The English militia that supplemented the housecarls was called the fyrd. In Anglo-Saxon England, the fyrd was a levy of free men summoned to provide military service when the king or local authorities required it. Its members were generally less heavily equipped and less professionally trained than the king’s housecarls.
The housecarls formed Harold Godwinson’s elite household troops, many of whom carried shields, spears, swords, and the large Danish-style battle-axe. The fyrd provided additional manpower, helping expand the army beyond the king’s permanent retainers and regional elite.
The word fyrd is sometimes treated as though it described one fixed national army, but it was more accurately a system of local military obligation. Its composition and equipment varied by place and by the wealth of the men called up. The English army at Hastings therefore included both experienced housecarls and broader levies whose service strengthened the shield wall on Senlac Hill.