Who were the housecarls in the Battle of Hastings?
(1) King Harold’s army was made up of housecarls and the fyrd. Housecarls were well-trained, full-time soldiers who were paid for their services. The fyrd were working men who were called up to fight for the king in times of danger.
How many housecarls did Harold Godwinson have?
3,000 housecarls
The king of Norway was victorious, but Harold was already on his way north with a second army which included his elite force of up to 3,000 housecarls (aka huscarls, professional armoured troops).
Did the Normans have housecarls?
When the Normans landed in 1066, the spine of the army that faced William was composed of King Harold’s own housecarls. In one of history’s great ironies, this meant one set of Viking-derived warriors faced another: the knights of Normandy. The housecarls were the elite troops of their age.
What does the word Housecarl mean?
housecarl, also spelled huscarl, Old Norse húskarl (“house man”), Danish and Norwegian hird (“household,” or “household member”), member of the personal or household troops or bodyguard of Scandinavian kings and chieftains in the Viking and medieval periods.
What are Saxon Housecarls?
A housecarl (Old Norse: húskarl, Old English: huscarl) was a non-servile manservant or household bodyguard in medieval Northern Europe. The institution originated amongst the Norsemen of Scandinavia, and was brought to Anglo-Saxon England by the Danish conquest in the 11th century.
What did Housecarls do?
Housecarls were well-trained, full-time Anglo-Saxon soldiers who were paid for their services. They wore a short mail-coat called a byrnie. The sleeves were left short to enable freedom of movement in battle. They wore a pointed helmet to help deflect blows from sword attacks.
What are Saxon housecarls?
How long did it take Harold to march to Hastings?
four days
He calculated that he might still have time to reach York by forced marches, take the Norwegians by surprise, defeat them and return south to deal with William. It was a wrongheaded decision. The forced march itself was a marvel, for Harold travelled 185 miles with his army in just four days.
What does a Housecarl do?
Housecarls are loyal warriors assigned to serve and protect the Thanes (i.e. you) of certain provinces. They become your follower and are rather competent tanks.