The primary source adapted to facilitate the comparison is the ‘Battle of Hastings,” which William of Malmesbury first published in 1125. The work discusses the “Battle of the Hastings” as a major historical event that took place in England, which led William the Conqueror to emerge as England’s king. It reveals that William used to serve as Normandy’s Duke, which served as part of present-day France, while he was driven by the urge for introducing the Normandy language, laws, as well as customs to England. He also had the urge of establishing a feudal system in the country (William of Malmesbury, 2011).
As such, the “Battle of Hastings” serves as a major military encounter that took place in English history based on the notable defeat that the country underwent. This is mostly due the seismic change in the social structure that resulted from the decisive victory that William the Conqueror spearheaded, which eventually led to the defeat of his opponent, Harold Godwineson in 1066. Here, William was mostly driven by the urge for introducing a change in the social structure in England. The “Battle of Hastings” was written primarily to illustrate weaknesses in England, which made the subject of attack as well as the need for introducing a social system that would rhyme with the one of the Normandy way of life (William of Malmesbury, 2011).
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Irrespective of the quality associated with the primary source, however, notable bias exists as it depicts the Normandy as superior based on their persistence to invade England. This time was characterized by a notable tension between the two societies while the feudal system was taking shape within the region (William of Malmesbury, 2011).
“The Battle of Hastings: The Uncomfortable Truth” by Marc Morris served as the secondary source gathered from http://historytoday.com. Historytoday.com serves as a magazine whose major goal is to offer history to a broad audience, while it operates in London the organization is committed to publishing major scholarly, themes, and periodicals on history. It ensures that each contribution is edited in a careful manner to ensure that the magazine remains informative and pleasurable to the readers. The organization was established in 1951 and comprises of diverse articles gathered from History review while the periodicals it produces for students have published three times annually. Thus, the ideal audience of the secondary source would serve as history students interested in pre-historic events (Morris, 2013).
The article aims at eliminating the bias apparent in the primary source by stipulating that everything presented about Hastings is debatable, ranging from the action course to the number of individuals from each side. The article reveals that one of the major certainties concerning the event was that Normans emerged winners, based on careful observation by a historical expert, R. Allen Brown. The other area that is subject to criticism is the location of the battle. For instance, until the recent years, historians believed that the battle happened at the Battle situated around seven miles from Hastings.
Nevertheless, the present day authors disagree with the tradition insisting that it does not rhyme with the primary source, arguing that that the 1066 battle took place at Caldbec Hill. Here, I find it challenging to catalog that all the omissions, contortions, mistakes, misconceptions, and absurdities needed to sustain the view, particularly because the landmark, which is long lost was based on Caldbec Hill’s top. As such, since it is not possible to prove the assumption, the bias in the article emerges when the authors consider a fact repeatedly, thereby leading to its universal acceptance (Morris, 2013).
References
Morris, M. (2013). The Battle of Hastings: The Uncomfortable Truth. Retrieved from http://www.historytoday.com/blog/2013/05/battle-hastings-uncomfortable-truth
William of Malmesbury. (2011). Battle of Hastings, 1066. Retrieved from http://www.zbths.k12.il.us/cms/lib06/IL01000825/Centricity/Domain/138/WH%20Readings/Battle%20of%20Hastings.pdf
