This morning I have started to produce my battle of Hastings map in earnest. I had previously worked with Google Earth, which has a really handy ruler application. So I found myself jumping between Google Earth and Google Maps to try and get the dimensions correct.
The first step was to place the Saxons. I made the assumption that these troops would have positioned on the crest of the hill. So using a handy contour tool in Google Maps I was able to work out where the hill started etc. The result was a rather curvy formation, but I am happy.
The next job was to place the missile troops. My research had suggested that William had massed the troops from all nations together in one formation, placing them in the 'van' of his army. The result can be seen on the map below. I decided that these men must have been within bowshot of the hill, so using a bow range of 200 yards (I know, it is a kind of guess) this set the front line for the Norman army.
I then added the heavy infantry in behind the archers. I am pretty sure these were split into three 'battles' each commanded separately. Behind these I placed the cavalry.
This only left the job of adding the commanders. Harold was easy, though William took a bit of guess work. the map, contours and chronicle references to him being in the centre produced the result you can see on the map.
Happy with the result I took a screen capture image and pasted it directly into my text.
Over all the process was a bit fiddley but I am happy with the results.
You can go here to see the My Maps version.
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