Battle of Hastings1066

Dear Diary,

I just got back from time travelling. They set the machine on “Man” and “Hastings 1066”. The machine must have gone wrong, though. I’m a girl, a couple of days before the battle, and in Normandy. Girls in these days don’t have many rights. I also can’t wear a dress above my ankles! And I can’t wear pants either! That’s just part of it. I have to get up early to milk the cow, and when I say early, I don’t mean just 6:30 in the morning, I mean around 3:00! Anyways, right now that’s not my greatest concern. My greatest concern is that, as a girl, I might not be able to go to England on a ship, much less assist to the battle itself. For the go to England part, I’ll ask my dad. I could go like the neighbour’s daughter to encourage them, or serve food. Obviously I am o the Normans side.The ships are ready, but the weather sure isn’t, which means we’re stuck here waiting for a wind change. – Yours,

Carisa T.

Dear Diary,

I’m starting to have some problems. Firstly, my “parents” are starting to get suspicious that I’m staying locked up in my room for so long. I can’t tell them I’m writing a diary because women and most men don’t know how to write, and paper costs way to much at this time. My second problem is that my dad just plain flat out refuses to let me go with him. You know what that means? Yup, I’m going to have to sneak onto the ship. When my parents are in bed, I’ll steal some salted meat, a vial of pure water, and some string, to amuse myself in the journey.-Yours

Carisa

Dear Diary,

We have arrived, finally! The trip went smoothly and quickly. Tonight, when nobody is looking, I am going outside to stretch my legs, get some fresh air, and maybe even get that sea smell out of my long red hair. (Actually, its more brown than red.) I am getting a little tired of smoked beef, although that was only about a day. Maybe I could find mushrooms. I have got to make sure no on sees an unwanted passenger is on board, or else I could be hanged. Anyways, the men are waiting for the Saxons, fully armed. I plan to hide in a bush near the battlegrounds. Tommorrow, we Normans are reay to fight! -Yours truly,

Carisa Anne Thatcher

Dear Diary,

I am now cosily hidden behind a bush. I decided to use the string by planting two sticks in the ground and attaching the string to it. This way, If the Saxons or Normans come charging towards me, with, or without, big horses, they will trip, giving me time to run away. Everybody is wearing chainmail, and glinting silver armor. The shields are mostly made of wood, and adorned in the middle with a large metal plate. Anyways, watching the battle, I think the Saxons have the advantage, since they are up hill and the Normans down hill. The Saxons have made a rather strong shied wall. Everyone is wearing chainmail and stiff iron armor. The Housecarls, from England, are using double sided axes. The Normans are trying to intimmidate their enemy by being on horseback, and it seems to be working. They all seem hungry for each others blood! The Norman archers are trying to shoot the Saxons with no sucess, due to the up hill position. Now the Normans have decided to charge, but the shield wall holds back. If the Normans make a dent in the wall, though, they could easily attack. Oh, what do I see? The Normans are fleeying! Or are they? It seems they are tricking the Saxons. Well, it sure did trick them, cause it is breacking the shield wall since the English are running after them. Harold, king of England, can not do anthing about it since he is on foot, compared to William, who is on horseback.Oh dear! The fleeying Normans and chasing Saxons are going straight towards me! Some are even tripping over my trap, but are not stopping. Suddenly, the Normans, outnumbering the Saxons, turn around and kill most of them. Then, they run back for more! After a while, William starts his archers up again, until Harold gets shot in the eye by an arrow. Yippee! We won! -C.A.T

After the battle, the Norman ship returned home, but I stayed. Anyways, the machine will take me back to the future, and the real Carisa will return home. - Ophelie Tousignant.

Diary of Thorfinna (Collette) in 1066

­­­­­1^st of September 1066

Whew! I just came from 2009. I invented a time machine and I can go back to lots of time periods. When I come to a time period I become part of a family that are actually my ancestors. In this time period I am a Viking. I love coming back to my family in the Middle Ages. I just adore my little brother. I am an only child in 2009. I am 16 and I have decided to record all of my time travel in this journal. I am a bondi. A bondi is one of the classes or ranks in society. A bondi is a man or woman born free. They are not slaves or freed slaves. They are not the king or a Jarl. They are able to participate in the law including voting at the althing. They are the 3^rd main rank out of 5.

6^th of September 1066

Father says I should get married…at 15 years of age, and I have no choice but to accept it. Things have definitely changed over the years. I hope I get a handsome, sweet, and rich man. I don’t go to school, so I do a lot of chores around the house. I help with the cooking and make lots of clothes out of wool and I shave the sheep.

7^th of September 1066

King Hardraada (Viking) is planning to conquer England and take back what is rightfully ours. Harlad Hardraada was going to be King of England but then Edward the Confessor (King Edward of England is known as Edward the Confessor in 2009) stole the throne and became king of England. Edward has died, and now is the perfect time for us Vikings to attack the Saxons and take England back. I should be excited, but I’m not, for my brother Ragi will have to fight. I cannot let that happen, for he could die.

