Please enable JavaScript.
Coggle requires JavaScript to display documents.
Revolts of the Earls - Coggle Diagram
Revolts of the Earls
-
-
The defeat of the revolt
Ralph escaped to Brittany, leaving his wife, Emma, to hold out in Norwich castle, which had very strong defences, until her and her followers were given safe passage to Brittany too.
Waltheof fled abroad, before William tricked him into coming back, saying that he would be forgiven if he submitted to the king. But when Waltheof came back, he was imprisoned and then executed in May 1076 at Winchester.
William imprisoned Roger for life before returning to Normandy to attack Ralph's castle, but he experienced strong resistance and had to retreat.
The events of the revolt
Ralph's wedding feast
When Ralph married Emma, Roger de Brutiel's sister, there was a huge wedding feast. Important men from all around the country were invited, including Waltheof. It was at this feast that Roger and Ralph told him their plans. Between the three of them, their lands spread from west to east and from the far north to the Midlands.
Ralph and Roger were looking for support from the Danish fleet and realised that Waltheof would be a key recruit in gaining this support. He was the last-surviving Anglo-Saxon earl and had strong connections with the king of Denmark. The rebels also timed their revolt at a time when William was away, with Archbishop Lanfranc in charge.
The plan unfolds
Unfortunately for the earls, their plan did not get much support and the Danish fleet arrived too late.
Waltheof thought better of getting involved and informed Archbishop Lanfranc. Lanfranc then sent men to find out what was happening and they reported back, telling him that the rebels were strengthening their defences and building up troops
Lanfranc wrote letters to Roger to convince him not to attack, reminding him of his father position and loyalty but Roger ignored them and carried on his plans. Lanfranc then excommunicated Roger from the church until he gave his plans up, but he didn't.
In the West, Bishop Wulfstan and the abbot of Evesham used their troops to stop Roger from crossing the Severn River, trapping him in Herefordshire. In the East, the Normans and Anglo-Saxons joined together to stop Ralph from breaking out of East Anglia.
William then returned to England at the same time as the Danish fleet arrived. The Danish fleet could have stretched the Norman defences to their limits but they were too late. The leaders of the fleet, Cnut and Earl Hakon 'dared not join battle with William himself
The conspirators
the revolt of 1075 was different form the rebellions of 1068-71 because it included Normans rebelling against William and Anglo-Saxons defending their king. For that reason, the revolt of the Norman Earl's but it was more complex than that
The rebellion's leader was Ralph de Gael, Earl of East Anglia. Ralph plotted with Roger de Berteuil