![]() Bouvines (27 July 1214)ĭescribed by John France, professor emeritus in medieval history at Swansea University, as “the most important battle in English history that no-one has ever heard of”, Bouvines’ lasting historic significance relates to the Magna Carta, which was sealed by King John the following year. The Battle of Hastings enabled the Norman conquest of England, which brought with it a new era of British history. The embattled king then marched his men to the south coast, where he faced a second invasion in the shape of William’s Norman forces. Hastings was fought only a few weeks after Harold had triumphed over Harald Hardrada’s invading Viking force at Stamford Bridge in Yorkshire. ![]() Whether the text refers to the arrow victim or a nearby figure being struck down with a sword is unclear but there can be no doubt that Harold Godwinson, the reigning Anglo-Saxon King of England, was mortally wounded at the Battle of Hastings and that his army suffered a decisive loss at the hands of William the Conqueror’s Norman invaders. Hastings (14 October 1066)įamously illustrated in the Bayeux Tapestry, the denouement of the Battle of Hastings is no doubt familiar to most: King Harold is depicted with an arrow embedded in his eye, the annotation pronouncing “Here King Harold has been killed”. Indeed, some historians have contended that the Umayyad Caliphate would have gone on to conquer Europe had Charles Martel’s army not succeeded in halting their march. Given the invading Islamic Army’s confident march from the Iberian Peninsula into Gaul, Tours was a significant victory for Christian Europe. Known as Ma’arakat Balat ash-Shuhada (Battle of the Palace of Martyrs) in Arabic, the Battle of Tours saw Charles Martel’s Frankish army defeat a large Umayyad force led by Abdul Rahman Al Ghafiqi. ![]() Would the Umayyad Caliphate have gone on to conquer Europe if its army hadn’t been defeated at Tours? ![]()
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