It happened that all through England such a sign in the heavens was seen as no man had seen before. Some men said that it was the longhaired star, "Comet," and considered it a bad omen but William the Duke of Normandy saw it as a sign that he would win the battle to gain his rightful place as successor to his cousin Edward, the King of England.

When Edward died without children in January, the throne was given to Harold Godwinson, an English earl.

Harold, a close friend of Edward and his wife thought himself a serious contender for the throne and had no intention of letting William's claim hold any significance. Harold had himself crowned in Westminster Abbey the day after Edward's death.

But William claimed that before his death, Edward had promised the throne to him. William therefore planned to assume his role as heir and take up the throne.

With quick, overwhelming, and decisive military action, William squashed and buried any thought of the throne going to Harold on October 14th, 1066. He landed his 7000 troops and began his southern advance on the beach of Pevensey, doing most of this while Harold was completely unaware.

William's army then set up and battled fiercely the next day until Norman swords eventually cut down the Saxon army.

In one systematic and devastating act, taking less than ten hours time and rendering any Saxon retaliation virtually impossible, south and southeastern England were shortly torched and destroyed at William's command. Nothing was left behind but a trail of horse and human corpses.

By the end of December in Westminster England, William was crowned King.