The End of the Anglo-Saxons

In 924 Athelstan, grandson of Alfred the Great, became king. In 937 he fought against an army of Irish Vikings, Scots and Strathclyde Britons at Brunanburh, and won. The north was now firmly under Saxon control. Athelstan was the first Saxon king to command loyalty from the whole of Britain.

Athelstan was concerned with good government and he also declared that one coinage was to be used. The burghs set up around the country were now to become the centres of local government with earldormen ruling in the king's name. This meant that places such as Hereford would have become the administrative centre for the area surrounding it.

After Athelstan died in 939, his successors, Edmund and Eadred had to fight new Viking raiders. England was not at peace again until Edgar became king of Wessex in 959. One of the important effects of Edgar's reign was that he set up courts to keep law and order. The Church was also subject to changes at this time. Until now Monasteries had been run by monks who had started to get into bad habits and so a new set of strict rules was drawn up, which monks had to live by.

Edgar died in 975 and England was once again thrown into turmoil. Edgar's son, Edward, became king and a comet was seen (a symbol of bad luck) followed by a period of famine. In 978 Edgar was murdered, some say by his step-brother Æthelred and his thegns. Æthelred (nicknamed the 'Unready') was proclaimed king and Edgar was made a martyr. Just two years later the Viking raids began again and Æthelred tried to buy them off. First he paid them 'Danegeld' (money raised by taxes) and then he gave the Danish soldiers land on the condition that they now fight for him and not against him. However, the soldiers wanted more and in retaliation Æthelred ordered a massacre of Danes living in England. This severely angered the Danish King, Sweyn Forkbeard.

In 1013 Sweyn's army ravaged England and Æthelred was forced to flee to Normandy in France. The English nobles asked Sweyn to be their king and he accepted only to die in 1014 before being crowned. Æthelred returned but died two years later.

Sweyn's son Cnut (or Canute) now led the Danish army in England and he came up against Æthelred's son Edmund Ironside. Edmund fought the Danes so bravely that Cnut agreed to share the kingdom with him to put an end to all the fighting. Unfortunately, Edmund died within months of being made ruler and Cnut was free to rule England on his own. By this time Cnut had also married the widow of Æthelred.

England was now part of a North Sea empire, with Denmark and Norway, and Cnut's power was recognised by the Welsh, Scots and Irish. Cnut brought peace to England but through his rule also weakened royal power. As he was ruler of such a large area he was often away visiting his other lands and he left the government of England in the hands of his trusted earls.

Power Struggles

Cnut's reign ended with his death in 1035 and for the next 30 years numerous rivals schemed for the crown of England. Cnut had left three sons: Harthacnut (by Emma, widow of Æthelred), Sweyn and Harold (by another wife). Emma also had two other sons by Æthelred and there was also competition between the great English earls as to who should succeed. Emma campaigned for her sons in Normandy. One of whom came to England, where he was attacked, blinded and later died. In the end Harold became king but he died in 1040. Harthacnut took over but died in 1042. There were now no more Danish kings of England. Edward, son of Æthelred the Unready, came from Normandy to take the throne.

Edward was more Norman than English in nature and he brought with him a group of Norman advisors. This caused much resentment and jealousy amongst the English nobles and even the marriage of Edward to Earl Godwin of Wessex's daughter did not bring peace. However, many people respected Edward even though he was not a strong ruler. In 1053 Earl Godwin died and his son Harold became Earl of Wessex. Harold, like his father, disliked Edward and did not respect his rule.

Edward was very religious and because of his liking for confessing his sins he was nicknamed 'The Confessor'. Edward's marriage produced no heirs and once again no-one knew who would become his successor. The man with the power in England was Harold, Earl of Wessex but William, a Norman noble also laid claim to the throne, among other contenders.

Both William and Harold appeared to have valid claim to the throne. Harold was the most powerful English Earl, he had the support of the Whitan (Anglo-Saxon parliament) and he was said to have been named by Edward as his successor in the year that he died (there is even a scene in the Bayeux Tapestry which appears to depict this event). William was the son of Duke Robert of Normandy, he had the support of the Church in Rome and also claimed that Edward had named him as heir. Left: Detail from the Bayeux Tapestry which appears to depict Harold on the throne of England. The writing above his head reads: 'Here sits Harold King of England'.

The Normans Invade

Edward the Confessor died in January 1066 and the Whitan chose Harold as king. However, William was a ruthless soldier and he was determined to fight for the crown. Before these town men could meet in battle another contender stepped up to make his claim. Harald Hardrada of Norway landed in the North of England with the support of Harold's brother Tostig. Tostig had previously caused problems with the Northumbrians and so Harold had been forced to send him away and he left to join Harald Hardrada's army.

