British infantry forming an infantry square during the Battle of Quatre Bras, which was fought on 16 June 1815 in the Kingdom of the Netherlands (present day Wallonia, Belgium).

“The 28th Regiment at Quatre Bra” by Elizabeth Thompson, 1875.

A photograph of members of the Bullingdon Club.

Oxford, Oxfordshire, England, British Empire. 1866.

You were born to do great things. You were born to establish the reality which you, yourself, have desired so secretly in the small hours of the night. So intense is the light you harbor for the world, so consequential is the effect of your passion, the world trembles at the very groan your chest makes; the very same which struggles to contain the inferno called your soul. A cascade of Will hemmed in, warhorses penned in tight and in ever-closing stables, each seeking the very moment of opportunity to cascade out into the world and form it in your vital design.

Destiny hemmed in with 'No', with a pernicious design to lessen you and stifle your mission. All your life you have been told, been taught, been smeared with this excretion named 'No'.

Yet, in the cool breeze of a summer night, you hear the echo of a word, a world, you long forgot. A whisper carried on such soft breezes that when it's spark floats and lands, like a feather on your soul, you languidly expected the same nothing, the same No, you have eternally known all your life.

And yet...

"Yes!"

“These Normanni certainly cultivated a sense of identity and common characteristics which, in the case of the Normans, tended to be of a military and political type. Ferocity, boundless energy, cunning, and a capacity for leadership were their heritage”

A scene from the Bayeux Tapestry depicting the Battle of Hastings, fought on 14 October 1066.

Today is the 958th anniversary of the Battle of Hastings. On 14 October 1066, the Norman army of William of Normandy fought the Saxon army of Harold Godwinson for control of the Kingdom of England and possession of the English crown. The Norman army won the battle decisively, killing Harold Godwinson, as well as his two brothers Gyrth and Leofwine, in combat.

The Battle of Hastings resulted in the Norman conquest of England. William, Duke of Normandy, became King of England, and earned the epithet “the Conqueror”. All subsequent English, and later British, monarchs descend from William the Conqueror.

Because William the Conqueror married Matilda of Flanders, the great great great great great granddaughter of King Alfred the Great of England, and fathered all his legitimate children with her, all the legitimate descendants of William the Conqueror are also descendants of Alfred the Great. Furthermore, there is no evidence that William the Conqueror had any illegitimate children, which means all of his known descendants are also descendants of Alfred the Great.

A map depicting the order of battle for the Battle of Hastings, fought on 14 October 1066 between the Norman army of William of Normandy and the Saxon army of Harold Godwinson.

Labelled A in white are the Saxon lines, which formed a defensive position. The Saxon army consisted almost entirely of infantry, aided by a few archers. Labelled B are the Saxon standards.

Labelled C, D, and E in black is the Norman army, divided into three battle groups. The left wing (C) consisted of warriors from Brittany, Anjou, Poitou, and Maine, and was led by the Breton nobleman Alan the Red, who later became Lord of Richmond. The centre (D) consisted of Normans and was led by Duke William of Normandy himself, who later became King of England. The right wing (E) consisted of French and Flemish forces and was led by the Norman nobleman William FitzOsbern, Lord of Breteuil, who later became Earl of Hereford, and by Count Eustace II of Boulogne. The Norman army consisted of a mix of infantry, cavalry, and archers.