Rebellion of 1088

The rebellion of 1088 is held after the death of the king d' Angleterre William the Conqueror, and relates to the division as of its possessions in England and Normandy between his/her oldest sons : Robert Courteheuse and William Rufus. The hostilities last between three and six months, beginning with the Easter from 1088.

Context

On his bed of death, the king Guillaume chooses to divide his possessions into two. To his oldest son Robert, it gives his oldest possession, the Duché of Normandy, and with its second wire Guillaume, the Royaume of England, conquered since only 20 years. For the many barons who have grounds on the two sides of the Manche, the situation poses large problems of honesty. Ordéric Vital retranscribes the situation as follows:

“How can we correctly obey suitably two lords so different and so distant one from the other ? If we serve Robert with dignity, the Duc of Normandy, then we will offend his Guillaume brother, and it will strip us large goods and high dignities which we have in England. If we subject ourselves suitably to the king Guillaume, the duke Robert will deprive to us in Normandy our paternal heritages. ”

Quickly certain rich person barons decide that this intolerable situation must be regulated by joining together the two territories under the same command, that of Robert. With the Lent, the bishops Odon de Conteville (Bayeux), Geoffroy de Montbray (Coutances) and Guillaume of Saint-Calais (Durham), form the starting core of the plot. Then the two half-brothers of the Conqueror, Odon of Bayeux and Robert de Mortain, the Count de Mortain and of Cornouailles take the head of it. 5 years Odon, just released of imprisonment with died of his/her half-brother, is the natural leader.
They are joined soon by the most powerful barons of the kingdom. On the whole, six entreated appear among the ten land big landowners listed in the Domesday Book. They are dispersed in all the kingdom: Odon control the Kent, Robert de Mortain is Count de Cornouailles but has also many manors in the Yorkshire, the Northamptonshire and in the Devonshire, Robert de Montbray control the Northumberland, Roger Bigot the Norfolk, powerful the Roger II of Montgommery Shrewsbury and all Welsh walk, and finally Eustace II of Boulogne holds the strengthened castle of Rochester. Their strategy is to initiate the rebellion in England, while waiting for that the duke Robert lance an invasion from Normandy.

The rebellion

With the return of spring in 1088, the barons launch their countryside by putting at bag the grounds and tenant farming of the king and his supporters.

Geoffroy de Montbray and his nephew Robert, Count de Northumbrie, put at bag Bristol, Bath, Berkeley and most of the Wiltshire. Roger Religious bigot confusion the area around Norwich, and Odon the Kent. The Count de Shrewsbury, with a Welsh force and the reinforcement of Geoffroy de Montbray, Roger Lacy and Ralph Mortimer make in the same way in the area as Roger controls, by putting fire and by killing much. They attack Worcester and set fire to the neighborhoods. The inhabitants organize resistance, and are able to counter-attack, carried out by the bishop Wulfstan. They kill several hundreds of their enemies during the engagements. The remainder of the attackers is put in rout.

Then the barons return in their castles, strengthen them, store provisions there, and await the reaction of the king there. So for some reason that it is, it does not arrive, they can always hold by plundering the close territories, and thus transform the kingdom into a feudal anarchy. During this time, the duke Robert, needing money to prepare his invasion, engages the Cotentin (a third of the duchy) near his Henri brother for 3000 books of money, some affirm that the duke never came in person and that it sent vessels in recognition which were put in rout by the ships of the king. Others affirm that the duke unloads in England with a powerful army, after the loss of its troops of scouts. But realizing that its supporters was in quite bad posture, it would have made half-turn.

At the end of six weeks of seat, the castle of Pevensey falls, Odon of Bayeux and Robert de Mortain goes. Odon agrees to negotiate the rendering of the castle of Rochester in which some Norman and Flemish barons are cut off, of which Eustace, the Count de Boulogne, Robert II of Bellême. King Guillaume imprudently sends it with a detachment in front of the large one of the troops. Odon succeeds in returning in the castle and decides to try once again its chance at the time of a seat. Once the castle with the hands of the king, the rebellion is finished. The last chief rebels remaining on the English territory is then Guillaume of Saint-Calais, the bishop of Durham. The king envoit an army carried out by Roger Poitevin to besiege it in its city, and to bring back it to the court of the king to the autumn.

The barons remained faithful to the king pressed it to show leniency towards overcome. Vital Ordéric

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