Harold led his men north to fight the Norwegians at the battle of Stamford Bridge near York. The English were victorious and Harald Hardrada and Tostig were both killed in the fighting. then came the news that Harold had been dreading - William had landed in Sussex. Harold and his weary army headed south and on the 14th October 1006, the English and the Normans met on Senlac Hill near Hastings. Harold was killed in battle by an arrow through the eye and on Christmas Day 1066, William was crowned King of England. The Anglo-Saxon period was over and a new society was ready to take its place. Left: A statue of William the Conqueror in Falaise, Normandy.

The End of Anglo-Saxon Herefordshire

Prior to the Conquest of England in 1066 Herefordshire had already become home to a handful of Norman lords who were favourites and acquaintances of Edward the Confessor. Some of of these Normans even built castles and Herefordshire is home to three out only four pre-Conquest castles in England. Ewyas Harold Castle was built in c.1050 and Hereford Castle and Richard's castle were built in 1052.

Harold Godwinson owned large areas of land in Herefordshire and on his death at the Battle of Hastings these lands would have passed into the control of William the Conqueror. Harold was most probably joined in Battle by his most faithful thegns form Herefordshire and after their defeat those that survived would have most likely found their lands forfeited to William, and so many chose not to return home.

By the time of the Domesday Book in 1086 only two Englishmen are noted as still holding considerable lands, and that is out of a total of 36 landowners recorded for Herefordshire. They are Edric of Leysters and Aelmer, who judging by their lands, had once been important Anglo-Saxon men. For one reason or another they had managed to keep hold of their lands even after the Normans had moved in. That is not to say that other Englishmen did not hold land. The Domesday Book mentions other Englishmen and sometimes women who are recorded as being tenants of the Norman lords even the King himself. These Englishmen are in the minority and the overall effect is the displacement of the original English land owners in favour of the Normans.

However, Herefordshire was not just prepared to lie down and let the Normans take control and there was organised resistance to the 'foreigners' in the county. One particular Anglo-Saxon in this area particularly opposed to the Normans and mentioned in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle in 1067 is Edric the Wild. Edric was a large landowner in Herefordshire and Shropshire and his lands are recorded in the Domesday Book. He was not in favour of the idea of forfeiting his lands to William and so he joined forces with the Welsh Kings Rhiwallon and Bleddyn and together they made raids in Herefordshire up to the River Lugg.

The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle says:

'And Prince Eadric and the Welsh became hostile and they attacked the castle-men in Hereford, and did them many injuries. And here the king set a great tax on the wretched people'.

Whether the ordinary commoner of Herefordshire would have joined these rebellions is unsure. They had no large areas of land that were at threat and the raids risked the little property that they had and there was even the possibility of enslavement by their supposed Welsh allies if they were unsuccessful.

Those Anglo-Saxons who did choose to fight would have found themselves up against a new and efficient type of military for the Normans were people with a military mind. The most obvious manifestation of their military prowess was the castle. Castles had never been seen in England before the Norman Conquest and they were probably the best way to guard against the English and Welsh raids. A castle could be used defensively to protect the lord and his men at times of attack and it could also be used on the offensive as a base from which to mount a raid into enemy territory and a handy headquarters for your troops and weapons. A castle could also be used to house hostages, who were an extremely important bartering tool at times of war.

Richard's Castle in the North of Herefordshire © Chris Musson

As has already been mentioned there were only four Norman castles in England prior to the Norman Conquest and three of these were in Herefordshire (Ewyas Harold, Hereford and Richard's Castle). This indicates the importance of Herefordshire as a county on the border between the conquered and the unconquered (the Welsh). It was an area that was not only used as a buffer zone against the Welsh raids but was also used as a base for expeditions by the Normans into Wales with the view of oppressing them. Right: Location map showing the distribution of castles and mottes in Herefordshire. The map shows a distinct grouping of sites on the western border where the threat from the Welsh would have been greatest.

In a short period of time the Normans had become the major landowners and the men in charge of administration and justice. The Normans were also responsible for the end of slavery in England as they absorbed this section of society into the class that they called 'villeins'. These were men who were free but 'owed' service to their local lord, such as work on his lands. The Domesday Survey for Herefordshire lists 1, 730 villeins out of a population of 4,453. There are also 739 serfs or servants listed but these would be freemen attached to a particular lord.

The castles and military nature of the Normans eventually led to the suppression of the Welsh, although they never actually managed to conquer them just exist 'peacefully' alongside them. The Welsh had been posing an ever present threat since before the Roman Conquest.

They had quickly put their stamp on English society but the changes didn't extend to all areas of life. Most place names continued with their Anglo-Saxon origins although a few had Norman personal names attached, such as Edwyn Ralph and Mansell Lacy. Norman French may have become the administrative and judicial language but in everyday life Anglo-Saxon English continued to be spoken, and even today we are known as England and English rather than Normandy and French.

MG