The battle of Caldbeck 1066

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Deleted member 5719

Here's a transfer the wiki I was writing a few years back,

Let slip the dogs of war
William must have looked around in desperation for Eustace of Boulogne as he frantically tried to rally his fleeing Flemish allies. Maelcun of Exeter tells us that, up on the hill, the Saxons were exultant and that “though weary we bayed like hounds to lick the Frenchmen’s blood”.

William had staved off catastrophe earlier in the day when, thanks in great part to the timely arrival of their leader Alan Fergant, he had rallied the Breton contingent on his left flank. The English force would break down the hill at any moment, he knew that if he could rally the Flemings he would cut the English to pieces once they’d left their defensive position on top of Caldbeck hill. Perhaps he wondered if the famously devious Count Eustace had double-crossed him.


But as William turned back towards the English line he can have had no doubt as to his vassal’s fate. Above the shield wall flew the battered and bloodied papal standard he had entrusted to Eustace. The Flemish count had strayed too close to the English line and been hacked to bits by a “snatch squad” commanded by Harold’s brother Gyrth, who had been sent to the left to provide disciplined troops on the flank after the disastrous pursuit of the Bretons.


Far to Williams left the Bretons were again fleeing, leaving Fergant and his elite bodyguards to be chopped to pieces by English axemen. In the centre, William’s brother Bishop Odo was wavering, awaiting orders from his temporal master.


Then Harold released the hounds.


From "The Atlantic Isles" by Leofwine Rabinowitz. EBC Video (c) 1994.
 

Deleted member 5719

1066

POD: 14/10/1066, 10:34 Harold Godwinson seethes with rage as he watches the Normans dispatch the last of the ill-disciplined troops from his right flank, who had foolishly pursued the fleeing Bretons down into the marshy ground below Caldbeck hill. He resolves to dispatch his brother Leofwine to that flank, with a handful of hand-picked huscarles, to keep the rabble in line. As an afterthought he sends his brother Gyrth to the left to prevent the same thing happening there. A young Devon Briton, Maelcun ap Geront, is amongst Gyrth's contingent. He would later write the only first hand account of the battle. 14/10/1066, 10:40-11:15
As Gyrth and Leofwine take position, an accurate but ineffectual barrage of arrows is fired at the English lines. Very few casualties.

14/10/1066, 11:15-13:00
The Normans send wave after wave of cavalry crashing into the English lines. The huge danish axes of the English (a mixture of Anglo-Saxons, Anglo-Danes and a Anglo-Britons, with a few Irish exiles thrown in for good measure) bring down horses and men and cause terrible carnage, particularly amongst the Breton and Flemish contingents, who always seem to be ordered to the areas of strongest defence. Many now believe that William was attempting to lure the best troops down on to lower ground in pursuit of his weakest troops, in effect trying to "buy a wicket". Leofwine, Gyrth and Harold ensure calm prevails and the Normans are forced to keep bringing the battle to the English, secure on the hilltop. Casualties are high on the English side, but Duke William's men have lost a fifth of their strength.
14/10/1066, 13:15-35
William leads a charge at a weak point in the wall, just left of the English centre. It is a serious misjudgment. He loses half his bodygaurds and takes 20 minutes fighting for his life to extricate himself. Only a simultaneous attack by the Flemish on the English left stops him being surrounded and killed.
14/10/1066, 13:20-30
Seeing the need to support William. Eustace of Boulogne leads the battered and tired Flemish knights in an attack on the English left flank, commanded by Gyrth Godwinson. According to Maelcun, who claims to have been present in the fierce melee, Gyrth sees the papal standard at the back of the attacking group and attempts to hack a path through to the count. With his picked men Gyrth drives forward to his objective and, just as the Flemish seem ready to retreat again, finds himself looking up at the side profile of the count, sword in hand and with his right arm raised to strike.

At that moment a Dubliner (apparently of North African ancestry) called Ceannath Dhu strikes the counts horse in the head with his axe. The count falls, dropping the standard, and is probably dispatched by Ceanneth or a Wessexman called Edmund. The Flemish retreat in disarray. But amazingly, Gyrth has the presence of mind to hold the line before the pursuit has gone too far. The standard is taken to Harold by Edmund of Ebsfleet.

14/10/1066, 13:40
William tries to rally his own men and the fleeing Flemish to the right of the English line. The Flemish have seen their leader hacked down and have born the brunt of the attacks, they cant be stopped. Another Charge is underway led by Alan Behan on the Norman left. About this time Harold raises the papal banner and the Bretons start to break. Bishop Odo is in the centre, with the norman infantry and some cavalry. The archers are shifting to the back, and will run if they have the chance.

