Story of the illustrations History is.. Walking to Waltham Abbey History in stitches |
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Starting at the left, the panel has King Harald, ready for battle. Behind King Harald, his well-equipped housecarls carry his banner, the Landwaster. Below Harald, a group of soldiers advance towards the ford. Their dress and formation indicate that they are different from the other Norse warriors. These weaker soldiers were sent forward to tempt the English to attack. Many of their comrades already lie wounded or dead in the marsh. The opening phase of the battle went to the English. Facing the Norsemen is a defiant Earl Morcar. Below him some of his best warriors prepare a hog’s head – an interlocked group of warriors that is designed to drive into the opposing shield wall. The figure at the front of this group appears reluctant but his posture is just pushing back against the thrust of the rest of the formation – This helps keep them together. This was how a shield wall would be broken. There are some other groups keeping out of range on the land leading down to the river. The boys with slings can inflict little harm but they can force the attackers to keep their shields raised. We have no record of slings being used in these battles but they are shown in the Bayeux.
This is a scaled-down, image of the 5 metre tapestry It has been split into 6 sections to make it easier to display on the web. |
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