TheDevon Domesday Book recorded you as the tenant-in-chiefofColumin 1068; you are one of the king's lesser tenants and your land was held indemesne. Most of your seven holdings listed in theDomesday Booklater passed to thefeudal barony of Plympton,of which the lords were later the CourtenayEarls of Devon. / You are William of Normandy.
You are the new ruler of England and you are currently trying to consolidate your control of England. One of the things you do is order the construction of Battle Abbey. You gave the following reason for this:
“I make a vow on this very battlefield I shall found a monastery for the salvation of all, and especially for those who fall here, to the honour of God and his saints, where servants of God may be supported: a fitting monastery, with a worthy liberty. Let it be an atonement: a haven for all as free as the one I conquer for myself.” / You are Hereward the Wake.
You were the most famous English rebel and you stirred up resistance to the Norman conquerors in East Anglia from a base at Ely, deep in the fenland. You headed this resistance for five years. Eventually you were subdued (it is possible that you were bought off) and your land was confiscated by William. Leofric the Deacon describe you as: “comely in aspect, very beautiful from his yellow hair, and with large grey eyes, the right eye slightly different in colour to the left; but he was stern of feature, and somewhat stout, from the great sturdiness of his limbs, but very active for his moderate stature, and in all his limbs was found a complete vigour.”
You are Earl Morcarof Northumbria.
You were earl of Northumbria from 1065 to 1066 when you were replaced by William the Conqueror. You had strongly supported Harold Godwineson’s claim to the English throne, and then that of Edgar Atheling. After the conquest William accepted your submission after you gave him gifts and hostages, and were reinstated. You went with William to Normandy in 1067, but then staged a huge rebellion in 1068 which was supported by many of the English – including monks and clergy. Following the failure of your rebellion, William imprisoned you until his death. / You are Alwin the Rat.
You were mentioned in the Domesday Book – after some men of the Hundred were questioned it seemed that no-one could vouch for you holding any land in Hampshire (as you possible claimed). You were the predecessor of the landholder at the time of the compilation of the Domesday Book and it was ordered that you had no claim to any land unless the King ordered otherwise. / You are Roger of Montgomery, Earl of Shrewsbury.
You were a Norman lord and supporter of William the Conqueror. It is probable that you were put in charge of the government of Normandy during William’s expedition of 1066. In 1067 you came to England and received extensive grants of land in different parts of England. You also established a Benedictine monastery in Shrewsbury, and founded theCluniac priory at Wenlock, Shropshire.
You are William de Warenne.
You fought at the Battle of Hastings and were one of the few Norman nobles to have been documented to have done so. After the Conquest you played a big role in fighting against the rebels and hunting down Hereward the Wake – you wanted to do this as he killed your brother-in-law in 1070. In 1088 you were created the first Earl of Surrey by William II ‘Rufus’. You sought security in the afterlife by founding apriory near Castle Acrein Norfolk. / You are Edgar Atheling.
You were the last surviving male member of the Royal House of Wessex, and the Witan elected you as King of England after the death of Harold II at Hastings. Following this you submitted to William the Conqueror – he kept you in his custody and took you to Normandy in 1067. After returning to England you took part in some rebellions against William and sought refuge in Scotland before making peace with William and returning to England. / You are Eudo Dapifer.
You were a Norman aristocrat and the Conqueror’s steward. By 1072 you had received lands in Essex, Hertfordshire, Berkshire, Bedfordshire, Northamptonshire, Cambridgeshire, Huntingdonshire, Hampshire, Norfolk and Suffolk. You founded Colchester Abbey in 1096, and were also involved in the building of Colchester Castle – the largest Norman keep built and first stone keep in England.
You are Wulfstan.
You were an Englishman who occupied a place of the highest importance -Bishop of Worcester. At first a monk, you rose to become a schoolmaster, then prior, and in 1062, became bishop, an office you held until you died in 1095. You were loved and respected by your community and by the people of his diocese. In Worcestershire alone the monks had more than a dozen valuable manors. / You are EarlEdwinof Mercia.
You were the elder brother of Morcar, earl of Northumbria. Neither you nor your brother fought at Hastings, but after the battle you were the principal supporters of a new regime under Edgar Atheling; you soon submitted to the Normans. You and your brother attempted to raise a rebellion in Mercia in 1068 but were soon thwarted by William. You were killed in 1071 – whilst making your way to Scotland you were betrayed by your own retinue to the Normans. / You are Judith, Countess of Northumbria and Huntingdon.
You were King William's niece. In 1070 you married Earl Waltheof of Huntingdon and Northumbria (one of the last Anglo-Saxon earls). After your husband joined the Revolt of the Earls you betrayed him to your uncle – your husband was beheaded on 31 May 1076.
You are Aelgar.
The Domesday Book noted that you were granted enough land to live on by the Sheriff of Trent in return for teaching his daughter the art of gold embroidery. / You are Roger d'Auberville.
The Domesday Book stated that you held two carucates of land in Finsborough. Before the Conquest this was held by a freeman. / You are Asa of Scoreby.
You lived in Yorkshire and it the Domesday Book it was noted that you held your land 'separate and free from the control and power of Bjornulfr her husband, even when they were together'. You had separated from your husband and following that had withdrawn 'all her own land and possessed it as a lady'.
You are Ealdred, Archbishop of York.
