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From Noiser and Airship, I'm Lindsey Graham and this is History. Daily history is made every day on this podcast. Every day, we tell the true stories of the people and events that shaped our world. Today is January 28, 1069, the Harrying of the North. It's December 25, 1066 at Westminster Abbey in London, England. Two years before the death of Robert de Commynes. 38 year old Duke William of Normandy sits on a wooden throne in the middle of the abbey, staring at the dignitaries gathered in the vast church. There's a rustle of robes as a figure moves behind him, but William remains perfectly still. This is the most significant moment in his life so far. His coronation as King of England. Eleven months ago, the old English King Edward the Confessor, died without an heir, leaving behind a dispute over who should succeed him. According to Duke William, King Edward had promised him the throne 15 years earlier. But when the time came, few English people wanted a man from the French province of Normandy as their king. Instead, they convinced England's most powerful nobleman, Harold Godwinson, to accept the crown. But William was not happy that what he saw as his rightful inheritance had been usurped, and he invaded England to seize the throne. Two months ago, William won the Battle of Hastings and King Harold was killed. Now Duke William is about to become the third King of England in less than a year. As the crown is lowered on William's head, a cheer breaks out in the abbey. Duke William of Normandy is now King William of England. But the ceremony isn't over yet. Now that the new king has been crowned, the assembled clergymen begin mass to celebrate the coronation. But during quiet moments in the service, William hears shouts from outside the abbey. One or two Norman nobles and knights leave the abbey to investigate, and they return with white faces and gesture at others and the congregation to follow them back outside. Eventually, William beckons over one of his followers to ask, what's going on? The man whispers in William's ear that royal guards stationed outside the abbey heard the cheering from inside and thought that William had been assassinated by disgruntled Englishmen. In response, the guards went on the rampage, setting fire to nearby buildings. Londoners are fighting back and a full scale riot has broken out. William leans back in his chair and decides that despite the disorder in the streets outside, the church service and coronation must finish as planned. And by the time he leaves the abbey, an hour or so later, order has been restored. But several people are dead and smoke lingers in the air while buildings smolder. William mounts his horse and rides to the safety of a newly built wooden castle on the banks of the River Thames. It's there that the new king realizes this outbreak of violence is a sign that his conquest of England is far from complete. Although he's now King of England in name, William has control over only a sliver of his new realm. There are vast portions of land where the old English authorities are still in control and whose inhabitants resent their new Norman masters. So over the next few months, William's army spread out from London to establish Norman rule across the rest of the kingdom. The last region to fall is the most distant one, the north. For two centuries, Northumbria has been a thorn in the side of English monarchs. Northern England was conquered by the Vikings in 866 CE, and the Scandinavian settlers who followed them spent decades clashing with the people further south. Even now that the north is part of England, it remains a tense mix of cultures united in only one hatred for the Norman invaders. William is aware that the north of his kingdom is a tinderbox where rebellion could break out at any moment. So in an attempt to quell dissent, he offers an olive branch. In the rest of England, William has installed fellow Normans as governors and landowners. But he offers the position of Earl of Northumbria, the most powerful man in Northern England, to an Englishman, but one who's prepared to bend the knee to William. William's strategy doesn't get off to the best start. His first choice for earl is murdered within five weeks. William replaces him with another Englishman. But he is also dead before the year's out. So for the third time in a year, William names an Englishman to the vacant Earldom of Northumbria. But this new Earl's rule will also come to an abrupt end. One that will force William to attempt a controversial new approach to subduing the north of England. No longer will he try to mollify the region with English born rulers, but coerce them with French made steel. History Daily is sponsored by Acorns.

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From the glass spires of Midtown Atlanta lies the south river forest. In 2021 and 2022, the woods became a home to activists from all over the country who gathered to stop the nearby construction of a massive new police training facility nicknamed Cop City.

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At approximately 9:00 this morning, as law enforcement was moving through various sectors of the property, an individual without warning shot a Georgia State Patrol trooper.

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This is We Came to the Forest, a story about resistance.

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The abolitionist mission isn't done until every prison is empty and shut down.

