Volume 1
History of the County Palatine and Duchy of Lancaster / By Edward Baines ... The biographical department by W.R. Whatton.
- Edward Baines
- Date:
- 1836
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: History of the County Palatine and Duchy of Lancaster / By Edward Baines ... The biographical department by W.R. Whatton. Source: Wellcome Collection.
96/672 page 62
![Oct. 14th. Battle of Hastings. 62 The Historp of the replied, that the god of battles should be the arbitrator, and decide the differences between them. “Yielding to the impetuosity of his own temper, instead of listening to the wise counsels of his brother Gurth, he marched from London without due preparation, in the vain hope of surprising the Normans in the south, as he had surprised the Norwegians in the north. The night before the battle of Hastings was passed by the invaders in preparations and in prayer,* while the English devoted their hours to festivity and joyful anticipations. The fate of England hung on the issue of the day. Before the battle commenced, William joined in the solemnity of religious worship, and received the sacrament at the hands of the bishop ; and to give increased effect to these solemnities, he hung round his neck the reliques on which Harold had sworn to support his claims to the English throne.f He divided his army into three bodies. In front he placed his light infantry, armed with arrows and balistae, led by Montgomery. ‘The second division, commanded by Martel, consisted of his heavy-armed battalions. His cavalry, at whose head he stood in person, formed the third line, and were so disposed, that they stretched beyond the infantry, and flanked each wing of the army. ‘To stimulate their courage, he addressed them in words to this effect:—‘“ Remember Rollo, the founder of your nation, and the glorious achievements of your ancestors. You have now a rich booty before you. If J become the king of England, you will be the owners of the land; vengeance and plunder are alike before you. You are to punish the perjury of the English. They massacred our kinsmen, the Danes and the Normans. Harold, their king, has been guilty of the basest perjury. You are to fight, not only for victory, but for life. Ifyou are victorious, glory and wealth are your rewards; if you are defeated, a cruel death, or hopeless captivity, await you. Escape there is none. On one side, an unknown and hostile country; on the other, the blockading sea. Would it not be a disgrace to be vanquished by a nation accustomed to be conquered; a nation without arrows, and without military warriors? Raise, soldiers, your standard. Let the lightning of your glory shine resplendent from the east to the west.”{ Still further to incite their ardour, Taillefer, a Norman minstrel, inflamed the martial ardour of the men of Britany, of Normandy, and of Poictou, by smging the song of Roland and Charlemagne: ‘¢ Taillefer qui mout bien chantout, Sur un cheval qui tost alout, Devant euls aloit chantant, De Kallemaigne et de Roullant, Et d’ Olivier et de Vassaux Qui moururent en Rains chevaux.’’§ “Will. of Malms.p,101. + Guil. Pict. p. 201 t Hen. of Hunt. p. 368. —§ Lane. p. 461].](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b33521682_0001_0096.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
