Hastings
Hastings names 4 different subjects across the 6 encyclopedias on this shelf. Each is set out below.
Hastings Battle of, in English history
Aiton's Encyclopedia (1910)
Battle of, in English history, the decisive battle of the Norman Conquest. William the Conqueror landed on the southern coast of England and marched slowly toward London. Harold hurried southward and posted his men across the road at an advantageous point on the Hill of Senlac, seven miles from the town of Hastings. Harold's forces consisted largely of foot soldiers and men-at-arms. He fortified his post by a stockade and a ditch. William had a considerable number of cavalry and a fine body of archers. The battle took place October 14, 1066. According to popular account, now somewhat discredited, the first blow was struck by a Norman minstrel who rode out gayly in advance of William's forces. Throwing up his sword and catching it deftly by the hilt as it fell, all the while singing the song of Roland, he was the first man to fall. During the day William charged Harold's position again and again without being able to effect a passage. The sturdy Englishmen hewed and hacked, shouting "Out! Out!" Toward evening, so the account runs, a band of William's forces made a feigned retreat, as though stricken with terror. Contrary to orders, one wing of Harold's troops rushed down into the plain to follow up their supposed advantage. Here they were cut to pieces by William's cavalry, which followed up its success by attacking Harold's position from the exposed side. Harold's men protected themselves so effectively against the flight of arrows by means of their shields that William directed his bowmen to let fly their shafts almost directly upward, so that they might descend very nearly perpendicularly. This they did, creating great havoc. One of these arrows struck Harold in the eye wounding him mortally. William's success was complete. He conducted his march upon London with all leisure, meeting no further opposition. The contest is by many called the Battle of Senlac, from the hill on which it was fought. See Harold ; Norman Conquest; William
Hastings a city in Adams co.
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
a city in Adams co., Neb.; on the Burlington Route, the Chicago & Northwestern; the St. Joseph & Grand Island, and the Missouri Pacific railroads; 96 miles W. of Lincoln. It is the seat of Hastings College, the Chronic Insane Asylum, the Bethany Home and Hospital, and the Mary Lanning Hospital. It is an important grain shipping center and has vinegar works, foundries, flour mills, and other manufacturing industries. There are electric lights, waterworks, public library, high school, newspapers, and three National banks. daily and weekly Pop. (1910) 9,338; (1920) 11,647.
Hastings a maritime town of England
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
a maritime town of England, in Sussex, 54 miles S. E. of London.' It had formerly a good trade, now declining, but is resorted to as a fashionable watering place. Here the battle of Hastings, one of the most memorable events in the annals of English history, was fought between William, Duke of Normandy, and Harold II., King of England, on Oct. 14, 1066. Pop. about 65,000.
Hastings a city of Michigan
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
a city of Michigan, the It is on the county-seat of Barry co. Thornapple river, and on the Michigan Central and the Chicago, Kalamazoo, and Saginaw railroads. It is an important industrial community and has flour mills, cigar factories, and manufactories of pumps, carriages, wagons, etc. Its public public institutions include a school library, and a city hall. Pop. (1910) 4,383; (1920) 5,132.
What Has Changed in the Last Century
Aiton's 1910 telling of Senlac still matches the outline modern historians accept, though two details have softened further: the arrow in Harold's eye is now widely doubted, resting on an ambiguous figure in the Bayeux Tapestry, and archaeologists have in recent decades questioned whether the fighting really took place on the ridge where Battle Abbey stands, proposing nearby sites instead. Hastings in Sussex, "resorted to as a fashionable watering place" with about 65,000 people in 1921, is a town of roughly 90,000 today whose seaside-resort trade has long since given way to a mixed and often hard-pressed local economy. Hastings, Nebraska, listed at 11,647 in 1920, has grown to about 25,000, still home to Hastings College; the Kool-Aid drink mix was invented there by Edwin Perkins in 1927, and the town celebrates it annually. Hastings, Michigan, has grown more modestly, from 5,132 to roughly 7,000.
Written for this edition, 2026.