Norman Conquest Encyclopedia

In the 11th century the country north of Cambridge was boggy and dangerous to those unfamiliar with its hidden paths and secret waterways. In this area there were, before the land was drained centuries later, islands of firm ground, one of which was Ely. Here, in 1070, the Danes under King Sweyn came inland from the Wash to set up an entrenched camp. They were joined by local men, notably a Lincolnshire thegn, Hereward the Wake. A mixed force of Danes and English sacked Peterborough on 2 June, but William the Conqueror dealt with the outrage by striking a deal with Sweyn who withdrew his force from England. Hereward managed to recruit the support of Morcar of Northumbria but the uprising collapsed when directly challenged by William.

See also: Danes; Hereward the Wake; Morcar of Northumbria; William the Conqueror

Related Reading:

• Hastings 1066 (Revised Edition) - The Fall of Saxon England
  (Campaign 13 )