It almost seems to be a convergence of fate as in the wake of King Edward the Confessor, three separate men of great power vied for the crown of England. Harold Godwinson, generally accepted official successor to King Edward, had but just been crowned king of England by the ruling nobility of England when both William II, Duke of Normandy, and Harald Hadraada, Viking King of Norway, began pressing their respective claims to the English throne with threats of war. As Duke William II began a military buildup along the Norman coast across the channel from Southern England, Harald landed on the Northern coast of England at the invitation of Harold's traitorous brother with 300 ships full of fighting men. Harold Godwinson, anticipating the Norman invasion to land in the south, then forced his loyal forces to cross 185 miles of open country. Such decisive action would pay off, as the Vikings could hardly expect Godwinson to move so quickly, as evidenced by their neglecting to even wear armor in the hot September sun. Swiftly dispatching the Norwegian King and his treacherous brother, Harold Godwinson had but 3 days to celebrate his decisive victory before Duke William II landed as expected in Pevensey, nearly 200 miles to the south of where Harold had smashed the Viking forces. Harold then marshaled his forces to march again to the city of Hastings to hopefully stave off Norman incursion. Unfortunately, fortune would not favor his pure foot soldier army. While the courage and martial prowess of Harold's loyal Huskarls was not to be doubted, Duke William II had modernized his forces in accordance with popular western tactics and emphasized a focus on heavily armored mounted cavalry. While the English army did have horses, nobility and other heavy units would ride into combat and then dismount for infantry maneuvers. Duke William II had also augmented his smaller Norman force with armies from as far as Italy in exchange for English land upon completing his successful conquest. Most likely exhausted by the nearly 400 mile march they had recently completed, Harold's army was crushed, with Harold himself supposedly killed by an arrow, in testament to Normandy's stronger use of archers. While his Huskarls fought bravely to the death in loyalty to their liege, Duke William II soon marched upon London itself and crowned himself King of England, disenfranchising the English Nobility shortly afterwards as well. Marking a new period in history, such events were eventually chronicled in the enormous Bayeux Tapestry. Spanning over 230 feet, the tapestry was likely commissioned by Bishop Odo, Earl of Kent, regent of England in William the Conqueror's absence, and ally in the Norman Invasion of England. The Tapestry currently resides in Bayeux, Normandy within France. Its iconic imagery have even become a popularized meme of sorts transposing modern sayings and behaviors into medieval situations for great comedic effect.
sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tapestry_of_Bayeux
http://www.britishbattles.com/norman-conquest/battle-hastings.htm