Harald Hadraada fighting in a battle (he is a good warrior)

Harold Godwinson fighting another person (he is good at leading armies)

Night of 7^th of September 1066

I have stolen some money from my parents and I am going to buy a spear and a shield. In this age, the weapon you have represents your class and how much money you have. I cannot buy a sword because those are expensive. I have to by some men’s clothes (a woolen shirt, long cloth pants, drawstring, ¾ length coat, belt, and long leather boots). Then I have to buy/steel chainmail and an iron helmet to put over my clothes. But before I do that, I have to make my hair look messier and leave a note telling my family what I am doing. They cannot tell anyone about what I’m doing. I am going to enlist as my brother. If they find out it is me, and not Ragi, then I will be killed.

25^th of September 1066

By the way my name is Thorfinna. I am sorry that I have not written in a while. Things have been crazy!!! I enlisted in the army, and then trained a little, and marched all the way to Stamford Bridge where I am today. Stamford Bridge is a bridge over a river. I felt it was a long walk, but we did not go extremely fast. I have made friends with Ref. He is a tough and big man, but has a great heart. He will do anything to win this battle. I have never felt so much appreciation for someone (well except my brother). Ref is a rich bondi by the way. Today many of us have just been relaxing, and eating on the west side of the bridge. I have taken all my armor off and put all my weapons away because it will be another week before the Saxons come. What it that over there…

29^th of September 1066

The Saxons arrived early at the battlefield. They arrived on the 25^th of September. We didn’t even have our armor on. We had to run to the other side to fight and get into position. Everyone was sprinting and running to the bridge to cross the river. Some fell off the bridge and drowned, and others weren’t fast enough and got slaughtered. We made a shield wall. Ref stood on the bridge and killed at least forty men, not letting the Saxons cross. But one cunning, cheeky, and sneaky Saxon got into a barrel and floated under the bridge with a spear. I tried to tell Ref, but I wasn’t loud enough, and he was stabbed. Ref died. I was in tears and screaming at that moment, but I needed to focus and save myself. The Saxons crossed the bridge and they formed a shield wall too. We were neck and neck, no more than two meters apart. They smelt disgusting. It was the end of September, so I should have been cooler, but there was so much body heat and I could feel myself becoming red (but I’m not sure if it was from fear or heat). The Saxons charged at us and eventually formed a kink in our shield wall. The kink became bigger and eventually they broke our wall. The wall was our only self defense because we were not prepared and didn’t have our armor on. The Saxons (King Harold’s army) had surrounded us because they broke through our shield wall. But I am from the future, remember, so I knew what was going to happen and I ran away as fast as I could. I kept running as far as I could go, until I could not go any farther. Then I collapsed right by my time machine. I couldn’t believe it. I have been making sure that it is safe because I am going to leave 1066 soon. I have seen so much terror in northern England. I know from the future that William Duke of Normandy will conquer England and have no mercy for the northern Englanders. William’s army will come to northern England and burn all the crops and kill many people. I have done as much as I can to protect Ragi and I hope that he will be able to protect himself, but I need to protect myself and go back to my 2009 family.

a shield wall

the battle

30^th of September 2009

I’m back to 2009. It feels very good. After I made sure that the time machine was safe, I stepped onto the time machine (that is the shape of a table) and pressed the numbered buttons in this order 2-0-0-9. The buttons are a lot like elevator buttons. Then I felt really dizzy because 2009 was getting ready to suck me in. I felt more dizzy going to 2009 than coming to 2009 because the heavier you are the more dizzy you are. I had gained a lot of weight because I gained a lot of muscle. Then when you are actually being sucked in, it was really fun. It was like a rollercoaster/waterslide. But now I’m back and I found 1066 really interesting, but very scary. Maybe I should go back sometime with my class to 1066.

The Stamford Bridge Report

September 5

I have successfully travelled through the chronic and spatial matter processing device or ‘time machine’. The year is 1066 C.E in a Viking port town in Norway. There are many ships and men preparing supplies for an invasion of England. Leading the invasion is the Norse king and one of the fiercest Viking warriors of all time, Harald Hardraada. He is of course trying to become king of England to restore the Viking line of kings but he is also competing for the throne with the incumbent king Harold Godwineson and William, duke of Normandy. Armor, men and supplies are ready and, typical of Vikings they are restless and anxious for a fight. If we don’t leave soon these Norseman will start drinking. The army is due to leave port at noon and we shall travel on the speedy Viking longships, which are shallow, lengthy, wooden, rowboats with a single square mast at the center and carvings of Scandinavian monsters at the end of the prow.

Battle of Hastings,1066

Battle of Hastings by Ruben De Fraye

9th October 1066

Dear Diary,

I’m Peter from the future to study the war in the Middle Ages. I have brown eyes and short brown hair. My age is 45 years and I am a man without a wife and children. When I am a soldier I wear armour, a bow, a knife and a small sword.

First I was a blacksmith but not anymore because we are at war. Our King, Edward, died and he doesn’t have children. There are three successors who want to be king, so they started a war; King Harold Godwinson, who belonged to the most powerful family in England from Wessex, Harold Hardrada from Norway and William, Duke of Normandy. I’m on the side of William, Duke of Normandy, because I know that he is going to win. In the army of William, I’m an archer. I can use a bow since I was four years old because my father taught me. In the army I‘m the best archer. I can shoot a duck from 500 yards with my bow; that’s also why I’m not a smith anymore.

I’m now on the coast of Normandy. Soon we are going into our boats and row to England. The boats are really big but there is not a lot of space because there are many people on one boat. We have about 500 boats.

