A Chronological History of Britain
Every episode of The British History Podcast. This category includes cultural history, storyline episodes, English history, Welsh history, Scottish history, and even some Irish history and Roman history thrown in.
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I feel for the English commoners in the late 1060’s. They had nothing to do with the arrival of the Normans… everything they suffered was the result of the actions of the nobles. Exclusively.
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In early 1068… as William was preparing for the tactical Coronation of Matilda… the three sons of Harold Godwinson were in Ireland. They had come to meet with King Diarmad of Dublin and prepare an invasion force to re-take England.
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Here is the beginning of Hereward the Wake.
And to tell this story, we have to begin with the legend, because nothing in this story is straightforward. Probably because at least some of it is true.
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Gytha and her supporters had fled into the Severn Estuary, and it was the final nail in the coffin of the Exeter rebellion. With no help coming, they were forced to negotiate a peace. But this wasn’t exactly a victory for William, either. He’d been on the throne for scarcely over a year, and he’d already seen three separate rebellions.
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Exeter stood in open defiance against William and his army.
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Earl Osulf II of Bamburgh was a Northumbrian, and he had earned his seat ruling over the region North of the Tyne in true Northumbrian fashion.
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Last week we left off with Dover with some good old fashioned french on french violence… Count Eustace had attacked and attempted to seize the Southern Town… and lost. In fact, he had lost so badly that his poor young nephew (who had never fought in battle before but, trusting his uncle, joined him on this venture) was captured by the forces of de Montfort.
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Feudalism had officially come to England, courtesy of the Normans…
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1067 was a time of incredible change within England. Fortresses were being constructed everywhere. Existing fortresses were seized and then manned by foreign mercenaries. Estates and farms in the surrounding areas were being seized and handed over to many of these same foreigners.
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Do you remember the holy man who asked Edgar the AEtheling to confirm him as the Abbot of Peterborough, just after the Battle of Hastings?
Well, that guy’s name was Brand. The previous Abbot of Peterborough, Leofric, had actually marched to Hastings with Harold. But Leofric didn’t make it. So the job fell to Brand, and Edgar gave him the old Royal go-ahead.