Battle

Bring out your shields and helmets because there will be an armed invasion in Hyde Park Corner on Saturday.
950 years ago in Hastings, an English port city, a bloody battle was fought between William the Conqueror, Duke of Normandy and King Harold, the last Anglo-Saxon sovereign.
Nowadays Hastings is nothing but a popular seaside resort but in 1066, the city was the theatre of the bitter struggle between the two contenders for control of the British territory.
The battle led to a real society upheaval: the big and small Anglo-Saxon property ceased to exist because it was swept away by the wave of Norman knights of William.
They divided among them the English lands as fiefs.
The Norman invasion led to affirm vassalage that became systematic and total in England, leading to the disappearance of the free peasantry and to the dissemination of servile relations, similar to those existing on the continent.

Since that time, William and his successors used England, as a tool to allocate land and rewards to their barons, who continued to reside either in Normandy as well in the island.
As Consequence, the ruling class of that time learned to speak English later on, therefore the language of the court was the Norman French and then the French until the fourteenth century.
Today that decisive armed confrontation is performed by a faithful re-enactment event at the Apsley House, in Hyde Park Corner.
The representation will take you back in time, showing scenes of everyday life, the games of that ancient time, the preparation of typical dishes and the demonstration of craft activities.
To avoid injuries, the battle will be represented strictly by using vegetables instead of arms.
Admission is free starting from 10am.
Share your historical experience on social networks by using the hashtag #Battle1066.