1. Today’s Learning Muscle
Year 10 GCSE History
Unit: 2.4
What caused the Earls to revolt in 1075?
Today we will:
Today’s Learning Muscle
Identify key people involved in the revolt
Explain the causes & consequences of the revolt
Display the main events of the revolt in chronological order.

2. “The king is unworthy – all men hate him and his death would cause great rejoicing.”
Orderic Vitallis, vol II

3. Write down anything in GREEN.
William had previously shut down rebellions through the use of force in the years
The revolt of 1075 was different from previous rebellions because it included Normans rebelling against William.
The revolt in 1075 is sometimes known as ‘the revolt of the Norman Earls’ – but it’s not quite that simple.
The revolt was led by 2 Norman earls & 1 Saxon earl who wanted to overthrow William and split England between them.
Similar to other rebellions, the leaders also enlisted the help of the Danish, who were led by King Sweyn’s son – Cnut.
Furthermore, the rebels were supported by Normandy’s rivals in Brittany & France, who wanted to weaken Norman power.

5. The Plan
Using military strength; overthrow William.
To help with this, use Danish troops led by Cnut (Prince of Denmark) as well as Brittany and France.
Divide the kingdom into three separate kingdom ruled by each of them.

6. On your profile sheet, identify three reasons for each as to why they may have rebelled against William.

7. As we go through the next few slides, write down 3 facts about each of the people on your sticker.
Ralph de Gael
Roger de Breteuil
Waltheof 1) 2) 3) 1) 2) 3) 1) 2) 3)

8. NORMAN Ralph de Gael, Earl of East Anglia
Ralph was the son of an Anglo-Norman who had served Edward the Confessor and then been rewarded with lands in East Anglia by William (probably Gyrth Godwinson’s land) in Ralph’s mother was from Brittany and Ralph was brought up there. When his father died, Ralph succeeded him as Earl of East Anglia, in around In 1075, Ralph married the sister of Roger de Breteuil. He resented a loss of power & wealth during William’s rule.
NORMAN

9. NORMAN Roger de Breteuil, Earl of Hereford
Roger was the son of William FitzOsbern, lord of Breteuil in Normandy and the same man that William had rewarded so lavishly in 1066: making him Earl of Hereford, a Marcher earldom with extensive powers. Roger had succeeded his father as Earl in 1071, after FitzOsbern died abroad. Under William’s rule, Roger’s powers in the Marcher earldom gradually decreased.
NORMAN
p. 60

10. SAXON Waltheof, Earl of Northumbria
Waltheof was the son of Earl Siward. When Siward died in 1055 and Edward had made Tostig Earl of Northumbria, Waltheof was too young to challenge him. By 1065, he was Earl of Northamptonshire and, after submitting to William in 1066, he was allowed to stay as earl. In 1069, he was part of the rebellions in the North, but he submitted again to William and was pardoned, unlike his cousin Gospatric. When Gospatric fled England in 1072, William made Waltheof Earl of Northumbria – perhaps as a gesture of resolution over the Harrying of the North.
SAXON
p. 60

11. Ralph decided to marry Emma against the will of William.
At their wedding feast, Ralph and Roger recruited Waltheof to their cause – between the three of them their land covered most of the Kingdom.
Waltheof would use his connections in Denmark to get support from the Danish whilst William was in Normandy with Archbishop Lanfranc.
Walteheof betrayed the rebels and informed Lanfranc who told William.

12. Lanfranc gathered intelligence in Hereford and East Anglia – he was told that their strength grew and castles were being built for defence.
He wrote letters to Roger, trying to convince him to stop – reminding him of how loyal his father had been to William.
He excommunicated him from the Church.
Used Bishop Wulfstan in Worchester and the Abbot of Evesham to gather troops to prevent Roger’s forces from crossing the Severn River – effectively trapping him.
In the East, Saxons and Normans loyal to the crown gathered armies to prevent Ralph form breaking out of East Anglia.
William returned to England at the same time as 200 Danish ships arrive. They flee due to being scared of facing William the Conqueror

14. Learning Tasks
All
Complete the ‘long term and short term causes’ sheet your teacher has given you. (You could even draw this into your book!)
Explain how the Church played a key role in crushing this rebellion.
Target 9-5
Draw a table showing evidence for and against this statement:
“William’s normanisation of England was successful in securing his kingdom between 1066 and 1075”
Target 4-2
How can we blame King William for this rebellion? Explain your answer

15. Long term causes Resentment Opportunities
Loss of land – many Norman lords had lost areas of their land under the rule of William I. E.g. Roder de Breteuil inherited the marcher earldom of Hereford but it was less land than his father held. He hated William for this as it reduced his wealth and power.
Loss of privileges – many of the marcher earldoms had lost powers they previously had. William introduced his own sheriffs into them which took power away from the earls.
Opportunities
William’s absence – King William spent much of his time over in Normandy following the 1069 Harrying of the North. It would be much easier for the earls to rebel in his absence.
They had very powerful allies – Walteheof has connections in Denmark who could help them conquer England.
After almost 10 years of Norman rule, which had seen the kingdom completely change and thousands die – the Saxons hated King William and would have jumped at any chance to rebel against him.
Short term cause
Ralph de Gael was forbidden to marry the daughter Earl Breteuil of Hereford. This would have united two powerful families and William did not want this to happen. This angered Ralph into challenging king William.

16. Bishop Wulfstan and the abbot of Evesham raised an army to prevent the rebels from marching East to meet up with Ralph. They trapped them at the Severn River.
Normans and Saxon lords raise armies and fight Ralph’s men in the east – they prevent them from marching west to meet up with the other rebels. Dividing and conquering!
From London, Lanfranc sent men to find out what was happening in Hereford and East Anglia. They reported the building of an army and defences. This gave the monarchy time to respond. He excommunicated the rebels which would have stopped many fighting for them.

17. Plenary
Decide if each statement about the Revolt of the Earls is true (T) or false (F).
The Revolt of the Earls was planned at a wedding.
T F
All the rebel Earls were Normans.
T F
William successfully kept control of England after the revolt.
T F
p. 60
None of the three main rebel Earls lived in England after 1076.
T F
William successfully attacked Ralph de Gael in Brittany.
T F