1067
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'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 British speech which survived for centuries after the Saxon conquest.
Rumours of invasion from Scandinavia grow throughout the summer, but it doesnt happen.
Normandy
Civil war breaks out between supporters of the infant Duke Robert and those of William's second son William. William's partisans call on Sweyn, King of Denmark to support their claim, based on Robert's supposed illegitimacy. They are promised Dieppe and Cherbourg as bounty. The young king of France sends an army to support her 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.
1068
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 bno 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, indicating the beginning of the seperate identity within the English church.