Lamentations for a Lost Homeland: Nova Anglia

[Darumaka]

The AAR was called Homelands, and the EU4 sequel was called Bastions. They're pretty old, though, and the sequel was abandoned.

Wow their leader is Morcar of Mercia!? I can't ever see that guy being brave and adventurous enough to embark in such voyage. I like what I read in that first chapter though.

My exiles will be following a different path though. Thanks for linking them.

 

[Darumaka]

The Immediate Aftermath​

The Battle had gone from sunup to sundown, and in that time fighters on both sides had suffered terrible injuries. As such, towards the rear of the English army there had been a makeshift infirmary where those too wounded to fight could rest and remain safe, hoping for transport and treatment later. But once the army broke, the men in the infirmary were left at the mercy of the Normans. As the Bastard and his Normans rushed forward, the English begged for mercy. And were executed.

These Frenchmen took no prisoners despite ransoms among the nobility being the norm of the time. But the Pope had blessed this army and promised to absolve them of all their sins, and in doing so he had unleashed hell. This endorsement had ensured that there would be no spiritual retribution to worry about, and thus these chivalrous knights who had been taught to fear God, and God only, no longer had any use for mercy. Thousands were cut down at the Bastard’s command, even as they cried out their surrender, for William had no interest in restraining the savagery of his army.

Chaos turned to carnage, and the acts perpetrated by this army went beyond practical, it had become personal and sadistic. The Normans surrendered to a bloodlust so consuming that some were even engaging in sexual mutilation. Several stories mention a man named Giffard, one of William’s own companions, slicing off King Harold’s “thigh” and riding around with it. Of course, in this period it was taboo to speak directly of certain things, and thus “thigh” was but an euphemism of the king’s genitalia. This Giffard would go on to be granted vast swathes of land. Truly, these knights were spreading Christ’s peace across England.

But while heaven may have been fine with the actions of the valiant Norman knights and friends, they were creating problems for themselves later down the line. Taking prisoners and treating them well, and either releasing them or allowing for a ransom is a form of psychological warfare. It tells the enemy they don’t need to keep resisting, that if they stand down and give you victory, they’ll be okay. Conversely, if you take all hope away from people, if you engage in such extreme acts that they feel they have nothing left to lose, then you might face an enemy that is losing, but remains very motivated to keep up the fight. They might even start trying things they otherwise wouldn’t. The Bastard was sending the English a clear message, that they had nothing to gain from surrender.

---

The Malfosse

The French cavalry had been neutralized all day throughout the fight, being unable to break the shield wall despite their many charges. In the aftermath however, they were able to be used to their full effect, making flanking attacks, using their speed and maneuverability to separate the English soldiers, literally riding down and trampling the fleeing fyrdsmen.

If the English wanted to survive the night they needed to find a way to once again strip the cavalry of its effectiveness. As they pulled back and attempted to reform at a defensible location, they could hear the sound of thundering hooves and metal striking metal, they could hear the shouting men, some in the distance, and some probably too close for comfort. It would have been nerve wracking, but they had an advantage the Normans didn’t, they knew how to turn these lands into a fortress.

The retreating English knew that just down the way from the battlefield was a ravine with steep hills on either side, far too steep for these Normans and their horses to ride down, and as the night had fully fallen, the hills would have been a moonscape of silvery slopes and bottomless black pits. If the Normans wanted to advance on the English they would have no choice but to do it head on along a deep ravine that would be treacherously dark and difficult to navigate. And it wasn’t just dark, but also covered in ditches, ditches that had been filled by stakes and then hidden by grasses and bushes. It is unknown if this was an old defensive position or just something the English had constructed the night before the battle, but the retreating men seemed to know there were traps around the area and just how to navigate around them.

The French cavalry chasing them down the hills had no idea, and as we’re told in later stories, they were “happy.” They had just won the battle and were now having a grand time racking up easy kills that they could later brag about around the campfire. As they entered the darkness of the ravine however, a few of the knights leading the charge just… disappeared. Then more. Then the screaming started. French men and horses began piling up in ditches lined with stakes, and still more of the triumphant cavalry, running too quickly to stop, found themselves stumbling in the dark over the tangled mass of bodies and tack trampling their companions, before ultimately falling themselves.

By this point some of the approaching horses would have begun to panic and dig their hooves in, pitching their riders over the reigns and into the traps. While still more horses would have collided into the rear, forcing the knights and horses forward into the very thing they were now trying to avoid. But inevitably, they hit, and then shoved forward trampling their injured, impaled, and dying comrades, all while the terrified and injured horses in the ditch lashed out in their effort to escape, and in doing so they tripped up still more of the cavalry. We’re told that they fell, one after another until they were “a struggling mass of horses and arms.”

The French remember this event as the Malfosse, which is latin for the Evil Ditch.

And on the other side of the Malfosse were the English who reformed the war-hedge. Like in Hastings, the English once again had the choice of field and tactics. The English were fully rallying now, and as Duke William and his companion Count Eustance arrived on the scene, there were so many Englishmen returning to fight that the Bastard believed fresh reinforcements had arrived. None of the sources describe what exactly came next, but it is hinted that whatever it was, it wasn’t good for the Normans.

The hills, ditches, and woods made flanking charges and quick strikes impossible, instead the knights were once again finding themselves fighting essentially an infantry battle, while sitting down. It was awkward and it wasn’t what they trained for. It left them dangerously exposed to the Huscarls and their terrifying axes. And that was if they even managed to reach their formation. Given that the ravine was booby-trapped and it was all happening in the black of night, not everyone made it that far.

The landscape had completely neutralized whatever tactics and advantages horses could provide, and the Bastard, Count Eustace, and their knights were doing all they could to break through the English lines, but they found little success. At some point the Bastard’s lance broke, and he continued fighting on wielding the broken end. The battle was a disaster, and it was turning into a bloodbath. After some time, Count Eustace had seen enough, and he shouted an order of retreat, and the fifty knights who accompanied him turned their horses.

Seeing this the Bastard just about lost it. Who in hell did Eustace think he was to order such a thing? He turned and shouted that death lied that way, and as the words left his mouth they were followed by blood for a weapon had come screaming in the dark and struck Eustace in the back. The Count slumped over his horse as his companions dragged him out of the battle, half dead. Despite this, William was unwilling or unable to back down. He pushed his forces on, pressing his army into the deadly ditch. We’re not told the number of casualties, but “many Norman nobles were killed” in the fighting that followed. It’s unknown what the Bastard did to keep his men together, nor what he did to overcome the Malfosse, but eventually the English retreated from this second battlefield. And that retreat appeared to be enough for the Bastard, so he returned to Hastings, more than a little eager for the safety of its palisade and ramparts.