14/10/1066, 13:42-15:00
Harold throws caution to the wind as the Bretons break. He orders a charge down the valley, gambling that the Flemish are out of the picture. The screaming English pursue the Bretons and Odo charges to meet them. The archers bolt, as do sections of the infantry. Odo's cavalry are smashed by sheer numbers and the infantry deteriorates into scattered pockets of resistence. William rejoins the battle with what Norman troops will follow him, but flees after the death of Odo.

14/10/1066, until nightfall
Half the Norman Army was destroyed. Of that which remained the majority were militarily useless archers who had run early and Breton and Flemish knights. There was no longer an army, just terrified men, left to their own devices, their ships blockaded in Hastings harbour. With no hope of escape, contingents of knights were trapped on enemy soil awaiting capture.
A group of Flemish mercenaries see a chance to make good their escape. Meeting their former master fleeing the battlefield, they kill William's 2 remaining bodyguards and take him prisoner. A Frisian man-at-arms is sent to Harolds camp to offer fealty and William in exchange for safe passage home. Harold accepts their conditions and William is in his power the next day.
15/10/1066
William is handed over by the Flemings, who are escorted to london by a detatchment of fyrdmen. New detatchments of fyrdmen and better trained troops from the midlands arrive throughout the day.A brutal mopping up operation gets underway. Very few of William's army will see their homes again, the Normans will pay dearly for the ravaging of Sussex.
The dejected, wounded William and the furious Harold talk for two hours in Harold's tent. The two men have a fierce argument in French. In attendance are Maelcun and Ceanneth Dhu. Specifically chosen as guards for their loyalty and their complete unfamiliarity with the French language. The two warlords argue fiercely and at the end of the interview Harold strikes William down with his dagger. Maelcun will later write that he "would forget all the words I have heard in my 70 years to understand their speech. For I believe that all of my fortune, and the fortune of this Island, rested upon it."
October
Duke William is buried in a mass grave near the battlefield. Free ranging bands of horsemen still cause a problem for the English, along with the well provisioned, largely Breton force trapped, but well fortified in the Roman camp at Pevensey. Harold leaves Gyrth in command in Sussex, and before the end of the month he has eliminated all resistance outside the fort. The Bretons negotiate safe passage with Harold's brother and are ferried to the Channel Islands by Edric, commander of the fleet. All horses, armour and weapons are retained by Gyrth.
Harold is, at the end of the campaigning season, undisputed master of England. He returns in weary triumph to London. Morkar and Edwin, the Earls of Northumbria and Mercia, recognise him publicly as rightful king, and swear an oath to that effect in London. They are perhaps ashamed that in the past few months Harold has defeated two fearsome enemies, when they have succeded only in losing their best men being defeated by Harald Hardrada.
Harold calls together the Witan at the end of the month, and proposes a few changes.
November (France)
When the extent of the defeat becomes known in Normandy, the province is rocked by unrest. William's son Robert is technically now Duke of Normandy, but he is, along with his brother Richard, now the ward of Phillip of France, himself a child. France, Normandy and Picardy all now have weak central leadership leaving local warlords in charge. The only thing that stops a descent into total chaos is the fact that most of the region's armed thugs are dead in Sussex.
November (Rome)
Pope Alexander excommunicates Harold, for his alleged mistreatment of the papal banner and his massacre of the normans. Both the King and Stigand, the Archbishop of Canterbury, are now outside the community of the church.
November (London)
The Witan assembles in London, from all corners of England. The assembly is more complete than the ad hoc Witan which proclaimed Harold king, including Northumbrian and Mercian earls and thanes, churchmen from all over the kingdom and even Harold's formidable mother, Gytha.

Harold's Fighting Man banner (based on the priapic giant of Cerne, Dorsaete) (1) and the bloodied papal standard adorn the hall of westminster abbey, where the debates are held. These banners are a reminder to all present that Harold has succeded where others, notably Earls Morkar and Edwin have failed. He has defended his new kingdom against two foreign princes, using only his personal retinue of troops and the Fyrd.

Harold is rapidly becoming a folk hero, songs and poems are composed in his honour in England and Scandinavia. He has the political capital to push through reforms. His basic argument is that the nation was only saved from Norwegian expansionism or worse, feudal slavery to the French, by his own bravery. He states that the only guarantee that England can survive another summer like the one gone is the introduction of strategic permenant garrisons, loyal only to the king. Uproar ensues and many of the northern representatives are on the point of marching out. But a compromise motion is suggested by Ealdred, Bishop of York, the Garrisons are to be commanded not by the king, but by the Witan. Therefore any use, except the immediate defence of the realm in face of foreign invasion, must be authorised by the Witan.

