14 October 1066
Battle of Hastings

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William, duke of Normandy, invades England and defeats Harold II, the Anglo-Saxon king who succeeded Edward the Confessor earlier in the year. William believes that the childless Edward, who had close links with Normandy, had named him as his successor and that Harold, as earl of Wessex, had sworn an oath to the same effect. During the battle, which actually takes place a few miles inland from Hastings, the English foot soldiers, tired from an earlier campaign to prevent a Norse invasion in the north, are finally worn down by Norman knights, who charge repeatedly on horseback. Reports say that Harold is fatally wounded when an arrow strikes him in the eye. Despite his victory, William loses a quarter of his men.

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