The Battle of Hastings – The True Story.
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| File:Fact File The Battle of Hastings.jpg | ||||||||||||||||
| The Battle of Hastings – The True Story. | ||||||||||||||||
| Publisher | Marvel Comics | |||||||||||||||
| Published in | The Transformers issue 19 | |||||||||||||||
| First published | 1st June, 1985 | |||||||||||||||
| Writer | Duval[1] | |||||||||||||||
| Artist | Decrock[1] | |||||||||||||||
| 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 |
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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
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[4]
Real-life references
It really happened!
Edits
Artwork and technical errors
Historical inaccuracies
Continuity errors
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Stripverhalen van Decrock at Comicweb.nl
- ↑ Kuifje 1984 Nr. 13 at Comicweb.nl
- ↑ The 13th issue of Kuifje released in 1984
- ↑ Tintin année 1987 at Bandes dessinées oubliées
- ↑ The 608th issue of "Nouveau Tintin", i.e. since the issue numbers reset in 1975
- ↑ The nineteenth issue of Tintin released in 1987
