Norman case study: Yorkshire after the Norman conquest

Question 1

When did King Edward the Confessor die?

Answer 1

January 1066

Question 2

Who is crowned King in January 1066?

Answer 2

Harold Godwinson

Question 3

What key battle did Harold fight against a Norwegian army in September 1066?

Answer 3

The Battle of Stamford bridge

Question 4

When does William on Normandy defeat Harold at the battle of Hastings?

Answer 4

October 1066

Question 5

When is Willian crowned King of England?

Answer 5

William is crowned King of England in London on Christmas day in 1066

Question 6

Who is murdered in March 1067?

Answer 6

Cospig who was appointed Earl of Northumbria by William is murdered.

Question 7

William levies a new tax in the North, when?

Answer 7

Autumn/ Winter 1067

Question 8

Who is appointed the new Earl of Northumbria in December 1067?

Answer 8

Gospatrick

Question 9

Who does the northern rebellion in Spring 1068 against William include?

Answer 9

Gospatrick, the Mercians and Edgar Aethling

Question 10

What does William do to resolve this rebellion?

Answer 10

William marches North in Summer 1068, York surrenders to William and Gospatrick flees to Scotland- uses terror

Question 11

What did the Northern rebellion in 1069 include?

Answer 11

William’s newly appointed Earl of Northumbria, Robert Commines, is murdered and the rebels take York however the city is swiftly retaken by William.

Question 12

Who invades in Autumn 1069?

Answer 12

King Swein of Denmark invades, sails up the Humber and burns York.

Question 13

What does William do to solve the invasion from Denmark in Autumn 1069?

Answer 13

He pays them to leave.

Question 14

When is the Harrying of the North?

Answer 14

Winter 1069-70

Question 15

What occurs in Yorkshire in 1070 as a result of the Harrying of the North?

Answer 15

A famine

Question 16

Who invades Northern England in Summer 1067?

Answer 16

King Malcolm of Scotland however he is defeated by William and he leads a military campaign in Scotland- leading out of fear.

Question 17

When do the Scots submit to William?

Answer 17

The Scots submit to William and sign the treaty of Abernathy in 1072.

Question 18

What occurs in 1075?

Answer 18

A Danish fleet sacks York

Question 19

When and how does King Malcolm break his treaty with William?

Answer 19

King Malcolm breaks his treaty with William to raid Northumbria in 1079

Question 20

How is the rebellion in Northumbria resolved?

Answer 20

In 1080, the rebellion in Northumbria is violently suppressed by William’s brother Odo.
William’s son Robert, carries out a military campaign against the Scots, who then come to terms.

Question 21

When is the Domesday book compiled?

Answer 21

1086

Question 22

When does King William I die?

Answer 22

1087

Question 23

Who replaces King William I in 1087?

Answer 23

William II (Rufus) becomes King of England

Question 24

What actions did William take to secure his rule in the 6 months after the battle of Hastings?

Answer 24

-Thanks to his military supremacy and the lack of unity amongst the surviving English Nobles, he captured Canterbury, Winchester, and most importantly London which allowed him to establish a base in South-East England.
-As well as this, he confiscated the estates of Harold Godwin, and those who had fought with him at Hastings, and shared them amongst his Norman followers.

Question 25

How did some Saxon’s keep their land?

Answer 25

By swearing an oath of allegiance to Willian.

Question 26

How was continuity maintain in the church?

Answer 26

Stigand continued as Archbishop of Canterbury.

Question 27

Where did William go to in the Spring of 1067?

Answer 27

In spring of 1067, William felt safe enough to return to Normandy leaving Odo of Bayeux in Dover and William FitzOsbern in Winchester in charge.

Question 28

Who posed a threat to William?

Answer 28

Local rivalries and alliances in the North of England posed a threat, as did insecure borders with Wales and Scotland and the ambitions of the Danish King. Even Ireland was dangerous, as he found out in 1068 and 1069 when Harold’s sons who had taken refuge there launched major raids in the South-West.

Question 29

Name 2 other issues William faced?

Answer 29

-There was not enough land to satisfy both his followers and the surviving Anglo-Saxon aristocracy.
-The aggressive attitude of William, FiztOsbern and Odo of Bayeux and the new Norman aristocracy provoked further English resistance.

Question 30

In the years after 1066 what. did the disgruntled survivors of the English aristocracy, along with the Danes carry out on their Norman masters?

Answer 30

They carried out guerrilla warfare against their Norman masters.

Question 31

Where and when was the first major guerrilla warfare attack?

Answer 31

In Kent in the summer of 1067.

