battle of hastings recruiting :: essays research papers fc

October 14th of the year 1066 twain armies faced each other near the town of Hastings. 10,000 Norman process under the command of William of Normandy faced 8,000 Anglo-Saxon soldiers led by Harold the afoot(predicate) king of England.Geoffrey Parker, Cambridge Illustrated History of Warfare (Cambridge 1995), pp. 82-3. Harolds 8,000 men consisted of Housecarls, the topical anesthetic Fyrd, and local resolution put ups.David Howarth, 1066 The Year of the Conquest (New York 1977),pp.170-1 The two armies clashed on that day and history tells us the outcome. But what forces go into creating an army of these sizes? The three main Anglo-Saxon parade types will be defined and the forces that created them will be examined below. Three raft types would fight for the Anglo-Saxons the Housecarls, the Fyrd, and local shaverry. The Housecarls were professional soldiers under the service of the King and the Earls of the Kingdom. Harold use the Housecarls of the King and his Housecarls of his Earldom of Wessex. He also used the Housecarls of his two brothers. The Fyrd was a volunteer citizen army plyd by the Thanes of the kingdom. The local peasants fought to protect their homes.David Howarth, 1066 The Year of the Conquest (New York 1977), pp. 80-1. in that location were two divisions of fyrd in the 11th century one consisting of a local peasant force and the other a select levy force.C. warren Hollister, Anglo-Saxon Military Institutions On the even of the Norman Conquest (Oxford 1962), p. 26.The local peasant Fyrd that fought at Hastings came from Sussex.C. rabbit warren Hollister, Anglo-Saxon Military Institutions On the Eve of the Norman Conquest (Oxford 1962), p.30. All freemen of the area were obligated to provide protection for the local area. This obligation was connected with financial and agricultural obligations.C. Warren Hollister, Anglo-Saxon Military Institutions On the Eve of the Norman Conquest (Oxford 1962), pp. 35-6. The peasant fighting force i s a Germanic tradition in origin. establish upon a freemans duty to defend the lands of the king, however the peasant force is a limited army. The king is required to pay the troops if needed for them to word of farewell the area. The peasants have the right to return to there homes at the end of the day. However, they must(prenominal) provide their own equipment.C. Warren Hollister, Anglo-Saxon Military Institutions On the Eve of the Norman Conquest (Oxford 1962), pp. 27-8. The primary function of the peasant Fyrd was to provide denial against enemies attack from the sea, such as the events at Hastings.