---

The Fires of Resistance

​

Out there in the countryside though, along the roads and the woods, there were countless life and death struggles taking place. Hundreds, if not thousands of people were running for their lives, or hiding in hollows and hedges, praying the French patrols would pass them by. Countless fighters laying ambushes, and attempting to link up with any of their comrades that remained. All around Hastings, thousands of people worked to survive the night. Thousands of tragedies and triumphs that we will never know.

It was probably maddeningly quiet as everyone tried to evade detection, either to catch fleeing soldiers, to evade them, or to ambush them, and then suddenly there would be an explosion of noise when someone was spotted, or when a trap was sprung. It must have been terrifying for all involved. While we don’t have many accounts of this night, we do have one story that speaks of the bravery of Earl Waltheof of Northumbria. We're told Waltheof had retreated from Hastings with a large group of Englishmen, only to later encounter a force of about 100 Norman soldiers.

The flight from Hastings had brought Waltheof and his men right into the thick woods of the Weald, and the trees would have closed in all around them. The pursuing French entered the forest, but as they did so their ability to move was instantly slowed for there were no roads, paths, or really anything to make traveling easy for man or horse. This was the Weald at its most rugged. It was dense, and it was also dark. The trees would have blocked most of whatever remaining light they had been using to hunt down fleeing Englishmen, and the French suddenly found themselves in a strange wood, at night, barely able to see anything at all. Practically blinded, well, at least at first.

A small point of light appeared in the distance. Then, elsewhere, a gentle glow grew like the sun was returning. But it wasn’t morning. Then another light. And another. And another. The lights were all around them now, as was the sound of crackling wood. Waltheof and his men had set the Weald, and the 100 Frenchmen now trapped within it, on fire. This moment is memorialized in a skaldic poem, by Thorkel Skallason:

"Earl Valthiof the brave
His foes a warming gave:
Within the blazing grove
A hundred men he drove.
The wolf will soon return,
And the witch's horse will burn
Her sharp claws in the ash,
To taste the Frenchman's flesh."

Hastings was lost, but the fight continued.

---

I decided to go ahead and elaborate a bit on the events following Hastings. I'll probably do a few more chapters before the exiles we'll be following along depart from England. Let me know if that's something you would like or if you'd rather I summarize it and just get to 1081 AD when the gameplay actually starts. I have no problem either way, but thought it would be nice to elaborate on how the Conquest of England actually went since most people are completely in the dark about it, as school, documentaries, and pop-history tell us that it all concluded at Hastings with the death of King Harold.

 

[Ruwaard]

Well Harold was an English noble with close ties with dynasties all over England and Scandinavia. The Godwinsons had essentially been ruling the kingdom for decades by the time Edward died, AND he was chosen by the Witan. Both the secular and religious authorities in the Kingdom supported his coronation, and in England the Witan picked the King. Harold was the legitimate king according to all English customs.

The powerful Godwinsons' were too influential. Also the very much overlooked fact, why did you think William stressed he had the Papal Banner. The English Catholic Church was in conflict with the Catholic Church in Rome. William promised to fox this, Harold only went with the status quo.

Edgar though was certainly up there in the line of succession even if he was a Hungarian-born teen who had just arrived in England on 1057, as was King Sweyn Estridsson of Denmark, the nephew of Cnut the Great. William though? He was just a bastard from across the sea, and according to English laws, only children of legitimate marriages were eligible for succession, so he was never even eligible. There was also another son of Godwin in Normandy, Waltheof I think, but he died mysteriously under captivity by William. William also likely killed a nephew of King Harold who would have been a claimant. The enemies of the Bastard all dropped like flies around him for some reason, including his rival, the Duke of Brittany.

Williams supposed claim was likely false, and a common tactic he employed. He used the same tactic to seize Maine saying the previous Duke bequeathed him the title upon his deathbed. Even if Edward really did promise him the crown, it was likely under duress.

I really doubt it was under duress, they may have regretted it later on, but, when those untrustworthy Anglo-Saxons kicked them out, their Norman relatives gave them refuge.

King Edward did try to break Godwin and sons power repeatedly and although he failed to do so in life, one may say he was ultimately successful as historians speculate the reason he never had children was to deny Godwin the possibility of being grandfather to the King of England, a choice which led to the events of 1066.

When he felt he was still ferttile and the Godwinsons were still a threat he tried to divorce her, after a point he gave up. It doesn’t mean Edward was happy with the prospect of Harold as his heir, he had arranged the return of Edgar the Atheling for a reason, but when he died Edgar was a bit too young.

 

[Darumaka]

The powerful Godwinsons' were too influential. Also the very much overlooked fact, why did you think William stressed he had the Papal Banner. The English Catholic Church was in conflict with the Catholic Church in Rome. William promised to fox this, Harold only went with the status quo.

I really doubt it was under duress, they may have regretted it later on, but, when those untrustworthy Anglo-Saxons kicked them out, their Norman relatives gave them refuge.

When he felt he was still ferttile and the Godwinsons were still a threat he tried to divorce her, after a point he gave up. It doesn’t mean Edward was happy with the prospect of Harold as his heir, he had arranged the return of Edgar the Atheling for a reason, but when he died Edgar was a bit too young.

I think it's an exaggeration to say the English Church was in conflict with the Roman one. Rome had an issue with Archbishop Stigand for his pluralism in holding both Winchester and Canterbury, and he was excommunicated for it. William did claim Harold's ascension to the throne was illegitimate because he argued Stigand who hadn't received his pallium yet and been canonized crowned Harold, but it had been the Archbishop of York Ealdred who did the ceremony, making such claims false. Even if that claim had been truth, it was a mere excuse to bolster his claim as William had no issue keeping Stigand at court and letting him continue to consecrate bishops until 1070. It was a piece of propaganda, of which there was much of during and after William's time.

Perhaps I used the wrong word there. It may have no been under duress, but Edward certainly had incurred a great debt to the French nobility after spending about a quarter of his life there in exile. With the way William treated his subjects, vassals, and later the English, I don't think it's such a stretch to say that Edward only did so (if it even happened) out of fear of what the Duke may do otherwise. And as I've pointed out, William used the same tactic he used on England to claim Maine, so there was a pattern of secret title-bequeathing occurring to William.

Now I never said he was happy with Harold, but after Edward "the Exile's" death there was little choice other than Harold to lead the kingdom as Edgar was but a child, a foreign-born one.

 

[Midnite Duke]

In a three-way even fight, whoever avoids the first duel will probably be the ultimate victor as the first winner will be bloodied by the loser. Thanks

 

[HistoryDude]

Slaughtering them won't give the Anglo-Saxons any reason to surrender to William.

I'd like a few more chapters on the aftermath before we get to gameplay, but I don't really care either way.

I wonder if the (implied) Papal support for William will cause a further fraying of relations between the Anglo-Saxons and the Catholic Church. Maybe they will become heretics out of spite?

