New research from the University of East Anglia suggests that a lost papal letter could change how historians understand the events of 1066 and the Norman Conquest.
Surviving excerpts of the letter, preserved in the Vatican archives, point to a major political struggle in Rome that may have influenced the fate of England. The evidence suggests King Harold may have weakened his position well before the Battle of Hastings by supporting the wrong faction during a bitter conflict between two competing popes.
If that interpretation is correct, the outcome of 1066 may have depended not only on what happened on the battlefield at Hastings, but also on political and religious decisions made in Rome.
The findings are published today by Yale University Press in a new book titled 'Harold: Warrior King', written by UEA historian Prof Tom Licence.
The research arrives as the British Museum prepares to open a major exhibition featuring the Bayeux Tapestry, one of the best-known surviving artifacts connected with the Norman Conquest.
