1066 - French horsepower broke England

Peter Nicolai Arbo
England
5th January 1066, The English king Edward the confessor and then earl Harold Godwinson was proclaimed king at Westminster Abbey the day after the 6th.
Edward the confessor had promised both Harold and William "Bastard" of Normandy the seat of the throne before he died. Both men were distant relatives to the childless Edward the confessor. When William heard of it he quickly raised an army.
Harald Hardrada also claimed the English throne and he was faster than William the bastard and on
8th September,1066 240-300 Viking ships landed on the beaches of Scarborough and began an attempt to gain the English throne.

20th September,1066 Battle of Fulford: Harald Hardrada defeated the English earls Edwin and Walther. 2 days later Harald Hardrada attacked and conquered York.
24th September,1066 Harold Godwinson arrived after marching from London.
25th September,1066 Battle of Stamford bridge
Battle of Stamford bridge
Harald Hardrada went berserk at the battle of Stamford Bridge but it did not help.
Harold Godwindson won, his brother Tostig and Harald Hadrada, was both killed at Stamford Bridge.
Olav Kyrre became the new king after his father Harald Hardrada died. The English army had no time to rest it had to move quickly to South England where the Normans was expected to arrive.
Duke William of Normandy
1066 Battle of Segre - during Conans campaign against Anjou, Conan conquered Pouancé & Segré, Conan arrived in Château-Gontier, where he was found dead after donning poisoned riding gloves. Duke William was blamed. William began making plans for conquering England.

28th September,1066  William the conqueror arrived with 700 ships at Pevensey

A sign from the sky
The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle wrote, that around Easter time, “a portent such as men had never seen was seen in the heavens”. Visible for a week, it was described by some as the “long-haired star”. According to the Bayeux tapestry, this long-haired star meant bad news for poor Harold Godwinson. As his allies looked up at the comet with wonder, the English king was portrayed as being warned by an astrologer, that the comet was an omen of doom. William regarded it as a positive portent.
Battle of Hastings did not take place in Hastings, but it was fought at Senlac Hill 10km north-west of Hastings.

14th October,1066 

Daunt by Dawn written by Bard Ai.

A tremor ran through William's camp. Dawn revealed his coat, donned inside-out, a symbol of disquiet on the cusp of battle. His men, already tense, exchanged wary glances. 18 days prior, they had landed on English soil, a formidable 7,500 strong. Now, atop a distant hill, Norman scouts reported the English army, led by Harold Godwinson, awaiting them.

From his vantage point, Harold surveyed the Norman advance in three distinct columns. He ordered his cavalry to dismount, forming a living shield wall against the impending clash. William countered with a hail of arrows before unleashing his infantry. Hampered by the uphill climb, the Normans were repelled, both foot soldiers and cavalry forced to retreat.

The battle raged for hours, but the Normans spotted a chink in the English armor. Thrilled by the chase, English units had pursued retreating Normans down the hill, leaving gaps in their shield wall. William seized this opportunity. He ordered a feigned cavalry charge, luring a large contingent of English after them. With a swift turn, the Normans trapped the isolated English, mercilessly cutting them down.

Capitalizing on their success, the Normans exploited the weakened English lines. Their cavalry sliced through the infantry, panic rippling through the English ranks. "The dead could not fall," wrote Norman Bishop Guy of Amiens, describing the desperate closeness of the English formation. Then, tragedy struck. An arrow pierced Harold's eye, and a Norman knight delivered the final blow. The English army, leaderless and demoralized, crumbled.

William, forever etched in history as "The Conqueror," secured his victory. On Christmas Day, he claimed the English crown, his reign beginning under the glow of a new dawn.
 
Denmark
The pagan Slavs attacked the leader of the Obrotrites Gotskalk (married to Sweyn Estridsons daughter Sigrid) was killed.

Cruelty and looting followed and church people sacrificed on pagan altars.
A last attack on Hedeby from a combined East Slavic army made the citizens finally abandon the town. The survivors moved across the Schlei inlet and founded the town of Schleswig.
The Saxon lords could not resist the attacks and Hamburg was also burned down.
Sweyn Estridsson made a last attempt to conquer England 3 years later with 240 ships
York was captured and William the conqueror bribed the Danish leader Asbjoern and used the scorched earth tactic "Harrrying of the North".
Crushing local resistance and the vikings left England.

1065 Battle of Dinan

Conan 2 vs William the bastard in the Breton-Norman war
England
An unexpected ally came to Harald Godwinson. King Harold’s brother Tostig had been deprived of his earldom in Northumbria by Edward in October 1065
France
William of Normandy sent word to Brittany, warning them against attacking his lands, because he was backed by the pope.

Conan 2 of Brittany said to William that he would take the opportunity to invade, William's army set out for battle. Rivallon 1 of Dol, lord of Coumborg joined William,

Outside the monastery of Mont Saint-Michel, two Norman soldiers became mired in quicksand, but Harold Godwinson, saved their lives. William the conqueror`s army chased Conan from Dol-de-Bretagne to Rennes and the Britons finally surrendered at Château de Dinan.
William ordered the construction of ships

Ireland: Ragnvald Gudrødsson’s son, Echmaracach (‘Horseman’),ruled Dublin+ the Isle of Man, without formally being declared king until  his death in 1065.


