04-22-2023, 09:43 PM
King Harold was shot in the eye with an arrow, which killed him at the Battle of Hastings in 1066.
Wrong. Writings from the time mention nothing about this. They do, however, detail what happened to him, which was indeed still a nasty, bloody end. The Bayeux Tapestry has had us believe Harold was shot in the eye due to the writing close to the scene, as he appears to be holding an arrow which has gone into his eye. Actually, the arrow seems to have been added in later on to suit a slightly different version of events, as was discovered when the tapestry was moved recently, finding that it was stitched with a different kind of thread, and actually what was originally there was in fact a spear. On top of that, that particular figure is thought to have been one of Harold's army, defending him; not Harold himself. It's the scene right next to this one, which is actually presenting Harold, showing the moment that he is charged down by a soldier and horse and slashed through the leg, as the then-texts described. A arrow had also been added close to Harold's face in that scene, but was later taken out, whilst the other was kept in. Not 'one in the eye for Harold' after all!
Wrong. Writings from the time mention nothing about this. They do, however, detail what happened to him, which was indeed still a nasty, bloody end. The Bayeux Tapestry has had us believe Harold was shot in the eye due to the writing close to the scene, as he appears to be holding an arrow which has gone into his eye. Actually, the arrow seems to have been added in later on to suit a slightly different version of events, as was discovered when the tapestry was moved recently, finding that it was stitched with a different kind of thread, and actually what was originally there was in fact a spear. On top of that, that particular figure is thought to have been one of Harold's army, defending him; not Harold himself. It's the scene right next to this one, which is actually presenting Harold, showing the moment that he is charged down by a soldier and horse and slashed through the leg, as the then-texts described. A arrow had also been added close to Harold's face in that scene, but was later taken out, whilst the other was kept in. Not 'one in the eye for Harold' after all!
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