Mysteries of the Norman Conquest

Mysteries of the Norman Conquest written by Robert Allred and published by

Frontline Books - £25 - Hardback - Pages 248

Recent challenges to the traditional site of the Battle of Hastings have led to a surge of

interest in the events surrounding England’s most famous battle. This, in turn, has

increased speculation that the titanic struggle for the English crown in 1066 did not

take place on the slopes of what is today Battle Abbey, with a number of highly plausible

alternative locations being proposed. The time had clearly come to evaluate all these

suggestions, and Robert Allred decided to take on that task.

Taking nothing for granted, Robert hiked around the sites of the three battles of 1066 – Fulford, Stamford Bridge and Hastings. Armed with medieval sources and much of the current literature, he set out to appraise the evidence and to draw his own unbiased conclusions.

Following in the footsteps of the Viking warriors of Harald Hardrada, the knights of William of Normandy and the Anglo-Saxon soldiers of King Harold, the reader is taken on a journey from Yorkshire to the South Coast and down through the ages to re-examine what has been written about that momentous year – the intrigues, preparations and manoeuvres – which culminated on 14 October 1066, on a bloody hill somewhere in Sussex.

Whether this will settle the debate over the site of the Battle of Hastings or prompt further investigations remains to be seen, but it will be a book which cannot be ignored and that the reader will be unable to put down!

This was an interesting book in which the author Robert Allred attempts to look at the Battle of Hastings and try to establish the correct battlefield site for this battle, in amongst all the various bits of medieval evidence. The author establishes the real histories and reasons such as the Anglo-Saxon background, the Norman Invasion and also looks at three key medieval battle sites at Fulford, Stamford Bridge and Hastings. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and enjoyed how it was broken up into specific sections throughout the book which made it easier to read and believe each argument. I must admit to agreeing mostly with the conclusion in the book, but would it settle all the arguments, well you just have to read it and see what you think.