 

[Darumaka]

The March to Dover

​

The Battle of Hastings and its immediate aftermath had been brutal for the Normans. His army had been put through the ringer, and as he had invaded in the fall, it meant no reinforcements were coming due to the bad weather. It is estimated that as much as a third of the Norman army had been taken out of the fight, either by being wounded or killed outright, and that was after about 10 percent of that army had already been lost to desertion or at sea. The Norman army was in tatters.

Yet the battle was still won. Every roll of the dice had gone the Bastard’s way and now King Harold lay dead, alongside with his brothers Leofwine and Gyrth. By then, William would have also been aware of the aftermath at Stamford Bridge and the death of King Harald Hardrada and yet another Godwinson brother, Tostig. One by one each of the Duke’s rivals to the throne kept on dying, and now only the 14 year old Edgar Ætheling remained. Granted, across the North Sea was King Sweyn Estridsson of Denmark who also had a claim on England, but he was far away and had already said in the past he wasn’t interested in pressing his claim.

William couldn’t stay at Hastings however, as his men and horses required food, but the charred fields and villages of the region could no longer provide them. Complicating matters, all the direct routes to London went right through the Weald, and last time his men went into the Weald they didn’t return. William needed a new plan… So he waited, specifically he waited for the English nobility to send their messengers, announcing their submission to his rule. Willian believed that after the loss of their King, his brothers, large numbers of their nobility, and god knows how many huscarls and fyrdsmen, surely submissions were on the way.

And he was right, or actually half right. The English were sending messengers. Riders were going all over the Kingdom telling everyone of what had happened at Hastings, of the French invasion, of the devastation of the English army, and of the death of the King and his brothers. Messengers were being sent, but not to offer their submission to the upstart Norman noble, but to convene the Witenagemot, or Witan, as a new King had to be selected, for in England it was not for a random French Duke to select who was king, that job fell squarely in the hands of the Witan.

Meanwhile, back in Hastings, Duke William kept waiting for the English response. He knew the death of the King wasn’t the end, and that either the English would surrender, or another army would be raised and attack his army, which was now a much smaller group of bloodied and battered mercenaries. And he didn’t know which one it would be, so he just had to wait.

Back in London, the leading men of the city and a variety of surviving southern nobles who had not met a final fate at Hastings, whether by managing to get away or just being lucky enough to have not been there in the first place, as well as an assortment of southern churchmen, were gathering to handle the matter of who would be the next King of England. But not everyone was present yet, and critically, the two most powerful Earls in England had not yet arrived, the brothers Edwin of Mercia and Morcar of Northumbria.

Meanwhile back at Hastings William kept waiting, wondering where the hell the Englishmen were. After 16 days of no scout reports of an English advance, the Bastard realized he had to act now or he'd have a crisis on his hands as supplies continued to dwindle, and so on the 30th of October he ordered his men to saddle up and began his march East toward the city of Dover, leaving behind only a small garrison at Hastings to hold his base camp. They moved quickly, and carefully, because the English could be anywhere. Literally every hill, every cluster of trees could hide an English military force. Their march to Dover was a terrifying one, not knowing when the next Waltheof could strike.

And in London, the elite of England were still waiting for everyone to show up, and despite not being able yet to select a King, there was still plenty to keep them occupied. A Witan was a big deal, and so the nobles assembling were wasting no time by currying favor with one another, forging alliances, and trying to work out which candidate would best serve, not England necessarily, themselves. There was much to consider about the future king. Did they want someone easily swayed to their own political and financial goals? Maybe someone from an old and storied dynasty that the general public would support? Maybe someone from a newer dynasty with a lot of wealth and power (and who would reward you for your support)? There was lots to consider, and despite there still being a large number of foreign warriors to the South, someone with military ability was the last thing in the minds of the members of the Witan.

Pretty much everyone on the official line of succession was a teenager or younger, but even the scions of the most powerful dynasties who werent on the line of succession were probably about 20 or under, meaning there was not a lot of military experience to be found among the candidates. To do so would mean to start looking outside the most powerful dynasties, and if you start promoting people outside of the dynasties that control the Witan, well, what even is the point of having a Witan? So things in London were heating up, and the leadership who had already assembled were likely hard at work trying to solve the crisis of which teenager would get the fanciest hat.

Meanwhile, William and his Norman army thundered down an old Roman road past Romney, Rye Harbour, Benenden, Tenterden, and Ashford. Horses and men advancing relentlessly towards the coastal town of Dover, burning every town and village on their path, slaughtering any peasants they encountered. The town of Dover had already been in an altercation with the French about a decade and a half prior, when the now injured Count Eustace and his men got into a fight with the citizens of Dover, triggering a series of events that nearly triggered a civil war between King Edward who support Eustace, and Earl Godwin, who supported the people of Dover. But now that same dynasty that protected them years ago, was all but wiped out.

Now the people of Dover were once again facing an down a French military force looking to violently settle a score between nobles, and once again they would have to deal with it on their own. By then news had reached them of the onslaught perpetrated by the Normans, and they knew what they were up against, and fortunately for them, unlike most towns in southern England, Dover was fortified. According to later writings, Dover was impregnable, a fact that William was well aware of, hence why he had made the town his destination. Dover would serve to protect his knights against the army which he was sure the English were sending his way, but there was only one problem. He needed to get into the city.

Meanwhile, in London, the assembled nobility were still waiting for all the lords to arrive. England is big, after all. And sure, Harold and his men managed to go from London to York in a matter of a few days, but that was Harold, and people were already recasting his speed as a mistake, so it seems that the prevailing wisdom was that slow and steady wins the race, because it was really taking forever for everyone to show up. And as the nobles continued their bickering in the great city, the common folk of England continued to suffer. There was no one out in the field to deal with William at Dover, nor to take on the troops he left behind at Hastings. The English fleet wasn't attacking the Norman ships at harbor. There was no English military response.

Politics was the name of the day, and it seemed like the nobles were waiting until a King was selected before they did anything. Perhaps some felt that only a King could raise a fyrd large enough to contend with the Bastard's invasion? Or perhaps some were waiting to see who would be selected before they decided they even wanted to oppose this Norman claimant. It’s even possible that some of them were quietly holding back, with an eye to supporting one of the potential Scandinavian claimants. After all, some of these nobles had dynastic links to those royal Scandinavian lines from the time of King Cnut and his descendants.

There’s all kinds of reasons why the nobility may have felt it suited their interests to sit on their hands. Unfortunately, we aren’t told why. All we know is that, as William and his men advanced, the leadership tasked with responding to this threat focused on political matters that would /only matter/ if they (and the system that they relied upon) survived the threat. And as for that threat… well, that would have to wait, which was completely maddening for the common folk, the everyday people who had no say in any of this and just had to hope that their leaders would find a reason to actually do something about the existential threat which loomed over everyone. At London, the English nobility had failed the English people, and it would not be the last time.

