English army and Harold's preparations
Who organized the English army?
Battle of Hastings
The English army was organised along regional lines, with the "fyrd", or local levy, serving under a local magnate – whether an earl, bishop, or sheriff. The "fyrd" was composed of men who owned their own land, and were equipped by their community to fulfil the king's demands for military forces. For every five hides, or units of land nominally capable of supporting one household, one man was supposed to serve. It appears that the hundred was the main organising unit for the "fyrd". As a whole, England could furnish about 14,000 men for the "fyrd", when it was called out. The "fyrd" usually served for two months, except in emergencies. It was rare for the whole national "fyrd" to be called out; between 1046 and 1065 it was only done three times, in 1051, 1052, and 1065. The king also had a group of personal armsmen, known as housecarls, who formed the backbone of the royal forces. Some earls also had their own forces of housecarls. Thegns, the local landowning elites, fought either with the royal housecarls or attached themselves to the forces of an earl or other magnate. The "fyrd" and the housecarls both fought on foot, with the major difference between them being the housecarl's superior armour. The English army does not appear to have had a significant number of archers. Harold had spent mid-1066 on the south coast with a large army and fleet waiting for William to invade. The bulk of his forces were militia who needed to harvest their crops, so on 8 September Harold dismissed the militia and the fleet. Learning of the Norwegian invasion he rushed north, gathering forces as he went, and took the Norwegians by surprise, defeating them at the Battle of Stamford Bridge on 25 September. Harald of Norway and Tostig were killed, and the Norwegians suffered such great losses that only 24 of the original 300 ships were required to carry away the survivors. The English victory came at great cost, as Harold's army was left in a battered and weakened state.