Question 32

What persuaded William to return to England?

Answer 32

Their attack on Dover failed but it was enough to persuade William to return to England.

Question 33

In the following year (1068) where was there more trouble?

Answer 33

At Exeter where Harold’s mother was based.

Question 34

Where did Harold’s sons raid in the summer of 1069?

Answer 34

In the summer of 1069 the sons again raided Devon from Ireland, this time with over 60 ships.

Question 35

What lead to the defeat of the raids?

Answer 35

Exeter Castle, built after the events of 1068, held out against their siege and there were further unsuccessful uprisings in Dorset and Somerset.

Question 36

What are of England had William not been to and secured by 1067?

Answer 36

The North- Yorkshire, Northumberland and Scotland.

Question 37

When the south and west were finally subdued where did William move on to?

Answer 37

With the south and the west finally subdued William was able to move on to confront rebellions flaring up in the North and the Midlands.

Question 38

What did William build as he marched North?

Answer 38

As he marched north he built castles to keep these areas under control.

Question 39

During the winter of 1067-68 while William was subduing the south and west of England, what were his opponents in the North doing?

Answer 39

His opponents gathered at York and in the summer of 1068, launched a rebellion led by Gospatrick (the new Earl of Northumbria).

Question 40

What did William do to resolve the rebellion in the North in the summer of 1068?

Answer 40

William marched North, took the city and, as he had done with others on the route North, built and garrisoned a castle. As well as this, at Christmas in 1068 he emphasised his authority as King by appearing in public at York minster wearing his crown.

Question 41

Where did he go shortly after this?

Answer 41

William left for Normandy.

Question 42

Where did Gospatrick flee to?

Answer 42

Gospatrick fled to Scotland where he joined forces with Edgar Aethling.

Question 43

What did Gospatrick and Edgar Aethling do in January 1069?

Answer 43

Gospatrick and Edgar Aethling, taking advantage of William’s absence, marched a rebel army South. They massacred William’s troops in Durham and killed the new Norma Earl of Northumbria , Robert. Commines. They then headed further south and besieged William’s new castle at York.

Question 44

What did William do to resolve this rebellion in 1069?

Answer 44

William quickly returned to England and travelled north to relieve York for a second time, where he built a second castle on the opposite bank of the River Ouse and left his most experienced commander, William FitzOsbern, in charge.

Question 45

Why did the Danish King, Swein, believe he had a claim to the English throne?

Answer 45

As he was the son of Canute’s sister

Question 46

When did King Swein of Denmark invade England? and what did the invasion involve?

Answer 46

In the autumn of 1069, a Danish fleet of over 240 ships led by Swein’s brother and three of his sons crossed the North sea and began working their way up the east coast of England.

Question 47

What was occurring at the same time as the Danish invasion in 1069?

Answer 47

At the same time, there was also an uprising of local Northumbrian nobles around York who were helped by soldiers sent by Malcom of Scotland.

Question 48

Where did the Danish fleet land?

Answer 48

The Danish fleet landed on the banks of the River Humber and they then joined forces with the northern rebels to attack York.

Question 49

What did the attack on York involve?

Answer 49

In September, they massacred the Norman garrison in a batt;e during which the defenders set light to the houses nearest to the castle. This started a devastating fire which burnt for 2 days and destroyed a large part of the town.

Question 50

Where did the Danes retreat to after this battle?

Answer 50

They retreated to plunder Lincolnshire.

Question 51

Who posed a major threat to Norman control of England?

Answer 51

The anti-Norman coalition of Edgar Aethling, the native Northumbrian aristocracy, King Malcolm of Scotland and King Swein of Scotland.

Question 52

What did William to once he had learned of the invasion?

Answer 52

He marched north of a 3rd time where he dealt with the Danes first. Surrounded by William’s troop and running short of supplies they were bought off and agreed to leave England in the spring of 1070. William then retook York and rebuilt the castles.

Question 53

How did William teach the North a decisive lesson?

Answer 53

He ordered his troops to destroy the economic infrastructure of the north of England in what has become known as ‘The Harrying of the North”.

Question 54

What did the Harrying of the North result in?

Answer 54

It resulted in much of the region being systematically plundered, its fields sown with salt and its people killed.

Question 55

Give 4 parts of the city of York and explain how this helped the Norman’s keep control?

Answer 55

1. Clifford’s Tower and the castle at York lie close to the centre of the town and its prominent position would have enabled the Norman’s to keep an eye across the town. This was a good defensive position (near the river) to ensure any soldiers were stationed there were safe and protected.
   2) The market place is located relatively close to Clifford’s tower and castle which would have enabled the Norman soldiers to keep watch.
   3)York Minster St Peters was built directly in the centre of the town. This would have helped William maintain control because it helps to show the link between William and God.
   4) St Leonards hospital- used to help treat wounded soldiers.
   5)Ouse bridge- allows them to utilise the river.