Back in Dover, the townsfolk could see the Bastard and his Normans on the horizon, and there were a lot of them. And so, despite knowing full well that their fortifications could hold back the invading force long enough for reinforcements to arrive, the people of Dover sent a messenger out of the castle. They knew of the death of King Harold and his brothers, of the possibility of starvation during a siege, and of the executions they would face once the walls finally fell. The city leaders of Dover decided the best path forward was to surrender, thinking that maybe their new overlord would allow them to continue living in peace, minus their best supplies of course. Dover was standing down, it would be William's… And we’re told that, in response, the Normans set the town and castle on fire.

---

Godwinson's Revenge and the Witenagemot

​

After this, William took Dover castle and began to repair and refortify it, and the Norman army stayed there for eight days. But after a bit, a huge portion of the army came down with dysentery, likely come about by the close proximity of men and horses tightly packed in close quarters. The outbreak was so severe that many were on the edge of death. Of course, the Normans would later it blame it on the quality of English food and drink, for even back in the 11th century the French couldn't help but take the piss out of English cuisine.

Back in London, the English Court was also dealing with some urgency. Archbishop Stigand of Canterbury, Edgar Ætheling, Earl Morcar, Earl Edwin, Archbishop Ealdred. At long last, everyone who was anyone was there. Well, except for all the dead nobles, and there were a LOT of dead nobles. Which was why, with the exception of the churchmen, almost every man present had been considered a boy only a short while earlier. But they didn’t let that get in the way of their duty, and rather than an easy open and shut case for succession, instead there was quite a debate. The fact was that the way Harold had risen to the throne had put the future of the crown in play. Virtually anyone with a significant amount of power in England could make an argument that they should be the next King.

And that’s exactly what Earls Edwin and Morcar did. As the rulers of nearly half of England, and as veterans of the Battle of Fulford Gate, they felt that the crown should definitely go to one of them. And it could be argued that they were best situated to deal with this Norman menace, considering their experience and also the fact that they still had soldiers in reserve, as their armies hadn’t been present at Hastings. But at the same time, more than a few members of the Witan took note that, had their armies of these brothers been present at Hastings, things might have gone very differently, and as for Fulford Gate, The English had been slaughtered at that battle. Not exactly the strongest of candidates, and that’s before you get to the fact that they weren’t on the line of succession, the Northumbrians were openly displeased with Earl Morcar’s rule, and they were young. Not the youngest here, but still pretty goddamned young.

There were also many nobles who pointed out that King Harold Godwinson hadn’t died without issue as Edward had. He actually had a bunch of sons, and while they were likely teenagers, most everyone else of rank at this thing was a teen so why should that matter? And a son of the previous King is usually the next King. Though it appears they had no military experience, no leadership experience, and hailed from a family that was bitterly hated by many of the dynasties who now made up the Witan (since many of the allies of the House of Godwinson had met their end at Hastings).

If there were some clever people in the room, following his service at Hastings, and his successful ambush in the Weald, I have to guess that Earl Waltheof was another potential candidate being considered. He was experienced, he was a leader, and he was also one of the oldest (if not THE oldest) of the potential candidates there. And, of course, there were also those who advanced young Edgar Ætheling. The grandson of King Edmund "Ironsides."

Now Edgar was only about 14, and he’d only been in England since 1057 as he had been living in exile in Hungary, but he was from the House of Wessex. And that, it seems, was of particular interest to the citizens of London, and to the sailors who crewed the English ships. According to the record those two groups in particular wanted the Witan to proclaim Edgar King. Quite possibly because the commoners of London just wanted this damn Witan to come to an end quickly. Because things were getting bad out there. We're told that "as this august body was assembled and began to debate who would be the next English King, William and his Normans were murdering English subjects in vast numbers, and he was doing it with complete impunity." We’re told that he laid waste to the south, all while their leaders dithered over who would wear the crown."

​

Meanwhile in Dover, William had hit a wall. He couldn’t afford to wait any longer. His men would have to suck it up and prepare to ride, because the English weren’t submitting to him, so the only explanation was that they were raising an army to fight him, which meant that his only chance at success would be to swiftly destroy their morale and crush any opposition to his rule before the English army found him and met him in the field. So after eight gut wrenching days in Dover, the Norman army departed the town. Well, at least those who were able to ride departed. Those who were too sick to march were left behind and instructed to hold the castle for their Duke while William and what remained of his army rode inland for the spiritual heart of the south. Canterbury.

It was only about an 18 mile journey, and William’s army were on horseback. Even at just a trot (and they were definitely going to trot) William’s army could have reached Canterbury within an hour or two. And that’s including the extra time Sir Stephan needed to pull his horse to the side of the road to… handle something. A few times. So it wasn’t long before William and his men appeared on the horizon. And Canterbury almost certainly would have received word of what had become of Hastings, Romney, Dover, Ashburnam, Crowhurst, Bexhill, Wilting, Filsham, Ickelsham, Guestling, and many others towns and villages.

William and his Horsemen didn’t come alone. They brought with them War, Famine, Death…and now even Pestilence. And in this religious city, that fact wasn’t lost on the assembled churchmen. William was bringing hell to England, and apparently the holy men decided it is actually better to serve in hell, then be sent to heaven because the leading men of Canterbury approached the Norman army and offered their surrender, along with any hostages that the Duke might require. At about this point, William was probably wondering what the hell was wrong with English weather. Always going so hot and cold. And humid. He had never sweat this much in his life. We’re told that within the city people “began to tremble, and realizing that resistance would be followed by utter ruin, it hastened to submit in order to avoid destruction.” And within William something else was beginning to tremble and threaten destruction.

Back in London, the Witan was finally ready to move on with this crisis. They might disagree on a lot of things, but they all agreed they didn’t want a Norman King. So they finally took action. On the urging of Archbishop Stigand, a coalition had formed to support Edgar Ætheling’s claim to the throne. He had a group of earls who swore that, if Edgar was crowned King, that they would immediately march forward to battle against William in his name.

And so Stigand secured the support of a huge chunk of the Witan and the common people would get what they wanted, decisive action against the existential threat of the Normans. Even Edwin and Morcar supported him despite their own aspirations. England would be ruled by King Edgar the Ætheling! With the King chosen, Earls Edwin and Morcar sprung into action... by telling their sister, the Dowager Queen Edith, to leave London and relocate to Chester. They may have been a little more than annoyed about getting passed over than they were letting on during the debate. And as for the rest of the earls who promised to to march out and meet the Bastard on the field, well... It seemed London was just too cozy to abandon.

