The Norman Army The Normans built wooden castles on small hills called mottes, which they made by digging out a ditch and piling up the earth. These were used as strong points. The people could retreat in to them if attacked. Norman fighting methods were different from Saxons ways. The Norman Knights were heavily-armed soldiers who fought on horseback. They were the called the cavalry. knights could move much faster than a soldier could on foot. They were medieval equivalent of the modern tank. Duke William had about 2000 of them at the battle of Hastings in 1066. Coats were carried kite-shaped shields and wore coats of mail. These coats were split in two at the bottom to make it easier to ride a horse. The horses themselves were not protected by armour , so a knight on horse back could be brought down if his horse was killed under him. The knights conical helmets had nose guards to protect the face. Knights fought with swords, maces, and small lances or javelins. William also had two types of foot soldiers or men-at-arms. Helmeted soldiers in leather armour fought with pikes. They also carried swords or small hand axes. In addition, the Normans armies fought with archers, lightly armed men who carried bows. They fired arrows which could kill a man at a distance of 100 metres or more. Some of the Norman archers may have used crossbows. The Crossbow was a mechanical bow which fired metal bolts. The crossbowman wound up a spring and fired the bolt (called a quarrel) by releasing the spring.