Guest 696- Registered: 31 Mar 2010
- Posts: 8,115
16 October 2010
00:1075164#1
In 1066, after the Battle of Hastings, Duke William of Normandy moved his army cautiously into Kent. His aim was to become king of England, and England was capable of sending another army to oppose him, and of resisting from the fortified burghs.
However, in that period, there was no heir to the English throne, and certain disputes had only just been overcome through diplomacy by the recent King Harold concerning local government in Northumbria and Mercia. William proposed to be king of all England and to govern the English by law, not to oppress England.
For this reason, the men of Kent and the Kentish men met with Duke William and proposed, in return for not opposing him militarily, that he accept all the previous laws and charters that had been granted to Kent, including the law of Gavel kind, which meant that all children inherit from their father and not only the eldest son. And that Kent maintain its military strategy by land and by sea.
William agreed, and on seeing this, all England decided to come to terms with William, hence, England was not really militarily conquered, but accepted the new king following offers and conditions that both sides presented and agreed to respect. This is one reason why Kent retained the White Horse Invicta!
In 1069 the Danish fleet once again threatened England's shores, and following the agreement reached between William and Kent, the Dovorians set out with the Kentish fleet and confronted the Danes at sea, inflicting a total defeat on them. The Danish ships with the dragon-head never again appeared in front of England's shores!
Kent's soldiers also maintained the place of honour in the English Army to fight in the front line on the battle-field, a right that had been acquired in the ninth century when the Kentish contingent of the English Army, being in the rear-guard, had been ambushed by a large Danish force in Essex. The Kentish warriors held out until the Shire forces had managed to arrived on the scene. The battle had been so furious, that all the leaders of the Danes were lying on the battle-field, and with these leaders gone, and a large part of their army, the whole Danish military threat against Wessex and Mercia was paralised for many years.
Brian Dixon
- Location: Dover
- Registered: 23 Sep 2008
- Posts: 23,940
16 October 2010
06:2475167#2
invicta,meaning undefeated.i think you find alex.