Harold approves of this on the basis that he can select and remove the commanders of the garrisons. The locations selected for these forts are Leeds, Lancaster, Meols near Chester, Ludlow, Ely, Ipswich, Canterbury, Dover, Pevensey, Maiden Castle and Exeter. It is decided that there will be Castles built on these sites, similar to those onserved by Harold in Normandy two years earlier, and mounted knights will be trained at these locations. The Flemish knights who betrayed William are offered the position of Cavalry instructors to the Witan Host.

The Witan has instituted the only christan standing army west of Byzantium. (2)

December
All northern Europe shivers by the fire. In hovels, halls and castles the talk is of the coming campaigning season, and the death and havoc it must bring.

(1) Robbed from Julian Rathbone's novel "The Last English King", but too tempting to leave out.
(2) Yes, it is a mild wank, but not an anglo-saxon one :). But why the hell shouldn't Harold be a great king! Nobody complains Henry II wasn't realistic.
 
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Deleted member 5719

1067

A New England?

Work begins on the castles required to house the Witan host, and commanders are put in place. They are generally competent and ambitious men, who are not as well born as they might be. Amongst them are Edric the Wild, who is to command the naval garrison at Dover, and Hereward the Wake, who had distinguished himself in guerrilla actions against Harald Hardrada's supply lines prior to the battle of Stamford bridge, who will command the garrison at Ely.


Harold's meritocratic instincts are not limited to his Anglo-Saxon supporters, to Maelcun of Exeter's amazement he is named commander of Maiden castle. This decision appears to be an attempt to win favour with the substantial British speaking population of the area.



In "The History of the Britons in England" Maelcun leaves us with a tantalising glimpse of the dying "Doorweal" dialect, comparing this "broken country speech" with his own, more refined, West Devon dialect, and the "pure language of the Kernow-welsh". It is the only direct evidence we have for the pockets of Brythonic speakers who survived for centuries after the Saxon conquest.


Rumours of invasion from Scandinavia grow throughout the summer, but it doesnt happen.

War in Normandy

Civil war breaks out between supporters of the infant Duke Robert and those of William's second son William. Still lacking man-power after the catastrophe in Sussex, William's partisans call on Sweyn, King of Denmark to support their claim, based on Robert's supposed illegitimacy.


The Danes are promised Dieppe and Cherbourg as bounty. The young king of France (or more precisely his mother, the Regent Queen) sends an army to support his vassal Robert. At the battle of Rouen the Danes and their Norman allies inflict a heavy defeat on the French. France is forced to cede them Dieppe, Cherbourg and Northern Cotentin, and the Channel Islands. The French recognise William as Duke, and take Robert to Paris.
 
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Great Writers and Historians: 1. Maelcun of Exeter (Maelcun ap Geront)

Biography

Due to the autobiographical nature of much of his work, we know more about Maelcun than we do about any other commoner in pre-partition England. That notwithstanding, we know little of his life prior to 1066. Maelcun was born in 1045 or 1046 in Devon, almost certainly in Exeter, where his father was a comparatively succesful merchant. His family were part of the small British speaking community of the city, which was excluded from the main power structure of Anglo-Saxon England, and suffered from legal discrimination under King Ine's laws.


His father, as a merchant, the highest position to which a Briton could aspire, was an important member of the communty, and travelled regularly on business to Brittany and Wales. It would appear from references in The wars of the Godwinsons, and The life and reign of King Harold, that Maelcun spent part of his teens as a novice in a monastery in Wales, possibly St David's. It has been suggested that he was the youngest of several brothers, and it was for that reason that he was sent to study for the monastic life. Whatever the truth, Maelcun learnt both Latin and Welsh during his time in Wales, in addition to his native Defonek and Anglo-Saxon.


The next concrete knowledge we have of Maelcun is his participation in The Battle of Caldbeck in 1066, as a Huscarle in the employ of Gyrth Godwinson, Earl of East Anglia. Britons were prohibited from bearing arms at the time, and certainly it seems unusual that a native of Devon should find himself in the employ of an East Anglian lord. It has been speculated that Maelcun was taken as a slave during Harold Godwinson's campaigns in Wales and, due to his large physical stature, selected to serve the Godwinsons as a warrior. It is even possible that the young Briton posed as a Saxon in order to escape slavery, an oblique reference to Britons passing for Saxon to avoid discrimination "within my memory" appears in The history of the Britons in England.


