<P> Although the feigned flights did not break the lines, they probably thinned out the housecarls in the English shield wall . The housecarls were replaced with members of the fyrd, and the shield wall held . Archers appear to have been used again before and during an assault by the cavalry and infantry led by the duke . Although 12th - century sources state that the archers were ordered to shoot at a high angle to shoot over the front of the shield wall, there is no trace of such an action in the more contemporary accounts . It is not known how many assaults were launched against the English lines, but some sources record various actions by both Normans and Englishmen that took place during the afternoon's fighting . The Carmen claims that Duke William had two horses killed under him during the fighting, but William of Poitiers's account states that it was three . </P> <P> Harold appears to have died late in the battle, although accounts in the various sources are contradictory . William of Poitiers only mentions his death, without giving any details on how it occurred . The Tapestry is not helpful, as it shows a figure holding an arrow sticking out of his eye next to a falling fighter being hit with a sword . Over both figures is a statement "Here King Harold has been killed". It is not clear which figure is meant to be Harold, or if both are meant . The earliest written mention of the traditional account of Harold dying from an arrow to the eye dates to the 1080s from a history of the Normans written by an Italian monk, Amatus of Montecassino . William of Malmesbury stated that Harold died from an arrow to the eye that went into the brain, and that a knight wounded Harold at the same time . Wace repeats the arrow - to - the - eye account . The Carmen states that Duke William killed Harold, but this is unlikely, as such a feat would have been recorded elsewhere . The account of William of Jumièges is even more unlikely, as it has Harold dying in the morning, during the first fighting . The Chronicle of Battle Abbey states that no one knew who killed Harold, as it happened in the press of battle . A modern biographer of Harold, Ian Walker, states that Harold probably died from an arrow in the eye, although he also says it is possible that Harold was struck down by a Norman knight while mortally wounded in the eye . Another biographer of Harold, Peter Rex, after discussing the various accounts, concludes that it is not possible to declare how Harold died . </P> <P> Harold's death left the English forces leaderless, and they began to collapse . Many of them fled, but the soldiers of the royal household gathered around Harold's body and fought to the end . The Normans began to pursue the fleeing troops, and except for a rearguard action at a site known as the "Malfosse", the battle was over . Exactly what happened at the Malfosse, or "Evil Ditch", and where it took place, is unclear . It occurred at a small fortification or set of trenches where some Englishmen rallied and seriously wounded Eustace of Boulogne before being defeated by the Normans . </P> <P> Harold's defeat was probably due to several circumstances . One was the need to defend against two almost simultaneous invasions . The fact that Harold had dismissed his forces in southern England on 8 September also contributed to the defeat . Many historians fault Harold for hurrying south and not gathering more forces before confronting William at Hastings, although it is not clear that the English forces were insufficient to deal with William's forces . Against these arguments for an exhausted English army, the length of the battle, which lasted an entire day, shows that the English forces were not tired by their long march . Tied in with the speed of Harold's advance to Hastings is the possibility Harold may not have trusted Earls Edwin of Mercia and Morcar of Northumbria once their enemy Tostig had been defeated, and declined to bring them and their forces south . Modern historians have pointed out that one reason for Harold's rush to battle was to contain William's depredations and keep him from breaking free of his beachhead . </P>

Who became king after the battle of hastings