Overview.
The High Medieval period is generally accepted to have its beginning with the successful invasion of England by William, Duke of Normandy, and his subsequent enthronement as the king of England and ending with the death of Henry III in 1272. This was a period of social change and political unrest with civil and foreign wars throughout the period.
By the time of his death, in 1087, England was a large part of an Anglo-Norman empire controlled by William, using a network of land-holding nobles across England, Normandy and Wales. During his reign there were rebellions in Kent and Wales in 1067, in Exeter in 1068, again in Mercia and in Northumbria, also in 1068. In 1069 there was a further serious rebellion in Northumbria with the capture of the castles of Durham and York, which was followed by a massacre of the inhabitants of York as William regained control. A second uprising in Yorkshire was defeated by the local, re-inforced York garrison but was immediately followed by an invasion, from Ireland, in Devon, led by Harold's sons, which was defeated at the battle of Northam. In late 1069 the Danes invaded in an attempt to re-take the throne. After abortive raids on the south coast the Danish army joined with rebels in Northumbria, took the castles in Northumbria and attempted an invasion of Lincolnshire, defeated and forced back by the garrison of Lincoln castle. At the same time western Mercia rose in revolt, with forces from Wales, Cheshire and Shropshire in support, while rebels in Cornwall and Devon attacked the garrison of Exeter. Other rebels from Somerset and Dorset besieged Montacute castle in Somerset. The rebels in Mercia and Somerset were defeated by the local garrisons and William moved north and attacked the Danes forcing them back across the Humber. He then turned west, defeating the Mercians at the battle of Stafford. He then marched north, defeating the Danes and re-occupying York. He then paid off the Danes who agreed to leave England in the spring of 1070. During the remainder of 1069 came his "Harrying of the North" in which he devastated Northumbria, subduing all resistance. In early 1070 William returned to Mercia, based in Chester and, from there set about crushing any remaining resistance. Having returned south, William was then formally crowned King, by Papal legates, thereby re-asserting his right to the throne.
Also in 1070, the Danes renounced their earlier agreement to withdraw and joined forces with the English rebels led by Hereward the Wake. After minor skirmishes their leaders accepted a further payment from William, withdrew the army and returned to Denmark. In 1071, after further skirmishes, William defeated the rebels bringing English resistance to an end. More battles followed in Normandy and also with Scotland and in 1075 his own Earls revolted, although this last was dealt with by local forces and William remained in Normandy. At the same time the Danish king's brother, Cnut, returned with a fleet of 200 ships which raided along the coast. William returned in late 1075 to deal with the Danish problem and then went back to Normandy to deal with continued rebellion at home. By the simple means of confiscating all land which, henceforth, was to be held directly by the Crown, dispersing it to his loyal Norman followers in feudal tenure, and building castles and other fortifications William and his successors were able to be absentee rulers using this Royal administative structure to rule England from a distance. This remained in force until 1202 when, during the rule of King John, Normandy was invaded by the French. Although the English kings continued to claim land in France for many more years they now ruled from England.
Lincolnshire.
In Progress.