Every year, re-enactment society The Vikings hold a re-enactment of the battle of Hastings on the very site of the battle itself. But in 2006 the call went out to groups across the world, as this time it would be one of the biggest re-enactments ever staged in Britain.
I’d been in two minds about going to Hastings ever since Regia announced that we were going to take part. On the one hand standing in an ‘army’ of over a thousand warriors re-fighting probably the most famous battle in English history on the site of the actual battle itself had huge appeal. On the other, I’ve never liked scripted, fixed end combat and the Battle of Hastings obviously has to end in a Norman victory!
As the weeks went by though and the event got closer the more I wanted to be there, and so on the morning of Friday 13th October JD and Spook picked me up and we set off on the long drive to the south coast. Apart from getting stuck in traffic on the M25 the drive down was OK but we were later in arriving than we’d hoped, after we’d registered and pitched our tent we went for a look round. First stop was the beer tent where we met Nigel, Joe and Al and I said hello to my mates from the Migard Vikings, Regia though seemed a bit thin on the ground so we headed into Battle (the village) and the pub. The 1066 was crowded with people from all over Europe (and beyond) and we were beginning to get an idea of just how big this event was going to be! We had a pint and went back to the site to find that Regia had arrived in force and we spent a pleasant night sat around the De Bec shelter drinking and chatting.
Saturday
Next morning we woke and had breakfast and, not being on the LHE we then really had nothing else to do till the battle in the afternoon. Seeing a column of Norman cavalry ride past, a few of us wandered off to look over the rest of the site. The LHE was vast, as it should be having groups from all over the world represented! The quality and authenticity was a bit mixed, some were excellent other not quite so good but the overall effect was stunning. We had a mooch round and then went to look at the traders. The market was superb - while there some stalls were selling fantasy tat, there were also a huge number of traders selling top notch kit. I was particularly annoyed I couldn’t afford one of the absolutely gorgeous seax’s one of the eastern Europeans had. In all we spent a good couple of hours and still didn’t see everything, but we had to get back to muster for battle.
Part of the Norman flank
After changing, we were checked for authenticity and our weapons for safety, said good bye and good luck (with a bit of banter) to the Regia Norman contingent and trooped off to the Saxon muster point at the top of the hill. As we waited for every warrior to have his kit and weapons checked, there was chance for a good look round. After the Vike made a presentation to a couple of their members it was time to take the field.
As part of the Saxon left flank we were one of the first units to deploy. We marched on with Kim and Kev carrying the Regia dragon windsock banner of Wessex at our head. The rest of the English left flank was made up of some other Brits, some Scandinavians (Danes I think) and some other continentals I couldn’t tell where from. I didn’t know anything about them but we were all in this together!
Being one of the first units on the field, we could stand and watch as the rest of Harold’s army marched on. It was well worth it as the spectacle of over one thousand warriors taking the field is one I’ll remember for a very long time. Even this though paled as we looked down the hill to see the Normans deploying – one thousand infantry, one hundred cavalry and one hundred and fifty archers all taking their places and preparing to attack.
The battle, and a new German unit
A Norman cavalry assault
The battle started with the Norman archers advancing halfway up the hill and loosing volleys towards our position. I don’t know why but very few arrows reached us on the left. While centre unit were taking a lot, the arrows loosed at us almost all fell short which was a bit of a disappointment. Then came the cavalry who charged to the line before peeling away and jabbing at the front rank with their lances. Cavalry attacks were purely for show and were not under any circumstances to charge home into the shield wall, nor were the infantry to engage them save for a bit of shield tapping. Even knowing that, the sight, sound and feel of a hundred mailed horsemen charging you really does send a shiver down the spine!
In the wake of the cavalry came the Norman infantry. Because there were so many re-enactors on the field, we were split into twelve ranks and had to wait our turn to fight. Starting off at the back, we were able to have a good look at the ‘Normans’ we were going to be up against. The infantry fight was well done - though the battle was scripted so the Normans had to win, we were still trying to hit each other. Any hits were played up as ‘wounds’ rather than kills with the warriors moaning and clutching the damaged part before recovering after a minute or so. The real penalty for being hit was losing your place in the front line and having to wait for the other eleven ranks to have their turn before you get to fight again!
On the Norman right: A well drilled, well equipped German unit
Facing us there was the Regia Norman contingent who were giving a good account of themselves. By far the largest part of the Norman right flank we faced, however, was made up of a very impressive red and green shielded German group who had superb kit and a very high standard of field discipline. Fighting them was both interesting and fun. Interesting because their style was rather different from ours, with swordsmen in the front rank and spearmen behind. Fun because they were rather good. We had a series of very good dust ups with them and, though I think we had the edge, we did have the advantage of more and longer spears which always helps!
During the battle the Saxons are gradually whittled down until the final clash is fought out competitively - but with the Normans having a crushing numerical advantage. We ended up in a knot of about seventy, cut off from the centre unit and hammed in by infantry and cavalry. After holding our ground but gradually being thinned out (lots of Norman immortals by the way), a few of us went out in a blaze of glory bursting through enemy lines.
Looking back on it it was a good day but it was more the sheer scale and spectacle that made it so. The number of ranks meant that until the bulk of our flank had charged down hill and been cut to pieces (and the recycled on the Norman side) our experience of fighting was short bursts of action punctuated by long waits. Having said that though it must be remembered that this was the first time anything on this scale had been attempted and with that in mind I thought the organisation was excellent. That night was great, a few of us going into town before Regia gathered round Gavs camper van until the wee small hours to tell our tales and boast about our prowess!
Sunday, and the Regia boarsnout
Sunday was similar to the day before. We ate, hung around the camp, had a look at the LHE and traders before kitting up for the battle, going to muster and taking our places on the field. Again we were on the Saxon left flank, but the Regia Normans were nowhere to be seen - we later learned they’d been put on the other side of the field, no idea why - and there was only a sea of red and green in front of us. The script was obviously the same as the day before, but this time we were warmed to our work and (as the Saxon side seemed to have shrunk) had more time in the front line. This enabled us to try a few more things, in particular a steppan, where we advance a step at a time thrusting with our spears at any gaps. On two occasions we drove the other units a good forty paces back down the hill but, credit where it’s due they kept their formation and discipline and fought back every step of the way. I was very impressed!
Blaze of glory: the tip of the Regia boarsnout
In the end, though, we had to lose... but this time we chose to go out with a bang and launch a boar snout into the mass of Normans. A volunteer was asked for to lead it and (just beating Mike and one or two others) I got my shout in first to be at the front of an eighty man boar snout hurtling down Senlac ridge into the enemy shield wall! We hit a double ranked line and, perhaps not surprisingly burst straight through it.
I went over in the collision but as there were no enemy left in the vicinity to finish me off, got up and went for an unguarded standard bearer about twenty yards away. I think I got a couple of shots in on him before being blatted by what felt like half the Norman army, but alas he didn’t go down (I don’t blame the bloke, as I don’t think I’d have surrendered our banner to an unknown opponent). Still killing an enemy standard bearer was a suitably heroic end to the battle and both allies and enemies all seemed to have had a great time. We marched back to camp and after a fine speech from Kim we finished dropping the tent and set off for home.
