Siege Of Exeter (1068)
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The siege of Exeter occurred early in 1068 when King
William I of England 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 ...
marched a combined army of
Normans The Normans ( Norman: ''Normaunds''; french: Normands; la, Nortmanni/Normanni) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norse Viking settlers and indigenous West Franks and Gallo-Romans. ...
and loyal Englishmen westwards to force the submission of the city of Exeter in
Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...
, a stronghold of Anglo-Saxon resistance against Norman rule following the Norman Conquest of England. After a
siege A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or a well-prepared assault. This derives from la, sedere, lit=to sit. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict characteriz ...
lasting eighteen days, the city surrendered to William under generous terms and allowed the Normans to consolidate their hold over the
West Country The West Country (occasionally Westcountry) is a loosely defined area of South West England, usually taken to include all, some, or parts of the counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset, Bristol, and, less commonly, Wiltshire, Glo ...
.


Background

Exeter originated as a Roman '' civitas'' called
Isca Dumnoniorum Isca Dumnoniorum, also known simply as Isca, was originally a Roman legionary fortress for the Second Augustan Legion (established ) in the Roman province of Britannia at the site of present-day Exeter in Devon. The town grew up around this ...
, which was provided with town walls in about 200 AD. It later became an Anglo-Saxon ''
burh A burh () or burg was an Old English fortification or fortified settlement. In the 9th century, raids and invasions by Vikings prompted Alfred the Great to develop a network of burhs and roads to use against such attackers. Some were new constr ...
'' or fortified settlement and the Roman walls were said to have been repaired and improved by King
Æthelstan Æthelstan or Athelstan (; ang, Æðelstān ; on, Aðalsteinn; ; – 27 October 939) was King of the Anglo-Saxons from 924 to 927 and King of the English from 927 to his death in 939. He was the son of King Edward the Elder and his fir ...
in the 10th century. After the
Battle of Hastings The Battle of Hastings nrf, Batâle dé Hastings was fought on 14 October 1066 between the Norman-French army of William, the Duke of Normandy, and an English army under the Anglo-Saxon King Harold Godwinson, beginning the Norman Conque ...
in October 1066, Duke William of Normandy marched on London and accepted the surrender of the leading English nobles at
Berkhamsted Berkhamsted ( ) is a historic market town in Hertfordshire, England, in the Bulbourne valley, north-west of London. The town is a civil parish with a town council within the borough of Dacorum which is based in the neighbouring large new town ...
and was subsequently crowned King of England at
Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the Unite ...
on Christmas Day. After the death of
Harold Godwinson Harold Godwinson ( – 14 October 1066), also called Harold II, was the last crowned Anglo-Saxon English king. Harold reigned from 6 January 1066 until his death at the Battle of Hastings, fighting the Norman invaders led by William the ...
, his mother,
Gytha Thorkelsdóttir Gytha Thorkelsdóttir ( ang, Gȳða Þorkelsdōttir, 997 – c. 1069), also called Githa, was a Danish noblewoman. She was the wife of Godwin, Earl of Wessex and the mother of King Harold Godwinson and of Edith of Wessex, who was the queen con ...
, took refuge in Exeter, which then became the main focus in the
West Country The West Country (occasionally Westcountry) is a loosely defined area of South West England, usually taken to include all, some, or parts of the counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset, Bristol, and, less commonly, Wiltshire, Glo ...
of resistance to Norman rule. Gytha had considerable wealth and hoped for the arrival of Harold's three sons, Godwin, Edmund and
Magnus Magnus, meaning "Great" in Latin, was used as cognomen of Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus in the first century BC. The best-known use of the name during the Roman Empire is for the fourth-century Western Roman Emperor Magnus Maximus. The name gained wid ...
, who had gone to Ireland to raise an army. Orderic Vitalis states that she sent messages to other towns and cities in the region asking for support and was in contact her nephew,
Sweyn II of Denmark Sweyn Estridsson Ulfsson ( on, Sveinn Ástríðarson, da, Svend Estridsen; – 28 April 1076) was King of Denmark (being Sweyn II) from 1047 until his death in 1076. He was the son of Ulf Thorgilsson and Estrid Svendsdatter, and the grandson ...
. In March 1067, William had returned to Normandy in triumph, but there news arrived of events in Exeter. According to Orderic, some Norman soldiers that William had sent across to England ended up in Exeter where they were badly treated; they were stated to have been blown off course by bad weather, but were possibly on a reconnaissance mission. This, together with evidence that Exeter was soliciting support for an uprising, caused William to issue a demand of fealty from the city. When the reply came from Exeter, it was made clear that the citizens not only declined to swear allegiance to William or to allow him to enter their city, but also refused to pay any taxes beyond those that were customary,Brown 1994, p. 165 probably in reference to the severe taxes imposed after the Conquest that are described in the '' Anglo-Saxon Chronicle''. Orderic relates that William said that he would not accept subjects under those conditions and he returned to England in December 1067. Other threats to Norman rule at that time included the revolt of Edric the Wild in Herefordshire and a failed attack on
Dover Castle Dover Castle is a medieval castle in Dover, Kent, England and is Grade I listed. It was founded in the 11th century and has been described as the "Key to England" due to its defensive significance throughout history. Some sources say it is the ...
, but the defiance of Exeter with the connected threats of the Danes and Harold's sons was the most pressing matter.


