The Battle of Hastings!

Our topic 'Kings and Knights' has been great fun; it culminated with our reenactment of The Battle of Hastings on Thursday! We have been learning about Edward the Confessor and last week we found out about what happened when he died without an heir. Learning about the Battle of Stamford Bridge was interesting and ended with Harold having to march his army back down 187 miles in a hurry, when he heard that William was attacking from the south.

On Thursday, we picked up the story with Harold's Saxon army arriving in Hastings exhausted from battle and two long marches, carrying all of their kit and weapons. They were clever and took the high ground and built a shield wall to protect themselves.

William's Norman army arrived and kept charging up the hill towards the shield wall for six hours. For six hours it looked like the Saxons were going to win.

At one point, a Norman soldier announced that William had died (he was wrong!). What did William shout to rally his troops?

But soon, a few foolish Saxon soldiers made a fatal decision. (What did we decide 'fatal' meant?) When the Normans were retreating from one of their unsuccessful charges, a few soldiers decided to chase them. This meant there was a gap in the shield wall and the Normans took their chance! They turned around and charged back. Their cavalry (what did this mean?) and archers were better trained than the Saxons and soon destroyed the Saxon army.

Finally, one of the archers took aim at Harold and (if we believe the Bayeux Tapestry) he was shot in the eye!

William was eventually crowned King!

After our reenactment of the battle, we used toy knights, which were kindly brought in by Finn, to act out the battle again.

Once the events of the battle were firmly set in our minds, we worked in our house teams to write a timeline of the battle.

We identified three main reasons for William's Normans winning the Battle of Hastings. What were the three reasons?

Watch this fantastic animation of the Bayeux Tapestry. It tells the story of the Battle of Hastings, using the Bayeux Tapestry. But remember, the tapestry is not really animated! It is a tapestry/ weaving- like the Lady of Shalott made in her tower!

Source: YouTube, Potion Pictures

A Wonderful Trip!

 Source: wikipedia

Yesterday, we had a fantastic day at Westminster Abbey. We felt very privileged to see areas of the Abbey, including the tomb of Edward the Confessor, that ordinary visitors do not get the opportunity to see! We truly were VIPs for the day!

 Source: wikipedia

Everyone was awestruck by the absolute beauty of the Abbey. We learned about the architecture and how it is designed to draw your eyes up- to remind people that they are there to look to God. Most importantly, we learned about the history of Westminster Abbey.

 Source: the tablet

Our excellent guides taught us so much about Edward  the Confessor; his life (including a fascinating story about a very special ring), his work and his family.

 Source: kingholiday.wordpress

We saw where Edward the Confessor was originally buried, then the tomb where he was moved to when the Abbey was rebuilt.

Source: The Tablet 

It was fantastic to view the Coronation Chair in real life- following our research last week!

Source: Britannica

A stand-out moment for many of us was the opportunity to sit in the choir's seats. We had seen them on television at Christmas and the Royal Wedding!

Source: Britannica

We took some time to reflect on the religious nature of the building and we said a special prayer and lit a candle for our own intentions, after viewing the grave of the unknown warrior. At 12pm, all of the visitors to the Abbey are asked to stand still and listen to a short prayer and reflection from the Reverend. We were thrilled that he welcomed us personally in his sermon!

Source: essentialhotels.com

Towards the end of our visit, we visited Henry VII's chapel, also known as the Lady Chapel. It was an astonishing sight; filled with flags and armour, under the most beautiful ceiling most of us had ever seen! We were so impressed, that on our return to school we worked in groups to design and make some Heraldic flags of our own!

Source: overseasattractions.com

What was the highlight of the day for you?

An Exciting Day Tomorrow!

Source: visitlondon.com

We are off on an adventure tomorrow! We will be heading up to Central London to visit Westminster Abbey. At this historic building, we will be learning about Edward the Confessor by taking a special guided tour.

REMEMBER!
You will need a healthy PACKED LUNCH, a drink and a WARM COAT. It will be cold tomorrow and the Abbey is a very old building!