You better not go to our Duke; he is really mad at Harold Godwinson, because he crowned himself in Westminster Abbey the day after King Edward died. But we also heard some good news, Harald Hardrada died at the battle of Stamford Bridge in Yorkshire and so there are only two successors left. I think I’m going to put my armour on because we are going to England.

14th October 1066

Dear Diary,

We have landed at Pevensey and are now in Hastings, England. We are waiting for the troops of Harold Godwinson. They have been rushing down from the North where they fought against Harald Hardrada. The army of William is really large with 4000 knights and also some Spanish and Flemish soldiers, in total we are with 8000 soldiers. The English army has 8500 soldiers in total. It also has some housecarls, which are professional soldiers. All soldiers carry a conical helmet, a chain mail hauberk, and a kite-shaped shield. The army of king Harold has no knights. We send a knight to look where the Saxon army is. The army of the Saxons doesn’t have as much armour as we do.

4 hours later

Dear Diary,

There! Harold’s soldiers are in front of us in a shield wall. The first attack comes from our archers, but there are two problems. We can’t touch them with our arrows because they are on a hill. There is also another problem, if we can’t kill them today, then we can’t kill them tomorrow because every day they get more resources. So we must kill them today.

The soldiers attack after the archers and then come the knights. Now we, the archers, attack again followed by the soldiers and the knights. We have an advantage. We are split up in three groups; so if one group attacks the other groups can rest and the Saxons cannot rest because they have only one group. So they have to fight every time we attack them, which makes them tired.

Oh no, they take William off his horse. Is he alive or not???

The Saxons are now advancing, but there is our king, coming on his horse with his helmet in his hand. Now we have hope again, so we move to the shield wall, with the Spanish and Flemish soldiers. We still can’t break the wall, so the horses come again followed by the soldiers. In this last attack our soldiers pretend to flee. The Saxons think that they have won, so they run after us but it is a trap. Our horses charge to the Saxons and we encircle them and kill all of them. The archers attack the rest of the army. Suddenly, I see that Harold Godwinson is shot in the eye. He is dead. William has won. Our new king! Hail King William.

The end

Batlle

Batlle

battle of hasting-you there!

Battle of Hasting : you are there !!!!!

Hi, my name is Nola and I have to get back in past and give some information about the battle of Hasting.

DAY 1

3, 2, 1 there we go ! We are in 1066 and I arrived in a big house. From there we could see the people working. I was in a earl family.I could hear people speaking, not english, but french. I was in Normandy.

« Come on Noah, time to go to bed » my new mum said.

DAY 2

When I woke up, I had to rember realy to act like a boy and not said « I’m from the future ». When I went down to take my breakfast, my new mu told me that I was late for my work (war training) because nomands had a professional army. Yesterday I didn’t had time to look at the country and when I was going through the village I saw that normands built wooden castle on samll hills called mottes. They were used to defend the city. The normands also used stone as well, instead of wood to constuct their main buildings such as chures, abbeys and cathedrals.

When I arrived at the war training , I saw that normands fighting methods were very differnt from thoses of the saxons. They had knights who were heavily armed soldiers who fought on horseback : they were called the Cavalery. They carried kite shape shield and coats of mail. They also had some nose guards to protect their faces. Knights fought with Swords, maces, lances or javelins.

William, Duke of Nomandy, the Normands leader, had also 2 types of foot soldiers : the helmeted soldiers in leather armor who fought with spears, swords or small hand axes. And the archers, lightly armed man who carried bows (they could kill a man at a distance of 100 m).

DAY 3

Everything was ready for war. But there was a little problem : we needed a wind from the south to make the journey to England as quick as possible. And for 1 month we waited the wind to change direction.

A MONTH LATER

One day, the wind came south and we could go ! Soldiers didn’t know how to swim and were scared of water ! The crossing was an adventure and it took us one day to reach the english coast at Pevency beach. We were expecting the English but, luckily for us, they were nowhere to be seen. At Pevency, William told us to built wooden castle on top of a motte to protect us. Other soldiers looted houses and farms in search of food and supplies.

I was hiding in the boat and was observing what was happening.

William send out some troops to tell him where the saxons were. They were at Senlac Hill. William decided to take them by surprise the next day !

And I decided to follow them in sectert.

BATTLE DAY

ORGANISATION

We had to wake up very early this morning, Saturday October 14, 1066. When we arrived we were on Telham Hill opposit of Senlac Hill (the englisch).I was hidding in a little bush not far from the battlefield. Saxons had an adventage : they were up hill and we were down hill. Seeing that the Norman soldiers felt bad. Wiliam realised this and said : « Now is the time for you to show your strenght and the courage that is yours. You fight not only for victory but also for survival. »

Then he organised his soldiers in three ranks.

The first rank was made up by archers who only wore little armour and carried only few arrows. The second rank was made up by heavely armed foot soldiers who wore chail mail and helmet and shield for protection. The third rank was made up by the knights on horsebacks in chaine mail, armed with swords and javellins.

Norman troops were also divided into 3 wings. On the left were the Breton soldiers. On the right were the Frensh and Flamish. And in the middle were the Normands.

THE BATTLE

Suddently the Normans took one step fowards and the war started. First came the morman archers but it didn’t do anything because most of the arrows when staight over the Saxons head. Then the Norman foot soldiers took place. But they had to fight up hill so the Saxon had no probleme forcing them back. Then came the norman knights. The Normans had a little succsese. From now I could hear steel striking steel and the sound of dying men.

