King Harold's soldiers
were made up of housecarls and the
fyrd. Housecarls were well-trained, full-time
soldiers who were paid for their services. They wore a short mail-coat
called a byrnie. The sleeves were left short to enable freedom of
movement in battle. They wore a pointed helmet to help deflect blows
from sword attacks. Their main weapon was the battle-axe.
The heavy curved blade and long handle meant that the weapon had to
be held with both hands.
Housecarls also used a long double-edged
sword with a shallow grove running along the blade on both sides
to make it lighter. They also carried a long kite
shield. When William of Normandy
heard that the the Witan had chosen Harold
Godwinson as king in January 1066, he began making plans to invade
England.
The fyrd were working men who were called
up to fight for the king in times of danger. The leaders of the fyrd,
the thegns, had swords, bows
and spears but the rest of the men were
inexperienced fighters and carried weapons such as iron clubs, slings,
axes, scythes,
sickles and haymaking
forks.
Section
53: The English battle-axe and
the Norman double-edged sword
in action at the Battle of Hastings,
Bayeux
Tapestry (c. 1090)
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