H1: Kaiser Wilhelm and Germany
The rebellions of 1068–70, the Harrying of the North, motte-and-bailey castles, land confiscation and the Revolt of the Earls — how the Normans took and kept England.
📋 Key Concepts: How the Normans Took and Kept England
1066–69 rebellions: Exeter (1068), Harold’s sons’ raid (1068), the northern rising (1069) — Edgar Aetheling + Northumbrians + Danish fleet — answered by the Harrying of the North (1069–70). The Revolt of the Earls (1075) was the last major internal rising (Waltheof executed 1076).
| Method | Detail | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Motte-and-bailey castles | 3,000+; earth-timber, built in days | Constant military dominance |
| Land confiscation | ~5% of land English by 1086 | Resistance leadership removed |
| Harrying of the North | 1069–70: York to Durham wasted | Famine; no northern rising after 1070 |
| Law changes | Murdrum fine; forest law; coinage control | Norman safety; economic grip |
| The Church | Lanfranc; Norman bishops | Legitimacy and discipline |
Submission of the Earls (1068) at York: Edwin, Morcar, Waltheof, Gospatric — temporary peace, later broken.
🧮 Worked Examples — Exam Style
"Land confiscation was more important than castles in establishing Norman control." How far do you agree? (16 + 4)
Castles: immediate, military, visible. Land: permanent, economic, generational — the new elite had everything to lose. Judgement: castles controlled the FIRST decade; landholding secured the NEXT century — "castles the bluntest instrument, landholding the deepest".
Describe two features of the Harrying of the North (4).
« Crops, herds and tools were destroyed between York and Durham — Domesday records villages as "waste" twenty years later. Refugees died of famine that winter; Orderic Vitalis claims 100,000+ deaths and calls William a "great tormentor". »
❓ Practice Questions
Q1: Describe two features of the revolts of 1068–69.
Q2: Give two reasons motte-and-bailey castles suited the conquest.
Q3: Describe two features of the Revolt of the Earls (1075).
Q4: Explain why Norman control survived after 1070 (two reasons, 4 marks).
Q5: "The harrying was William’s greatest mistake." How far do you agree? (16 + 4 marks)
✅ Answers
- Exeter 1068 (Gytha — 18-day siege); 1069 northern rising (Edgar + Danes — Durham garrison murdered).
- Speed (earth-timber in days); garrison economy (small force overawes a district).
- Three earls (Ralph de Gael, Roger de Breteuil, Waltheof) plotted during William’s absence; crushed by loyal bishops; Waltheof executed 1076 — last English earl.
- Castle network garrisoned with loyal knights; elite replacement — no leaders left; (Danish fleet bought off 1070).
- Plan — YES: northern resistance permanently broken. NO: economy crippled (less tax); reputation damaged; castles/landholding did the holding. Verdict: harrying punished, castles governed.
📌 Key Facts to Memorise
- Exeter 1068 · northern rising 1069 · Harrying 1069–70 · Earls 1075 · Waltheof executed 1076
- Land 5% English by 1086 · 3,000+ motte-and-baileys · 500+ stone by 1100
- Murdrum 46 marks · forest law · Domesday "waste" entries
🗺️ In the Exam
Match each control method to its DATE: 1066 shock → 1067 consolidation → 1068–69 risings → 1069–70 harrying → 1070s institutional grip. Precise sequencing earns marks over lists.
⚡ Targeted Drills
- 1068 rising at Exeter — led by Gytha, Harold’s mother.
- Durham massacre Jan 1069 — Robert de Comines’ 700 men.
- Danish fleet paid off 1070 — £72,000.
- Ely 1070–71 — Hereward the Wake, Morcar.
- Revolt of the Earls 1075 — Ralph, Roger, Waltheof; Waltheof beheaded 1076.
📖 Detailed Notes: The Rebellions, Rebellion by Rebellion
- Exeter (1068): Gytha (Harold’s mother) held the city; William besieged it 18 days, letting the garrison go but confiscating the city’s tax revenue. First proof that family ties to Harold still mattered.
- Stafford and Chester (1068–69): risings in the Midlands and north-west; William built castles AT Stafford and Chester as he suppressed them — suppression and castle-building were the same campaign.
- The northern rising (1069): Robert de Comines’ 700-man garrison at Durham was massacred; Edgar Aetheling, Waltheof and Gospatric joined; a Danish fleet took York — the closest the conquest came to failure.
- Ely and Hereward the Wake (1070–71): the Isle of Ely’s fenland resistance, linked to Morcar and Siward Barn; the monastery’s wealth (the "Camp of Refuge") made it a magnet. Hereward’s survival in legend shows how the English remembered resistance.
- The Danes (1070, 1075): bought off in 1070 with 72,000 pounds — cheaper than war; in 1075 Cnut’s fleet arrived too late. William also took the fleet’s retreat as licence for the harrying.
⚠️ Common Errors
- Wrong: "stone castles from 1066" Correct: earth-timber first; stone keeps from the 1070s–90s
- Wrong: "Waltheof was Norman" Correct: last ENGLISH earl, executed 1076
🧭 Board Focus — OCR
Spec J410 — two routes: History A (Explaining the Modern World) and History B (Schools History Project). Your route decides the topics; check which route your centre takes. OCR's depth-study questions reward precise narrative chains — cause, event, consequence in order.
Always check: specification details change — confirm paper structure and set texts against the current specification for your exam year.
✍️ Extended Answer Plan — "The main reason for peasant submission was fear of Norman violence." How far do you agree? (16 + 4)
FOR: the harrying (1069–70) was recent memory; murdrum and forest law criminalised normal life; castles garrisoned by mounted knights could reach any village in a day.
AGAINST: peasants submitted to LANDLORDS daily, not to knights; the Church taught obedience as duty; harvest rhythms bound people harder than any garrison; the Danelaw’s sokemen bargained rents instead of fighting.
Judgement: fear worked at the elite level (no leaders to follow); at village level, custom and faith delivered obedience more cheaply than violence. Conclude: violence cowed the mighty, structure absorbed the many.
🔬 Case Study Focus — William of Warenne and Castle Acre
Castle Acre (Norfolk) shows the complete Anglo-Norman pattern: Warenne, one of the richest tenants-in-chief, built castle, Cluniac priory (from Lewes, 1089) and planned town TOGETHER — military power, spiritual legitimacy and commerce in one complex. The castle’s earthworks (massive motte, twin baileys) survive; the priory ruins show the wealth of the new elite. Use it for any "how did the Normans control East Anglia" question: control was land + church + market acting together, not castles alone.
🎯 Exam Tips
- Order control factors by DURATION: harrying (event) → castles (years) → landholding (generations)
- Quote Domesday "waste" as documentary evidence of the harrying
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