On the Origins of William the Conqueror's Horse Transports

The Norman invasion of England in 1066 has engaged medievalists in vigorous controversy for centuries. At the heart of the matter is this question: How did Duke William obtain the massive fleet and trained personnel needed to carry out the largest amphibious operation in western Europe since the early days of the Roman Empire? Here, my purpose is to explore one aspect of a set of related problems concerning William's logistics, namely, the means by which he obtained the necessary technology to transport in battle-ready condition a very large herd of horses across the English Channel at night in late Septemberthat is, under very unfavorable conditions. In the latter part of the article, I will suggest that the technology came from the Byzantines. Any survey of sources for the Norman invasion of England makes clear that Duke William's ships were a topic of special concern to his advisers. The sources are in general agreement that, when William decided to invade England, the Normans lacked both ships and experienced naval personnel.' Nevertheless, within a period of less than nine months William was able to obtain, largely through new construction, we are told, somewhere between 696 (this being the often accepted number provided by the often maligned Wace) and 3,000 ships (the number given by the putatively reliable William of Poitiers).2 Whatever may have been the size of this fleet, modern scholars regard it as having been of adequate size to transport some 10,000 men3 and a herd of from 2,000 to 3,000 horses, plus supplies to sustain the invasion army.4 The logistic problems involved in building, outfitting, and manning a fleet of somewhere between about 700 and about 3,000 ships during a period of less than nine months under conditions dictated by mid

Ancient history · Horse · Political science · Eurasian Exchange Networks · Geology · Historical and Archaeological Studies · History · Medieval History and Crusades · Paleontology

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