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attendants, servants. furious, flerce.
barricade, fence. ravine, valley.
confident,trustful. recognize, find out.
resolved, made up his mind. delayed, put off.
squadrons, bodies of soldiers. emboldened, made bold.
entreaty, prayer. victims, sufferers.
1. When Harold, who was at York, heard of the landing of William at Pevensey Bay, he hurried to the south at once, and took up a position at Senlac,about eight miles from Hastings, where William had raised two wooden forts. It would have been better for him had he delayed until the full strength of the English force had gathered; but he was so cheered with his victory at Stamford,
and so confident in his own power, that he resolved to fight at onc
2. A spy sent from his camp had lurked about the edge of the Norman lines for some time, and, seeing vast numbers of shaven men going about, had gone back with the news that the invader had brought over a band of monks more numerous than his soldiers.
3. This mistake, for it was the archers that the spy had seen, emboldened Harold still more; and so the English took a good supper, and sat by their watch-fires drinking ale and singing songs. The Normans, wiser and more cautious, spent the night in fasting and prayer, so that they rose with clear heads and strong limbs.
4. Harold's army, scarcely 20, 000 in number, was firmly posted on the slope of Senlac Hill, behind a barricade of ash-wood and osier. They had a splendid banner, on which was worked, in gold and gems, the figure of a soldier; but they had not half enough of weapons. There were in the ranks many peasants, who had nothing except pitchforks or wooden poles sharpened to a point.
5. Duke William, who had sought the blessing of the Pope on his undertaking, took care that bis soldiers should see that they were fighting under the shadow of a sacred banner, no less splendid than the English flag. In his hurry to get ready on the morning of the battle, he had put on his coat of mail with the back where the front ought to have been; and his attendants, always on the watch for signs, had begun to look alarmed, when he called out, “It is no matter; it is a good sign, for to-day a Duke shall be changed into a King.”
6. And then the Battle of Hastings began. In front of the Normans rode a gaily-dressed minstrel, singing warlike songs. He had got from the Duke the honour of striking the first blow, and accordingly he drove his lanc-head through a man; but his weapon was scarcely free, when a mortal blow cut him down.
7. It was in vain that the Norman horse dashed up the hill on the English lines. Standing steadily together, the Englishmen hewed away with their bill-hooks at the attacking squadrons, and at last hurled them down the hill, at the foot of which many of the jaded horses went neck and croup over into a deep ravine filled with brambles and thorny shrubs
8. Just then a spear killed Duke William's horse; and, as the Duke fell stunned to the earth, a cry arose that he was dead, and the Normans began to run away. But he sprang up; got a fresh horse; took off his helmet, that his troops might know him; and with his brother the Bishop, who rode a white horse and fought with a mace, galloped into the crowd of fugitives, and with blows, entreaties, and commands turned them back to the fight
9. A lucky thought then struck him. He made his bowmen shoot up into the air in a slanting direction, so that their arrows might fall from above on the heads of the English; and thus many skulls, uncovered by helmets or iron caps, were pierced.
10. Among the victims of this plan were King Harold and two of his brothers. Harold received an arrow in his brow, above the right eye. He tore out the shaft, and leaned his face upon his shield. But his fighting was done; and,whether it was this wound or others received in the final struggle round the English flag that caused his death, certain it is that he was dead before the roar of battle was silent on the plain.
11. The closing fight was near the golden banner of Harold, around which a few of the bravest English soldiers had gathered, after a pretence of flight on the part of the Normans had drawn them from their strong position on the hill.Twenty Norman knights swore that they would reach the centre of this ring or die: and with one furious charge they broke through it, and hurled the glittering banner to the dust.
