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William I

Rebellions

Earl Edwin of Mercia and Earl Morcar of Northumbria had initially sworn fealty to William but then they rebelled. The pair were pardoned but then rebelled again. During 1069-70 there was another rebellion in the north led by Edwin and Morcar, who were assisted by a Viking invasion led by two sons of the King of Denmark. The revolt was put down with a firm and ruthless hand and was followed by the ‘Harrying of the North’, which left areas devastated for decades to come. This gave a warning as to what could happen in other areas where men might be thinking of rising up against King William. Morcar was imprisoned in Normandy but was eventually pardoned in 1087 shortly before William died. Edwin was killed whilst retreating to Scotland in 1071.

In 1075 some of the Norman barons rose up against William. The revolt was suppressed but it proved there were times when he couldn’t trust his own men.

In 1085 Cnut IV of Denmark gathered together men and ships for a planned invasion of England. William assembled a great army to defend his kingdom but the threat never materialised, for Cnut was killed and his invasion fleet never set sail.

Doomsday Survey

The Domesday Survey was planned at the Christmas Court held at Gloucester in 1085. This monumental work might not even have been seen by William, for he sailed to Normandy in the summer of 1086. A few years back I read (I can’t remember where) that today around 20% of the land in England is still owned by descendants of men who fought alongside William the Conqueror in 1066.

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