You became Abbot of Tavistock Abbey (Devon) in 1027, and later served Edward the Confessor as a diplomat and military leader. You were elected to the archbishopric of York in 1060, and some sources claim that you crowned Harold Godwineson King of England after Edward the Confessor’s death. You backed William the Conqueror after his victory at Hastings, and then crowned him. It was reported that William never fully trusted you, and you were requested to accompany him to Normandy in 1067. / You are Waltheof, Earl of Northumbria.
You were one of the last Anglo-Saxon earls, and in 1050 you married Judith of Lens (William the Conqueror’s niece). You were the only English aristocrat to be executed during the reign of William I – this was due to your involvement in the 1075 Revolt of the Earls against William. You repented, and confessed your guilt to Lanfranc, but were sentenced to death at the King’s court. / You are FitzGilbert.
was given the title, the Earl of Clare. The baron often lived in a castle at the centre of his estates. FitzGilbert built castles at Tonbridge (Kent), Clare (Suffolk), Bletchingley (Surrey) and Hanley (Worcester). His knights normally lived in the manor that they had been granted. Once or twice a year, FitzGilbert would visit his knights to check the manor accounts and to collect the profits that the land had made.
You are William FitzOsbern. William I appointed you regent after the Conquest as you were a relative and close counsellor. You fought alongside William at Hastings, and by February 1067 you had been created Earl of Hereford. You were given wide powers along the southernmost Welsh Marches and established a range of castles to secure the Marches (including Chepstow). / You are Orderic Vitalis.
You were born after the Norman Conquest (in 1075), and wrote a graphic account of Anglo-Norman society (‘The Ecclesiastical History of Orderic Vitalis’). You were chaplain to Roger de Montgomery (a supporter of William I). / You are Odo of Bayeux.
You were the half-brother of William the Conqueror and bishop of Bayeux, Normandy. You came from a wealthy background, and probably commissioned the Bayeux Tapestry. You fought in the Battle of Hastings, and after the Conquest William appointed you regent. In 1082 you were imprisoned by William I on a charge of raising troops without royal permission. You fought against William II (in support of Robert Curthose) but were released in 1087 and then became Robert’s aide.
You are William II ‘Rufus’.
You were the son of William I and ruled England from 1087 to 1100. You were nicknamed ‘Rufus’ (or ‘the red’) due to your ruddy complexion and had the reputation of being a tyrant. When you became King of England, William’s half-brother Odo of Bayeux, staged a rebellion against you, but you immediately won the support of the English by pledging to cut taxes and institute effective government. / You are Ernies de Buron.
You provided William the Conqueror with money, men and the ships for the invasion of England. You fought at the Battle of Hastings and then settled in England in 1068. The Domesday Book listed that you had 72 properties in Lincolnshire and Yorkshire, and in 1086 you succeeded Hugh fitz Baldric as High sheriff of Yorkshire. / You are Lanfranc, Archbishop of Canterbury.
William I appointed you Abbott of St. Stephen’s in Caen in 1063, and Archbishop of Canterbury in 1070 to replace Stigand. You redesigned Canterbury Cathedral so that it modelled St. Stephen’s, and during William’s reign supported his policy of promoting foreigners to high offices in the Church after being unimpressed by the English clergy. You ordered that in future no married man was to be ordained as a priest, but allowed existing priests to keep their wives.
You are Stigand, Archbishop of Canterbury.
You became Archbishop of Canterbury in 1052 but developed a reputation for corruption after acquiring extensive estates in East Anglia and Gloucestershire. You were the last Anglo-Saxon Archbishop of Canterbury, and after your death in 1072, you were replaced by Lanfranc. / You are Geoffrey of Coutances.
You came from a prominent family in Normandy. You were a close friend of William I. During William’s reign you attended all major councils in England, and helped to crush the 1075 rebellion (organised by Waltheof and other nobles). Following this rebellion you ordered that all rebels should have their right foot cut off. By 1086 you were one of the ten wealthiest magnates in England. / You are Gospatric.
You offered William a large amount of money to become Earl of Northumberland in 1067 – William accepted. In early 1068 you joined in a rebellion against William, and allied with Edwin, Morcar and Edgar Atheling. After the rebellion was put down you forfeited your land to Robert de Comines and went into exile in Scotland. In 1069 you joined the invading army of Danes, Scots and Englishmen under Edgar Atheling, and killed Robert de Comines. During the Harrying of the North you made terms with William – William pardoned you, allowed you to keep your lands, and reinstated your earldom.
You are Robert de Comines.
You were the Earl of Northumberland from 1068-69 after the deposition of Gospatric. In 1069, whilst you were staying at Ethelwin’s house (Bishop of Durham) rebels from the north of England marched against you and set fire to the house – you were caught in the fire and killed. It was reported that your death sparked the Harrying of the North. / You are Eadric the Wild.
You organised rebellions in Wales following William’s victory due to the fact you claimed your lands had been stolen by a Norman lord. After gaining the support of some Welsh princes and raising rebellions at Hereford and Shrewsbury, you were defeated by William in battle at Stafford in late 1069. You submitted to William in 1070 and reportedly took part in his invasion of Scotland in 1072. / You are Ethelwin.
You were the last Anglo-Saxon Bishop of Durham, and the only English bishop at the time of the Norman Conquest who did not remain loyal to William the Conqueror. The new Earl of Northumberland, Robert de Comines, was killed after ignoring your warning that English rebels were going to march on him, and following this you tried to flee with many Northumbrian treasures (including the body of St. Cuthbert); you were then caught, outlawed, imprisoned, and later died in confinement.
© Catherine Flaherty and Ian Dawson 2016 www.thinkinghistory.co.uk