Suddendly some foot soldiers and knights from Brittany (the left hand wing) turned into confusion by the furry of the Saxon defence. They turned and fled. I don’t know if the soldiers were really scared or this was planned. The result of that is that the some Saxon left their strong position on the hill and run after the Normans. In this rush, William fell off his horse and the Normans all thought he was dead. This means that there was no point continuing the battle for the Normans !

But William was not dead. He bravly took off his helmet and said in the middle off the battle field « look at me well ! I’m still alive, and by the grace of God I shall yet prove victory ».

From this point the battle turn to the adventage of the Normans. William ordered to surrround the Saxons who came out of the rank down hill. Twice Saxon soldiers chased Norman soldiers down the hill, and twice they were cut into pieces. Slowly the Normans with their better weapons, their archers, and their knights on horseback began to win the battle.

Now the Norman archers have to shoot their arrows up hight in the air. And this is how Harold was dead with an arrow in his eye.

The war was finally finished.

William, Duke of Normandy will become King of England.

Back to 2009

Suddenly, I heard a loud sound coming from my hand. And I knew that I had to go back to 2009 now. What an adventure !

The END

The Memoirs of Lincoln Peterson

Journal

13/6/2036: I’ve finally done it! I invented the time machine. It uses a miniature wormhole to send yourself back in time. You must have a specially designed suit that dissolves as you get sent back in time to protect you from the elements and edges of the wormhole. If you touch one of the sides you will get sucked through and get ripped apart from the inside. It is almost flawless but I think it is worth the risk to test on myself. One of the 2 teeny tiny flaws is that it is I have no way back. My partner will continue to work on the time machine after I am sent, trying to find a way back (I’m going because we drew straws and I gat the short one. Not the greatest but well worth the risk. I am launching myself tomorrow back exactly 970 years, a little before the Battle of Hastings. I would perfect it before testing, but 970 years is the limit I can send myself back, and I have been researching the year 1066 for the last 2 years in my free time and breaks from working on the time machine. I should also mention the other flaw before I go. One is that it hurts like heck. I sent an animal (a monkey) back a week and the pain readings were about the same as a muscle shot, not too bad but it increases the farther you send yourself back. So if you send yourself back 970 years, that’s the same as fifty and a half thousand muscle shots in one place, this is happening all over your body. That is why I also invented an extremely powerful painkiller, and I mean extremely. It makes getting shot feel like you simply skinned your knee. This should still be very painful. The painkiller may be powerful but one dose only lasts 6.6 seconds. It takes one second per hundred years, so I will feel it for 3 seconds. If I took more than one dose it would kill me; so I’m stuck having fifty and a half thousand-muscle shots shoved into me for three seconds.) I am using my think wave technology. Whatever I think my partner will see on our computer so he can keep track of me.

14/6/2036: Today is the day! I am going to be sent back 970 years. I’m so exited I had to take some pills to calm me down. I’m also so nervous what if it does not work? What If we don’t have enough power and the machine shuts down half way; so I get half-left here and half in the year 1066? What if the wormhole grows too much? I could be anywhere and anytime… what if I hit a side? What if I’m a baby when I arrive? What if I accidentally change the course of history? What if there is a person standing in the exact time and place I arrive in? My particles would reject his and I would spontaneously combust. O.k. I have had a little time to calm down and I think I’m ready. A dozen cold metal sensors the size of a quarter are pressed against my chest and stomach. A ripple of anxiety pulses through me. Eleven more sensors were placed on my back; my entire spinal column was covered by twenty-three, six more on each leg, five on each shoulder, eight on each arm and twenty on various places on my head. One hundred and four in total, each one costing seven thousand each. The other equipment costs a total of thirty four million nine hundred and forty two thousand six hundred and ninety one dollars and forty-six cents, that is $35,670,691 in total, (I do math when I am nervous). My partner gave me the painkiller shot; it stings a little more than expected. The machine is spinning around me faster and faster. All I see is the machines’ giant arm rotating around me. I saw a flash of bright light, so bright I had to look away. Then a strange sensation, of nothingness. Suddenly a red-hot burning sensation filled my whole body. Like being shot several times over. I tried to scream, but the pain trapped my voice in my throat. I looked at my partner; his face showed disgust as I screamed silently. The seconds felt like hours. One… two… three…four…five…six. The pain hit me without warning. It made everything previous feel like nothing. Like having 5cm drill bits drilled in all over my body…times only a thousand times worse. The worst part is for some reason I stayed awake for the ordeal. Not aware of my surroundings only the fire that burned in my flesh and brain. The edges of my sight went red. Each second taking several eternities. I feel so helpless I can’t do anything but what for the pain to subside; or die…

14/6/1066: There I lay panting in cold mud. I waited several minutes before I had the strength to even open my eyes. I blinked several times before my vision was restored. Then another few before they focused. My other senses came later. First the smell of fertilizer and livestock. Then the sound of cows and people yelling. Then my whole body started aching terribly. I curled up into a ball, and waited for another couple of minuets before I could sit up. Finally when I sat up I spat/coughed, out blood. Then I surveyed myself. I was not recognizable. My clothes were torn and tattered, my hair was a frizzled mess; but worst of all was the blood. I did not comprehend it was blood until I felt it warm trickling down my legs. I looked down, my legs was raw and bloody. I reached down to feel them but my arms hurt far too much to move. They were also stripped of skin. I realized that if I was not to change the course of history but still witness the Battle of Hastings I had to A) heal B) find a job C) blend in. The job I am going to take is a blacksmith. I am fairly strong and have always had a gift with my hands (after they heal of course). All of a sudden, a wave of pain washed over me. I knew I was going to pass out. I knew it because blackness was already eating at the edges of my sight. I heard a famer yell, and I felt a wet cloth pressed against my head.

