Harrying of the North

Timeline

1. 1069York · YorkshireIn 1069 the sons of Danish King Sweyn Estridsson sent a fleet to support the northern rebellion; together with Edgar the Aetheling and local nobles they captured York again and burned two Norman castles. William, then in France on duchy business, hurried back to England to organize a large-scale counterattack.
2. 1069–1070Northumbria · NorthumbriaWilliam divided his forces to sweep from Yorkshire to Durham, systematically destroying towns, livestock and stored grain, and massacring or expelling inhabitants to cut off rebel supplies. The Danish fleet withdrew for lack of provisions. According to the Domesday Book and later chronicles, much land was recorded as 'waste' due to depopulation, and famine and plague persisted for years.
3. 1070Northern England · NorthumbriaIn 1070 William appointed Bishop Walcher to govern Durham and used fiefs to attract Norman and French settlers to fill the population vacuum. The 1086 Domesday Book shows much of Yorkshire recorded as 'waste'. The 12th-century chronicler Orderic Vitalis called it an atrocity 'to make God and good men weep'; the north's population and economy did not recover until the 12th century.