Important Historical Discovery

[faustus]

A day out in Sussex yesterday yielded a significant discovery:

The Battle of Hastings did not take place in Hastings. In fact it was in Battle.

This raises a number of questions I will need to seek the answers to in Battle, such as:

1) Why does Hasting claim all the credit?
2) Why is isn't it the Battle of Battle?
3) Was this the first battle, and thus is the source of the phrase?

Another question is how come William the Conq hung around the area for so long, giving Harold the chance to get back from Stamford Bridge (the problem being finding people to go south of the river, I guess). Which leads us to:

5) How did Harold know to go to Battle?
6) Did someone send a message to Fulham Broadway?
7) Would he know that Battle was the sort of place to go to have a battle (if he had the word)?
8) Was this the Anglo-Norman equivalent of "See you after school"?

I've never worked out how the beacons work. They lit them to signal the arrival of the Armada. Then lit them to celebrate victory. Is this like porch lights which come on to welcom friends but deter intruders? What if the firend is intruding?

Next: Thermos Flasks. How do they know how hot their contents need to be?

Comments

[pennski.livejournal.com]

Oh how lovely.

We've been discovering the ignorance of our industrial placement student. He had no idea that Harold had already fought a battle before the Battle of Battle.

[drasecretcampus.livejournal.com]

Harold vs. Harold. The Anglo-Saxon anser to Kramer Vs. Kramer. Though I forget the question.