The Battle of Hastings – The True Story.

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The Battle of Hastings – The True Story.
Publisher	Marvel Comics
Published in	The Transformers issue 19
First published	1st June, 1985
Writer	Duval
Artist	Decrock
Letters	uncredited
Translation	uncredited

I'll tell of the Battle of Hastings, as happened in days long gone by...

Synopsis

It's early in 1066, and the King of England, Edward the Confessor, dies with no heir. Two men discuss how there are three possible successors for the throne: Edward Atheling, a relative of the late king; Harold, an ally of the family, and William, Duke of Normandy. Despite King Edward's wishes for William to receive the crown, it is Harold that calls an assembly and is named king.

Over in Normandy, Duke William hears of Harold's ascension to the throne, calling him a blackguard; Harold was previously captured by the Earl of Ponthieu, and when William had paid the ransom, Harold had vowed not to take the crown. William decides to amass an army of 60,000 Normans to invade England and take the title by force.

The Normans arrive on English shores by boat on the 26th of September, bringing with them supplies to build three castles. While disembarking his ship, Duke William's horse trips, and his men consider it a bad omen. William himself claims that the incident has made him master of the land, and his soldiers cheer.

On the 13th of October, William declares Senlac, an area about nine miles from Hastings, to be the site of their battle. He gives the honour of carrying the standard to his companion Toustain, declaring that they will be victorious in their battle.

They are met by Harold and his forces, who have regrouped after a battle with the Norwegians two weeks prior. Harold's army has the land advantage, as they are fortified on top of a hill and with a dense forest behind.

A lone Norman soldier, Taillifer, rides out onto the empty battlefield and sings a song to rally the troops. United in their love of their country and their God, the Normans begin the assault. It doesn't go well for them; their arrows won't reach up the hill, and their infantrymen are easily dispatched by the Anglo-Saxons. After a struggle, the Normans start to flee, but Duke William, thought dead by his men, rides through the battlefield and reignites their fighting spirit. At William's command, his men charge up to Harold's ramparts but turn and pretend to flee before crossing the whole distance. The Anglo-Saxons are baited to follow them out. As William's men cut their enemies to pieces, King Harold is fatally wounded by an arrow.

In one day, the Battle of Hastings has changed the course of England's history, giving the country a new sovereign. The future King William announces he'll build a monastery on the site to commemorate his victory.

Featured characters

Normans	Anglo-Saxons	Others
William, Duke of Normandy Toustain Taillifer Other Normans	King Harold Other Anglo-Saxons	Edward the Confessor Two hierarchy gossips

Quotes

"Over 60,000 men devoted to me – better keep an eye out, Harold!"

—William, Duke of Normandy auditions for Horrible Histories.

"Those who flee will die, those who fight will be victorious! With God we will win this day!"

—William, Duke of Normandy like the day before slaying the Saxons by pretending to flee from battle to lure them out.

Notes

Original printing

• "De slag van Hastings", Kuifje, 27th March 1984
  • Dutch issue number: 84-13

Compared to the other From the Fact Files stories, this comic stands out for not being first printed in Le Journal de Tintin, but its Dutch counterpart, Kuifje. No personnel are credited by Marvel UK, though the final page includes a notice reading "Copyright ©1984 Lombard/Decrock/Duval" – Le Lombard being Tintin's publishing company, and Decrock and Duval being the artist and writer, respectively.

"The Battle of Hastings – The True Story." appeared in The Transformers issue 19, translated and re-lettered by unknown parties. The contents page refers to this reprint as "From the Transformers Fact Files", giving us yet another name for this recurring comic feature.

Following its appearance in The Transformers, this strip went on to be translated back into Duval's native French:

• "La bataille de Hastings", Le Journal de Tintin, 5th May 1987
  • French issue number: NT608
  • Belgian issue number: TB19/87

Real-life references

It really happened! The Battle of Hastings was a real historical battle taught with incredible frequency in the British school system such that the year 1066 is sort of memetically ingrained in the lexicon.

