Uploaded May 2019 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
In 1066 Norman Duke William The Bastard invades England with the full might of his army, loaded onto a vast armada of longships. King Harald Hardrada of Norway had already tried to do the same a few weeks earlier, losing his life in the gamble, to the new English king Harold Godwinson.
Godwinson had no time to revel in his victory however as news arrived of Williams successful crossing of the channel. The stage was set for one of the most pivotal moments of English history. The battle of Hastings.
This speech, attributed to William by the Anglo-Norman historian Henry of Huntingdon writing several decades later, is in all likelihood probably not one actually spoken by William, but is a fascinating glimpse into William’s reputation in the decades after the battle nonetheless.
How do we actually know about history? Voices of the Past is a channel dedicated to recreating the original accounts from the people who lived through events, or who lived far closer to them than we do today. We do this word for word, with an accompanying soundtrack of rousing music and images.
— Thanks for watching! Don’t forget to subscribe for new videos every single week! & Let us know in the comments what you’d like to see covered in the future.
— Become a patron for as little as a dollar a month & help keep this project going:-
patreon.com/historytimeUK
— Don’t forget to subscribe to our primary channel History Time, where we make full length historical documentaries:-
youtube.com/historytime
— History Time is now a podcast. You can find us wherever you get your podcasts from.
—Join our community on social media:-
Twitter:-
twitter.com/HistoryTimeUK
Facebook:-
facebook.com/HistoryTimeOfficial
Instagram:-
instagram.com/historytime_ig
— Music courtesy of:-
- Epidemic Sound
- Joss Edwards Music:-
soundcloud.com/jossedwardsmusic
* Kevin MacLeod
— Voice actor & editor:-
David Kelly
We've compiled a reading list of our favourite history books via the Amazon influencer program. If you do choose to purchase any of these incredible sources of information then Amazon will send us a tiny fraction of the earnings (as long as you do it through the link) (this means more and better content in the future) I'll keep adding to and updating the list as time goes on:-
amazon.com/shop/historytime
Are you a budding artist, writer, illustrator, cartographer, or music producer? Send us an email! No matter how professional you are or even if you’re just starting out, we can always use new music and images in my videos. Get in touch! I’d love to hear from you.
We try to use copyright free images at all times. However if we have used any of your artwork or maps then please don't hesitate to contact me and we’ll be more than happy to give the appropriate credit.
In 1066 Norman Duke William The Bastard invades England with the full might of his army, loaded onto a vast armada of longships. King Harald Hardrada of Norway had already tried to do the same a few weeks earlier, losing his life in the gamble, to the new English king Harold Godwinson.
Godwinson had no time to revel in his victory however as news arrived of Williams successful crossing of the channel. The stage was set for one of the most pivotal moments of English history. The battle of Hastings.
This speech, attributed to William by the Anglo-Norman historian Henry of Huntingdon writing several decades later, is in all likelihood probably not one actually spoken by William, but is a fascinating glimpse into William’s reputation in the decades after the battle nonetheless.
How do we actually know about history? Voices of the Past is a channel dedicated to recreating the original accounts from the people who lived through events, or who lived far closer to them than we do today. We do this word for word, with an accompanying soundtrack of rousing music and images.
— Thanks for watching! Don’t forget to subscribe for new videos every single week! & Let us know in the comments what you’d like to see covered in the future.
— Become a patron for as little as a dollar a month & help keep this project going:-
patreon.com/historytimeUK
— Don’t forget to subscribe to our primary channel History Time, where we make full length historical documentaries:-
youtube.com/historytime
— History Time is now a podcast. You can find us wherever you get your podcasts from.
—Join our community on social media:-
Twitter:-
twitter.com/HistoryTimeUK
Facebook:-
facebook.com/HistoryTimeOfficial
Instagram:-
instagram.com/historytime_ig
— Music courtesy of:-
- Epidemic Sound
- Joss Edwards Music:-
soundcloud.com/jossedwardsmusic
* Kevin MacLeod
— Voice actor & editor:-
David Kelly
We've compiled a reading list of our favourite history books via the Amazon influencer program. If you do choose to purchase any of these incredible sources of information then Amazon will send us a tiny fraction of the earnings (as long as you do it through the link) (this means more and better content in the future) I'll keep adding to and updating the list as time goes on:-
amazon.com/shop/historytime
Are you a budding artist, writer, illustrator, cartographer, or music producer? Send us an email! No matter how professional you are or even if you’re just starting out, we can always use new music and images in my videos. Get in touch! I’d love to hear from you.
We try to use copyright free images at all times. However if we have used any of your artwork or maps then please don't hesitate to contact me and we’ll be more than happy to give the appropriate credit.








![Diary Of A Pyramid Labourer // Oldest Papyrus Discovered 2550 BC Diary of Merer // Primary Source
Discovered in 2013 by Egyptologist Pierre Tallet and his team and called the greatest discovery in Egypt in the 21st century, The Diary of Merer gives us an incredible account of the one of the processes behind the construction of the most incredible building in human history - The Great Pyramid of Khufu. The oldest written papyrus yet discovered, it takes the form of a daily logbook of an Inspector Merer whose job is to transport limestone from the nearby Tura quarry to use as cladding for the pyramids in the constructions final stages.
An enormous thankyou to Pierre Tallet for allowing us to use his translation from the hieroglyphs, and to Colin Clement for allowing us to use his translation from French into English.
If this channel is something you like, if you think saving primary sources is important, head over to the patreon and join up!
patreon.com/voicesofthepast
— Don’t forget to subscribe to my brothers channel History Time, where he makes full length historical documentaries:-
https://www.youtube.com/historytime
— Music courtesy of:-
- Epidemic Sound
— Voice actor & editor:-
David Kelly
We try to use copyright free images at all times. However if we have used any of your artwork or maps then please dont hesitate to contact me and we’ll be more than happy to give the appropriate credit.
Thanks to:
Djehouty [CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)]
annemarieangelo
Keith Schengili-Roberts Diary Of A Pyramid Labourer // Oldest Papyrus Discovered 2550 BC Diary of Merer // Primary Source](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/UyQpxzbL_BM/mqdefault.jpg)

