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Dark bread and dark beer. You didn't dare drink the water!
Sleeping on a bed of straw - usually infested with vermin. But if you were wealthy, you indulged in a very rich diet of multi-course meals with all sorts of dainty dishes, washed down with flagons of wine.
If you were poor, the average life expectancy was about 32 years so you didn't suffer that long.
Judging from the answers people on the streets of Sleepy Hollow, NY gave to Jesse Watters when he interviewed them, asking what they knew about Christopher Columbus, you are probably right.
Ok, so here’s a question...
Wouldn’t a movie about William the Conquerer be a great idea?
And a BBC News Story that King Harold II survived the Battle of Hastings and died as a hermit at age 80.
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-sussex-29612656
“An underground scan is being carried out at Waltham Abbey in Essex in a hunt for evidence that King Harold survived the Battle of Hastings.”
“Novelist and amateur historian Peter Burke wants to test his theory that the king recovered and lived for 40 years after the battle on 14 October 1066.”
What is truly amazing is that all 3 contenders for the English crown were of close Viking descent at a time when the Viking raids were well within family memory (793-1035). One can take the speculation of a win by Hadrada serving to lock England into a more lengthy north-looking confederation but I think he too would have been defeated by William. It is the thought of Harold defeating William with the fresh troops that draws the speculation of what-if!
Fully agree that this is one of the cusps of history! Thanks for the reminder!
I doubt they have, as well...which is why the History Channel is now devoted to aliens and pawn shops. Have to hold the attention of the low-info crowd.
In nearby Caen, William's castle remains can be seen.
If you visit France, I recommend Normandy for the history is there to see.
Harold was the rightful king of England.
William the Bastard LIED. When Harold was in his power, he was forced by William to take the Oath on Holy Relics. An oath extracted under threats, even tacit ones, are not binding.
Unlike Achilles, he wouldn’t even turn over Harold’s remains to u is grieving family.
There is no tomb over the grave of Harold Godwinsson, true King of England.
The only good to come out of that battle was the Plantagenets,
England’s greatest kings.
Trivia. The Norman Cavalry were steady because they were the first to use stirrups attached to their saddles which gave them a tactical advantage over the Saxons.
The Normans (Northmen) were basically of the same blood as the Angles and Saxons; they spoke French because of where they lived. The Battle of Hastings was the last successful invasion of England until the British elected representatives allowed in an invasion of Muslims.
Thanks,Conor, for the info on the Battle of Hastings. Learned a lot.
BTTT