was only watching..Was that bod in this vid with the green shield you.?

[hanumizzle]

Wow. My ancestors were way more awesome than I am.

[londonpenda]

Your right hanumizzle...They had to fight to live...

[hanumizzle]

On the plus side, I'm probably a better programmer than most of them (Norman and Saxon both), being as they lacked digital computers...heh.

Just curious---is there a message you intend to convey with these recordings?

[londonpenda]

I don't know hanumizzle,there might have been one or two who would be better at the PC than I am...!

Sorry,there is no intended message in these vids,I just wanted to share the experience with you all. I really enjoyed the day,I had waited years to see it..

The vids are for the people who couldn't be there.

London. ;o)

[hanumizzle]

Well, cheers then.

[keh1985]

I am so glad to see so many Hastings videos! I wasn't able to come back this year, and this is really great!

[londonpenda]

Glad you liked the vid keh. It was some day,the 940th anniversary and on the very day,Sat 14th October...Have you had a look at my other Battle of Hastings vids.The commentry got on your nerves a bit.

[skirmishmagazine]

Cool Video - I'm collecting all Living History Videos, take a look for more! Thanks Skirmish Magazine, The Living History Magazine