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It's the summer of 1068 in York, England, 18 months after King William I's coronation William grips the reins of his horse as he and his guards gallop through the city. He pays no attention to the inhabitants of York, who rush aside to avoid being trampled. Instead, William focuses on his destination, one that's just a few hundred yards ahead. A castle that sits on top of a large man made mound of earth. A few weeks ago, William's third choice as Earl of Northumbria, an Englishman named Gospatrick, joined a rebellion against William's rule. Now, with two earls of Northumbria murdered and one turned rebel, William had had enough and marched north at the head of an army to deal with the troublesome region himself. Hearing of his approach, the leaders of the rebellion fled north to the neighboring kingdom of Scotland, and Gospatrick was among them. Although peace was restored, William decided to ensure that the north stayed loyal to him by building a permanent base in this part of the kingdom. He selected York, the region's most important city, as the site of a new castle. Soldiers pulled down hundreds of houses and buildings, evicting their inhabitants to make way for construction. And now, just two weeks later, William is here to inspect the newly built citadel. When he's safe behind the castle palisade, William dismounts and hands the reins of his horse to an attendant. He hustles through the keep to the great hall, which still smells of freshly cut timber. But William doesn't spend much time admiring the new construction. He's eager to get to work, and over the next few days, he hears reports from the handful of knights and nobles in the north who've stayed loyal to him. They tell William that the rebels have sought sanctuary with the Scottish king and cannot be pursued across the border without provoking war with Scotland. So for the moment, they are safe from William's vengeance. But by fleeing the country, they have abandoned their homes in northern England. And after this latest blow to his authority, William has no intention of pandering to the Northumbrians any longer. Over the next few days, he strips the departed rebels of their landholdings, taking their property for himself. Among those who are punished in this way is Gospatrick, who is also stripped of the title of Earl. But this time, William does not hand the title to another Englishman, and instead, his choice as the next Earl of Northumbria is someone he trusts completely, Robert de Commynes, a nobleman who's been with him since before the Battle of Hastings. William orders Robert to subdue the entire north by force. And after William returns to London.

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Robert.

Narrator (13:21)

Robert assembles an army of 700 men and marches them to Durham, a city 50 miles from the border with Scotland. But once there, Robert does not pay enough attention to the rumors that rebels are reassembling in the countryside around the city. When another uprising breaks out in the beginning of 1069, Robert is caught by surprise and his men are massacred. He initially escapes the bloodshed, but Robert is finally cornered in the Bishop of Durham's house and dies when the rebels set fire to it. King William is enraged by the death of his loyal ally and immediately marches back north with his army. But again, the rebels slip away into the countryside and refuse to engage directly. But William won't let them get away a second time. Over the next few months, William conducts a brutal campaign against the north of England. He orders his soldiers to treat every inhabitant of every town and village as an enemy, whether they are sympathetic to the rebels or not. So the Norman soldiers burn crops in the fields. They kill livestock, empty food stores, destroy tools, and tear down buildings. Anyone who tries to resist is slaughtered. After the first few attacks, word gets around that the Normans show no mercy. Villagers flee when they hear that soldiers are coming. But even if people survive the initial attacks, the razing of their homes and crops means that they're left defenseless against the elements and with little food to sustain them. So soon, the north of England begins to empty, as refugees flock to Scotland and the English Midlands. Those unable to travel are forced to eat cats, dogs, horses, even the bodies of friends and family members to avoid starvation. But William won't shy away from the destruction and suffering he's caused. Instead, he'll order it to continue for months. And it'll only end when the harrying of the north has achieved what he demands. The complete subjugation of England to his Royal Command.

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It's 1086 in Horsforth, a village in northern England. 17 years after William the Conqueror began the harrying of the north. A Norman official rides into the village with two armed guards close behind him to guarantee his safety. Normans are not popular in these parts, but the official soon realizes that there's no threat here. The buildings and Horseforth are derelict, and what few villagers he sees are pale and emaciated. So the official clambers down from his horse and begins unpacking his bags. He has work to do. In the two decades since his invasion of England, William the Conqueror has faced countless disputes over land ownership. In order to settle these arguments, William has come up with a bureaucratic solution. He's ordered his officials to carry out a survey of every village and town in England. Nothing like it has ever been attempted before. William wants a comprehensive written record of who owns what land and how much they owe to him in taxation. And now one of his officials has arrived at his latest destination in a months long journey around northern England. Over the course of the next few hours, the official questions the people of Horsforth. He asks who owns what land, how much it's worth, and what was it worth in 1066, the year William the Conqueror seized the English crown. The villagers tell the official that the value of their land has substantially decreased over the last few years. It's a familiar story, and the official knows what's caused it. Even though the harrying of the north was 17 years ago, King William's soldiers laid such a path of destruction that the region still hasn't recovered. As the official rises to leave, he declares that the village of Horsforth is a waste. A judgment that means the people of the village have so little property that they aren't required to pay any taxes at all. Villagers smile resignedly. At least this verdict means they have one less burden to shoulder. King William considered the harrying of the North a necessary measure. But the consequences go far beyond the amount of tax that subsequent generations must pay. Up to three quarters of the population of Northern England were either killed or displaced by the King's ruthless and violent campaign. And William's brutality will ensure that the north of England remains far poorer than the south for centuries to come. A steep price for its people to pay for the death of William's ally, Robert de Commynes, on January 28, 1069. Next on History Daily, January 29, 1959. The Walt Disney Company takes a 30 year break from animated princess movies after Sleeping Beauty bombs at the box office from Noiser and Airship. This is history. Daily hosted, edited and executive produced by me, Lindsey Graham Audio editing by Mohammed Shazir Sound design by Gabriel Gould Music by Thrum. This episode is written and researched by Scott Reeves. Edited by Dorian Marina Managing producer Emily Burke Executive producer are William Simpson for Airship and Pascal Hughes for Noiser.