17/6/1066: What do you think went through my head when I awoke? The correct answer is UGHHH!!! My it feels like ten thousand hammers are pounding inside of me. I have been unconscious for 3 days and I still can’t walk. I have to start looking for a job as soon as I heal. I have bandages all over my body. I have to go back to sleep, or the healer will get mad but I will leave soon.

18/6/1066: I have to get a job but the healer will not let me. She says she won’t let me go for another 4 days. She also says that I am healing at an incredible rate. I can’t wait that long. I’ll go mad.

22/6/1066: The healer let me go. I am almost fully healed. I have to go to another more important town to find a smithy. I brought a fair amount of gold back with me to get started. I can buy a small shop, some materials, a furnace and some tools with it. Then I hope I will find some buyers for my weapons and amour otherwise I will surly starve.
I found a map of England and Winchelsea is in the bottom right near Hastings so I can travel when it is time to battle. It is a small shop and not much space to work with but it will do. I am lucky I found anything at all. There is a storage room in my back were I store my goods until there is a market for them because I am guessing there is going to be a little “dispute” over the crown. I have decided to back Harold Godwinsin on this battle, because the best view I am guessing is going to be high up on a hill. Harold’s army is on a hill. I am producing my goods slowly but I am sure I will get faster.

26/6/1066: My head hurts. I mean more than usual. It is just a headache but it is worth mentioning. I have to keep a watch on it. Producing is still slow.

27/6/1066: Being a blacksmith is hard work. My storage room is filling very slowly; and the materials are not cheap. Times here are hard on most people.

10/9/1066: I am using my gold sparingly; only to buy wood for my furnace, metal to make goods with, and food for my table. My headache is slowly increasing every time I make sudden movements and is beginning to become worrying. The Vikings are coming in 10 days. So I have to produce faster than ever.

20/9/1066: My gold is nearly replenished; in fact I have hired some help to get supplies, so I can create more goods. I have nearly perfected the art of making, maces, axes, swords, and spears. I am also getting pretty good at making chain mail, helmets and the occasional plate amour.

25/9/1066: Finally the English killed the Vikings, which were lead by Harold Hadrada king of Norway. I thought the day would never come. It did not help that I thought that I some how altered the course of history. My head throbs when I think or concentrate too hard and I am beginning to get very worried. It is a sad day. The farmer that originally found me went into war. He was in the front lines and got killed by Vikings. There is plenty of food on my table now, because people are buying lots of my goods.

29/9/1066: William the duke of Normandy has arrived; I can’t seem to make enough goods for Harold’s ever-expanding army. I wish I could see Williams’s fleet as it arrives but, alas I could not get close to them with out being shot with an arrow. The fleet was epic. It consisted of approximately 700 ships. Stretching farther than the eye could see.

13/10/1066: Harold tried to negotiate with William today. It did not too go well. King Harold rejected all of William’s requests. Predictable, considering William asked Harold to either hive up the throne to him or fight him in single combat; winner becomes the king of England. I almost wish that is what Harold did; because if he did, a lot of innocent blood would not be spilt. I have traveled to Senlac Hill today (it is were the Battle of Hastings really took place and is approximately six miles northwest of Hastings). I am so exited; tomorrow I am going to get to see on of the greatest battles in history!

14/10/1066: I’m on Senlac Hill. I see both armies from the spot I picked. I just hope I do not get hit by a miss-aimed arrow. The Normans have arranged themselves in a tactical pattern; foot solders first, then archers used to soften up the English before the foot soldiers get there the; finally as a last resort, their knights on horse back taking up the rear. In the army I estimated about 8,400 and consisted of approximately 2,200 , 4,500 and 1,700 archers.The English were very smart. They placed themselves on a hill so it was harder to reach them. Forest surrounded their back and sides so the Normans could not flank them. They put fosse (ditches) and fences up to slow down and kill many of the Normans. The English had no horsemen and they only had about 7,500 men in their army. It consisted entirely of ; of this infantry most of them were spearmen. They had horses, but once at the appointed place they dismounted to fight on foot. The English made up the difference of numbers by standing in close ranks. Normans lead and attacked. As they charged up the hill, the English threw down whatever they could find; stones, , and . Several hours I just sat there taking all this in the sound of clashing metal, the smell of sweat and blood. It was great. At the start of the battle, William's had fired directly into the English force, but the arrows were ineffective because of their shields. William then ordered his archers to fire over the shield wall, so their arrows landed in English army. The archers did this, with great success; taking several peoples’ eyes out. When I saw this I was disgusted. You would to if you saw peoples’ eyes falling out of their sockets and arrows sticking out in their place. When I saw Harold’s eye go in this manner; I bent over and through up. After several seconds I uncurled and continued watching. The English did not lose any ground at all through out the whole battle; and they defended extremely well. Several more minutes passed. I was passionate about this battle. I read so many articles and books on it and saw so many movies and so many documentaries. The Normans got even smarter. They deceived the English and retreated. Then when the English were pursuing out of ranks, the Norman knights charged and killed a majority of the English. I cried out but my attempts to stop him were futile. I just watched as the Normans slaughtered the English. The ground ran thick with blood. Bodies scattered everywhere. One could not move without stepping on a body. King Harold was injured but some how survived the charge. The Normans took him and killed him and mutilated his body. That is how William Duke of Normandy became William king of England. That day he also got a nickname William the Conqueror. This entire battle took place between 9 am – 3 pm. Is it not amazing that so many people can die in six hours? I am simply in shock that I experienced it; but at the same time the disturbing images still burn in my mind.