• Edward the Confessor was the final Anglo-Saxon King of England. His death here, "Early in 1066", happened on the 5th of January in real life. He had no direct heir, consequently leading to infighting between three parties, including his great-nephew. Historians have disagreed on whether or not he intended to hand the crown to William, but it's certainly a leading theory.
• William is more popularly known as William the Conqueror. His paying of Harold's ransom, and Harold subsequently walking back on his agreement of subservience, is also historically accurate.
• William's opponent is Harold Godwinson, the last crowned Anglo-Saxon King of England. Harold's death in battle is commonly attributed to being shot in the eye with an arrow, as seen on the Bayeux Tapestry, though scholars debate the veracity of this claim.
  • Harold's recent encounter with the Norwegians refers to the Battle of Fulford, which occurred on the 20th of September, and the subsequent Battle of Stamford Bridge, which occurred on the 25th. During the latter, Harold's army killed Harald Hardrada, King of Denmark, who'd been invited to take the throne by force by Harold's exiled brother, Tostig.
• Not elaborated on by the comic, Senlac Hill is the name by which the site of the battle is known today (though it may not have been known by that name in 1066). Harold did indeed have the high ground, and the battle was won when the Normans used their tried and tested tactic of feigning retreat.
• "Toustain" is based on Turstin FitzRolf, an historically confirmed companion of William the Conqueror present at the battle. The exact spelling of his name varies between Turstin, Tustein, Tostein, Thurstan, and Tostain.
  • To "carry the standard" means to be the person at the front of the charge carrying the flag; Turstin was reportedly the standard-bearer at Hastings.
• "Taillifer" is based on Taillefer (first name unknown), a minstrel and juggler who travelled with William the Conqueror's men. The song he sang was La Chanson de Roland.
• The monastery built on the site is Battle Abbey. Supposedly, the high altar of the church is on the same spot where Harold fell.

Artwork and technical errors

• The two guys talking over Edward the Confessor's corpse refer to his three "apparent heirs"; this refers to the concept of an heir apparent, though definitionally an heir apparent's succession is indisputable, and thus not really applicable here.
• As noted above, "Toustain" and "Taillifer" are misspellings, though whether we blame the Kuifje team or the Transformers team is hard to determine.

Historical inaccuracies

• "Edward Atheling" is actually Edgar Ætheling. He was Edward the Confessor's great-nephew, and the title "ætheling" denoted that he was a prince eligible for the throne. The flagging up of his "royal blood" is unusual given that William was Edward's cousin.
• Harold did not hold an assembly and proclaim himself King – the election was a decision by the witan.
• Rather than the "Earl of Ponthieu", Harold was captured by Guy I, Count of Ponthieu, in 1064.
• The quantity 60,000 Norman soldiers is a highly-inflated number, though it is accurate in the sense that even figures given by contemporary writers were exaggerated. Modern scholars put the number more in the range of 7,000 to 12,000.
• The Norman army's arrival on the 26th September is just slightly out, as in real life they landed on the 28th.
• William falling from his horse while alighting his ship is derived from a common legend whereby he tripped (on foot) and styled it out as prostrating himself to literally seize the land. This doesn't appear to have actually occurred, and may in fact be something that (allegedly) happened to Julius Caesar.
• William declares that the battle will take place on Senlac on October the 13th; the real Battle of Hastings took place on the 14th. The comic doesn't say that that's the date of the battle, merely the day he makes the declaration, so maybe everyone went to sleep between panels.
• Taillifer's song depicted goes "God is with us / God is with us / Cross of Christ / Holy Christ". It's not La Chanson de Roland; the first two lines have more in common with the 1896 hymn "God is with us" by Walter John Mathams, but the other two don't seem to be any common him. What song the comic was meant to feature is probably lost in translation, having gone from French via Dutch before getting to English.
• William's rallying of the men, renewing their vigour after believing him to be dead, is an underbaked representation of something depicted on the Bayeux Tapestry, where William falls from his horse and raises his helmet to reveal his face and prove he is still alive. William's horse falling from the boat is possibly also derived from this incident.
• Harold gets shot in the neck. You had one job, guys.