1067
A New 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.
War in 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
The Church of 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 no 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.
The two branches of the Clan Harold
The birth of the future King Edgar Haroldson ("the wise") means that Harold now has 3 legitimate heirs (the infant twins Harold and Ulf) and 3 more semi-legitimate ones (Harold Godwine, Edmund and Magnus). The latter are his children by Ealdgyth Swan-neck, to whom Harold is still married under Danish law. Perhaps it is this slightly overcrowded situation that leads the King to send Harold Godwine and Edmund to Dublin as "ambassadors" to his ally Murchad mac Diarmata. This is to have disasterous consequences for the alliance.
1069
Harold Godwine MacHarold and Edmund MacHarold
The twin brothers Harold Godwine and Edmund are 20 year old warriors looking to cement their place in the brutal world of 11th century Britain. The twins are, unlike their 5 year-old brothers, non-identical. Indeed their apearance and personalities are as different as night and day. The elder twin, Harold Godwine, is stocky and dark haired like his grandfather Godwin. He shares Godwin´s cunning, brute strength and capacity for cold calculation. Edmund is fair haired and taller and leaner than Harold Godwine. Many comment on the strong physical resemblance between father and son. Like King Harold Edmund is quick to anger but he is much quicker to forgive. He is literate and can read Latin and Norman French. Both brothers spent time in Ireland as children, during the power struggles that characterized the reign of Edward the confessor, and were raised by an Irish nurse. Both brothers speak fluent Irish, and Edmund is also capable of reading the Celtic script. In Ireland they are known as "The MacHarolds" a name that has caught on in England, in order to distinguish them from Harold´s more recent scions. Maelcun of Exeter would later write "Edmund MacHarold was the most perfect lord. A scholarly compassionate man who loved his people and never betrayed his friends. He was a new Arthur sent by god to govern a perfect kingdom. Unfortunately god erred, and sent him to England."
They are both aware that their supposed illegitimacy will be no bar to claiming the crown if they can build a strong enough power base. However, they are aware that the field is very crowded. The Witan is certain to select the next king from the Godwin clan, but there is no shortage of suitable candidates. Harold´s brothers Leofwine and Gyrth are powerful Earls, though fiercely loyal to their brother they would have good claims to the throne on his death. Primogeniture counts for nothing so their brther Magnus MacHarold and King Harold´s three young sons, Ulf Haroldson, Harold Haroldson and Edgar Haroldson may developinto challengers. The apprenticeship in Ireland is a chance to gain experience and reputation as warriors. Along with the backing of a foreign ruler, which would sit well alongside their Danish connections.
The Invasion of Dublin
In the summer of 1069 King Magnus of Southern Norway launches an attack on the Kingom of Dublin. The records now existing of the event are sketchy but it appears to have been in response to the growing power of Denmark in France and the Baltic. Norway is in the process of redirecting its energies away from the conquest of England towards a North Atlantic empire. In a battle near Dun Laoghere Murchad mac Diarmata is killed. Both MacHarold twins fight in the battle but escape with a retinue of Irish warriors. From Dun Laoghere they travel by boat to the isle of Man where they declare Harold Godwine MacHarold king, under the overlordship of King Harold of England. The island had previously been under the control of the King of Dublin and it appears that no local opposition was forthcoming. The garrison was immediately strengthened from Meols, from where Ceanneth Dhu and a contingent of Witan troops were dispatched. King Harold´s newest domain is an area of mixed Irish and Scandinavian speech with a strong maritime tradition. In time it will cement England´s contacts with the north atlantic world in general, and Iceland and Greenland in particular.
The siege of Dieppe
Phillip the first comes of age on his 16th birthday in Feb of this year. He has been educated thoroughly in the arts of war and is well prepared for what those around him have assured him is his divinely ordered role, the restoration of French power in Normandy. It is commonly believed that when William of Normandy achieves maturity he will swear allegience to the King of Denmark, citing the faithlessness of the King of France in recognising his supposedly illegitimate brother Robert as Duke. The Danes are unworried by the nicities of feudal homage, but they realise that if their power is to grow in France they need to play by local rules.
In April news arrives in Paris that William has sworn homage to the king of Denmark in Rouen, and, with the impetuousness of youth, Phillip decides that the hour has arrived to drive the Danes from Normandy. With his vassal Robert of Flanders, brother of the aging duke Baldwin, he sacks Rouen, meeting little resistance from the still decimated Norman nobility. He traps William in the Danish fortress of Dieppe. and gives siege throughout June and July.
On the fourth of August Earl Swein of Cherbourg arrives by sea, with a force containing Duke Hoel of Brittainy and a large contingent of Breton Knights. Hoel has judged the weekeness of the French crown's power in northern France and decided that he has the chance to strike out on his own as the ruler of an independant Brittany.
The two armies meet at Hautot, just outside Dieppe, the French heavy cavalry is more than matched by the Bretons, and the Danish infantry is far superior to its French equivalent, but fewer in number. The battle is won when a sally from Dieppe overruns the French rearguard, leaving the French surrounded. In the slaughter that follows the French army is anhillated near the village which now bears the Normank name "Masakr".
Phillip is killed and few of the French escape.
Northern France after Dieppe
Duke Hoel of Brittany immediately declares himself Prince Hoel I of Brittany, but he will be remembered by history as Hoel Brezhoneg. Brittany extends as far south as St-Jean des Monts and he añso controls Avranches and Mont St Michel in the North. At this date areas of eastern Brittany are still French speaking, but the nobility are Breton speakers. On the Eastern border is Danish Normandy and the County of Anjou. Anjou is undergoing a civil war between two rival Counts, Geoffrey and Fulk.
Normandy is protected by Danish troops, and many are named to "vacant" titles, generally those left vacant by the disasterous invasion of England or formerly held by "Duke" Robert´s supporters. The only access to the sea still controlled by the French is through Flanders, but the sea is controlled by Denmark and the rich land is raided constantly by Danish and English pirates (the former under official protection).
The new King of France is Hugh II, 13 years old and subject to his mother´s regency.
1070-1081
The England of Harold II
By 1070 Harold's rule was effectively consolidated. In that year Edgar Ethling died, meaning he had outlived all the possible contenders for his throne, and he signed both the Treaty of Whitby, which cemented his alliance with Scotland (settling the question of Cumberland, which would remain Scottish) and the "Letter to My Brother King" which avoided war with Norway over the Isle of Man. He had extended the Realm with the fortunate and largely costless annexation of the Isle of Man, and had increased the military strength of the Nation, by creating a permenant force which would deter invaders. The creation of the Witan host also reduced the dependency of the King on his earls, and limited their opportunities for rebellion.
The need to fund the increased millitary presence in England had wideranging political and economic effects. England's major trading commodity was Wool, a low value product. Harold took control of wool exports and imported skilled weavers from war riven Flanders. He determined only to export high-quality cloth, via a state mercantile enterprise controlled by the Archbishop of Canterbury.