1035 – Alfred and Edward, the sons of Ethelred the Unready, are killed by Harold Harefoot.
8 June 1042 – King Hathacnut dies and is buried in Winchester.
10 July 1042 – Witenagemot meets and after argument Godwin is elected as the new king. Emma of Normandy immediately flees for Normandy and is offered a place in Duke Williams court. Whilst she presses for William to take on Godwin he never makes serious plans to invade England, preferring to take on the French King instead.
12 July 1042 – The new king confirms the five earldoms, Northumbria, Mercia, East Anglia, Wessex and Kent. Harold is named Heir and is given the Earldom of East Anglia. His brothers Tosnig and Sweyn and are named Earls of Mercia and Wessex. The Earldom of Kent is kept by the King and London is named as the new capital. Over the next year the King’s council finalises the internal borders of the Earldom.
1 April 1043 – King Godwin is crowned in Winchester.
10 May 1043 – King Magnus lands in Durham with an invasion army, he is resisted by Sigurd, the Earl of Northumbria but defeats and kills the Earl at the Battle of Ryhope.
23 July 1043 – King Godwin marches his army north and meets Magnus’s forces outside of York. In a two day battle Godwin defeats the Norse invaders and pushes the remains of the invading army towards the sea. Tosnig is named the new Earl of Northumbria, whilst Godwin’s son Gyrth is named the new Earl of Mercia.
27 July 1043 – Magus flees to Denmark, leaving the majority of his remaining troops behind. Whilst some choose to die fighting the majority surrender to Godwin.
5 August 1043 – King Godwin consecrates a new cathedral in London to mark his victory over the Danes. St Pauls Cathedral takes 80 years to finish.
10 December 1043 – The King issues the Naval Proclamation. Each Earldom is to furnish 5 ships, fully provisioned and manned to patrol the German Sea to stop the Danes and Norwegians from invading. Over the next year the port of Kingston upon Hull (normally just called Hull) is built to house these ships. By 1050 the Sea Earl (Harold) is in command of 30 ships.
1044 – 1049 – The Welsh Wars. Various Welsh earls and Princes invade over Offa’s Dyke. Godwin and his sons defeat each trust, but Hereford is burnt to the ground and Worcester is under siege for a month before a relief arrives. Eventually a peace treaty is signed where Godwin recognises Gruffydd Llewelyn as King of the Welsh.
4 April 1048 – Sea Earl Harold meets the Norse invasion fleet of Harold Hardrada of the cost of Yorkshire. In a day long battle the Norse ships are systematically destroyed by the English navy. Hardrada is captured by the English, but dies of his wounds later that night. Of the 50 ships that left Norway only 2 returned, of the 27 English ships 14 are declared unseaworthy but only one was sunk.
6 March 1052 – Emma of Normandy, mother of Alfred and Edward, dies in Duke William the Bastards court.
15 April 1053 – King Godwin dies of a stroke, his son Harold is proclaimed King by the Witenagemot.
2 June 1053 – King Harold splits the navy into two fleets, the German Fleet (based in Hull) which has 20 ships and the Southern Fleet of 10 ships based out of London. In 1065 a third fleet of 5 ships is created in Southampton, this is called the French Fleet. Edwin, the son of a previous Earl of Mercia is named Sea Earl.
March 1056 – News that Edward the Exile, son of Edmund Ironside, is alive reaches the London. Harold sends envoys to Edmund summoning him home.
1 May 1056 – Edward is given Earldom of Kent in return for swearing loyalty to Harold and renouncing all claims on the throne for himself and his progeny.
April 1057 – King Harold and his brother Tosnig (Earl of Northumbria) launch a joint invasion of Wales. The Welsh are routed and Wales is forced into submission. Harold demanded tributes and hostages. The Welsh murder Gruffydd Llewelyn and give his head to Harold as part of the tribute. Bleddyn Cynfyn is installed as Prince of the Welsh and swears loyalty and fidelity to Harold.
3 November 1057 – Tosnig leads forces into Wales at the behest of Prince Bleddyn who has failed to put down a revolt of northern Princes. Tosnig is killed in battle, however the rebels are defeated. Harold appoints several of his most loyal Thanes to rule over the rebel areas. Thane Alfred of Snowdon builds the first “Norman” castle in England after he had seen such structures on a visit to Normandy the previous year.
1057 – 1100 – Castles are built in York (capital of Northumbria), Newcastle, Carlisle, Hereford, Oxford (capital of Mercia) , Norfolk (capital of East Anglia), London and Southampton.
1 March 1058 – King Harold brings his troops to the Tamar. The four year old King Dungarth of Cornwall is in no position to rally forces to his banner and his regent (his mother) surrenders to Harold without a fight. Harold proclaims that Cornwall is now an Earldom within England and having named Dungarth the Earl takes him to London, leaving his brother Leofwine as the new regent.
5 July 1058 – King Harold summons all Earls and Thanes of England to a feast in London, were he proclaims his Kingship of all England. His brother-in-law Malcolm III of Scotland, who had married Harold sister Edith in 1048 was invited but declined to attend. As a matter of courtesy however he did stop raiding Northumbrian towns for the summer.
