Norman

Harold Godwinson is proclaimed king of England in the Bayeux Tapestry. It may have been commissioned by a Norman but this magnificent artwork repeatedly acknowledges the English leader’s piety and courage. (Photo by Universal History Archive/Getty Images)

Why is Harold Godwinson a hero of the Bayeux Tapestry?

Charles Spencer on the HistoryExtra podcast

The shipwreck that sunk a royal dynasty

‘Inkhorn’ was the term for an inkwell made out of a small horn and became a nickname for the new words being created by playwrights and poets, such as William Shakespeare. (Photo by GraphicaArtis/Getty Images)

The evolution of the English language

Stephen Baxter on the Domesday Book (Image by Getty Images)

Domesday Book: medieval big data

Extract from Domesday Book.

Your guide to the Domesday Book: the most important document in English history?

UNSPECIFIED - CIRCA 1754: Bayeux Tapestry 1667: William the Conqueror's Norman cavalry setting out to meet Harold II's English forces, Battle of Hastings, 14 October 1066. Textile Linen (Photo by Universal History Archive/Getty Images)

From the British Isles to Italy and Spain: how the Normans reshaped Europe

The White Ship disaster

Charles Spencer on the White Ship disaster, “the most disastrous moment in British maritime history”

Charles Spencer talks about the White Ship disaster on the HistoryExtra podcast. (Image by Getty Images)

The White Ship: a medieval royal tragedy

A section of the Bayeux Tapestry depicting Harold Godwinson being crowned king of England. Harold was the last Anglo-Saxon king of England and was killed by William, Duke of Normandy at the battle of Hastings in 1066. (Photo by Universal History Archive/Getty Images)

1066: eight days that rocked England

A photograph of the Tower of London, from the river

Anne Boleyn, Beefeaters, Guy Fawkes and the princes: a brief history of the Tower of London

Premium

CharlesSpencer_VL_Video 620x413

Charles Spencer The White Ship . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

An illustration depicting the deposition of the body of Edward the Confessor in the tomb at Westminster in 1066. (

Was the early medieval period a “golden age” for the elderly?

An illustration depicting the death of William II at the hands of Walter Tirel. Although his death is thought to have been a hunting accident, some contemporary observers

Death in the New Forest: how King William II met his demise

Queen Emma and her sons

Exclusive podcast William and Cnut: a tale of two conquerors

Queen Emma and her sons, miniature in 'Encomium Emmae reginae', mid 11th century, British Library (Photo by Getty Images)

Are women at the heart of the action in the Norman Conquest?