Harrying of the North (AQA GCSE History)

Summary

Harrying is an old term that means to lay waste or completely destroy something. Historians regard the Harrying of the North in 1069-1070 as the most brutal element of William's consolidation of power. An early twelfth-century chronicle by Orderic Vitalis, a Normandy monk, stated that William:

"cut down many in his vengeance; destroyed the lairs of others; harried the land and burned homes to ashes. Nowhere else had William shown such cruelty"

Harrying was not uncommon in the eleventh century. William harried the Earldom of Wessex to remove the influence of the house of Godwin. William's march on London and the destruction of Wessex did not cause as much public outrage as William's actions in the North. William harried the North in response to a rebellion that gathered the support of Danish invaders and the King of Scotland. The brutality of William’s actions had terrible and lasting consequences for the people of northern England and also illustrated William’s ruthless determination to hold on to the English throne. 

Why did William Harry the North?

• The north of England is geographically remote from London which was one reason why it was difficult for English kings to control

  • In recent centuries it had formed part of the Viking Danelaw and was ruled as a separate country from England

  • Many of the people in the north were descended from Vikings and had a culture that was closer to the Danes than the Normans or Anglo-Saxons

• When Edwin and Morcar rebelled in 1868, it was to the north of England that they fled and began to gather support

  • Edgar the Aetheling, whom Edwin and Morcar planned to put on the throne, began to build a power base in the north 

  • He married the daughter of Malcolm, the King of Scotland, and won Scottish support for his claim

• In January 1869, William appointed Robert of Commines as an earl and gave him the task of bringing the north under Norman control

  • Robert of Commines travelled north accompanied by an army but was attacked and murdered when he reached Durham

• In the summer of 1069, Edgar was joined by a fleet of 240 Danish ships who joined him in capturing York and defeating the Normans who had been garrisoned in the city

• Edgar had become a genuine threat and rival to William’s rule

Short-term impacts of the Harrying of the North

• William took decisive and brutal action to remove the threat

  • First, he paid the Vikings an enormous sum to leave England and return to Denmark

  • Without their Viking allies, the Anglo-Saxon rebels fled from William’s soldiers

• Next, he ordered that a large area surrounding York have all its animals slaughtered, all of its villages and crops burned and its lands salted 

  • The salting meant they were unable to grow any more crops to replace what had been burned

    • This led to widespread starvation across the region 

• It has been estimated that between 100,000 and 150,000 people died in the winter of 1069-70 

  • This was due to a combination of lack of food and lack of shelter during the harsh northern winter

• As well as causing enormous suffering, the harrying also removed the threat he faced from the combined northern rebellion and Danish invasion

Long-term impacts of the Harrying of the North

• The impacts of the harrying were long-lasting for the people who lived in and around York

• The wealth of the North continued to decline during the remainder of William’s reign

  • When the Domesday Book was collated over 15 years later in 1086, around 80% of Yorkshire was described as ‘waste’ and having no value because crops could not be grown

• William may have intended to punish the people of northern England and teach them a lesson

  • If it was intended to serve as an example and prevent any other rebellions in other parts of England, it failed

  • Rebellions against Norman rule continued, most notable under Hereward the Wake and the Normal Earls