After Caldbeck, probably in 1069, Godwinson became commander of a garrison of the Witan host at the iron-age fort of Maiden Castle, and oversaw the construction of the Motte and Bailey that are still visible today. He appears to have married a local woman, from whom he learnt the local British dialect, Dorweale. He left that position in 1075, to serve Edmund MacHarold, Earl of Cornwall. He was instrumental in Edmund's ambitious constitutional reforms, and later in his project translating religious books, histories and laws into Cornish, as well as collecting Arturian material. It appears to be at this point that the raw materials for his seminal The history of the Britons in England were collected.
Maelcun became Edmund's most trusted lieutenant and governed Cornwall in his stead whenever the Earl was away. During the war of the Godwinsons he was the effective ruler Cornwall for long periods of time, a fact that led to his most notable direct contribution to British history, leading Cornish and Devonian troops in a succesful guerrilla war against the Breton invasion of 1082.


During the bloody civil war, much of the traditional aristocracy of southern Britain was killed and various Thegnships in Cornwall, Somersaete and Devon were left vacant. Maelcun was rewarded for his service with the title of Thegn of Exeter, as part of Edmund's policy of appointing Britons personally loyal to him to positions of authority. His position provided huge trade revenues, Exmouth boats travelled as far a field as Markland and the pillars of Hercules, and he became a wealthy man. It was at this time that he began his literary works, starting The life and reign of King Harold in 1088. His great legacy to Bretland was the foundation of "Skol Caer Wsg", founded 1090, where secular scholars from all over the British-speaking world were trained in languages and Maelcun's method of history. The increased Iberian-Jewish presence in Exeter led to the school's expansion into medicine and natural sciences.


Maelcun wrote continuously from 1088 until his death in 1117, completing his last work The life of Earl Edmund in that year. Several streets in Exeter bear his name, along with others in various Bretlandish cities.


Works and Influences

It is impossible to overestimate the importance of Maelcun's work to our understanding of British history and the development of historiograpical methodology.


He left behind eight lengthly histories (The life and reign of King Harold, The wars of the Godwinsons, The history of the Britons in England, A true account of the death of Edward Martyr, The Kings of Devon and Cornwall and their fall, The advent of the Saxons, Earl Godwin, The life of Earl Edmund) a volume of commentaries on Arthurian material from various sources, and the autobiographical Memories from the wars of the Godwinsons.



It is also quite probable that he was also involved in the process of recording secular legends and bardic histories at the Skol Caer Wsg, without which we should probably have never have heard of Beowulf, The Ingold Cycle or the breathtaking Cornish epic "The Traitor Cerdic".


The distinguishing feature of his historical writing is the careful evaluation of his sources, and often the attachment of the relevant source material in appendices. His careful consideration of evidence, and his assertion that history was not a collection of facts and dates, but an exercise in approximation, has informed all subsequent historiography. His protagonism in the significant political and military events of the time clearly inform this view. In his The advent of the Saxons he stated:


"Although I drank mead with King Harold, I can not be sure whether or not he swore an oath to Duke William, as many have claimed. I was a mere mile from the place where Harold fell, but I have grave doubts as to the manner he suffered his fatal wound, and I was in the very room when Duke William was slain, but I know not the reason for his death. Now I will explain to you, with great certainty, why Vortigern invited the curse of the Saxons upon his race, and why Cerdig betrayed his master Arthur."


From the Ely Dictionary of Atlantic Writers (1977) Ed. Maelcun Muggeridge.
 
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After Caldbeck, probably in 1069, Godwinson became commander of a garrison of the Witan host at the iron-age fort of Maiden Castle, and oversaw the construction of the Motte and Bailey that are still visible today. He appears to have married a local woman, from whom he learnt the local British dialect, Dorweale. He left that position in 1075, to serve Edmund McHarold, Earl of Cornwall. He was instrumental in Edmund's ambitious constitutional reforms, and later in his project translating religious books, histories and laws into Cornish, as well as collecting Arturian material. It appears to be at this point that the raw materials for his seminal The history of the Britons in England were collected.
Maelcun became Edmund's most trusted lieutenant and governed Cornwall in his stead whenever the Earl was away. During the war of the Godwinsons he was the effective ruler Cornwall for long periods of time, a fact that led to his most notable direct contribution to British history, leading Cornish and Devonian troops in a succesful guerrilla war against the Breton invasion of 1082.

McHarold??? Why a Scots patronymic in an English name in (brythonic) Cornwall?
 

Deleted member 5719

McHarold??? Why a Scots patronymic in an English name in (brythonic) Cornwall?

