his squires he took his shield , he took a lance (which a var let kept for him ) and laid it in rest, and took post close by his banner. More than a thousand armed men around who formed his grand guard, and fought, wherever he fought, in close order as they ought, moved towards the English . With the shock of the good chargers and with the blows of the knights, they broke the dense mass, and pierced the crowd before them . The good Duke leads the van, many chased and many fled, and you might see many English fall and lie, trampled on by the horses unable to get up. Many of the richest and the highest fell in this rout. The English in some places rally, they slay those they reach, and strive beyond their power , they beat down the men , they kill the horses.
The Normans pushed on so far in front that they reached the standard. Harold was at the standard , he defended himself with all his power, but suffered much on account of the eye that had been destroyed. Whilst he suffered pain from the wound over the eye there came an armed man in the battle who struck Harold on the aventayle and brought him to the ground, and when he tried to raise himself, a knight beat him down again , gashing his thigh right through the bone. [1] Gurth saw the English in disorder, saw that there was no means of rallying, saw his lineage fall ; of saving himself had no hope, he wished to fly but could not, for the press was always increasing : just then the Duke -
- ↑ This incident is minutely delineated in the Tapestry . The felon knight who dealt the blow , was afterwards disgraced by the Conqueror.
