Fighters relive the Battle of Hastings

  • 16/10/2016
The re-enactment was part of a weekend of festivities to commemorate the Battle of Hastings (Getty)
The re-enactment was part of a weekend of festivities to commemorate the Battle of Hastings (Getty)

Thousands of history buffs, many in full costume, marked the 950th anniversary of the 1066 Battle of Hastings with a dramatic re-enactment on Saturday that commemorated one of the most important events in British history.

The battlefield in southern England seemed to erupt as more than 1,000 soldiers in period dress clashed with swords, swung their maces and shot arrows across the fields.

The re-enactment was part of a weekend of festivities to commemorate the landmark battle. Tickets have long been sold out.

Some of the participants, dressed as warriors, had walked or travelled on horseback roughly 480km from York in northern England to the Battle Abbey in East Sussex in southern England to recreate a march that preceded the battle.

They stayed along the way in Saxon-style encampments during the three-week trek, drawing stares from onlookers surprised by the contrast between present-day England and 1066.

The famous battle between William of Normandy and Anglo-Saxon King Harold ended in the latter's death. William assumed the crown on Christmas Day and ruled until his death in 1087.

APTN