Yes, in Cornish or Welsh, it would be (m)ap Harald....but the nickname is not given by Cornish or Welsh speakers.... or even Gaelic speakers for that matter....

It comes from Godwinson's rather complicated family life, all will be explained in the next update.
 

Deleted member 5719

1068

The Church of England

The church in England continues under the control of Stigand, archbishop of Canterbury. The fact that both the king and the leader of the church have been excommunicated means that Rome has no influence whatsoever in Britain, given the peripheral nature of Scottish and Welsh christianity. The term "Church of England" is used in the Peterborough chronicle for the first time, a date traditionally indicating the beginning of the seperate identity within the English church. Of course, as the semi-detatched nature of British Christianity has been apparent since Romano-British times, this development has an air of inevitability.


The two branches of the Clan Harold

The birth of the future King Edgar Haroldson ("the wise") means that Harold now has 3 legitimate heirs (Edmund and the infant twins Harold and Ulf) and 3 more semi-legitimate ones (Harold Godwine, Edmund and Magnus). The latter are his children by Ealdgyth Swan-neck, to whom Harold is still married under Danish law. A further son, Gyrth Haroldson, would be born in 1070. Perhaps it is this slightly overcrowded situation that leads the King to send Harold Godwine and Edmund to Dublin as "ambassadors" to his ally Murchad mac Diarmata. This is to have disasterous consequences for the alliance. (1)

(1) All the children up to Edgar are as OTL. Harold seemed to be unencumbered with fertility issues.
 

Deleted member 5719

1069

Harold Godwine MacHarold and Edmund MacHarold

The twin brothers Harold Godwine and Edmund are 20 year old warriors looking to cement their place in the brutal world of 11th century Britain. The twins are, unlike their 5 year-old brothers, non-identical. Indeed their apearance and personalities are as different as night and day. The elder twin, Harold Godwine, is stocky and dark haired like his grandfather Godwin. He shares Godwin´s cunning, brute strength and capacity for cold calculation. Edmund is fair haired and taller and leaner than Harold Godwine. Many comment on the strong physical resemblance between father and son.

Like King Harold Edmund is quick to anger but he is much quicker to forgive. He is literate and can read Latin and Norman French. Both brothers spent time in Ireland as children, during the power struggles that characterized the reign of Edward the confessor, and were raised by an Irish nurse. Both brothers speak fluent Irish, and Edmund is also capable of reading the Celtic script. In Ireland they are known as "The MacHarolds" a name that has caught on in England, in order to distinguish them from Harold´s more recent scions. Maelcun of Exeter would later write "Edmund MacHarold was the most perfect lord. A scholarly compassionate man who loved his people and never betrayed his friends. He was a new Arthur sent by god to govern a perfect kingdom. Unfortunately god erred, and sent him to England."

They are both aware that their supposed illegitimacy will be no bar to claiming the crown if they can build a strong enough power base. However, they are aware that the field is very crowded. The Witan is certain to select the next king from the Godwin clan, but there is no shortage of suitable candidates. Harold´s brothers Leofwine and Gyrth are powerful Earls, though fiercely loyal to their brother they would have good claims to the throne on his death. Primogeniture counts for nothing so their brther Magnus MacHarold and King Harold´s three young sons, Ulf Haroldson, Harold Haroldson and Edgar Haroldson may develop into challengers. The apprenticeship in Ireland is a chance to gain experience and reputation as warriors. Along with the backing of a foreign ruler, which would sit well alongside their Danish connections.

The Invasion of Dublin

In the summer of 1069 King Magnus of Southern Norway launches an attack on the Kingom of Dublin. The records now existing of the event are sketchy but it appears to have been in response to the growing power of Denmark in France and the Baltic. Norway is in the process of redirecting its energies away from the conquest of England towards a North Atlantic empire. In a battle near Dun Laoghere Murchad mac Diarmata is killed.

Both MacHarold twins fight in the battle but escape with a retinue of Irish warriors. From Dun Laoghere they travel by boat to the isle of Man where they declare Harold Godwine MacHarold king, under the overlordship of King Harold of England. The island had previously been under the control of the King of Dublin and it appears that no local opposition was forthcoming. The garrison was immediately strengthened from Meols, from where Ceanneth Dhu and a contingent of Witan troops were dispatched. King Harold´s newest domain is an area of mixed Irish and Scandinavian speech with a strong maritime tradition. In time it will cement England´s contacts with the north atlantic world in general, and Iceland and Greenland in particular.

