3. William I and the consolidation of power

Question 1

William’s return to Normandy

Answer 1

• Returned in 1067, hours took three English Ears (including Edwin and Morcar) with him as hostages and left Odo of Bayeux and William FitzOsbern in charge of England
• During early stages of the conquest his biggest concern was the security of his newly won kingdom

Question 2

Kent Rising

Answer 2

• 1067
• Odo was given control of Kent, however he behaved in a tyrannical manner so the locals became annoyed and revolted
• Rebels appealed to Eustace of Boulogne for help, together they failed in an attempt to take Dover and were dealt with by Odo’s men
• Failure was in part due to absence of real leadership

Question 3

Eadric the Wild

Answer 3

• 1067
• Eadric raised a revolution in Herefordshire, encouraging the Welsh princes to join him
• They failed to take control of the border and returned to Wales
• William responded by creating new earldoms on the border, Cheshire, Shrewsbury and Hereford run by trusted Normans

Question 4

Exeter Rising

Answer 4

• 1068
• Harold’s mother and his sons were in the south west and had refused to submit to William
• Early 1068 William had laid siege to Exeter which held out against him for 18 days
• William gave lenient terms and built a castle to ensure future control, he then marched to Cornwall where he showed his power receiving the submission of Bristol and Gloucester on the way
• Summer 1068, Harold’s sons landed on Somerset coast but were repelled by the English troops
• Uprisings were of localised nature so did not present high threat
• William ended the year with a series of rides through Warwick, Nottingham, York, Lincoln and Cambridge to show his presence as new king
• Harold’s sons returned again from Ireland in 1069 with 60 ships, William’s loyal followers Brian of Brittany and Bishop Geoffrey of Coutances restored order, William was preoccupied elsewhere

Question 5

Northern Rising

Answer 5

• 1069-1070
• Edwin, Morcar and Edgar Atheling left William’s court and fled north in 1068 because they felt that they had been treated badly by William
• People of Northumbria made a bid for independence 1069
• Made common cause with King of Scotland and King of Denmark (Swegn Estrithsson) and surprised the Norman garrison of Durham outside its new castle and massacred hundreds of people, they then moved south and laid siege to York
• In the summer, Viking army in a fleet of 240 ships led by sons of Swegn landed in England and marched on York
• Also 1069, men of Shrewsbury joined a raid on the town by Eadric the Wild to rise against new castle built there by Roger de Montgomery
• Whole of northern Britain was in revolt, unorganised and opportunistic, but united in their opposition toward the Norman king

Question 6

Harrying of the North

Answer 6

• Reacted its his customary brutal efficiency, he left Roger de Montgomery to deal the Welsh raid of Eadric along and marched north to York, building new castles at Warwick and Nottingham on the way
• Edwin and Morcar went on the run, Edgar Atheling retreated back into Wales
• William’s northward march against the Northumbrians was very swift and surprising “King William came on them by surprise from the south with an overwhelming army and routed them, killing those who could not escape- which was many hundreds of men - and he ravaged the city” - Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
• Northumbria was systematically ravaged, laying waste to the land, burning crops and destroying the houses
• This caused a famine in Yorkshire, “corpses decaying, survivors eating cats and dogs, no village left inhabited between York and Durham” - chronicler in Durham
• Over 80% of the wasteland recorded in the Domesday book was in Yorkshire, it had been left as a desert by William
• The Vikings, seeing their allies defeated, left England

Question 7

East Anglia

Answer 7

• 1070-1071
• Swegn landed in East Anglia where he joined a Lincolnshire thegn, Hereward the Wake, Edwin and Morcar
• Together they attacked Petersborough and raided the cathedral, carrying off its treasures
• William dealt with the uprising skilfully using diplomacy and force, buying off the Danes and capturing Morcar whilst Edwin fled north (he was killed by his own men)

Question 8

Revolt of the Norman Earls

Answer 8

• 1075
• Planned by Norman Earl Roger of Hereford (son of FitzOsbern) and Ralph de Gael, Roger was the driving force, his father had been killed and he was annoyed that he had not been given as much power as him, joined by Waltheof
• Rebels sought help from the Danes who eventually sent an army under Canut (Swegn’s son)
• Revolt was a disaster, Ralph fled to Brittany, Lanfranc dealt with the rebellion, Roger was stopped in Herefordshire by a force led by two English bishops (one of which being Wulfstan of Worcester)
• William returned to England at Christmas 1075
• Waltheof’s wife (William’s niece) informed William of the plot, Waltheof was arrested and beheaded
• The remaining rebels were blinded and murdered and Roger of Hereford was imprisoned however Earl Ralph managed to escape to Normandy, the Danes returned home with much money after raiding the east coast

Question 9

What impact did the rebellions have on William?

Answer 9

• First took a conciliation approach, Edwin and Morcar were allowed to keep their Earldoms until 1068
• After 1070, Waltheof was made Earl of Northumbria, however was beheaded after joining the 1075 rebellion
• William was driven by the events of 1066-75 to fashion a Norman state in his English kingdom, after the rebellions he relied almost exclusively on his French followers, a new aristocracy whose dominance is revealed by the Domesday book
• Oath of Salisbury 1086, William achieved the support of all barons following a period of rebellion

Question 10

What was the significance of castle building?

Answer 10

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