1064 - Peace

Denmark
The Danish-Norwegian war was finally over, at Goeta river the 2 kings promised to keep the peace as long as they lived. Twelve good men secured the border between Denmark and Sweden, with 5 stones, the 6 Danish men were: Tolli,Totti and Toki from Jutland, Gymkil from Sjaelland & Dan from Skaane & Grimtun from Halland.
King Harold was warned by Halleys comet
England
Harold Godwinson shipwrecked at Ponthieu, Normandy and was taken captive by Guy I, Count of Ponthieu, who took him to his home castle of Beaurain.
Harold Godwinson swore an oath to William the conqueror

Normandy
Duke of Normandy, William demanded the release of the Harold Godwinson, and Count Guy delivered Harold Godwinson after being paid a ransom for him.

Harold was not released from Normandy until he too had sworn on the Holy Relics to be Duke William's vassal, and to aid him to the throne of England, this was displayed on the Bayeux Tapestry.
William had secured the border with Anjou, William was involved in a rebellion in the Duchy of Brittany. He supported Riwallon rebellion against Dol Conan II in the Breton-Norman war.
Breton-Norman war, Bayeux tapestry
Sicily
Roger de Hauteville attacked Palermo.
Map of Skaane,Halland & Blekinge

 

1063 Battle of Cerami

Sicily
The traders from Pisa made a successful naval assault upon the Saracen controlled Palermo it was under command of Giovanni Orlandi to help of Roger of Hauteville in his conquest.
In June at the Battle of Cerami, around 5 miles to the west of the Norman stronghold at Triona Sicily: Roger and Serio 2 of Hauteville lead a group of 136 knights and 150 infantry Normans to defeat a much larger army of Zirid Muslims, according to a legend he won by a vision of Saint George.

The Zirids abandoned the siege of Cerami, Roger led an early cavalry charge which failed to break the Zirids, whom then counterattacked  however the Norman infantry stood their ground. St. George was said to have appeared clad in shining white armor and bearing the flag of St. George upon his lance. His speech allotted the Normans to attack again and again. Normans won a decisive victory.

1062 - Naval battle of Nisaa

Denmark
Sweyn 2 Estridson and Harald Hardrada clashed in a naval battle near Nisaa, outside the coast of Halland.
After a tough battle where the famous Earl Skjalm hvide was captured by a group of men who held him with their shields, one of Skjalm Hvides Ensigns named Aslak cleared a whole ship with an oak stick
Aslak cleared a whole ship with an oak stick- Saxo made a poem
The Danes retreated and Sweyn only survived because of a noble Norwegian chieftains help. Skjalm Hvide managed to swim away later.
Sweyn 2 fleeing battle of Nisaa
Leaving in the dark
Skjalm Hvide swims away
 England Winter – Harold Godwinson lead a successful campaign against King Gruffydd ap Llywelyn. He attacked and captured Rhuddlan Castle in northern Wales, but Gruffydd manages to escape.

 

1061 - Normans captured Sicily

Italy
In January Robert de Grantmesnil, his nephew Berengar, half-sister Judith (the upcoming bride of Roger I of Sicily), and l1 monks of Saint-Evroul-sur-Ouche was banished from Normandy and traveled  to the Mezzogiorno.

The Normans assembled and army and in May 1061 they captured Messina from the Saracens. Later they captured Triona, which they used as a future headquarter. Messina was ruled by Robert Guiscard and Roger I of Sicily.

1060 - Harald Hardrada started to plunder Denmark again.

Denmark
Christian rune church inscription at Fyn Ørsted Church "Samson kills Lion"
The large ship Ormen (The Serpent) built for Harald Hardrada as a busseskip (a big, broad ship) with a gilded dragon’s head at the bow stem and a hook-shaped stern stem.
Harald Hardrada began to plunder Denmark  again.

Denmark split into 8 clerical units: Vendsyssel with Thy, Odense ,Viborg, Roskilde, Ribe, Aarhus, Lund and Dalby. Dalby was soon cancelled and put under Lund.

Sweyn II Estridsson received  a papal letter in which he was obliged to pay peters money to the Vatican church and Anno Domini became the official time stamping which were used in official documents.

The catholic church gained influence, their influence changed vigilante affirmative action and collective punishment, it became possible to pay a fine if you had done a murder.

If a man became judged lawless only the king could lift the ban, this increased the monopoly of violence to the state(King).
Normandy
William the Conqueror could relax he became stronger, both his enemies King Henry of France and count Geoffrey died.
Sicily
In May The Normans under leadership of Robert Guiscard conquered Taranto. A Sicilian Emir of Syracuse, Ibn al-Timnah, arrived at Reggio to secure help from Normans against his rival emir, Ibn al-Hawas. He promised that, in return al-Timnah would acknowledge their claim over Sicily.
Sweden
Stenkil Rangvaldson became king of Sweden he ruled until 1066. The last of the Uppsala dynasty  Emund died, Stenkil came from Western Gotaland, and he created a bishopric among the Swedes in Sigtuna. Later the bishop was driven out, a strong pagan culture was still strong in Uppland.