A riveting and authoritative history of the single most important event in English history: The Norman Conquest. An upstart French duke who sets out to conquer the most powerful and unified kingdom in Christendom. An invasion force on a scale not seen since the days of the Romans. One of the bloodiest and most decisive battles ever fought. This new history explains why the Norman Conquest was the most significant cultural and military episode in English history. Assessing the original evidence at every turn, Marc Morris goes beyond the familiar outline to explain why England was at once so powerful and yet so vulnerable to William the Conqueror’s attack. Morris writes with passion, verve, and scrupulous concern for historical accuracy. This is the definitive account for our times of an extraordinary story, indeed the pivotal moment in the shaping of the English nation.

This guidebook provides a history of the Battle of Hastings and a tour of Battle Abbey, and an account of its foundation.

If ever there was a year of destiny for the British Isles, 066 must have a strong claim. King Harold faced invasion not just from William and the Normans across the English Channel but from the Dane, King Harald Hadrada. Before he faced the Normans at Hastings in October he had fought and defeated the Danes at York and neighboring Stamford Bridge in September. What dramatic changes of fortune, heroic marches, assaults by land and sea took place that year! This book explains what really happened and why in what is arguably the 'best-known' but worst understood battle in British history.

The events of 1066 need no introduction and many would claim that we have said all that there is to be said on the subject. Clearly they would be wrong. This thorough and detailed study, "the most detailed treatment of its subject for over a hundred years", reassesses the English and French sources that comment on the size, nature and tactics of the French and English armies and the events of the battle itself. This study breaks from the consensus of opinion in many ways and is a well-illustrated, highly readable account. 1066 remains the most evocative date in English history: King Harold was defeated by William the Conqueror, and the rule of England passed abruptly from the control of Saxon to that of Norman kings. M.K. Lawson re-writes this pivotal turning point in English history by subjecting the sources to the most detailed analysis ever undertaken. As a result, the consensus of opinion about many aspects of the battle, established in the late nineteenth century (and hardly questioned since), is shattered. Many of the facts about the battle have been deduced from the Bayeux Tapestry. M.K. Lawson takes a critical new look at this vital source subjecting it to a searching analysis. His conclusions are explosive. He advances powerful reasons for believing that the figure long accepted as being Harold hit in the eye by an arrow was originally simply one of the king's bodyguards throwing a spear. He also suggests that far more troops were involved than previously believed, operating over a significantly larger area and deploying more sophisticated tactics. - Publisher.

A fresh insight into the Battle of Hastings, one of the most famous battles in British history. Compelling new evidence that suggests a new location for the battlefield. Detailed research using new archaeological evidence.In-depth analysis of primary sources and modern interpretations in uncovering the true location of the battle.

Edited with a facing-page English translation from the Latin text by: Morton, Catherine;