The Revolt of the Earls, 1075 (Edexcel GCSE History)

The Revolt of the Earls in 1075 showed that William faced unrest from his own people. Roger de Breteuil and Ralph de Gaul were Norman earls. They gained power through their fathers' loyalty to William. Their success and wealth were reliant on their faithfulness to William. This showed that rebellion could occur from any section of society.

A key similarity between this rebellion and the Anglo-Saxon rebellions is the motivation for revolt. The earls complained of a loss of land and power during William's reign. These reasons motivated Edwin, Morcar, Hereward and the North of England to rebel against William. William's pursuit of centralised power affected both Anglo-Saxon and Norman aristocracy.

Ralph de Gael

East Anglia

Norman

Ralph's father served Edward the Confessor. Ralph spent his childhood in Normandy

William gifted Ralph's father with the earldom of East Anglia. Ralph arrived in England in 1069 to inherit the earldom after his father's death. Ralph had married Roger de Breteuil's sister in 1075

Roger de Breteuil

Hereford

Norman

Roger's father was William FitzOsbern, the Lord of Breteuil in Normandy

William heavily rewarded Roger's father for his loyalty. Roger became the Earl of Hereford after FitzOsbern died in 1071

Waltheof

Northumbria

Anglo-Saxon

Watheof's father, Siward, was the Earl of Northumbria. He died in 1055. Tostig took Waltheof's claim to the earldom. In 1065, Waltheof became the Earl of Northamptonshire

Waltheof submitted to William and kept the earldom of Northamptonshire. After his involvement in the Northern rebellions in 1069, Waltheof submitted again. William pardoned him. In 1072, William gave Waltheof the earldom of Northumbria as an apology for the Harrying of the North

Waltheof broke his promise and informed Lanfranc of the plan. This allowed the Normans to stop the revolt before it even began

Lanfranc responded well to Waltheof's information. He sent scouts to Hereford and East Anglia to gain information on Ralph and Roger's preparations. They saw that the castles and troops in both earldoms were increasing in strength

The earls did not back down when they knew that the Normans had uncovered their plan. Lanfranc wrote to Roger pleading him not to rebel. Roger continued with the plan

Lanfranc used the Church to respond to the revolt. Bishop Wulfstan of Worcester and the abbot of Evesham trapped Roger in Herefordshire. He excommunicated Roger, limiting his power with the Norman aristocracy

The earls did not consider how long a Danish fleet would take to arrive in England. The Danes arrived with 200 ships, but after William returned from Normandy. The Danes did not want to fight William in battle. Instead, the Danes raided the East Coast and pillaged York Cathedral before returning to Denmark

The Normans managed to gain Anglo-Saxon support against the rebellion. A combined Norman and Anglo-Saxon military force prevented Ralph from leaving East Anglia