At Hastings, the English army was composed almost entirely of infantry. Harold Godwinson’s force fought on foot, forming a dense shield wall on Senlac Hill against William of Normandy’s mixed army of infantry, archers and cavalry.
The English host included professional housecarls and less heavily equipped fyrd troops. Housecarls commonly carried shields, mail armour and large Danish axes, while fyrd soldiers were local levies with more varied equipment. Both groups normally fought as foot soldiers. Some high-status Englishmen may have ridden during the march, but the army’s battle formation was infantry-based.
This contrasted sharply with William’s force, which combined archers, infantry and mounted knights. Norman attacks initially struggled against the uphill shield wall, but feigned retreats drew some English soldiers out of position. Norman cavalry then attacked the exposed troops, helping break the English line.
The answer does not mean the English had no archers or horses at all. A small number of archers existed, and some soldiers may have used horses for movement; the key distinction is that the English army did not deploy a substantial cavalry arm at the battle.