12. This and the death of Harold secured the victory for the Norman Duke. The battle was fought on a Saturday, and on the Sunday morning the fi eld was covered with weeping pale-faced wives and mothers, who were looking among the dead for their dear relatives. One of the searchers was an English lady—Edith of the Swan Neck—with whom Harold had been in love; and no eye but hers could recognize the features of the fallen King beneath the clotted blood and dust which covered the face of his corpse. At fi rst the body was buried in the sand of the sea-shore, but at the entreaty of his aged mother, it was taken up and placed under the stone fl oor of Waltham Abbey
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1. 当身在约克郡的哈罗德国王听说威廉已在佩文西湾登陆，立即率部南巡，并在离黑斯廷斯8英里之遥的森拉克山地驻扎下来，而威廉已在那里用木头搭建起了两个要塞。如果哈罗德按兵不动，等英国大军集结完毕后再开战的话，结果可能会好些。但是他当时完全被在斯坦福德
取得的胜利冲昏了头，对他的兵力盲目自信，决定要立即与敌人决一死战。
2. 他派了一名密探潜伏到诺曼人的军营旁边。此人发现军营里有大量剃了光头的人到处走动，于是立即回来报告说敌军队伍里掺杂了很多僧侣，比士兵的人数还要多。
3. 其实这些人根本不是僧侣，而是训练有素的弓箭手。不过这一错误判断让哈罗德更加信心满满，心想和一帮书呆子打仗，那还不是小菜一碟吗？于是英军当晚大吃大喝了一顿，全军将士点起篝火，围坐在火边喝酒吃肉，唱歌跳舞。而另一边的诺曼人，却显得更加明智而谨慎，人家整个晚上都在举行斋戒和祷告，因此作战时头脑清醒、四肢有力。
4. 哈罗德的军队人数满打满算还不到20000人，全部布置在森拉克山的山坡上，前线有一片白蜡树和柳树林作为掩护。他们在营中树立了一面漂亮帅旗，上面用黄金和宝石镶成了一个士兵的头像。但是他们拥有的武器却远远不够，队伍中还有不少没有战斗经验的乡下人，他们手里除了草叉和尖木棍便一无所有了。
5. 为了赢得这场战争，威廉公爵已向教皇寻求到支持，希望得到上天的神佑。因为他希望他的将士们是在神圣而光彩的旗帜下战斗，不能逊于英国人。战斗即将开始的那天早上，威廉穿上铠甲，但是由于匆忙把前后穿反了，他的随从看见后一下紧张起来，觉得这不是个好兆头，而威廉却大声说道：“这有什么关系，这恰恰是个好兆头，因为今天是一位公爵将变成国王的日子，这正好意味着要翻身嘛。”
6. 公元1066年10月14日早晨，黑斯廷斯之战就此打响。一位穿得花里胡哨、游吟歌手模样的人骑着马来到了诺曼大军阵前，唱起了高亢的战歌。他其实是受威廉公爵的指派，引领将士向英军发起第一波攻击，其首功便是用长矛刺杀了一名士兵。当然他最后也没什么好果子吃，英军立即上前把他砍下了马。
7. 按照当时地形，诺曼人要想骑马冲上山与英军交战简直是天方夜谭。英军将士极力利用地形之便，举着弯刀集合在一起，从各路包抄，向敌人砍杀过去。之后又将手里的武器全部奋力扔下山坡，这一下让坡下的诺曼人叫苦不迭，已经疲惫不堪的战马被砍得东倒西歪，他们只得仓皇躲入荆棘密布的山间深谷。
8. 就在这时，威廉公爵的战马也被一只飞掷过来的长矛刺死。威廉大惊失色，随即滚翻在地。见此状，队伍中有人以为威廉已死，便大喊一声“威廉死了”，诺曼人一听可炸开了锅，一些人立即抱头鼠窜。突然之间，威廉又重新站了起来，跨上了一匹新的战马，摘掉了他的头盔，这样好让全军将士能一眼认出他；他的那位身为主教的哥哥也参加了这场战斗，骑着一匹白马，拿着权杖参加搏斗，这时见威廉无恙，立即冲向那些逃兵，要他们立即返回战场，继续在威廉的指挥下参加战斗。
9. 情急之下，威廉急中生智，他让弓箭手不要瞄准射箭，而是朝着英军队伍方向把箭斜向天上射出去，这样箭就可能直接飞向英军士兵的天灵盖。这一招果然奏效，没有头盔的英军将士几乎全被从天而降的利箭射死。
10. 这一狠招的受害者名单里，就有哈罗德和他的两个弟弟。哈罗德右眼上方的额头上中了一箭，他立即掰断箭杆扔掉，并用盾牌护住受伤的右脸。但是，他的战斗就此结束了。不管是这一箭导致的重伤，还是在英军旗帜下的勉力挣扎中遭受的其他致命伤，总之，在这纷飞的战火平息之前，他就牺牲了。
11. 最后的战斗就是在哈罗德的黄金标旗之下完成的。当时为数不多尚未阵亡的英勇将士佯装撤退，诺曼人步步紧逼，把他们从之前的有利地位逼到了标旗之下，他们在那里集结成最后一个战斗堡垒。20位诺曼骑兵乘胜追击，宣称他们将以人头担保杀进堡垒的中心，经过一场极其惨烈的搏斗，他们成功了，英军的标旗被他们取下，扔到了已成焦土的地上。
12. 这一结局以及哈罗德之死彻底宣告了诺曼公爵威廉的胜利。这场战斗发生在星期六，星期天一早，战场上到处都是悲戚嚎哭的妻子和母亲，她们每走一步都声声泣下，寻找着自己亲爱的丈夫和儿子的遗体。在这个人群中，有一位英国女人，她就是哈罗德深爱的“鹅颈伊迪丝”；只有她才能在这血流成河的战场上、在被泥土覆盖的遗体堆中，认出阵亡的哈罗德国王。起初他的遗体直接被掩埋在海岸边的沙土中，最后在他年迈母亲的苦苦哀求下，被移到了沃尔瑟姆修道院的地宫之中。