FACT OR FICTION
HOW DIDHAROLDDIE?

October 14th, 1066. The Battle of Hastings.

Scroll to investigate

THIS INVESTIGATION ACCOMPANIES OUR

AGE OF EMPIRES IV

LEARNALONG SERIES

Watch the Learnalong episodes first, then return here to investigate.

Ask anyone how Harold died.
They’ll tell you the same thing.
An arrow.
In the eye.
Everyone knows this.
But where does it come from?
One source.
The Bayeux Tapestry.

THE BAYEUX TAPESTRY

Almost 70 metres of embroidered linen, stitched by the winners — the Normans — within years of the battle. Above this scene, a Latin inscription reads:

HAROLD REX INTERFECTUS EST

“King Harold is killed.”

But it doesn’t say HOW.

Examine the scene below. Tap each numbered marker and record what you see.

Bayeux Tapestry — death of Harold scene

YOUR EVIDENCE LOG

0 of 5 zones investigated

Tap a zone on the Tapestry to begin investigating.

There’s one more thing.
The Bayeux Tapestry is almost 1,000 years old.
Parts of it have been damaged.
Parts have been repaired.
In the 19th century, sections were re-stitched.
Including the scene you just examined.
The ‘arrow’ in the figure’s hand?
It may not be original.
Some historians believe it was a spear.
Others think it was added during restoration.
The evidence you just analysed…
…might have been changed.

THE SOURCES

Five people wrote about what happened. Each one wrote at a different time. The further from the battle, the more the story changed. As you go through each source, ask yourself: how close were they to what actually happened?

1066

October 14th. Harold dies at Hastings, ending 600 years of Anglo-Saxon rule and fundamentally reshaping England.

~10671 YEAR LATER

SOURCE 1 — Carmen de Hastingae Proelio

Written by Guy, Bishop of Amiens, probably within a year of the battle. He describes Harold being cut down by four knights — including William himself. No arrow is mentioned.

Is this a primary or secondary source?

Based on this source:

~1070s~10 YEARS LATER

SOURCE 2 — The Bayeux Tapestry

Embroidered linen, probably made in England by English workers on Norman orders. A figure near the words ‘Harold is killed’ appears to hold something near his face — but is it an arrow? Or a spear? And is that figure Harold?

Based on this source:

~112559 YEARS LATER

SOURCE 3 — Gesta Regum Anglorum

Written by William of Malmesbury, an English monk, 59 years after the battle. He mentions Harold being struck by an arrow but doesn’t specify the eye.

Is this a primary or secondary source?

Based on this source:

~113569 YEARS LATER

SOURCE 4 — Historia Anglorum

Written by Henry of Huntingdon, 69 years after the battle. This is the FIRST source to say Harold was hit by an arrow IN THE EYE. He was born decades after the battle.

This is the first time anyone mentions the eye.

Is this a primary or secondary source?

Based on this source:

~116094 YEARS LATER

SOURCE 5 — Roman de Rou

Written by Wace, a Norman poet, almost 100 years after the battle. He gives the most dramatic version — Harold struck in the eye, then cut down by knights. He was writing a poem, not a history.

Is this a primary or secondary source?

Based on this source:

0

ARROW

0

NO ARROW

0

UNCLEAR

Now make your case.

HOW DID HAROLD DIE?