While the English nobles continued to fiddle around with their fingers, William and his army took up residence in a location referred to as “the Broken Tower.” No one is sure where that was but it was either in, or very near to, Canterbury. The Bastard really needed that camp, for he was shitting his brains out. As the army couldn't move when the Duke was that sick, it meant the cat and mouse game was over, the English army was certain to find them now so they needed to prepare for the inevitable attack. No Kingdom would let this invasion stand without resistance, and that meant they'd need defenses. Even a broken tower could work if it's prepared properly, but they also needed food and drink, which they'd take from the local Englishmen by force if necessary, and considering the state that the Bastard was in, they'd probably need some toilet paper as well, or whatever campaigning Normans used for toilet paper. Peasants maybe? The tears of orphaned children? Whatever it was, William and his men were going to need a lot of it, because it was getting bad.

And so despite the most fervent wishes of the people of England, the aristocrats of the Kingdom weren't in any rush to act against the invasion, leaving disease as the most effective element of the English resistance in the immediate aftermath of Hastings.

 

[Darumaka]

In a three-way even fight, whoever avoids the first duel will probably be the ultimate victor as the first winner will be bloodied by the loser. Thanks

This may be true in most occasions, but had King Harold not rushed so quickly to meet William in the South, stopping for longer to gather more nobles and men, he may have easily dispatched of the Bastard and cemented himself as the most legendary of English kings. Alas, the Normans' brutality lured the King to act in haste as those lands William was ravaging were the personal possession of the King, and thus he wanted to put and end to it quickly. One of history's most painful what-ifs.

Slaughtering them won't give the Anglo-Saxons any reason to surrender to William.

I'd like a few more chapters on the aftermath before we get to gameplay, but I don't really care either way.

I wonder if the (implied) Papal support for William will cause a further fraying of relations between the Anglo-Saxons and the Catholic Church. Maybe they will become heretics out of spite?

You'll get more chapters then. After this one events should speed up a bit more, taking years rather than days like these last two, meaning it'll go by faster. I've marked the threadmarks of these prelude chapters so people know the gameplay hasn't started yet.

As for the relations between the English and the Church, well let's just say that does play a role once the gameplay starts.

 

[Darumaka]

The Tragedy of Queen Edith

​

Even after Edgar was chosen to be King, the political conflict and factionalism continued in the halls of power, and much of it, it seems, was driven by the clergy. Many among them had been ardent allies of King Harold and would have preferred one of his sons to take the throne, but even if they completely disregarded the political aspects, the religious elements of it all were puzzling for the clergy.

Custom said the sons of Kings are the next in line, which was an extension of the belief that kings ruled through divine right, thus elevating Edgar surely would be against God’s will? But then again, the Bastard was claiming he was there by Papal right, and his victory over Harold could be interpreted as God weighing in to support the Normans. Then again God could be simply punishing Harold for that broken oath William kept going on about, and there was that rumor that the King had been excommunicated… Then there was the fact that the ravaging and slaughter of peasants was often interpreted by holy men as an expression of God’s rightful wrath, and the Normans were doing much of that in the South, but his advance did stop, which could mean that maybe God was now angry at William?

The ambiguity was just too much for the clergy, and all of this could explain why it doesn’t appear to have been a coronation in contrast to the late King Harold who received his within 2 days after King Edward’s death. It’s evident that the Bishops were dragging their feet on the one aspect that they had control over, and perhaps trying to avoid further irritating God by backing the wrong horse. But fancy oil or not, Edgar in the end was selected as King.

Meanwhile, down in Canterbury, and Dover, AND all the way back in Hastings, there were a lot of heavily armed men and horses who believed that William was King. But the Normans weren’t the only heavily armed men in England with an interest in politics. We’re told that some of the assembled Earls had arrived in London with a significant number of troops. In particular, the brothers Earl Edwin of Mercia and Earl Morcar of Northumbria, had arrived in London with a large army. Which meant that the English military capacity was far from depleted, and that the fyrd were still coming when called.

Yet they all remained in London, even as the Norman army laid in tatters, scattered all over the South, and afflicted by disease. The situation was so dire for the Normans, that William and his army halted there for an entire month. For the common English folk, that may have been the longest month ever as news continued to filter in about towns and villages being laid to waste, families being murdered, and children being enslaved by this invading army, all while their nobles remained in London focused on the pettiest of politics.

We’re told that while the English nobility remained in London with their armies, the Normans were “laying waste Sussex, Kent, Hampshire, Surrey, Middlesex, and Hertfordshire, and ceased not from burning vills and slaughtering the inhabitants.” Even worse, the scribes speak of how this ravaging was carried out by William’s soldiers who survived Hastings, and also by those who “came since to him from over sea.” Which means that William was now getting reinforcements from across the channel. Which suggests that, as the English nobility abandoned the countryside, the English fleet had also packed up and abandoned the English coast.

But not all of the Normans were out there ravaging the countryside. William remained at the Broken Tower, though that didn’t mean he was sitting on his hands. He was attempting to negotiate the surrender of southern towns and cities, in particular that of the politically, economically, and culturally important city of Winchester, the ancient capital of the Kingdom of Wessex and the resting place of the ancient kings, home of Alfred the Great, and the seat of power of King Cnut. Even as London had increased in power and wealth, Winchester still held an enormous importance in the South, as did the woman who held it, the Dowager Queen Edith, and she was very important for William. His entire claim on England was based on the story that King Edward made a secret promise to bequeath the Kingdom to him. So if King Edward’s Wife stood in rebellion against him it would create all manner of problems for the Bastard and his claim to the throne.

Eventually his knights reached the city, and the record we’re given about the exchange there was filled with a tone of regret and resignation, and the implication that the Dowager Queen was attempting to do her best to navigate the dire situation. Her once powerful family had been brought down low by fraternal conflict and she saw their arrival as yet another tragic result of the fight between Tostig and Harold, one that she loathed but given the limitations her society placed upon female power, one she could do little about.

Almost all her brothers were dead and her last living brother was imprisoned across the channel. Her surviving nephews were teens at best. The south was in tatters. What remained of the nobility sat in London and hadn’t lifted a finger to save the South so far. Edith had few, if any cards to play. Making matters worse, this Duke appeared to have no scruples. He and his army destroyed villages, they killed surrendering soldiers, they slaughtered the wounded. And this was the Duke who was promising to treat them leniently if they surrendered now, and paid him tribute, which was far better than what the people of Dover got. So really there was only one path forward. Queen Edith surrendered Winchester, and paid the Duke his tribute.

In one stroke William had acquired a degree of legitimacy that he could have only dreamed of. King Edward’s widow, and King Harold’s sister, had just accepted him as overlord. It’s unclear how long she remained in the city following the submission in 1066. She appears to have quietly retreated to her home and kept her head down, but wherever she was, the ancient capital of Wessex was and the resting place of the Kings of Old was now under the control of Normandy. And with her submission, now one could argue that the Queen of England, with links to both the House of Wessex and the House of Godwin, supported his claim. It was a major diplomatic coup.

