Norman Conquest- Resistance and responses between 1067-1071 Flashcards
(38 cards)
Who did the witan choose to be king after the battle of Hastings?
Edgar Aetheling
How did William take control of England after the battle of Hastings and before his coronation?
He secured the route back to the coast, he marched through Kent, building castles as he went. Then he moved through the land around London before setting up camp and waiting.
Eventually, Edgar surrendered the kingdom
When was William crowned?
Christmas day 1066
Give three examples of ways that William took control after his coronation?
He claimed all English land as his own whilst allowing English earls and thegns to buy back their land
Gave his closest friend William FitzOsbern control of east Anglia, whilst allowing English nobles to keep their positions if they formerly submitted to William.
Taking Edgar Aetheling and Edwin and Morcar with him to normandy, to discourage english rebellion, he kept them in comfort and safety rather than having them killed or threatened
Where and when did the first uprisings against Norman rule take place?
Near Hereford in August 1067
Who led the first uprising?
Edric the wild, he was one of the most powerful thegns who had lost most of his land to Norman knights
What did the first uprising entail?
Edric joined with welch princes to raid norman held land and destroy Hereford itself, his raids were never a serious threat, but he carried on for years and became a folk hero
Where was the next rebellion and who was it led by- was it more or less serious than the previous rebellion
King Harold’s mother, Gytha plotted a more serious rebellion in Exeter
What did Gytha’s rebellion entail?
William stayed in Normandy, Leaving England in the hands of William Fitzosbern and Odo of bayeux.
By the end of 1067, William’s spies told him that there was trouble.
William came back to london. He treated the lords and bishops well to encourage loyalty, and he sent messages to exeter.
Gytha had fled to Exeter, where her family had landed. The rebels strengthened Exeter’s defences.
Gytha sent Harold’s sons to Irelad to gather an army to drive out the Normans. She also contacted the Danish King, hoping he would invade from the east at the same time.
William tried to win over Gytha and the citizens of Exeter, asking them to swear an oath of loyalty to him.
They refused and banned him from the city.
How did William fight back against the rebellion from exeter?
He gathered an army and marched to Exeter, where a group of citizens came to meet him and promised that he could enter the city.
The gates were barred against William. William besieged the city.
After 18 days, Exeter surrendered.
How did William get the city of exeter to promise to be loyal to him?
He promised:
- Not to plunder the city
- Not to punish the people
- Not to demand more tax
- That Exeter could keep the precious things they had offered him
- He also built a large castle in Exeter
Give three reasons for English Rebellion against the normans.
Pride
Taxation- William demanded high tax rates
Revenge from battle of hastings
Loss of family and status
What happened in the summer of 1068?
William got a letter from the people of the north of England. It told him that if he tried to enter their lands they would fight him
What was the letter a result of?
An agreement between some powerful lords, including Edgar, Edwin and Morcar. They had decided to rebel against William
Describe the events of the rebellion in the north from the rebels
Took place in 1068.
William gathered an army and marched north and built a castle at Warwick in the middle of Edwin’s Lands.
He built another castle in Nottingham, by this point Edwin and Morcar decided to surrender. William decided not to punish them
By the time William got York, the rebels were gone but William built a castle in York as well as in Lincoln, Huntingdon and Cambridge
How did Harold’s sons try and rebel?
They sailed in from ireland with an army but the people of Bristol drove them off
Who did William appoint as Earl of Northumbria and when?
Robert of Comines, he was an experienced soldier. William appointed him in 1069 to keep the north under control
What did Robert do after being appointed and what were the effects of this?
Robert arrived with 500 armed mercenaries. They quickly attacked rebels at Durnham, they behaved terribly.
The people of Durnham retaliated by setting fire to a house which contained Robert and his men.
What were the results of what Robert’s army did?
It sparked another uprising, Edgar Aetheling and other rebel leaders attacked york. After a viscous battle, William retook yrok
Did the rebels leaders escape?
Yes
What did William do to protect York from the rebels after they escaped?
He built a castle and put FitzOsbern in charge
When did Harold’s sons make another attempt to invade?
June 1069
How did the Danes take advantage of the turmoil?
In early September 1069, the Danes returned with a fleet of 250 ships. Gytha had fled to Denmark and possibly persuaded the Danish kings to invade.
Describe the stages of the Danish Invasion
The king’s brother led a huge army which landed in the Humber estuary, where they met the English rebels headed by Edgar Aetheling. They made straight for York.
The people of York had tried to protect the city by burning timbers so that enemies could not use them to cross the moat. The fire got out of control and destroyed the city.
The rebels and Danes plundered what was left of York and withdrew into north Lincolnshire. William marched north for the third time that year.
