The Rebellion of 1088 occurred after the death of
William the Conqueror
William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England, reigning from 1066 until his death in 10 ...
and concerned the division of lands in the
Kingdom of England
The Kingdom of England (, ) was a sovereign state on the island of Great Britain from 12 July 927, when it emerged from various Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, until 1 May 1707, when it united with Scotland to form the Kingdom of Great Britain.
On ...
and the
Duchy of Normandy between his two sons
William Rufus and
Robert Curthose. Hostilities lasted from 3 to 6 months starting around
Easter
Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samue ...
of 1088.
Background
William on his deathbed in 1087 decided how his sons would inherit the lands of his native Normandy and recently
conquered England. His eldest son Robert was made
Duke of Normandy
In the Middle Ages, the duke of Normandy was the ruler of the Duchy of Normandy in north-western France. The duchy arose out of a grant of land to the Viking leader Rollo by the French king Charles III in 911. In 924 and again in 933, Normand ...
and his third eldest son (second eldest surviving son) William Rufus was made
King of England
The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the constitutional form of government by which a hereditary sovereign reigns as the head of state of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies (the Baili ...
. This came to pass on William's death.
The division of William the Conqueror's lands into two parts presented a dilemma for those nobles who held land on both sides of the English Channel. Since the younger William and his brother Robert were natural rivals, these nobles worried that they could not hope to please both of their lords, and thus ran the risk of losing the favour of one ruler or the other, or both. The only solution, as they saw it, was to unite England and Normandy once more under one ruler. The pursuit of this aim led them to revolt against William in favour of Robert, under the leadership of the powerful Bishop
Odo of Bayeux
Odo of Bayeux (died 1097), Earl of Kent and Bishop of Bayeux, was the maternal half-brother of William the Conqueror, and was, for a time, second in power after the King of England.
Early life
Odo was the son of William the Conqueror's mother ...
, who was a half-brother of William the Conqueror.
[Carpenter ''Struggle for Mastery'' p. 129]
The rebels, led by William the Conqueror's half-brothers
Odo of Bayeux
Odo of Bayeux (died 1097), Earl of Kent and Bishop of Bayeux, was the maternal half-brother of William the Conqueror, and was, for a time, second in power after the King of England.
Early life
Odo was the son of William the Conqueror's mother ...
and
Robert, Count of Mortain
Robert, Count of Mortain, 2nd Earl of Cornwall (–) was a Norman nobleman and the half-brother (on their mother's side) of King William the Conqueror. He was one of the very few proven companions of William the Conqueror at the Battle of Hast ...
, with Odo the stronger of the two and the leader, decided to band together to dispose of young King William II and reunite Normandy and England under a single ruler, Robert.
Among King William's initial supporters were all the bishops of England, a few major magnates including
Alan Rufus
Alan Rufus, alternatively Alanus Rufus ( Latin), Alan ar Rouz ( Breton), Alain le Roux ( French) or Alan the Red (c. 1040 – 1093), 1st Lord of Richmond, was a Breton nobleman, kinsman and companion of William the Conqueror (Duke William II o ...
(in the east of England north of London up to Yorkshire),
William de Warenne, 1st Earl of Surrey
William de Warenne, 1st Earl of Surrey, Lord of Lewes, Seigneur de Varennes (died 1088), was a Norman nobleman created Earl of Surrey under William II Rufus. He is among the few known from documents to have fought under William the Conqueror ...
(from Sussex to Yorkshire) and
Hugh of Avranches (in the west, around Cheshire, and in Lincolnshire),
and lesser tenants-in-chief such as
Robert Fitzhamon and
Walter D'Aincourt
Walter D'Aincourt (or Walter Deincourt or d'Eyncourt) was a landholder in Derby under King Edward the Confessor in 1065/1066.
Later in 1066, he fought for William the Conqueror against Harold Godwinson and was rewarded with a large number of manor ...
. However, the rebels' ranks were made up many of the most powerful barons in England: of the ten largest baronial landholders in the Domesday Book, six were counted amongst the rebels. They were spread far and wide geographically from Kent, controlled by Bishop Odo, to Northumberland, controlled by Robert de Mowbray, to Gloucestershire and Somerset under
Geoffrey de Montbray
Geoffrey de Montbray (Montbrai, Mowbray) (died 1093), bishop of Coutances ( la, Constantiensis), also known as Geoffrey of Coutances, was a Norman nobleman, trusted adviser of William the Conqueror and a great secular prelate, warrior and admin ...