The siege of Dieppe

Phillip the first comes of age on his 16th birthday in Feb of this year. He has been educated thoroughly in the arts of war and is well prepared for what those around him have assured him is his divinely ordered role, the restoration of French power in Normandy. It is commonly believed that when William of Normandy achieves maturity he will swear allegience to the King of Denmark, citing the faithlessness of the King of France in recognising his supposedly illegitimate brother Robert as Duke. The Danes are unworried by the nicities of feudal homage, but they realise that if their power is to grow in France they need to play by local rules.

In April news arrives in Paris that William (known as "Rufus" for his red hair) has sworn homage to the king of Denmark in Rouen, and, with the impetuousness of youth, Phillip decides that the hour has arrived to drive the Danes from Normandy. With his vassal Robert of Flanders, brother of the aging duke Baldwin, he sacks Rouen, meeting little resistance from the still decimated Norman nobility. He traps William in the Danish fortress of Dieppe. and gives siege throughout June and July.

On the fourth of August Earl Swein of Cherbourg arrives by sea, with a force containing Duke Hoel of Brittainy and a large contingent of Breton Knights. Hoel has judged the weekeness of the French crown's power in northern France and decided that he has the chance to strike out on his own as the ruler of an independant Brittany.

The two armies meet at Hautot, just outside Dieppe, the French heavy cavalry is more than matched by the Bretons, and the Danish infantry is far superior to its French equivalent, but fewer in number. The battle is won when a sally from Dieppe overruns the French rearguard, leaving the French surrounded. In the slaughter that follows the French army is anhillated near the village which now bears the Normank name "Masakr".
Phillip is killed and few of the French escape.

Northern France after Dieppe

Duke Hoel of Brittany immediately declares himself Prince Hoel I of Brittany, but he will be remembered by history as Hoel Brezhoneg. Brittany extends as far south as St-Jean des Monts and he also controls Avranches and Mont St Michel in the North. At this date areas of eastern Brittany are still French speaking, but the nobility are Breton speakers. On the Eastern border is Danish Normandy and the County of Anjou. Anjou is undergoing a civil war between two rival Counts, Geoffrey and Fulk.

Normandy is protected by Danish troops, and many are named to "vacant" titles, generally those left vacant by the disasterous invasion of England or formerly held by "Duke" Robert´s supporters. The only access to the sea still controlled by the French is through Flanders, but the sea is controlled by Denmark and the rich land is raided constantly by Danish and English pirates (the former under official protection).
The new King of France is Hugh II, 13 years old and subject to his mother´s regency.
 
Harold is rapidly becoming a folk hero, songs and poems are composed in his honour in England and Scandinavia. He has the political capital to push through reforms. His basic argument is that the nation was only saved from Norwegian expansionism or worse, French-Style absolutism, by his own bravery.

What French-style absolutism?

At this point in history, the power of the french kings was a laugh. They were regularly beaten by some of their own counts ( let alone dukes ) on the battlefield. IIRC, one of them even died in the prisons of his own vassal.

The french kingship only began to get some power back from Louis VI, who is not even born at that time and he began that climb back by having to personnally storm the battlement of rebellious barons in the Paris area.

If anything, France is an exemple of anti-absolutism in 1066
 
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Deleted member 5719

What French-style absolutism?

At this point in history, the power of the french kings was a laugh. They were regularly beaten by some of their own counts ( let alone dukes ) on the battlefield. IIRC, one of them even died in the prisons of his own vassal.

The french kingship only began to get some power back from Louis VI, who is not even born at that time and he began that climb back by having to personnally storm the battlement of rebellious barons in the Paris area.

If anything, France is an exemple of anti-absolutism in 1066

I'm referring to the principle of feudalism, French-style. Which left non-aristocrats much worse of than they were under the Anglo-Saxon system. It's not meant to refer to absolute monarchy.

Admittedly it's badly phrased, I'll re-write.
 
I'm referring to the principle of feudalism, French-style. Which left non-aristocrats much worse of than they were under the Anglo-Saxon system. It's not meant to refer to absolute monarchy.
.

Now I understand. Thanks for the explanation.

Please continue with this TL.
 

Deleted member 5719

Now I understand. Thanks for the explanation.

Please continue with this TL.

Thanks to you. It jarred a bit when I was writing it, and the whole thing is now better for your input.

Isn't the interweb wonderful?
 

Deleted member 5719

North West Europe in 1088

england.jpg



Key:

Denmark:

Scandinavian Earldoms = Red
(Djep and Godentan)
Normandy = Pink
Anjou = Light Pink

Norway = Grey

England:

Kingdom of England = Green
Kingdom of Man = Light Green

France = Purple

Kingdom of Breizh = Yellow

Scotland:

Kingdom of Scots = Brown
Kingdom of Strathclyde = Orange

Celtic Kingdoms = Blue

Frisia = White

Holy Roman Empire = Black

england.jpg
 

Deleted member 5719

Volksprakbokr - Normank (1997)

Normank:- A language of Kumanlad Britaneg.

