The Harrying of the North
Why William harried the north
Causes: by late 1069, the north had rebelled again and again. Rebels had killed William's earl, captured York twice, and joined a Danish invasion. The Danish fleet was still in the Humber, ready to return in spring.
William decided to make sure the north could never again support a rebellion or feed an invading army.
What happened, 1069–70
Over the winter of 1069–70, William's soldiers moved through the north, especially Yorkshire, deliberately destroying everything that could feed people. They burned villages, crops and stores of food, killed farm animals and destroyed farm tools.
('Despoiling' means 'stripping of everything valuable'; 'the shire' is Yorkshire.)
Key terms
The impact, 1069–87
Immediate consequences: with no food or seed corn, many people starved during the winter and the following year. Others fled south. Writing more than 50 years later, the Norman monk claimed that 100,000 people died. Historians treat this number with caution, but agree that very many died.
Long-term consequences: in (1086), many places in Yorkshire are recorded as , and land there was worth far less than in 1066. Historians debate how much of this waste was caused by the Harrying. It may also reflect other raids, such as by the Scots, or land reorganised by new Norman lords.
Key terms
Its significance
Significance:
- The north never rebelled against William again, and the Danes lost a base for future invasions. In this sense, it secured William's control.
- It showed how far William would go to keep his kingdom. Even Orderic, a Norman writer, condemned it as a terrible crime.
- Northern lands passed to Norman lords, completing the takeover.
Historians still argue whether it was a necessary military act, or a brutal punishment of ordinary people for their lords' rebellions.
Common mistake
Don't treat Orderic's 100,000 deaths as a fact. Say who claimed it and when, and that historians treat it with caution.
Changes in landownership, 1066–87
Between 1066 and 1087, almost all of England's land passed from English to Norman owners:
- the lands of Harold, his family and those killed at Hastings went straight to William and his followers
- every failed rebellion meant more English land was and given to Normans
- English widows and heiresses often married Normans, who then took their land.
By the time of Domesday Book in 1086, only a very small share of land, often estimated at around 5%, was still held by English lords.
Change: the Anglo-Saxon nobility had been almost entirely replaced by a new Norman ruling class, loyal to William.