The Battle of Hastings was fought on October 14, 1066, between the Norman-French army of William, the Duke of Normandy, and an English army under the Anglo-Saxon King Harold Godwinson. Following the death of Edward the Confessor, three men claimed the throne, leading to a year of conflict. William's victory at Hastings, where Harold was famously killed (legend says by an arrow to the eye), led to the Norman Conquest of England. This event fundamentally changed the course of English history, introducing French feudalism, language, and culture. It resulted in the replacement of the Anglo-Saxon nobility with Normans and the compilation of the Domesday Book. The conquest established a lasting link between England and continental Europe and reshaped the English language into its modern form, blending Germanic and Romance roots.