Matthew had a visit to our NHS GP (doctor) on Friday with an ear ache. She said he had debris in his ear and recommended he take some Paracetamol for the pain. I don't understand why she didn't clear out the debris to relieve the pain and look for infection. Praise God that He is our healer.
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To help Matthew recover, we slept in on Saturday and started the day slowly. Since he seemed to feel better, we set out to visit the Battle of Hastings battlefield and Battle Abbey. The drive was an easy 2 hours of mostly dual-carriage motorway.
We are members of English Heritage, so our admission was free. Parking only cost £1 so it was a pretty inexpensive afternoon outing. The original abbey was built shortly after the battle in 1066, but little of the original structures have survived. The more modern gatehouse is located on the High street of the quaint town of Battle. The visitor center had all of the same souvenirs as the other English Heritage sites and Matthew bought himself another wooden sword. The audio tour took us through the education center, where we watched a video about the Battle of Hastings and saw some displays of life in 1066.
We then walked around the battlefield and abbey. Since the weather was damp and cold, the clay ground was sticky and slippery. We saw the battlefield from the perspectives of both King Harold of England and Duke William of Normandy. It was hard to imagine 14,000 men hacking at each other with swords in the fight for the English crown. The Abbey ruins were very impressive and we marveled at the vaulted ceiling construction from so long ago.
I learned that King Harold had the odds against him because he was challenged from both Norway and Normandy (in France) for his crown as the king of England. Since there were no clear rules regarding who would inherit the kingdom when the previous king, Edward the Confessor, died both King Harald Hardrada of Norway and Duke William of Normandy believed that they were the rightful kings of England and attacked almost simultaneously. I also found it interesting that the Normans were originally from Norway. I never realized how much impact the vikings had in world history.
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| The gatehouse as seen from High Street. |
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| High Street of the town of Battle. |
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| Our heroes at the bottom of the hill that William of Normandy charged his troops up to meet King Harold. Even though he won, I think I would have been cheering for the English troops. How would our society have turned out if William had lost? |
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| The ruins of the Abbey from the bottom of the battlefield. |
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| I was impressed with the size of the ancient buildings. |
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| The Abbey was started by William to mark the spot of his victory. The site fell into ruin after King Henry VIII declared himself head of the church and closed the monasteries. |
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| Matthew in the ruins of what were once the living quarters. This wing was just the latrines! |
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| Matthew in the crypt of the church. This is all that is left of the church. |
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| This stone marked the location of the high altar... |
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| ...which William ordered to be placed on the location of King Harold's death. |
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| Since the day was cool and damp, our cream tea tasted really good. |
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