Norman Conquest Encyclopedia

In the years that followed the conquest of 1066 William the Conqueror was obliged to undertake a series of campaigns against rebels in various parts of England. In the spring of 1070 the Danes struck, King Sweyn leading a force from the Wash to the Isle of Ely which they fortified. At the time it was a true island in a great marsh, the Fens. Englishmen joined them, notably the Lincolnshire thegn Hereward who led a foray to sack the Abbey of Peterborough on 2 June. William persuaded the Danes to leave, possibly by means of a bribe, but failed to act against the remaining English rebels under Hereward. They were joined by Morcar of Northumbria but when William moved against them in good earnest the next year, they could not hold out. The Norman strategy was to organise the ending of Ely's island status by building a causeway two miles long from Aldreth. Morcar was captured, but Hereward evaded his enemies and was never taken.

See also: Danes; Fens; Morcar; Normans; William the Conqueror

Related Reading:

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