It was also a strategic one, because Winchester didn’t stand alone. It also controlled the trading hub of Portsmouth Harbor, and logistical point of entry into England. Shortly thereafter, ships arrived on the southern coast, entered Portsmouth harbor, and landed at Fareham, and fresh reinforcements of knights from Normandy promptly disembarked and marched into Winchester.

---

The Surrender of London
​

Meanwhile, in London, the English aristocrats were finally getting to work. We’re told that King Edgar the gathered his forces and rather than march out to face the enemy, he began setting up defenses just outside of the walls of London. Which was probably cold comfort to all the communities who had been subject to William’s wrath for the last nearly 2 months. It seemed like the elite were working on protecting the capital and themselves, treating the Bastard and his army like raiders as this defensive posture looked like an attempt to weather a storm rather than an effort to rebuff an invading army bent on conquest.

Whatever the plan was, the English had used the last month or so to cram as many soldiers and fighters into the city as possible. In fact, we’re told that London contained such an enormous force that they couldn’t even house all who had come. The city was brimming over with fighters, the common folk were willing and eager to fight for their new King. They were just waiting for their leadership to give the order to march.

It wasn’t long before a detachment of 500 knights arrived on the southern outskirts of London. Just an advance force, likely sent to scout and prepare for the arrival of the remainder of the army. Well, whatever portion of the Norman army that wasn’t back in Canterbury, Dover, and Hastings because they were too sick or too wounded to travel. The advancing army was encamped about 20 miles South of London, but these 500 knights were there, just a couple of miles from the city itself, and while there they wasted no time and set out to do all things knights on campaign do. And the region was quickly and methodically ruined.

This was the final straw. The Londoners had seen enough and marched across London Bridge intent on finally bringing the fight directly to these invading Normans and their silly little ponies. The record gives the impression that this may have been a spontaneous response by the Londoners, rather than a military engagement instigated by the English leadership. After some time the Normans managed to drive the English back across the bridge, but the fighting there had been difficult and this opposition by the Londoners enraged the knights, which then burned all buildings on the southern side of the Thames River specifically to harm the pride of the Londoners.

Despite this apparent victory, William and his forces made no attempts to cross the London Bridge, for the Bastard believed the city was too well defended to be taken by assault, and that fight at the bridge may have confirmed his beliefs. So rather than focusing on the walls of London, he and his army decided to continue to ravage and destroy all the towns that encircled the city. In a way, the Duke was putting London under siege, but not with ramparts and battering rams, but by cutting off London from any allies, depriving people of the city of any resupplies, resources, or reinforcements. He went about it in the primary method of war, the indiscriminate murder of the local population.

His intent with this tactic couldn’t be more clear. He wasn’t seeking open battle. Instead, if London wouldn’t surrender, then he would turn the center of this Kingdom into a wasteland. What William was doing was the medieval form of terrorism. It was destruction on a practically industrial scale, and elsewhere it seems that detachments of his army, as well as fresh reinforcements from across the channel, were carrying out this same campaign of annihilation all the way from Kent to the border of Wales. And while the English leadership may not have had any concerns for the peasants as King Harold apparently had, these attacks were hitting them where it would hurt them the most, in their pocketbooks.

Yet there was still hope. London was full of soldiers, but “while many were preparing to go forth to battle, the earls withdrew their support.” Earls Edwin and Morcar, who controlled about half of the Kingdom and had promised to bring battle to William if Edgar was selected as King, abandoned their King. With the North gone about half of the available English military was being withdrawn, and the South was already devastated. Later writings claim the two brothers held back because they still desired to be Kings themselves.

The Norman bastard was not successful due to his own prowess or skill, but instead it was the short-sighted, self-serving opportunism, and cowardice of the English aristocracy that allowed him to succeed. Abandoned by their leaders, the record tell us that towns and villages began to send messengers to William’s army seeking terms:

“Just as hungry flies attack in swarms wounds brimming with blood, so from all sides the English rush to dance attendance on the king. Nor do they come with hands empty of gifts. All bring presents, bow their necks to the yoke, and kiss his feet on bended knees.”

They weren’t just seeking terms, they were bringing whatever tributes they could gather and prostrating themselves in whatever ways they thought might save them from the fate that so many other communities had suffered at the hands of these knights. Because of course they were. Their leadership had gathered all the warriors of the region, stuffed them into a central location, and refused to go out into the field and do the one thing they were duty bound to do. Protect their subjects.

These were people whose only real purpose was to peacekeep. Who drained the resources and treasure of their community on the promise to do that one job. And now, as mass murder was being carried out, they instead used those resources to hide and defend themselves and left everyone else to the tender mercy of the murderers. Seeing that happen appears to have been a breaking point for many communities.

And for one member of the English leadership, it appears to have broken him as well, because while William was at Wallingford, a familiar figure approached his encampment. Archbishop Stigand of Canterbury, the longtime friend and supporter of the House of Godwin, had seen enough. He was ready to submit and accept William as his overlord.

And the leadership back in London weren’t exactly eager to fight William so it wasn’t long before Archbishop Ealdred of York, Earls Edwin and Morcar, Bishop Wulfstan of Worcester, Bishop Walter of Hereford, most of the Elite of London, and of course, the young Edgar AEtheling, also came to submit to Duke William. Without fighting a single battle, the new Elite of England surrendered.

The Chronicle then tells us that William accepted the surrender after they provided oaths and hostages, and he promised he would be a good lord to them all. But this was William, and this was the Norman army. Once those formalities were over, and the English were left without any leadership, William and his army continued destroying the countryside and its peoples. Because this is who he was, and soon, he would wear the crown.

 

[Midnite Duke]

Gutless English nobles live in a greater hell than William. For they failed to do a lord's #1 duty: protect your subjects. You cannot be a king if there is no kingdom. Thanks

 

[Ruwaard]

King William the Conqueror former duke William the Bastard (say that in his presence to your own peril). Had to fight for his authority in his duchy from a young age, one of his guardians was killed, when he was still a child.
The destroying of the countryside had some practical reasons as well, he needed to feed his army, but also needed to assert his control over his new land. Destroying also had limitations, since he needed to reward not only his own Normans, but he had attracted support from all over northern part of the kingdom of France, from Flanders, Picardy, Champagne, Anjou etc. they too needed their rewards. For this you don't want a totally destroyed kingdom, there was a process, which lead up to the Harrying of the North. It was a response to a series of revolts against his rule, king William initially was relatively mild, becoming more harsher after each revolt. He had plenty experience with this given his youth in Normandy.
He was a conqueror with contested claim, but he also stressed the continuity with Edward the Confessor, not the for his case usurper Harold Godwinson. Edward the Confessor, who due to his exile after Cnut the Great had conquered, had spend almost half his life in Normandy. The Godwinsons OTOH rose to prominence under Cnut.
As such there were already Normans in England before the Conquest, brought in by Edward.
Back to William he was a far to good politically gifted warlord to just plunder and pillage for the sake of it, though brutal he did it to establish and reaffirm his rule and that of his dynasty.

