William of Normandy lands at Pevensey

September 28, 1066

The Norman duke's fleet of perhaps seven hundred ships disembarked horses, knights, and archers on the Sussex coast, beaching their vessels and building an immediate motte-and-bailey at Hastings. William is said to have stumbled on the shingle and, laughing, declared he had already taken England in both hands. His army had waited weeks in Normandy for a favorable wind, and the delay nearly cost him the campaign.