8 June 1042 – King Hathacnut dies and is buried in Winchester.
10 July 1042 – Witenagemot meets and after argument Godwin is elected as the new king. Emma of Normandy immediately flees for Normandy and is offered a place in Duke Williams court. Whilst she presses for William to take on Godwin he never makes serious plans to invade England, preferring to take on the French King instead.
12 July 1042 – The new king confirms the five earldoms, Northumbria, Mercia, East Anglia, Wessex and Kent. Harold is named Heir and is given the Earldom of East Anglia. His brothers Tosnig and Sweyn and are named Earls of Mercia and Wessex. The Earldom of Kent is kept by the King and London is named as the new capital. Over the next year the King’s council finalises the internal borders of the Earldom.
1 April 1043 – King Godwin is crowned in Winchester.
10 May 1043 – King Magnus lands in Durham with an invasion army, he is resisted by Sigurd, the Earl of Northumbria but defeats and kills the Earl at the Battle of Ryhope.
23 July 1043 – King Godwin marches his army north and meets Magnus’s forces outside of York. In a two day battle Godwin defeats the Norse invaders and pushes the remains of the invading army towards the sea. Tosnig is named the new Earl of Northumbria, whilst Godwin’s son Gyrth is named the new Earl of Mercia.
27 July 1043 – Magus flees to Denmark, leaving the majority of his remaining troops behind. Whilst some choose to die fighting the majority surrender to Godwin.
5 August 1043 – King Godwin consecrates a new cathedral in London to mark his victory over the Danes. St Pauls Cathedral takes 80 years to finish.
10 December 1043 – The King issues the Naval Proclamation. Each Earldom is to furnish 5 ships, fully provisioned and manned to patrol the German Sea to stop the Danes and Norwegians from invading. Over the next year the port of Kingston upon Hull (normally just called Hull) is built to house these ships. By 1050 the Sea Earl (Harold) is in command of 30 ships.
1044 – 1049 – The Welsh Wars. Various Welsh earls and Princes invade over Offa’s Dyke. Godwin and his sons defeat each trust, but Hereford is burnt to the ground and Worcester is under siege for a month before a relief arrives. Eventually a peace treaty is signed where Godwin recognises Gruffydd Llewelyn as King of the Welsh.
4 April 1048 – Sea Earl Harold meets the Norse invasion fleet of Harold Hardrada of the cost of Yorkshire. In a day long battle the Norse ships are systematically destroyed by the English navy. Hardrada is captured by the English, but dies of his wounds later that night. Of the 50 ships that left Norway only 2 returned, of the 27 English ships 14 are declared unseaworthy but only one was sunk.
6 March 1052 – Emma of Normandy, mother of Alfred and Edward, dies in Duke William the Bastards court.
15 April 1053 – King Godwin dies of a stroke, his son Harold is proclaimed King by the Witenagemot.
2 June 1053 – King Harold splits the navy into two fleets, the German Fleet (based in Hull) which has 20 ships and the Southern Fleet of 10 ships based out of London. In 1065 a third fleet of 5 ships is created in Southampton, this is called the French Fleet. Edwin, the son of a previous Earl of Mercia is named Sea Earl.
March 1056 – News that Edward the Exile, son of Edmund Ironside, is alive reaches the London. Harold sends envoys to Edmund summoning him home.
1 May 1056 – Edward is given Earldom of Kent in return for swearing loyalty to Harold and renouncing all claims on the throne for himself and his progeny.
April 1057 – King Harold and his brother Tosnig (Earl of Northumbria) launch a joint invasion of Wales. The Welsh are routed and Wales is forced into submission. Harold demanded tributes and hostages. The Welsh murder Gruffydd Llewelyn and give his head to Harold as part of the tribute. Bleddyn Cynfyn is installed as Prince of the Welsh and swears loyalty and fidelity to Harold.
3 November 1057 – Tosnig leads forces into Wales at the behest of Prince Bleddyn who has failed to put down a revolt of northern Princes. Tosnig is killed in battle, however the rebels are defeated. Harold appoints several of his most loyal Thanes to rule over the rebel areas. Thane Alfred of Snowdon builds the first “Norman” castle in England after he had seen such structures on a visit to Normandy the previous year.
1057 – 1100 – Castles are built in York (capital of Northumbria), Newcastle, Carlisle, Hereford, Oxford (capital of Mercia) , Norfolk (capital of East Anglia), London and Southampton.
1 March 1058 – King Harold brings his troops to the Tamar. The four year old King Dungarth of Cornwall is in no position to rally forces to his banner and his regent (his mother) surrenders to Harold without a fight. Harold proclaims that Cornwall is now an Earldom within England and having named Dungarth the Earl takes him to London, leaving his brother Leofwine as the new regent.
5 July 1058 – King Harold summons all Earls and Thanes of England to a feast in London, were he proclaims his Kingship of all England. His brother-in-law Malcolm III of Scotland, who had married Harold sister Edith in 1048 was invited but declined to attend. As a matter of courtesy however he did stop raiding Northumbrian towns for the summer.
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