Speaker 7:

King, by God's will.

Speaker 1:

[Stephen] [Lurr] normally designs houses. Today, he'll be killing Saxons.

Stephen L.:

Too easy.

I have previously said, "I like hitting people," but really I'm a history buff. I'm really fascinated by it. Ever since I was a kid, I've been into this kind of thing.

Speaker 1:

The Australians are part of an invading horde who've come to reenact the Battle of Hastings, when England succumbed to a pack of foreigners.

Stephen L.:

We've had people from Oklahoma, Canada, Italy, France, Russia. Sweden, I've met people from Sweden.

Speaker 3:

Germany.

Stephen L.:

Germany, oh yes, several Germans.

Speaker 4:

And the Internet helps?

Stephen L.:

The Internet has been great. I've been communicating with people from all over the world.

Speaker 1:

In all, 1500 armed and dangerous history buffs have come to the spot where it all happened. Their aim is to bring the past to life.

Speaker 5:

The mighty Saxon are going to attack them. Go, push them back. Push them back [inaudible]

Speaker 1:

These days, the battlefield lies beneath a quiet, rural, village called, appropriately, Battle.

Back in 1066, William the Conqueror came here with an army of Normans, and slaughtered the local Saxons.

Harold, the doomed Saxon king, is back to make sure they take some Normans with them.

Speaker 6:

I think it's the fact I use the axe on the battlefield. They wanted someone who could use the axe effectively, safely, and look good. The moustache helped, as well.

Speaker 4:

What are you doing when you're not being King of England?

Speaker 6:

I'm a landscape gardener.

Speaker 4:

Has that prepared you for the role?

Speaker 6:

It might. It keeps you fit, anyway, yeah. Swinging all these spades and things about, you know? Axes, pickaxes, and all.

Speaker 1:

His Norman nemesis, William, is, oddly enough, a New Zealander.

Speaker 7:

A love of history and horses brought me here, 20 years ago. And for the last five years, I've been working for English Heritage, as the cavalry consultant, putting together various cavalry shows. And for that reason, I suppose, I was the natural choice to command the hundred cavalry that we've put together for today.

Speaker 1:

Every one of the riders, foot soldiers, and archers is fanatical about getting it just right.

Based on the Bayeux Tapestry, which depicted the battle, the costumes are as authentic as possible, even using the original materials. Many have even braved the embarrassment they'll face at work on Monday, and had 11th-century haircuts.

Stephen L.:

The Bayeux Tapestry shows the Normans with, basically, skinhead haircuts. They're shaved from about there, backwards, right back to the skin. This is an Anglo-Saxon haircut, according to the Bayeux Tapestry.

Speaker 4:

It looks like a mullet.

Stephen L.:

Does, a bit, I must admit. I was cutting my hair, and thought, "it does look a bit like a mullet." The moustache is correct, as well.

Speaker 1:

But most surprising of all is that the weapons are just as realistic. These aren't wooden replicas, they're made of authentic steel.

Stephen L.:

The sword is the right weight, the right length, made out of the right materials.

Speaker 4:

Can actually cause some damage.

Stephen L.:

You could. It's blunt, but you could certainly cause damage. I mean, you could actually kill somebody with this.

Speaker 1:

They follow elaborate fighting rules to prevent real-life death.

Stephen L.:

Basically, the places that you would aim for, if you were trying to kill the person, they're the ones we're not allowed to go for. Obviously, the face and the neck and the elbows, things like that. You're not allowed to hit hard, so you've got very limited target areas, you know. The torso.

Speaker 1:

But, not everyone follows the rules, and accidents do happen.

Speaker 9:

We're trying out new systems, and we both are pretty well-trained, so we wouldn't recommend that for the other people. So, kiddies, don't do that at home.

Speaker 1:

The risk of injury hasn't stopped [Sarah] [Denniston] taking advantage of one concession to the 21st century. Women can now join the battle.

Sarah D.:

They did, you know, do quite a lot with tending to the injured, and all the rest of it, but not actually fighting.

Speaker 4:

Now, do the men hold back when there's women in battle, or are you all fair game?

Sarah D.:

No, you don't look very female, dressed like this, and not when you put some chainmail on, as well. No, they're quite fair. It's pretty tough out there.

Speaker 1:

As the battle approached, the Normans and their mercenary allies gathered at the base of the hill to prepare for attack.

Speaker 7:

Can you tell me what the time is?

Speaker 4:

It's 20 past 2, William.

Speaker 7:

Thank you. That's good time for a battle.

Speaker 1:

And so, at the appointed hour, the armies marched forward to the field of battle, across the blood-soaked soil, down past the porta-loos.

To keep faith with history, the Normans are marching to pre-arranged victory, the Saxons to certain, if theatrical, death. At least, that's how it's supposed to go. For William, leading his troops into the first attacks, it was certainly looking like the real thing.

Speaker 7:

We know what's going to happen, but nonetheless, when we're galloping up the hill with a hundred horsemen, arrows are flying overhead, and the Saxon shield wall's in front of you, it does feel quite real.

Speaker 1:

The Saxons' tactic is to maintain a wall of shields, protecting them from a rain of arrows, and forcing the Normans to exhaust themselves charging again and again up the steep hill. It is a strange sight. Simulated mediaeval slaughter, with a touch of Monty Python, and a running sports commentary.

Speaker 11:

Now, the Saxon [inaudible] to fight in shield wall, you do not go chasing off after your enemy.

The Normans now literally charging into the attack.

Speaker 1:

For a while, it really did look like the Saxons were going to hold their ground, spurred on by a partisan home crowd. The Norman invaders were roundly booed as they mounted charge after charge up the hill.

Speaker 7:

Atmosphere out there is like pro wrestling.

Speaker 4:

And you're the bad guys?

Speaker 7:

We are the bad guys, and we love every minute of it.

Speaker 1:

As the Norman cavalry rounded on the Saxons, the commentator fought his own losing battle for even-handed applause.

Speaker 11:

Come on, give these Norman knights some support. Give them a round of applause, ladies, as they go in. Give them a good cheer.

Speaker 1:

But eventually, the Saxons fell for the same trick that caught them out in 1066. When the Normans began the time-honored tactic of running away, the Saxons broke rank to chase, and the cavalry cut them down.

Speaker 11:

Some of the Saxons become overconfident.

Speaker 1:

The final turning point was when King Harold went the way of the Bayeux Tapestry.

Speaker 11:

Ladies and gentlemen, I have just been told that Harold has definitely been hit in the eye with an arrow.

Speaker 1:

It was all over, bar the pillaging. The Saxons were cut to pieces, their bodies piling up as William planned his next move on London.

Speaker 7:

William, King, by God's will.

Speaker 1:

Exhausted, but jubilant, the Normans marched a lap of honour. The Australians had come further than anyone for the fight, and were feeling the effects.

Speaker 12:

I tell you what, next time I'm going to be a Saxon, so I can stand on top of the hill, and not have to walk up it three times.

Speaker 13:

Tired. Very, very, very tired.

Speaker 4:

Hard work?

Speaker 13:

It was. It was. That hill got steeper every single time.

Speaker 4:

But a good result.

Speaker 13:

Well, just for surprise, we won.

Speaker 1:

The defeated Saxons, risen from the dead, were philosophical.

Speaker 6:

You win some, you lose some.

Speaker 1:

Bad result, Harold?

Speaker 6:

Well, you know. In the replay tomorrow, we might have a better chance, know what I mean?

Speaker 1:

And sure enough, the next day, they re-stage the whole battle, proving history does repeat itself again and again.