Harold was threatened with invasion not only by William but by his brother Tostig, who had taken refuge in Norway and secured the aid of its king, Harald Hardrada.

The fleet and army he had gathered lay watching for months along the coast.

His one standing force was his body of hus-carls, but their numbers only enabled them to act as the nucleus of an army.

On the other hand the Land-fyrd or general levy of fighting-men was a body easy to raise for any single encounter but hard to keep together.

To assemble such a force was to bring labour to a standstill.