Population: 3,400,000 in Ethnic group. 2,700,000 speakers. (1973). Mostly bilingual in Britaneg, some bilingualism in Brezhoneg in Western Anjou and Jerri.

Also spoken in: Unus Hoel Sant and Unus Mikel Sant (1), 3000 speakers. formerly spoken in Ny Godendan, Markland.

Alternate Names: Danwas.

Dialects: Jersk, Sarkwas, Guerenk, Godendank, Anjwas, Djepes, Ilwas (in Hoel Sant), Mikeldank (in Mikel Sant), Kaenwas. Lexical similarity 75% with Francien, 69% with Accitan, 34% Dansk, 11% Brezhoneg, 13% Britaneg.

Classification: Eurasic-Roman-Western mainland-Gallic. Heavy lexical and structural borrowing from Danish, early lexical borrowing from Brezhoneg, modern borrowing from Britaneg (technical and political vocabulary).

Language use: In 1973, stronger in rual areas, losing ground to Britaneg in Kaen, Sherburg and other big cities. Few monolinguals under the age of 40.

Language development: Bible, 1347, Dictionary, 1590.

Comments: Last reliable data, 1973. The recent European war and subsequent disorder makes estimation impossible. Population certainly lower, current use unknown.

(1) OTL St Pierre et Michelon
 
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Deleted member 5719

England 1070-1081. The Golden Decade.

The England of Harold II

By 1070 Harold's rule was effectively consolidated. In that year Edgar Ethling died, meaning he had outlived all the possible contenders for his throne, and he signed both the Treaty of Whitby, which cemented his alliance with Scotland (settling the question of Cumberland, which would remain Scottish) and the "Letter to My Brother King" which avoided war with Norway over the Isle of Man. He had extended the Realm with the fortunate and largely costless annexation of the Isle of Man, and had increased the military strength of the Nation, by creating a permenant force which would deter invaders. The creation of the Witan host also reduced the dependency of the King on his earls, and limited their opportunities for rebellion.

The need to fund the increased millitary presence in England had wideranging political and economic effects. England's major trading commodity was wool, a low value product. Harold took control of wool exports and imported skilled weavers from war riven Flanders. He determined only to export high-quality cloth, via a state mercantile enterprise controlled by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Stigand. Trade was often conducted via Jewish middlemen originating from both Christian and Moslem Iberia, or from the North German cities. This traffic served to develop the cash economy throughout England, though particularly in the south, where large quantities of gold were flowing through London, Dover and Ipswich. Crucially these ports were all within the territory of Harold's younger brothers, Gyrth and Leofwine.

The institution of the Fyrd was also evolving. Initially a defensive militia which could be summoned by the king for a fixed period in times of crisis, Harold made an offer in 1071 to exempt any man from millitary Fyrd summonings for 2 years, in exchange for 15 days paid service on public works. These largely consisted of roads and improvements on the Witan Castles, or weapon-making for skilled craftsmen.

Trade with Iceland and Greenland

The conquest of Man is perhaps one of the most important events in pre-revolutionary English history. What is not often recognised is that it was only made so by the energy and ambition of one of the traditional villains of our National story, Harold Godwin MacHarold.

By 1070 HGM must have been cursing his good fortune. He may have been a King by the age of 22, but he was the King of an island which had a few thousand souls resident, and a long history of being invaded. He also must have suspected that his father was keeping him deliberately distant from the centre of power in Wessex.

However, contrary to his reputation, HGM did not scheme and murder his way back to prominence on the mainland. He looked at the situation of his new kingdom and realised there was money to be made. And money could buy men, and men could take land, and land equalled power. He used the islands strategic position at he crossroads of the Irish sea to set up a trading fleet, all revenues paid to the Kingdom of Man, and personal property of the King. Within two years Scandinavian settlers who had settled on Man had visited Iceland and brought back Walrus Ivory. Breton, Norman and even Basque and Iberian Arab sailors were soon visting Man to buy this precious commodity. With contact with Greenland, an even better supply of furs and Ivory was secured. Wisely HGM paid a generous annual tribute to the royal exchequer.

A permenant Manx representative settled at Greenland's Ostfold in 1077 (the eastern settlement) policing trading relations, with a possible view to excluding any other buyers of Greenland produce. An Ivory carving industry (often producing Chess sets for the fabulously wealthy) had taken root in Douglas by 1080.
And Harold Godwin MacHarold had become very wealthy and very powerful.