 

[Darumaka]

King William the Conqueror former duke William the Bastard (say that in his presence to your own peril). Had to fight for his authority in his duchy from a young age, one of his guardians was killed, when he was still a child.
The destroying of the countryside had some practical reasons as well, he needed to feed his army, but also needed to assert his control over his new land. Destroying also had limitations, since he needed to reward not only his own Normans, but he had attracted support from all over northern part of the kingdom of France, from Flanders, Picardy, Champagne, Anjou etc. they too needed their rewards. For this you don't want a totally destroyed kingdom, there was a process, which lead up to the Harrying of the North. It was a response to a series of revolts against his rule, king William initially was relatively mild, becoming more harsher after each revolt. He had plenty experience with this given his youth in Normandy.
He was a conqueror with contested claim, but he also stressed the continuity with Edward the Confessor, not the for his case usurper Harold Godwinson. Edward the Confessor, who due to his exile after Cnut the Great had conquered, had spend almost half his life in Normandy. The Godwinsons OTOH rose to prominence under Cnut.
As such there were already Normans in England before the Conquest, brought in by Edward.
Back to William he was a far to good politically gifted warlord to just plunder and pillage for the sake of it, though brutal he did it to establish and reaffirm his rule and that of his dynasty.

The Domesday Book all but rejects your notion of him being "relatively mild." He was brutal from the start, all across Sussex, Kent, Surrey, Middlesex, and Hertfordshire lay tons of "wasted" towns. Depopulation plagued the Southeast following his landing and subsequent ravaging of the land. It was never mild. It was savagery unlike anything the English had seen before, and it only got worse with time. Even his biggest propagandist William of Poitiers tells us this despite his best attempts to hide it and justify, and both Orderic Vitalis and Bishop Guy of Amiens, as well as the Anglo-Saxon chronicle make it abundantly clear. The Normans chevauchee tactics which William had perfected in the mainland caused great destruction in England.

 

[Darumaka]

The Coronation

​

There had been a tragic misunderstanding when the English nobility submitted to the Bastard. When they accepted William as King, they thought of him essentially as a new Cnut. An outsider who would integrate with English society, and if they played their cards right, could ride the coattails of as Godwin had done with King Cnut. But William was different, he had no interest in how the English arranged their society, for in the eyes of the Normans that had no bearing or legitimacy. When William crossed the channel he claimed England. All of it.

While the oath of submission for the English was an oath of mutual bonds and obligation, of a negotiated relationship, to William it was but a full submission to him. All their rituals and oaths were but mere formalities to show their fealty. When the English made their oaths, they became vassals, vassals which coincidentally had just rebelled against him and thus forfeited all lands and titles. There was no negotiation, the other option was death.

So while the wealth class rushed to strike personal deals with the Duke, making excessive displays of submission, and providing support for the invaders, they were trying to rebrand themselves as collaborators in hopes they could make a profit out of his rampage, even as his knights pillaged and burned their way across the South. The people who were in the best position to organize a resistance were instead preying on each other, as any rewards they may receive would have been taken from fellow Englishmen. It was a short term strategy that, ironically, didn’t even have short term benefits for the majority of them. Many of them had just unknowingly forfeited their lands, and the few lucky enough to be given the chance to buy back their own lands were given eye-wateringly high prices as William inspired bidding wars for the seized titles. Norman Feudalism had come to England, and it was time to don his crown.

The matter of titles and land grants still hung in the air though. Most of the Norman, Breton, and French fighters who had joined him in this adventure to England had done so under the promise that once he had won the kingdom they would be given land, titles, and wealth. So now it was time to get paid and knights weren’t exactly known for being calm, understanding, and level headed. These were violent, ignorant, heavily armed rich kids who were obsessed with wealth and their fragile sense of honor. Every moment William delayed, he was withholding the wages they felt they were owed, and it was becoming less about money, and more about honor.

Then there were the English collaborators. The clergy expected to be rewarded for delivering God’s support, while the nobility expected so for standing down without a fight. And so these collaborators began “begging him to accept the crown according to English custom,” and they began putting pressure by refusing to pay taxes until the Duke was crowned, as this was because they were “accustomed to obey a king and wished to have a king as their lord.” So now with both his army and the aristocracy he had just conquered urging him on, William had no choice but to accept the ceremony.

In a deliberate effort to tie William to the House of Wessex it was decided that William would be crowned in London at King Edward’s church (Westminster Abbey). And in a deliberate effort to tie William to Jesus, it was decided he would be crowned on Christmas Day. William dispatched an advance force of knights to enter and occupy London in preparation for this happy occasion. He was concerned about the general mood in London, and so he instructed his knights to build a fortress in the city “as a defense against the inconstancy of the numerous and hostile inhabitants.” Though construction was not the sole duty of these knights, as they also spread out into the city in search of potential dissidents.

Now these violent and illiterate men began anxiously interacting with people they saw as lesser, dangerous, and foreign. Predictably, they insisted they “found many rebels determined to offer every possible resistance.” They were set loose with the authority to inflict violence upon anyone who they perceived as a threat, and they wielded that authority with glee. “Fighting followed immediately and thus London was plunged into mourning for the loss of her sons and citizens.” So the people of London, abandoned by their leaders, were now being preyed upon by men who were looking for any reason to attack the local population.

And then Christmas Day arrived. The sparse description provided about the event, and the focus on security and public suppression, suggests that this wasn’t a celebratory event. Westminster Abbey at this point in its history could only hold a few hundred people, so only those selected by Duke William and his advisors would have been allowed inside the building.

As for the atmosphere outside, virtually all of the residents of London remained at home because the Abbey was surrounded by knights. Likely the same knights who, only days earlier, had been killing anyone who looked at them funny.

We’re told the event was particularly extravagant, as that would have had the effect of displaying the power of the Normans while diminishing the memory of Harold Godwinson. Even William’s crown carried a message as it was especially commissioned from a continental craftsman in the likeness of the one used by Emperor Otto the Great of the Holy Roman Empire. It wasn’t the crown of an English King. It was the crown of a continental Emperor. This was a ritual meant to mark the break from the past and the start of a new era. A year zero. Not just for William, but for England.

The ceremony was conducted by Archbishop Ealdred of York and the Norman Bishop Geoffrey of Coutances. William was made to swear an oath to rule justly, according to the best customs and practices of his predecessors. And swear to maintain the law and forbid the violent seizure of property and any unjust judgments. An easy oath to make for the sort of man who believes that as King everything he does is just, by definition. Then he was bestowed with a crown, a ring, and anointed with consecrated oil.

