Henry was a Norman king like any other – Normandy was in his blood. For 30 years, he controlled the diplomatic game to keep Normandy in the Empire. The oneRead More
History
30 Henry I – Barons, Warfare and Wales
The fight with Robert gave Henry a great chance to replace the old conquest families with his own men, and particularly in the Welsh Marches. And this week we alsoRead More
29 England in the reign of Henry I
After the initial struggle for succession and baronial revolt, England itself was pretty peaceful during Henry’s reign. The church & state debate needed fixing. And Normandy was a constant battle,Read More
26 William Rufus, Normandy and the First Crusade
William Rufus was a flamboyant, red faced, pudgy and irreverant bloke, but none the less his father's favourite son. So Dad tipped him the wink and he left the deathRead More
25 Death of a Conqueror
The last years of William the Conqueror’s reign were mainly the meat and drink of the Norman King – beating off other feudal lords, keeping your nobles down, trying notRead More
24 Revolt of the Earls
It took William the Conqueror a few more years until he felt safe from the English. But when the Revolt of the Earls collapsed in 1075, English revolution was overRead More
2.1 – 23 Subjugation of the English
After 1066 The English resisted William’s rule. But it lacked the leadership and coherence it needed to be effective. William’s response was increasingly brutal, until the the north of England Read More
22 1066 and Goodbye to all That
The most iconic date in English history – a story of bravery, drama – and a close run thing
21 The Normans – a race unbridled
The Normans were wildly adventurous from Viking stock a carve out realms in France, Sicily – and England
20 Anglo Saxon England in the 11th Century
Governance, Law and Society before the Norman Conquest
19 Edward the Confessor
The Confessor rules at behest of his great men, but with some success
18 The End of the Danish Dynasty, Edward the Confessor and the Rise of the Great men
The late Anglo Saxon state was dominated by overmighty subjects
17 Cnut the Conqueror
The reign of the Northern Emperor
15 Aethelred, Svein Forkbeard and years of misery
The Danish tide becomes the Danish Flood
14 Aetheled the Unready and the Rising Tide
Aethelred faces the terrors of the Viking and uses brutality, marriage and bribery to survive
13 The Golden Age
Edgar’s reign may represent the height of Anglo Saxon power
12 The last King in Jorvik
Edmund the Magnificent and Eadred finally defeat Eric Bloodaxe, the last king of Jorvik. But there are some social clouds on the horizon. The Hundred Ordinances These areRead More