Was King Harold Really Shot In The Eye?
King Harold And The Battle Of Hastings
958 years ago today, the Battle of Hastings was fought. It ended in defeat for the English King Harold II and a victory for the French Invader, William, Duke of Normandy. It effectively ended 500 years of Anglo-Saxon rule, instead establishing the Normans as the new rulers of England. The manner of Harold’s death is vividly portrayed in the Bayeux Tapestry (shown above, Harold is second left), a large embroidered cloth that depicts the key events of the Norman Conquest, showing the king mortally wounded by an arrow through his eye.
This version of events has been largely accepted by the general public over the centuries. Why wouldn’t it be? It seems plausible enough, given the intense arrow volleys likely raining down on Harold and his forces during the battle.
Accuracy
However, some scholars question the accuracy of this specific “death by arrow” narrative. One reason for this skepticism is that accounts written in the immediate aftermath of the battle do not mention an arrow to Harold’s eye. They simply record that he died in battle. One such account, Carmen de Hastingae Proelio (“Song of the Battle of Hastings”), offers a more detailed and graphic version of Harold’s death, involving a brutal attack by William and three French knights.
“The first of the four, piercing the king’s shield and chest with his lance, drenched the ground with a gushing stream of blood. The second, with his sword, cut off his head below the protection of his helm. The third liquefied his entrails with his spear. And the fourth cut off his thigh and carried it some distance away.”
This depiction of Harold’s death, being violently hacked apart by knights, is echoed in several accounts from that period.
Possible Authors
So, how did the “arrow through the eye” legend come about? Historians suggest that this version of events may have emerged about four decades after the Battle of Hastings, in a poem by the French Bishop Baudri of Bourgueil. In the poem, Harold is said to have died from a laetalis arundo (“a lethal arrow”). A few years later, the English historian William of Malmesbury also referred to a laetalis arundo but added that it pierced Harold’s brain. By the 12th century, historians such as Henry of Huntingdon and the Norman chronicler Wace also mentioned Harold being struck in the eye by an arrow, although Wace was uncertain whether this was the fatal blow, as Harold was quickly overwhelmed by advancing French knights.
Skeptics also argue that the Bayeux Tapestry cannot be trusted as historical truth because it is believed that this arrow-through-the-eye part depiction was added during 19th-century French repairs, and 18th-century reproductions even show King Harold holding a spear.
Enduring Question Marks
Historical evidence remains inconclusive as to whether King Harold was shot through the eye with an arrow. Early accounts of the battle do not mention an arrow, and alternative descriptions suggest that Harold may have died from multiple wounds inflicted by knights on the ground. Thus, while the “arrow in the eye” story has become an enduring and dramatic part of the Battle of Hastings legend, it may not depict the reality of Harold’s final moments.
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