15/10/1066: Today is a grim day. The English had lost the Battle of Hastings; and everybody buries the dead. Not a small feat ether with so many people to burry it took all day. There about were 5,000 English and 3,000 Normans were to bury. Many of the English that died had nobody to bury them and were left to rot where they lay. Even though I knew that would happen, it was still a shock to see how real it was. I also figured out what caused my headache my DNA had slightly shifted in the wormhole. This means I would be pulled back to the year 2036 in two days.

17/10/20036: What I did in my last two days in the year 1066 is a secret I cannot reveal; but I must say it is good to be back I the 21st century. The year 1066 is so gray and gloomy. It is interesting, but depressing. I do not think I will be going back any time soon.


The Memoirs of
Lincoln Peterson

The Battle of Stamford Bridge: a journal

Journal Entry
Battle of Stamford Bridge

Day 1:

Today, I woke up early so I can eat my breakfast first before my sister finishes it. I walk downstairs and found my mom at the table. I sat on the chair opposite my mom. Then I started to eat my bread. It was a perfect and peaceful day. Suddenly, the door bangs and a huge man came in. “The Vikings are attacking our land! They're going to burn everything!” he shouted. Then I saw it through the window. Almost all the buildings near my house were burning. I also saw so many people running. Without thinking, I ran really fast joining the people outside. My mom was running behind me. But then I decided to run into the forest and hide there. So I ran towards the forest and kept jogging through the trees until I was really tired and I fainted.

Day 2:

I woke up when the sun was rising. I realized that I slept on the ground. I walked in the direction I went yesterday. Then I found a city, and there was a bridge near it. Suddenly, I heard horses galloping. Then I saw it, so many horses galloping towards the bridge. But not only one side, but also the other side of the bridge. Then I saw a fight, a big fight. So I guessed it should be the English against the Vikings. My mom confirmed that the Vikings are attacking our country. So I decided that I'm big enough to be an English soldier. So I took some weapons from other dead soldiers and battled against the Vikings. I took a bow and a knife. I know how to use a bow because my dad told me when before he died. I know who the English and who the Vikings are by looking at their flag. I aimed and shot the bow. It was a long day and finally, King Harold won the war. I saw the Viking King Harald Hardraada die in battle. At night, I saw Harold soldiers prepared to go back home. I saw them marching away from the bridge.

My adventures in 1066

Day one:
I arrive out of my space ship and I put on my farmers suit. I come back from the future to study the medieval fighting. I chose a day before the battle of Stamford Bridge. I put my disguise on, it consist of a tunic, long pants and a scarf. I started working on the fields I pulled out all the potatoes. The farm I work on has this big tree with steps that go all the way up; everyday I go up there and look at both hills on either side of the farm. I worked my heart out and I went to bed.


Day two:
Today was normal until it started raining and thundering. It was good for the plants and myself to take a shower.
I had a good breakfast and I had some free time to go to my village and buy some bread for myself. I walked back and I heard men shouting from a far distance but I walked back. To my house, I started taking out fruits and potatoes. I went back to sleep.

Day three:
I woke up early due to shouting men I ran to the big tree and saw two giant armies fighting against each other. I was scared to death when a soldier walked in he said ‘I am Harold Godwineson the king of England; here is your amour, a shield and sword. I was pushed onto the battlefield we killed and killed for hours and we won we were very tired. I sneaked back to my farm and his under the bed until I heard people moving away. Harald hadraada was beaten in the battle.

Day four:
The next morning I was thinking about last night, I have fought against the Vikings and their king harald hadraada and won but where is Harold? He was off to the south of England to fight William Duke of Normandy. I quickly ran to the big tree and looked around. All I saw was dead men and more dead men I had an idea. I will look at the bodies and I will some swords and shields home. I ran back to my space ship and traveled back to the future. I was frightened but happy that it was all over. And I researched all the items I collected back in the future.


(by Marnix Tissing)

Introduction -01.10.2009
I have agreed to go on a mission to find out what really happened in 1066(the battle of Hastings). To do this I shall use a time traveler (a time machine). Once the battle has started I will come back to my own time and give an account on what had happened in October 1066. The time traveler will update me on my accent and my skills and it shall also change my clothing and it will give me the appearance of a young archer. I have chosen this as it seems to be the safest position to be in during a battle. I shall serve under William, Duke of Normandy.

Diary entry one - 01.10.1066
The time travel machine worked perfectly although it felt prickly and I could not move my body for the time of my journey. I am now in the outfit of a Norman archer, going by the name Guy de Cleres. By the way, clothing in 1066 sucked - it is scratchy, unpleasant, and brown in colour; I wish I could wear my comfy jeans....
William`s forces had just arrived in England and set up camp near Hastings. I was immediately part of his troops and besides daily battle practise we were raiding the surrounding villages for food. (Luckily, as an archer I was excluded from the raiding).


