The Battle of Hastings was fought in which year?

The story behind the answer

1066 is correct because on October 14 of that year William, Duke of Normandy, defeated King Harold Godwinson at the Battle of Hastings, leading to the Norman Conquest of England. This victory ended Anglo-Saxon rule and put William the Conqueror on the English throne.

The conquest reshaped English society: Norman French blended with Old English, transforming the language; the feudal system took root; and administrative changes culminated in the Domesday Book (1086). A vivid contemporary record, the Bayeux Tapestry, depicts the events from Harold’s coronation to his death at Hastings—after he’d rushed south from defeating Vikings at Stamford Bridge earlier in 1066. Memory tip: “1066 and All That” (title of a famous satire) makes 1066 the year to remember for England’s most decisive invasion.