Edward the Confessor, who had restored the Royal House of Wessex to the Engish throne in 1042, died childless in January 1066, leaving his successor to be decided by the sword. Edward's brother-in-law, Harold Godwineson, wasted no time asserting his right to the throne and had himself crowned on the day of Edward's burial.
Although William, Duke of Normandy, was more distantly related to Edward than Harold, he asserted that he had also been promised the throne by Edward. So he prepared to invade and he finally crossed the English Channel and landed in Pevensey on 28th September. In a confident mood, Harold marched his army quickly down to the south, hoping to destroy the Normans in one decisive clash.
The meeting of the two armies was at Hastings on 14th October 1066. William used archers and mounted warriors, whereas Harold's men were mostly food soldiers, who relied on their shield wall to protect them from enemy assaults. A crucial moment came when Harold was killed. After this the English were overcome. The country had no leader to oppose William.
The Norman conquest brought sweeping changes. The Anglo-Saxon aristocracy was replaced by William's followers, who began castle-building. They also built several churches. On a cultural, England turned away from Scandinavia and established closer ties with western Europe and, on a linguistic level, there was an injection of romance languages into the vernacular, pushing the Old English laguage into retreat.
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