The birth of the Cornish legal system

As with his twin-brother, Harold II continuously maintained Edmund MacHarold far from the centres of power. And similarly to his brother, Edmund turned this to his advantage, with equally long-lasting effects. He was named Duke of Cornwall in 1073, after 3 years as an emmisary at the court of Hoel of Brittany. He had fought as a mounted Knight at the battle of Dieppe and married a Breton Noblewoman, some believe that this angered his father. After 3 years Edmund was named Earl of Cornwall, as part of Harold's division of his personal lands betweeen his sons.

Cornwall was at this time a British speaking region which had never been fully integrated into Wessex. King Ine's laws, which imposed different penalties for crimes according to whether the victim was a Briton or a Saxon, were still in place. The laws relating to Britons could be changed by the local Earl, but those relating to saxons could not. Edmund, who understood Cornish due to its similarity with Breton, redefined the law to classify all those crossing the Tamar as Britons, thus ending legal discrimination. He also allowed evidence in Cornish in courts, and set up a translation service to promulgate his own and the king's decrees in the local language.

He disposessed the Saxon lords who controlled the tin trade and copied his brothers mercantile experiment, trading with Brittany, the Isle of man, Ireland and even Hispania. However, unlike his brother, he invested these gains in infrastructure and development, road building, improved mining techniques, shipbuilding and churches. He also funded scholars to translate latin texts into Cornish, and record British legends, especially those about Arthur. Supervising this process was Maelcun of Exeter, who became his close friend, recording his deeds in History of the Britons in England:

"Never were the Britons so well governed as by this Saxon, who gave us equal laws, then gave us better laws. He judged not through whim as Vortigern, nor through Ordeal as Alfred but through reason as Solomon."

In 1075 he took part in a punative expedition against the pirates of Lewis in the Hebrides. They had been raiding Manx and English shipping, with the tacit approval of the Earl of Orkney. The Lewismen were badly beaten and Earl Erland of Orkney's brother was captured. He was retained as hostage in England for 10 years to ensure safe passsage for the English fleet. He later rose, bizarrely to the Rank of Earl, albeit only of the Isle of Wight.

Diplomatic relations in the "Golden Decade"

By 1070 Harold II had a fearsome reputation as a General. He had fought many victorious campaigns in Wales as a youth and had cemented that reputation with his brutal victories over William the Bastard and Harald Hardrada in 1066. His millitary reforms meant that the invasion of England was a proposition too daunting for any of his Scandinavian rivals to contemplate.

Harold's reign resulted in the consolidation of trade and diplomatic relations with Scandinavia and the northern world. As an excommunicate, Harold could officially enjoy no diplomatic, religious or trade relationships with Christian powers (a papal bull to that effect had been issued in 1067), however the Kings of Sweden, Scotland, Norway and Denmark knew that they had no choice but to deal with this powerful Lord of a rejuvinated Kingdom. The Christian subjects of France, the Kingdoms of Hispania, and the Holy Roman Empire (where the papacy had more influence) were effectively prohibited from trade and dioplomatic relations with England, but Jewish traders from Germany and Iberia were under no such ban. One side effect of this prohibition was the establishment of Jewish communities in London, Ipswich, Canterbury, Dover and Penzance.

The only millitary confrontations to arrise in this era of peace were over the Isle of Man trade routes. In 1070 Harald of Norway and Dublin was threatening to invade the Isle of Man, formerly part of the Kingdom of Dublin which he had recently invaded. Harold II wrote his "letter to my brother King" which recognised Harald as King of all Norway (which was at that time divided between Harald and his brother) and of Dublin (to the disgust of the sons of Murchad, the former King, who were at that time fighting to reclaim their father's inheritance) whilst maintaining in no uncertain terms that the Isle of Man would be English in perpetuity. This placated Harald with just the right level of threat and flattery, and may have contributed to his fatal decision to invade Norway in 1072 leading to the reunification of Norway and Harald's death. Unfortunately for Harold this earned him the enmity of Domnall mac Murchada mac Diarmata, the next King of Dublin, who raided the Isle of Man in 1074, to no great effect.

The other conflict was with the Lewis pirates who acted on behalf of Erland of Orkney. This problem was resolved in 1076 by Edmund MacHarold, who was probably selected for the mission to avoid a further extension of Harold Godwine MacHarold's power.

During this period Harold, through Edmund MacHarold, courted the rising power of Prince Hoel of Brittany, meaning that Breton merchants largely ignored the prohibitions on trade with England.
 
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