1.3.3 Revolts (1067-1069) Flashcards
When did Edwin and Morcar lead a revolt against William of Normandy?
1068
Causes of the revolt led by Edwin and Morcar, personal reasons (2)
- Edwin (Earl of Mercia) and Morcar (Earl of Northumberland) had both had their earldoms shrunk and some of their land taken when William took power in 1066.
- When William first won over the support of the English nobility, he supposedly promised to marry the daughter of Edwin. However, by 1068, William had not married Edwin’s daughter.
Causes of the revolt led by Edwin and Morcar - societal causes (3)
- There were divisions between the Anglo-Saxon people who had lived in England before the Norman invasion and the Normans. Norman people took over as the leaders of the Marcher earldoms and there were reports that Norman people were mistreating Anglo-Saxons and raping local women.
- Marcher Earls were Norman and did not have to pay taxes to William. However, the geld tax, which William used to fund his private army, was very high and was mostly paid by the Anglo-Saxon earls, instead of the Norman earls
- The castles being built in Anglo-Saxon towns were funded by taxes on local people, protecting the Norman elite and soldiers and often led to the demolition of local people’s housing
Events of the revolt led by Edwin and Morcar (4)
- In response to the revolt, William sent his private army into Edwin’s earldom, Mercia and Morcar’s earldom, Northumbria.
- His army captured the towns of Warwick and Nottingham in Mercia. After this military success, the two brothers (Edwin and Morcar) backed down.
- Edwin & Morcar were welcomed back into King William’s court. Other nobles who had joined the rebellion, including Edgar Aethling, the main appointed as king in 1066, ranks away to Scotland (north of Northumbria).
- There was some other resistance in the Marcher earldoms, with ‘Eadric the Wild’ launching a campaign against the Marcher Earls.
When did Edwin and Morcar lead a rebellion in London?
1066
What happened after the rebellion in London that was led by Edwin and Morcar?
They were forced swear an oath of loyalty to William in Berkhamsted before his coronation.
Outcomes of the revolt led by Edwin and Morcar (3)
- Morcar and Edwin returned to William’s court, so no long term damage was done to their positions and livelihoods.
- Edgar Aethling had left England and was now living in Scotland
- William realised that the earls controlling the north of England was dangerous for his power base. He appointed a man called Robert Cumin to rule over the north of England. The power given to Robert Cumin would help to cause later revolts.
Why was Earl Morcar unhappy with William I?
Earl Morcar was unhappy that the size of his earldom had been reduced
Robert Cumin (2)
- After Edwin and Morcar’s revolt, Robert Cumin was installed to have power in the north of England.
- In January of 1069, Robert Cumin was made an earl in northern Northumbria (in Morcar’s earldom). During a skirmish between local people and Cumin’s military forces, Cumin was killed (in the city of Durham).
The revolts by locals and Edgar (3)
- In February 1069, the governor of York and some of his garrison were killed, again by local people/militia
- Edgar the Aethling, tried to get involved in the revolution. He marched to England from Scotland with some troops to try to take power from William
- William intervened. He defeated the rebel forces, destroying York and built a new range of castles across the north of England
The Danish invasion of England (3)
- In September of the same year (1069), only 7 months after the York revolt, the King of Denmark, King Sweyn invaded England
- Edgar the Aethling had allied with King Sweyn and together, they tried to capture the north of England
- On the 21st of September, the rebels left by Edgar and King Sweyn, laid seige to York. They killed thousands of Norman soldiers in York.
Outcomes of Edgar’s revolt
Native Anglo-Saxon resistance to the Normans became a guerrilla war. They hid with local people and raided/attacked Norman resources and Norman soldiers. There were attacks on Normans across the North of England in this guerrilla war. William had to do something to get control of the north of England. The harrying of the north was a response to this guerrilla war.
The rebellion of the Welsh border
The Welsh borders had proved a challenging place to control for Anglo-Saxon and Viking kings, and William was no different. Problems arose in 1067 when a Herefordshire thegn, Edric the Wild, started a revolt with a large number of Anglo-Saxons followers and the support of the Welsh princes. The rebellion failed to take hold but when he launched a second attack in 1069 he was more successful, reaching Cheshire and Staffordshire. The rebels reached the gates of Shrewsbury Castle but William personally led a group of soldiers up the country to defeat them.
The revolt of Eustace
Edward the Confessor’s brother-in-law, Eustace, Court of Boulogne, attacked Dover Castle, which had been left in the care of Bishop Odo while William was back in Normandy. Eustace was easily defeated by the knights of the castle and alter made peace with William.
The south-west and Exeter revolt
The city of Exeter rebelled against William in 1068. William dealt with the uprising by besieging the city for 18 days. When Exeter eventually surrendered, the king built a castle there and left his half-brother, Robert of Mortain, in command. On his return journey to London, William was forced to suppress rebellions in Bristol and Gloucester. Around the same time, three of Harold Godwinson’s sons landed in Somerset but were unsuccessful in their attempt to retake the throne.