Question 56

What was the build up to the Harrying of the North?

Answer 56

1In 1068, Harold II’s brother-in-laws, Edwin and Morcar, fled North with Edgar Aethling. Edgar was still keen to take the throne of England but needed military support to challenge William.
2)King Malcolm of Scotland gave Edgar his support against William as he had just married Edgar’s sister.
3)In January 1069, the Norman Earl Robert of Commines was murdered by English rebels.
4)The Bishop of Durham’s house was set on fire and Edgar attacked the city of York. Danish Vikings invaded with 240 ships and joined the English army led by the English Earls Edgar and Waltheof.
5) This combined rebel army defeated a Norman army outside York and they captured York castle.
6)William marched North with a large army and managed to pay the Vikings to leave.

Question 57

What did the Harrying of the North include?

Answer 57

-To punish the North who had supported the rebels, he laid waste to vast areas: burning villages, salting fields (so no crops would grow) and murdering people and animals.
-In doing so he defeated the rebel army and approx. 100,000 people were killed.

Question 58

How much of a threat was Scotland?

Answer 58

Scotland was a relatively large threat to William because King Malcolm’s power was growing: Malcolm had extended his influence southwards into Lothian and even claimed Lordship as far as Brough. Furthermore, he also sheltered rebels fleeing England and had married Margaret, the sister of Edgar Aethling (a rival claimant to the throne).

Question 59

Why could loyalty of the northern aristocracy not always be relied on?

Answer 59

Because in the north-east it was the Northumbrian Earls who wielded power along with other local families. Many of these had intermarried with the Scots, and were loyal to their local Northumbrian Earls rather than any English King.

Question 60

How did William show his authority and secure his Northern border with an impressive show of military power?

Answer 60

He ordered his barons to subdue Cumbria, while he himself led the expedition to asset his power over Yorkshire and north-east England.

Question 61

Why did the Harrying of the North not end violence.

Answer 61

Although the Harrying of the North was designed to prevent further rebellions, it did not end the violence as there were to be further invasions by Danish and Scottish forces, sometimes helped by local lords. William might have brought Yorkshire under control and fought off the Scandinavian invaders in the short-term but Northumbria and Cumbria remained vulnerable to attacks from Scotland.

Question 62

Why did King Malcolm of Scotland continue to attack?

Answer 62

Malcolm still wanted to expand his kingdom to include the northern counties of England and in 1070 he again raided Cumberland.

Question 63

How did William deal with the attacks from Scotland?

Answer 63

Having subdued Yorkshire, William was now free to take his army into southern Scotland where he defeated Malcolm’s army at Abernathy.

Question 64

What did the treaty of 1072 taken by Malcolm to William include?

Answer 64

In the treaty of 1072 that followed, Malcolm had to swear an oath of allegiance to William, give his son as hostage and expel Edgar Aethling from the Scottish court.

Question 65

When were there further raids?

Answer 65

There were further raids in 1075 (when York minster was destroyed by the Danes) and 1079, who;e Scottish raids continued into the reign of William II, with another rebellion led by the earl of Northumbria, Robert de Mowbray, occurring in 1095.

Question 66

Summarise the significance of York to the Normans?

Answer 66

York was the capital of the ancient kingdom of Northumbria and was at the centre of the Vale of York, a large rural lowland area which was the main transport corridor between the South of England and Scotland. The river Ouse flowed through the centre of the Vale and through York itself, and was fed by a large system of tributaries which together drained much of the country of Yorkshire and also provided an essential system of water transport. Dominating the river Ouse at a point where it was also still tidal in the middle ages and standing at the centre of the widest part of the Vale, York was therefore in a strategic and accessible location. The fertile and low-lying agricultural lands which surrounded York also contributed to its strategic importance and continued prosperity while the whole Vale was bound to the city by ties of family, trade, property ownership and culture.

Question 67

How did the Normans use York to control the north?

Answer 67

They wanted to create a northern capital at York just as the Romans had done a thousand years before. They, too, had used York to control the North and this was exploited by the Normans to justify their own rule by stressing the continuity between Norman rule and the city’s Roman past. York was also an important religious centre and the Norman financed various religious institutions in the city as well as helping to rebuild the Minister after it had been badly burnt in 1069. This was a way of showing their control of all aspects of life in the city and surrounding area.