1087: When William The Conqueror died – The 1088 Norman Rebellion

After the Battle of Hastings, William the Conqueror controlled England through a combination of force and personality. When he died, there was a massive power struggle.

 

After the Battle of Hastings, William the Conqueror controlled England through a combination of force and personality. When he died, there was a massive power struggle. Rochester Castle, 1088. William the Conqueror is dead. His psychotic half-brother Odo of Bayeux (the mace-swinging bishop from the Bayeux Tapestry) has just broken into a castle that no longer belongs to him… and now he’s trapped inside it. This is the forgotten opening spark of the “Norman War of the Brothers” – 13 years of rebellions, invasions, sieges, and at least one extremely suspicious hunting “accident”.

 

In this episode:

  • When William the Conqueror died, did his Battle of Hastings legacy die with him?
  • Why Odo of Bayeux went from second-most powerful man in England to prisoner… and then straight back to rebel leader
  • How William Rufus, still a rookie king, outwitted some of the most dangerous men in Christendom
  • The bizarre moment the Rochester garrison saw through Odo’s forced surrender… and dragged him back inside
  • The stinking, disease-ridden siege that finally broke the rebellion

 

Secret Bonus Facts for the Most Awesome Viewers Who Got Lost in the Description:

  1. Robert de Mowbray, the Earl of Northumbria, would side with the rebels in this uprising and be a leading cause of the next one, in 1095
  2. But, in between those two events, he was the hero who saved England from a Scottish invasion at the First Battle of Alnwick, in 1093 (See this video:    • 1093: When Scotland’s King & Heir Died On …   ).
  3. William was incredibly lenient with his opponents. For instance, William de St-Calais, the Bishop of Durham, abandoned the king’s army during the campaign. He was later tried, deposed, and exiled to Normandy. However, as soon as 1091, he returned to England and was reinstated.
  4. Tom Scott’s video on how Rochester lost its city status    • This town forgot to be a city  

 

You’ve gone too far. There’s nothing interesting this low down… but since you’re here: In early 1091, either January or February, King William launched an invasion of Normandy with a large fleet, establishing his base at Eu. In that family, it was invade or be invaded. The War of the Brothers was relentless.