Main Page
From today's featured article.jpg) The Battle of Hastings was fought on 14 October 1066 between the Norman-French army of William, the Duke of Normandy, and an English army under the Anglo-Saxon King Harold Godwinson, about 7 miles (11 kilometres) northwest of Hastings. The death of the childless King Edward the Confessor in January of that year led to a bloody struggle for the throne. After Harold defeated his own brother Tostig and the Norwegian King Harald Hardrada at the Battle of Stamford Bridge in September, William landed his invasion forces in the south of England at Pevensey. Harold marched swiftly to meet him, gathering forces as he went. The English army, with perhaps 10,000 infantry, met an invading force of perhaps 3,500 infantry and 3,500 cavalry and archers. After failing to break the English battle lines, the Normans pretended to flee in panic, then turned on their pursuers. Harold's death, probably near the end of the battle, led to the retreat and defeat of most of his army and to the Norman conquest of England. William was crowned as king on Christmas Day 1066. (Full article...) Recently featured:
Did you know...
|
In the news
Tropical Depression 23W
On this day...October 14: Defender of Ukraine Day 
Rescuers at the Senghenydd colliery
Jacques Arcadelt (d. 1568) · Masaoka Shiki (b. 1867) · Sumner Welles (b. 1892) More anniversaries:
|
Today's featured picture
 |
Claes Duyst van Voorhout is a portrait painting by the Dutch Golden Age painter Frans Hals, completed in 1638. It is thought to depict a Haarlem brewer named Claes Duyst van Voorhout. One of the best documented paintings in Hals' oeuvre, it is now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City. Painting: Frans Hals Recently featured:
|
Other areas of Wikipedia
- Community portal – Bulletin board, projects, resources and activities covering a wide range of Wikipedia areas.
- Help desk – Ask questions about using Wikipedia.
- Local embassy – For Wikipedia-related communication in languages other than English.
- Reference desk – Serving as virtual librarians, Wikipedia volunteers tackle your questions on a wide range of subjects.
- Site news – Announcements, updates, articles and press releases on Wikipedia and the Wikimedia Foundation.
- Village pump – For discussions about Wikipedia itself, including areas for technical issues and policies.
Wikipedia's sister projects
Wikipedia is hosted by the Wikimedia Foundation, a non-profit organization that also hosts a range of other projects:
 |
Commons Free media repository |
 |
MediaWiki Wiki software development |
 |
Meta-Wiki Wikimedia project coordination |
 |
Wikibooks Free textbooks and manuals |
 |
Wikidata Free knowledge base |
 |
Wikinews Free-content news |
 |
Wikiquote Collection of quotations |
 |
Wikisource Free-content library |
 |
Wikispecies Directory of species |
 |
Wikiversity Free learning materials and activities |
 |
Wikivoyage Free travel guide |
 |
Wiktionary Dictionary and thesaurus |
