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There is an old saying that sometimes still gets repeated: “Fighting never solved anything.” Well, soldiers fighting win or lose battles, and battle victories determine wars, and wars change history and the lives of many people. Therefore fighting, or battles, do resolve many issues in history, for better or for worse. One of the battles in history that has affected millions of lives, even down to the present, is the Battle of Hastings. The book The Battle of Hastings, by Peter Gray, part of the United Kingdom Historical Events Series, describes this battle and surrounding events quite well, probably at a high school level or perhaps an upper middle school level.
In 1066 AD, Harold was the king of England, defending his country against the invasion of Duke William of Normandy, which is in France right across the English Channel from Hastings, which is only 50 miles southwest of the white cliffs of Dover. Harold’s people were a mixture of Anglo-Saxons and former Vikings who had settled in England over the last two centuries, becoming one people. The Normans themselves were former Vikings who had conquered part of France and then became totally assimilated into the French language and culture, in 200 years completely losing their Viking heritage. The country name “Normandy” literally means “land of the northmen.”
Harold might have been able to win the battle of Hastings except that he had just fought and won a battle in the north against an invasion of real Vikings. Rushing back down to Hastings took its toll and Harold died and lost the battle to Duke William, afterwards called William the Conqueror. This battle profoundly changed European and English history. Its consequences come down to today. Modern English is a mixture of Anglo-Saxon, which comes from German, and medieval French, which is one of the reason those millions around the world who learn English as a second language find its grammar (or lack thereof) so complicated and arbitrary. There are only a few battles in history that are as important to learn about as the Battle of Hastings.