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The Fyrd were not full
time fighters. They were called up when the King needed them.
They were not peasants but trained men, chosen because they
could be useful in war.
All free men in Anglo-Saxon England had an obligation to serve in the Fyrd army. Important men who owed the King allegiance would provide the King with men to fight in the Fyrd. |
In 1066, as King Harold marched north to Stamford Bridge, men in the towns he passed would have joined the Fyrd. As King Harold marched south, these men would have gone home, and others joined as Harold got further south.
Some historians suggest that there were 'others' who also fought at Hastings. These would have been extra men who joined King Harold as he marched south.