(Bishop of
Coutances), to
Norfolk
Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the Nor ...
with
Roger Bigod, through
Shropshire
Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to ...
and
Sussex
Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the Englis ...
and other counties with
Roger of Montgomery
Roger de Montgomery (died 1094), also known as Roger the Great, was the first Earl of Shrewsbury, and Earl of Arundel, in Sussex. His father was Roger de Montgomery, seigneur of Montgomery, a member of the House of Montgomerie, and was probably ...
, and a vast swathe of territory in the south-west, centre and south of England under Count Robert. In support of the rebels were
Eustace III, Count of Boulogne and "
Hugh de Grantmesnil, who had the government of
Leicestershire
Leicestershire ( ; postal abbreviation Leics.) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East Midlands, England. The county borders Nottinghamshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the north-east, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire ...
, with
Robert de Rhuddlan his nephew, and other knights of distinguished bravery".
The rebellion
With the coming of summer in 1088, the barons set out on a campaign to lay waste the lands of William II and his supporters. They fortified their own castles and stocked them with provisions, and waited for a response from the king. If for some reason no response came, they knew they could easily live by plundering neighbouring territories, and thus reduce the kingdom to feudal anarchy, a situation the king would eventually have to address.
The king's response was threefold. First, he divided his enemies by promising those who sided with him that they would receive as much money and land as they wanted. Second, he appealed to the English people as a whole, promising them "the best law that had ever been in this land". This had a positive effect in allowing regional garrisons the support they needed to fight the rebels. Finally, he attacked the rebels personally. In a six-week siege of
Pevensey Castle
Pevensey Castle is a medieval castle and former Roman Saxon Shore fort at Pevensey in the English county of East Sussex. The site is a scheduled monument in the care of English Heritage and is open to visitors. Built around 290 AD and known to ...
in
Sussex
Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the Englis ...
he captured the rebel leader Odo.
In a stroke of luck for the king, the troops Robert was sending from Normandy were driven back by bad weather on the seas.
Meanwhile, the king, together with some of his allies took
Rochester Castle
Rochester Castle stands on the east bank of the River Medway in Rochester, Kent, South East England. The 12th-century keep or stone tower, which is the castle's most prominent feature, is one of the best preserved in England or France.
Situat ...
in
Kent
Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
, and with Robert's failure to arrive, the rebels were forced to surrender and the rebellion was over.
Those of William's barons who had remained loyal urged leniency for the rebel barons,
Orderic Vitalis
Orderic Vitalis ( la, Ordericus Vitalis; 16 February 1075 – ) was an English chronicler and Benedictine monk who wrote one of the great contemporary chronicles of 11th- and 12th-century Normandy and Anglo-Norman England. Modern historia ...
says, addressing the king:
:If you temper your animosity against these great men, and treat them graciously here, or permit them to depart in safety, you may advantageously use their amity and service, on many future occasions. He who is your enemy now, may be your useful friend another time.
[Orderic Vitalis, op. cit., page 440.]
Odo, previously the richest man in England, was stripped of his belongings and banished to Normandy for life,
while his nephew Robert Curthose was allowed to stay in England and keep his estates in Normandy, on the proviso that he recognise William II as king and set aside his claim to the throne. Roger of Montgomery had left the rebels and joined with the king after promises of land and money. The king pragmatically kept those aristocrats whom he needed and removed those who were a threat.
William de St-Calais
William de St-Calais (died 2 January 1096) was a medieval Norman monk, abbot of the abbey of Saint-Vincent in Le Mans in Maine, who was nominated by King William I of England as Bishop of Durham in 1080. During his term as bishop, St-Calais r ...
, Bishop of Durham, who had abandoned the king's army during the campaign, was tried later in the year, deposed, and exiled to Normandy, but in 1091 returned and was reinstated.
References
Sources
* Carpenter, David (2004). The Struggle for Mastery: The Penguin History of Britain 1066–1284. New York: Penguin. {{ISBN, 0-14-014824-8.
Conflicts in 1088
11th-century rebellions
Rebellions in medieval England
1088 in England
1080s in France
Wars of succession involving the states and peoples of Europe
William II of England