William's march west

King William celebrated Christmas in London and then began his move towards Exeter. The fact that he took the unusual step of campaigning in the depths of winter is indicative of William's determination to deliver a pre-emptive strike against the Godwinsons. For the first time, William supplemented his Norman cavalry by calling out the
fyrd A fyrd () was a type of early Anglo-Saxon army that was mobilised from freemen or paid men to defend their Shire's lords estate, or from selected representatives to join a royal expedition. Service in the fyrd was usually of short duration and ...
, the traditional force of English militia infantry, which besides increasing the size of his force, would have been a test of loyalty for his new subjects.Huscroft 2009, p. 140 On William's march through Dorset, he took the opportunity to pillage the towns which he perceived were supporting Exeter; the damage inflicted at Dorchester,
Shaftesbury Shaftesbury () is a town and civil parish in Dorset, England. It is situated on the A30 road, west of Salisbury, near the border with Wiltshire. It is the only significant hilltop settlement in Dorset, being built about above sea level on a ...
and
Bridport Bridport is a market town in Dorset, England, inland from the English Channel near the confluence of the River Brit and its tributary the Asker. Its origins are Saxon and it has a long history as a rope-making centre. On the coast and wit ...
was still evident at the time of the
Domesday survey Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...
some 18 years later.


The siege

When William arrived in Exeter's environs, he made camp, probably at the village of Clyst Honiton. Here, William was met by a delegation of prominent Exeter citizens, who pledged their submission to William and handed over
hostage A hostage is a person seized by an abductor in order to compel another party, one which places a high value on the liberty, well-being and safety of the person seized, such as a relative, employer, law enforcement or government to act, or refr ...
s as surety. There are two interpretations of this encounter; firstly that two parties had emerged in Exeter, one hoping for a peaceful settlement, and the other, led by Gytha, being determined to resist, while the second possibility was that this was a bluff by Gytha who was playing for time, hoping for the timely arrival of her grandsons with an Anglo-Irish army. Whatever the intention, when William and his army arrived at the East Gate of Exeter, he found it closed against him and the walls crowded with armed men. In response to this afront, he had one of the hostages blinded in full view of the city's defenders, although this did not diminish their resolve; according to
William of Malmesbury William of Malmesbury ( la, Willelmus Malmesbiriensis; ) was the foremost English historian of the 12th century. He has been ranked among the most talented English historians since Bede. Modern historian C. Warren Hollister described him as " ...
, one of the men on the battlements responded by lowering his breeches and
fart Flatulence, in humans, is the expulsion of gas from the intestines via the anus, commonly referred to as farting. "Flatus" is the medical word for gas generated in the stomach or bowels. A proportion of intestinal gas may be swallowed environm ...
ing towards the Normans. The various accounts of the details of the siege are divergent on some points and difficult to reconcile. According to the D Version of the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' attributed to
John of Worcester John of Worcester (died c. 1140) was an English monk and chronicler who worked at Worcester Priory. He is usually held to be the author of the ''Chronicon ex chronicis''. ''Chronicon ex chronicis'' The ''Chronicon ex chronicis'' is a world wi ...
, the siege lasted for eighteen days and William's army suffered large losses, presumably in direct assaultsBates p. 289 At some stage in the battle, Gytha escaped from city by boat along the
River Exe The River Exe ( ) in England rises at Exe Head, near the village of Simonsbath, on Exmoor in Somerset, from the Bristol Channel coast, but flows more or less directly due south, so that most of its length lies in Devon. It flows for 60 mile ...
, together with some of her supporters, indicating that William's army was not supported by ships. Orderic states that William eventually managed to breach the walls by
mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic ...
, the first record of this technique being used in England. However, the siege ended by negotiation rather than conquest; according to Orderic, the gates were opened and the townspeople, preceded by their clergy carrying sacred books and relics, pleaded for clemency. All the sources agree that William's terms were generous, in return for the city's fealty, with the ''Chronicle'' adding that he agreed to their previous request to pay tax only at pre-Conquest levels. William also prevented his soldiers from claiming their traditional right of looting the surrendered city, posting reliable guards at the gates to ensure its safety.