After the anointing, Archbishop Ealdred turned to the congregation inside the Abbey and, speaking in Old English, asked them if it was their desire to see William as their King. The English speakers in the crowd affirmed, though it seems they did so solemnly.

Next, Bishop Geoffrey speaking in French asked the same question of the assembled French and Norman aristocrats, and this time we’re told that there was a great shout of joy from the assembly.

Meanwhile, outside the Abbey, the large force of mounted heavily armed knights waited. Despite the fact that it was Christmas Day, the city was probably eerily quiet. It was unlikely that Londoners had much to celebrate, and even the Norman accounts speak of how the city was thrown into mourning after the behavior of this Duke and his knights. But eventually, the coronation reached its end, signaled by the cries of celebration echoing from within the Abbey…

Taking it as their cue, the assembled knights unsheathed their swords, lit their torches, and began to burn and pillage the city.

 

[Darumaka]

Gutless English nobles live in a greater hell than William. For they failed to do a lord's #1 duty: protect your subjects. You cannot be a king if there is no kingdom. Thanks

This is a trend that they will continue on perpetuating sadly.

 

[Ruwaard]

The Domesday Book all but rejects your notion of him being "relatively mild." He was brutal from the start, all across Sussex, Kent, Surrey, Middlesex, and Hertfordshire lay tons of "wasted" towns. Depopulation plagued the Southeast following his landing and subsequent ravaging of the land. It was never mild. It was savagery unlike anything the English had seen before, and it only got worse with time. Even his biggest propagandist William of Poitiers tells us this despite his best attempts to hide it and justify, and both Orderic Vitalis and Bishop Guy of Amiens, as well as the Anglo-Saxon chronicle make it abundantly clear. The Normans chevauchee tactics which William had perfected in the mainland caused great destruction in England.

That it got worse with time, that I hopefully did clarify, each revolt was responded by a harsher response. Until he finally had his authority recognised. Savagery, I really doubt that the distant kinsmen of the Normans, Vikings, weren't as bad. I also wrote relatively mild, he wasn't more brutal in England as he had been crushing the revolts in Normandy. It's exactly there were he learned to perfect such tactics, he had to, otherwise he would have lost his duchy.
Still the later Harrying of the North, is an escalation, which can be explained by all the previous revolts, brutal by Norman standards, the destruction in the Southwest, especially in the Godwinson dynastic home land, had certainly, before Hastings a military value.

I'm sorry to be an Advocatus Diaboli here, since I really like your TL a lot.

 

[Ruwaard]

This is a trend that they will continue on perpetuating sadly.

I tend to agree with the reading, that this pillage started with a mistake, not a deliberate cue, or that it encompassed soldiers, who felt that they hadn't received the reward they felt their due.

Edit: the Godwinsons were originally from Sussex, so the Southwest, destroying their powerbase was fair game. There was a difference between Normandy and England, even though Normandy had their share of revolts early in his reign, it eventually became a base of power for the duke. In England he needed to put down more revolts and only gradually saw his authority expand. Naturally winning these revolts helped as well, after every revolt Anglo-Saxons were replaced by Normans (including Norh Frenchmen, Breton and Flemish).

Too bad Edward the Confessor couldn't pass England on to Edgar the Atheling, then England might very well have Normanized in a bit, but on their own accord kinda like what happened in Scotland once David I became king of Scots.

 

[Darumaka]

That it got worse with time, that I hopefully did clarify, each revolt was responded by a harsher response. Until he finally had his authority recognised. Savagery, I really doubt that the distant kinsmen of the Normans, Vikings, weren't as bad. I also wrote relatively mild, he wasn't more brutal in England as he had been crushing the revolts in Normandy. It's exactly there were he learned to perfect such tactics, he had to, otherwise he would have lost his duchy.
Still the later Harrying of the North, is an escalation, which can be explained by all the previous revolts, brutal by Norman standards, the destruction in the Southwest, especially in the Godwinson dynastic home land, had certainly, before Hastings a military value.

I'm sorry to be an Advocatus Diaboli here, since I really like your TL a lot.

I'd be willing to die on the hill that the Vikings were nowhere near as brutal as the Normans were, even in their initial "mild" rampage in the South. You could argue William's treatment of Sussex was indeed a tactic to lure Harold in haste before he could gather a large enough army, and that those of Middlesex and Hertfordshire were to destroy the morale in London, but then you have Kent and Surrey, and even in places he had interest in keeping like Dover, William and his men were just as brutal as in the other shires. It was indiscriminate.

I tend to agree with the reading, that this pillage started with a mistake, not a deliberate cue, or that it encompassed soldiers, who felt that they received the reward they felt their due.

The burning of London? Quite possibly. Even his closest followers abandoned him in the Abbey once the commotion started rather than ensuring his safety. Loyalty was in short supply in his army, and he didn't really control them. Still, while I too believe London was likely not a command of his, it is not out of the norm from what he had been ordering them during his campaign.

Don't worry about being a devil's advocate lol. I think it's more fun if people disagree, and accounts from the conquest are very opaque as many of the writers sought to portray it in a better light. It's hard to know where the truth really lies, but as this is a timeline from the view of the English, I'm siding with the accepted brutal take rather than the forgiving one.

 

[Ruwaard]

I'm not disputing the Normans couldn't be brutal, but I do disagree, that they were brutal for brutalities sake. Hence why refer to the background of William. What's accepted about that take, I'm not taking the forgiving one either, IMHO the truth is in the middle. And even if it was brutal at times, given their minority of the population, at times, they really were limited in their options. It wasn't only an administration fed up with results, but also fully aware that there was a small Norman aristocracy and that the Anglo-Saxon ones could not be trusted (given their likeliness to revolt), while the Francophone "Norman" aristocracy were all William's men, since they needed him to personally survive.

 

[Darumaka]

I'm actually unsure if I should continue the timeline of events in such a detailed manner. I feel this may detract some people from reading as I'm not using too many pictures, nor talking about new things. It's also taking quite a while as many events did take place and I wanted to give them their proper due. Maybe I'll continue the timeline as is, and then start a new thread once the events of the run actually start, so that it's all gameplay, all while linking this thread so people know where to find the backstory if they wish to.

 

[Ruwaard]

I'm actually unsure if I should continue the timeline of events in such a detailed manner. I feel this may detract some people from reading as I'm not using too many pictures, nor talking about new things. It's also taking quite a while as many events did take place and I wanted to give them their proper due. Maybe I'll continue the timeline as is, and then start a new thread once the events of the run actually start, so that it's all gameplay, all while linking this thread so people know where to find the backstory if they wish to.

I hope my nuances didn't bring you to this. It only wanted me to place your ''villains'' in perspective. Don't get discouraged by my overexcitement