By Stuart Douch
Button Books £12.99
ISBN: 9781787081550
Nearly 960 years ago a pivotal event took place that changed the course of English history (No UK back then) and became an important subject in History lessons in primary school when I was growing up. Although times have moved on and the fashionable subjects are Windrush, Mandela etc there is no escaping the profund change that was not matched for impact until the reformation. There was even an amusing light hearted approach to English history called ‘1066 and all that’ by Sellar & Yeatman which had that date foremost, although actually starting with the Roman invasion.
In this illustrated hardback from Button books the whole saga from the choosing of a successor to Edward the Confessor (who had failed in that respect) up to the crowning of William 1 on Dec 25th is told in comic book format.
It begins with a rogue’s gallery – quite literally as we see twelve of the ugliest persons ever drawn on paper (well one of the ladies has a veil), and
An interesting addition is that some of the Anglo Saxon’s (that’s the English) are speaking words that we can’t understand. Modern day english is a mish mash which has evolved over time, with even some of the French words which have changed. There’s also smatterings of Norse, Breton, French – these affairs had mercenaries from different countries.
From time to time there is a small square called ‘Ask the History Teacher’ who gives insight into key facts.
There are some little known facts thrown in such as the inability of the local Sussex commander to engage William’s forces on the beach before they had time to organise themselves. There is also the harrowing of the lands around London and the retreat to the north of key Saxon commanders Edwin and Morcar who were not apparently Harold’s greatest allies.
One bone of contention – how did Harold die is given a new twist with the author suggesting a crossbow bolt to the cheek would have severely wounded him and that he was then cut down by William and his key commanders who dismembered him.
The drawings bring out the brutality of hand to hand combat and thus reflect the harshness of the times and the men who lived in them, none would be pinned to my wall!
Stuart Douch is a teacher and artist living in Lancing, West Sussex. He has taught mainly English and history for over 20 years, ten of which he was a headteacher. He and his wife live with their two cats and rabbits. He enjoys singing in a local choir, learning languages – including the five non-English languages in this book – drawing, and reading literature and history.