One of the most puzzling things about the battle is why it took so long to begin.
From the hour of tierce, when the battle commenced, until past nones, things went this way and that, so that no one knew who was going to win the day or conquer the land. -Wace
Tierce meaning the third hour after sunrise until nones, which is the ninth hour after sunrise, so about 9:30 am to 3:30 pm.
But we know from the sources that the Normans were ready before dawn, which in mid-October is about 7:20 am.
Why did it take so long?
Are we expected to believe that Harold stood waiting on the top of the hill in Battle for two hours while William had breakfast, prayed, and made his leisurely way to the battlefield, and by the same token are we expected to believe that Harold’s army just stood at the top of the hill and let the Normans arrive and sort themselves out before the battle began?
This version seems to be highly unrealistic.
Even before the day of the battle dawned, there are some important events that have a strong bearing on what happened. In fact, the day before seems to have brought news to William that changes his behaviour.
Throughout the sources, there are reports of envoys travelling back and forth between the two sides bearing messages, and one of these exchanges appears to be extremely important.
One particular envoy sent from the English side to William seems to have revealed something crucial.
The Carmen tells us:
“The duke said: “Where is the King?” “Not far off,” answered the monk. He said to him in his ear: “You can see the standards! I bear many words which I hold unfit to be repeated, yet I will report what it would be harmful to conceal. He hopes to be able to take you by surprise; by sea and by land he is planning great battles.”
We also see this in the sources of both WOP and Orderic, which pretty much say the same thing:
“It was his design to take them unawares, and crush them at once by a night attack, or, at least, by a sudden onset, and, that they might not escape by sea, he caused a fleet of seventy ships, full of soldiers, to guard the coast.”
This was intelligence received by William BEFORE the day. He was already predisposed to be alert to sudden attack from what he already knew about Harold, so this new information merely confirmed it. Because of this, it seems to affect everything William does after this point, right up until the battle begins. William clearly believed the warning, irrespective of whether it was true or not.
On the Bayeux Tapestry, midway between scene 47 and scene 48 is a depiction possibly showing the reported exchange between William and Harold’s Monk.