Entry two -01.10.1066
We had a lovely feast in the evening but unfortunately I lost my time traveller and am now stuck in 1066 I shall search for it tomorrow morning. I found out that there is a medieval toothbrush!! It is a twig of liquorice - the twig is chewed until one end gets soft and stringy. This end is then used to polish the teeth and leaves a good taste in the mouth. Unfortunately many people don’t use it and so most people’s breath stinks like hell. Many of these guys have rotten or even missing teeth.


Entry three -02.10.1066
I have to clear camp with the others and I was assigned the rubbish heap, the stink is horrible and there is no shower. I have had no time to search for the time traveller. At least William has enough food. I absolutely hate this one officer who makes everybody run around in the rain while he stays beneath a tent roof. I wish more than ever to find the time traveller: this place stinks.


Entry four -02.10.1066
Forget what I told you before about the usual Norman army food -looks, smells and tastes horrible; now I understand why the other soldiers were so happy yesterday. But it does keep you going. Unlike Harold`s army who as I hear is running out of food.



Entry five -04.10.1066
I have a new friend - he has served the Norman army for ages and he is an archer as well. He tells me that deserters are treated very badly and I don’t think I will be able to get the time traveller back until William and other people in a high position are distracted enough.
Entry Six -10.10.1066
Food is running out!!! Remember I said that William had enough food – I was wrong: we are more than 5000 men and all the farmers around Hastings have nothing left for us to eat. William must fight as soon as possible. We suspect that William has burnt all the Norman boats to prevent any soldiers from deserting, so it will be win or die for us. (I hope not for me!).

My archery skills are not good enough for the army so I will have a few problems fitting in, fortunately my friend is helping me . He thinks that I have trained for something else. I have already improved a lot. The bows are up to two meters long! The arrows coming of these bows can easily reach heights of twenty meters and can kill a man from above.


Entry Seven – 14.10.1066
Early morning and I know, this is the day!! Harold has appeared and his army has gone over the spot were I left the time traveller; now I will have to stay till the end of the battle. I hope I will survive, this was not planned.
As soon as he heard of Harold`s arrival, William gave the signal for his army to move towards the enemy. Harold had chosen the better position as we had to fight uphill but luckily Harold had a forest at his back, thereby removing any chance of a controlled retreat. Negotiations were not successful and soon the battle began. Harold`s men defended themselves through forming a wall with their shields, while William`s strategy was to keep the enemy under constant pressure. William used a strategy of mixed attacks of cavalry, footmen and archers who attacked in turns so the other men could get some rest. The battle went on for hours and neither of them seemed to be winning. We all got more and more tired but we could see the enemy strength was dropping far more quickly than ours. By now my arms were so sore and heavy I thought I could not go on much longer. I was glad though that I never had to fight in close combat where all the blood spluttered around and men died.

Eventually one of Williams regiments made a run for it and broke the attacking line which made Harold`s men believe that they were winning and ran after them. It was one of William`s tricks though and our soldiers turned back and slaughtered them as they were no longer protected by the shield wall. Still the fight went on until suddenly Harold`s flag went down – an arrow had hit him from above and he died. After seeing their leader dead, most of Harold`s army made a run for the woods.



Entry eight – 14.10.1066
After the battle was finally over, William was in much of a hurry to get on to London in order to have himself crowned as the new and rightful kind of England. This was my perfect chance to get back home and in all the excitement nobody, not even my friend, noticed that I sneaked away to find the time traveller.
Entry Nine – 1.10.2009
I am back! I can still not believe that I have really made it back. I am full with impressions and news and can`t wait to tell everyone about what I have experienced and that I have fought in the Battle of Hastings, with William the Conqueror.
Now I can finally take a shower!

(by Ben)

Dear diary,
Father has gone off to get ready for war. I am helping out. They need to get all the weapons ready to fight Harold. Harold is a cruel and sneaky man. I mean it wasn’t fair of him to get himself secretly crowned. It should have been a fair battle between three us but then again Harold Godwineson is not fair. Father is proud to be in Harald’s army and I’m also proud he is. Getting weapons ready is hard work. I was exhausted afterwards. I am proud to be helping such a good man like harald. I am sure he’ll win this battle.
-Tessa


Dear Diary,
Father just left to go to war. It is cold and misty outside its horrible. I can’t believe they actually go outside in this weather. Harald is accompanied by Earl Tostig Harold’s brother. It’s quite funny that Harold’s brother is fighting against him. I am not aloud to be at the war so I am actally sitting on a grassy patch above the field. I don’t want to look though it so sad. I don’t know where father is anymore. I lost track of him an hour ago. We are losing. There are now more dead than alive. I just hope father isn’t one of those who are dead.
-Tessa



Dear Diary,
Father didn’t survive. After the battle I went to look for him and he wasn’t there. I looked everywhere and eventually found him dead in the grass by many others. I didn’t stay long though I ran home crying to Mother. That was a week ago. I was to sad to write it then. Father is gone, and we lost the battle things couldn’t get worse.