Aftermath

William ordered the construction of a stone castle to dominate Exeter and
Rougemont Castle Rougemont Castle, also known as Exeter Castle, is the historic castle of the city of Exeter, Devon, England. It was built into the northern corner of the Roman city walls starting in or shortly after the year 1068, following Exeter's rebellion ...
was built inside the northeast of the city wall. William's unusual generosity of terms at Exeter may have been due to the need to bring the West Country under his control. Antiquary
William Hals William Hals (1655–1737) was a British historian who compiled a ''History of Cornwall'', the first work of any magnitude that was printed in Cornwall. He was born at Tresawsan, in the parish of Merther in Cornwall. Much of his work was never pub ...
speculated that
Cadoc Saint Cadoc or Cadog ( lat-med, Cadocus; also Modern Welsh: Cattwg; born or before) was a 5th–6th-century Abbot of Llancarfan, near Cowbridge in Glamorgan, Wales, a monastery famous from the era of the British church as a centre of learni ...
, the pre-Conquest
Earl of Cornwall The title of Earl of Cornwall was created several times in the Peerage of England before 1337, when it was superseded by the title Duke of Cornwall, which became attached to heirs-apparent to the throne. Condor of Cornwall * Condor of Cornwall, ...
who had sworn fealty to William for his earldom, may have supported the rebels at Exeter, and was deprived of his earldom for this. In any case, William subsequently marched his army into Cornwall in a show of strength, before returning to Winchester to celebrate Easter. The garrison of Exeter was initially commanded by William de Vauville but soon passed to
Baldwin FitzGilbert Baldwin FitzGilbert (died 1086-1091) (''alias'' Baldwin the Sheriff, Baldwin of Exeter, Baldwin de Meulles/Moels and Baldwin du Sap) was a Norman magnate and one of the 52 Devon Domesday Book tenants-in-chief of King William the Conqueror, of who ...
(or de Meulles), while
Brian of Brittany Brian of Brittany ( 1042 – 14 February, perhaps bef. 1086) was a Breton nobleman who fought in the service of William I of England. A powerful magnate in south-western England, he was the first post-Conquest earl of Cornwall. Brian was born ...
was made earl of the West Country.Bristol Channel where she established a base on the island of
Flat Holm Flat Holm ( cy, Ynys Echni) is a Welsh island lying in the Bristol Channel approximately from Lavernock Point in the Vale of Glamorgan. It includes the most southerly point of Wales. The island has a long history of occupation, dating at lea ...
, possibly in the hope of a rendez-vous with her grandsons' expedition from Ireland. Eventually, she went to
Saint-Omer Saint-Omer (; vls, Sint-Omaars) is a commune and sub-prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department in France. It is west-northwest of Lille on the railway to Calais, and is located in the Artois province. The town is named after Saint Audoma ...
in
Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to cultu ...
, where she had earlier been exiled with her husband
Godwin, Earl of Wessex Godwin of Wessex ( ang, Godwine; – 15 April 1053) was an English nobleman who became one of the most powerful earls in England under the Danish king Cnut the Great (King of England from 1016 to 1035) and his successors. Cnut made Godwin the ...
in 1051. She never returned to England. The sons of Harold did not arrive until later in the year; the citizens of Bristol closed their gates to them and they were later defeated at
Bleadon Bleadon is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England. It is about south of Weston-super-Mare and, according to the 2011 census, has a population of 1,079. History Bleadon was listed in the Domesday Book of 1086 as ''Bledone'', meaning 'c ...
by the English earl Eadnoth the Staller, who was killed in the action. A second incursion into Devon was mounted by Harold's sons in 1069, this time from the south coast, but Exeter remained loyal to William and refused to support them.Huscroft 2009, p. 141


References


Sources

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * {{coord, 50, 43, 33, N, 3, 31, 47, W, display=title, type:event_region:GB Exeter Exeter Military history of Devon Conflicts in 1068 History of Exeter 1068 in England 11th century in Devon Norman conquest of England