A mere century before the Normans landed on the sandy beach at Bannow Bay, Co Wexford, William the Conqueror did much the same in England. Whereas the Norman invasion of Ireland was a somewhat hit and miss affair, stemming largely from a petty local quarrel, William's historic venture in 1066 was planned and executed on a grand scale.
The claim of William, Duke of Normandy, as he was then, to the English throne was supported by Pope Alexander II, and recruits flocked to his banner from all over France and Germany, and from many other parts of Europe. The adventure neared its climax 932 years ago today when William sailed across the English Channel, but his departure had not been without its meteorological vicissitudes.
The Norman fleet assembled in early August 1066 at the mouth of the River Dive on the northern coast of France. The wind, however, was from the north and Norman vessels, having only one rectangular sail, needed an almost following wind for headway, so William had to wait.
A month later, on September 12th, the wind backed to the west for a time and he was able to move his ships to St Valery-en-Somme, somewhat closer to his ultimate objective, but there he had to settle down and wait again.
William's impatience with the elements is vividly described by Guido, Bishop of Amiens, in an epic poem called De Bello Hast ingensi Carmen, the Song of the Battle of Hastings.
Guido tells the duke's tale using the ancient Greek names for the cardinal winds: He watched the weather-cock
upon the Minster's tower;
First Boreas, blowing from the north,
diverted Auster From the shore,
and there were tears of sorrow;
But Auster from the south returned,
and he rejoiced.
This hoped-for change had occurred on September 27th. William set sail immediately and landed at Pevensey in Sussex on September 28th 1066. Two weeks later, he gained his title "the Conqueror" by defeating the forces of King Harold near the town of Hastings.
It is arguable that if the northerly wind has lasted just another week, the course of history might well have been entirely different.
While William was landing at Pevensey, Harold was busy in the north repulsing an attack by Hardrada, King of Norway. This he did successfully at the battle of Stamford Bridge, but if William's departure had been further delayed to allow Harold time to reach the south of England, he might well have deprived the Normans of their easy landing.
As it was, William defeated Harold, and his subsequent conquest of England, as we know, was systematic, ruthless and complete.