(By Tessa Smulders)

The Journal of Jane Paterson

14/10/1066

Hello, My name is Jane. I am 12. I live on a farm with my parents and my sister Elisabeth who is 10. We own many cattle and chickens and it is my job to take care of them. On the morning of October 14, 1066 I went outside to do my chores. Elisabeth was bringing the cattle in and mother was helping father pick wheat. All of a sudden I herd drums and the stomping of horse hoofs. I dropped the feed and ran outside. Mother and father had heard the noises to and told me to go get Elisabeth. I ran as fast as I could to her and told her about the noises. We rushed the cattle in and ran to mother and father. Thousands of men marched to the near fields. Then more men in the other direction marched to the same field. Both stopped. We ran inside to be safe. Then we heard yelling. I looked out the kitchen window and saw the men charging each other to attack. They fought on and on without stopping. Mother and Father told us to stay inside, to stay safe, and hidden. I felt fear inside me but I stayed strong for Elisabeth. The screams of men echoed in my ears. The men fought all through the night. When I awoke in the morning it was silent. I looked out the window and the men were leaving. Thousands of dead men lay on the ground. I will never forget October 14, 1066, the day of the Battle of Hastings.

BY: Cecilia Nygren

Isabella's Journal

September 1066

18th September 1066
Journal, today something terrible happened. I was out collecting food for Mother, when suddenly I saw lots of people approaching. They were different from the people here in York. A lot of them had blonde hair and thick beards. They had axes and swords with them and were shouting. I was terrified, Journal. I had no idea who these people were. I almost dropped my basket full of food. Fortunately, I took a better grip on the basket and ran home, hardly daring to look back over my shoulder.
Life has been so hard now that Edward is dead. He was never a good king, but at least he kept the land under control.
Mother started scolding me when I came running in – I had dropped almost half of my food while I was hurrying away from the wicked looking men. But then she saw that I was crying.
“Isabella! You aren’t crying like a child, are you? You’re 14 years old!”
I swallowed my tears. Then, not saying anything I took Mother’s hand and lead her outside.


20th September 1066
The people I saw the other day, Journal, were VIKINGS! Yesterday they came, almost bashing down everyone’s door. The leader of them is called Harald Hardrada and is king of Norway. He wants to be king in England also because he says Edward stole the throne from Swegen Forkbeard, king of Denmark, and from 1013-1042, England! Harald also said that here in Northumberland, Vikings have ruled for 1½ centuries. He said he’d take the throne by force if we didn’t support him!
Journal, you must be wondering how a little girl who lives on a normal farm with her Mother, Father and 2 older brothers, can know such things. I am surprised myself I’m telling you such things. The Viking soldiers came to the door and told everyone to come out, early this morning. After what the soldiers had told us yesterday, we weren’t very willing. But we came out all the same. I walked onto the market square with Mother, holding her hand. She tried to pretend that she didn’t want to hold my hand; however, I knew she was just as frightened as me.
“We have fought against the Earls Edwin and Morcar. They have now fled from terror. You may either surrender now or we can fight for it” boomed Harald Hardrada.
The Vikings raised their axes and swords, shouting and cheering on their king. I clutched Mother’s hand harder, scared. Our priest stood up and bowed to Harald.
“We surrender, my Lord.”

25th September 1066
For 4 days now Journal, Father, Gilbert and Thomas have been training with the Vikings. They live with them down by Riccal, on the River Ouse with the other men from our town. Mother and I try to continue the farm duties, but it’s hard and sometimes, in the night, I cry myself to sleep. Father came home quickly last night to tell us that the battle shall be held on part of our fields. Then, he left.

Later…
Journal, the battle is going on; right now outside my window! There are many more English than Viking. Harald said that he thought Harold would stay in the south to wait for William but it looks like he was wrong. I am petrified that Father or Gilbert or Thomas will die in the battle against Harold. Out of my window I see nothing but blood, fighting and more blood. I hear nothing but the yells of people screaming and shouting. I sit here, with you Journal, and cry and cry even though I am 14 years old.




26th September 1066
Journal, it’s over. Everything. We have lost. Father and Gilbert survived but Thomas…he died. I still can’t believe it. So many people died yesterday, almost all of them Vikings or people from our village.
When Father and Gilbert came home yesterday, covered in blood and wounds, they said that because Harald had been so sure that Harold would wait for William, he left one third of the troops (Father was with them) at the camp base, at Riccal. Then early in that morning, the other two thirds (with Gilbert) left to Stanford Bridge and were taken completely by surprise when Harold and his armies arrived. Harald stood up and began to fight, a couple of people ran back to the camp base to fetch the others.
Father said that he and the others fought as hard as he could but they were no match for the English.
As they were telling their story, I had sat still as stone, afraid but still finding the story interesting, but now, as Father began the gruesome details of the actual battle, Gilbert had slipped over beside me and given me a hug.
“Don’t worry, Isabella” he’d said. “They can’t get us now”
Father finished the story telling us that Harald Hardrada had been killed as had his sidekick, the exiled Earl Tostig, brother to Harold Godwineson.
Journal, the battle is over. The Vikings left in 24 boats when they came in 300. Thomas is dead but I still have one brother. I will remember this event for the rest of my life.

(By Amy McCormick)

Welcome Time Traveller

Welcome Time Travellers. This blog has been set up for you to record your research before you go into the past and your journal entries from your visit there. If you have any questions, you can post them here as well. Below are the instructions you have been given about your journey into the past and what is expected of you. Good luck!