Aethelred the Unready attacked Strathclyde and Isle of Man.

Danish raids on Sussex and Devon.

Aethelred was forced to pay the Danes that were camped on the Isle of Wight another large amount of money for them to leave.

Aethelred ordered the massacre of all Danes living in England because he was fearful of them plotting against him. The death toll was greatest in the south. In the north the number of Danes and their close relationships to the Saxons made the order more difficult to perform. One of those killed was Gunhilde, the sister of Sweyn Forkbeard, the wife of Palig, also a Dane and living in England a hostage as a condition of peace. It is possible that in revenge for the murder of Gunhilde that the Danes invaded England and took control of the English throne.

Swein attacked the town of Wilton and possibly its abbey.

A Viking raiding fleet landed in Norfolk. The Ealdorman in the area was Ulfcetel who ordered some men to reach and burn the Viking ships to strand Swein. The plan failed and Ulfcetel's small army was defeated by the Vikings.

The Danes, led by Swein, attacked and destroyed the river crossing at Wallingford.

The Danes attacked and burnt the town or Reading.

Aethelred ordered England to build a massive fleet of ships. The people of England had to supply armour for the crew as well. It was a huge undertaking but was completed the following year.

Swein Fork-Beard repeatedly attacked England over several years destroying the land.

The Vikings captured Canterbury and obtained a payment of £48,000. In a drunken rage the Vikings murdered Aelfheah, the Archbishop of Canterbury. Aelfheah was the man that had baptised Olaf Trygvasson in the Winter of 994. Outraged by the actions of his fellow men Thorkell the Tall defected to the side of Aethelred along with 45 Viking ships to help defend England from further Viking attacks.

The Danes were paid a large sum of money, known as the Danegeld, to leave England.

Swein Fork-Beard and his son Canute sailed from Denmark to attack England. Again London defended itself and the Vikings moved elsewhere, taking Wessex, Mercia and Northumbria.

Forced to leave England by the invasion from Denmark, Emma Aethelred's wife, fled to Normandy assisted by the Bishop of Peterborough. Sons Edward (the Confessor) and Alfred followed later along with the Bishop of London. Ethelred was not far behind.

London was the last part of the country to accept Swein as the new king of England. Swein and his Viking army had already taken control of the Danelaw and the rest of the country accepted him as their new ruler. Swein's rule of the country would only last a few months.

Aethelred had to abandon his country to Swein and went to Normandy to join his wife Emma and his sons.

An attempt was made by Ethelred II to take back his throne from the Danes. He was assisted by Olaf of Norway and sailed up the Thames to London. The tactic was to destroy the wooden bridge and so divide the Danish army. The bridge was heavily defended and so by using rafts with coverings to protect those onboard Ethelred's men were able to get close enough to place ropes around the bridge piles. Then by rowing back down stream they managed to pull the piles from the riverbed and sections of the bridge fell down.

Canute invaded England taking control of Mercia and Northumbria. Aethelred was ill and England was in the hands of Edmund (Ironside).

Uhtred, the earl of Northumbria, was murdered by a fellow lord. This started a family blood-feud that lasted several generations.

Canute advanced on London for a fight with Aethelred but Aethelred died in the same month. London accepted Edmund Ironside as their ruler. Canute would have to defeat Edmund if he was to become King of England.

Edmund had gone to Wessex to accept the support of the people there as the new king of England but Canute had reached London and was besieging its inhabitants. The Londoners held out against Canute's attempts to defeat them while Edmund travelled back to help. Edmund's army grew as he advanced towards Canute. The English won a couple of battles forcing the Danes to retreat and regroup but the Danes won the important battle at Ashingdon.

Canute defeated Edmund Ironside at Ashingdon and a treaty was signed leaving Edmund with only the area of Wessex.

Canute had the treacherous Ealdorman Eadric Streona of Mercia killed.

Canute arranged for a massive Danegeld to be paid to the Viking fleet. Happy with the sum of money they received from the English, the Viking army returned home leaving just a small number of ships under the control of Canute.

According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, Canute travelled to Scotland where he forced the Scottish Kings into submission.

Robert I, Duke of Normandy was an ally of the French King Henry I and also assisted the two English brothers Edward (to become Edward the Confessor) and Alfred, sons of Aethelred King of the English who was over thrown by Canute in 1016. Robert may had tried to assist Edward and Albert in their attempts to retake the English throne back from Canute. It may have been for this assistance that Edward was to promise Robert's son William (the Conqueror) the future crown of England.

Both Edward the Confessor and Alfred, his younger brother, came to England at different times to try and take back the English throne. Edward's attempt failed. Some time later Alfred landed in England believing he had safe conduct but his army was met by Earl Godwin and was massacred. Alfred was captured and blinded. He died shortlly afterwards from his injuries.

Duncan attempted to capture the city of Durham, but was unable to break its defences and incurred heavy loses. He turned his attention to Thorfinn, the earl of Orkney and took an army north into Moray. The leader of the area, Macbeth, was not prepared to support Duncan and sided with Thorfinn instead. A battle was fourght and during the fighting Duncan was killed. Shortly afterward Macbeth became the King of Scotland.

Edward learnt that his mother Emma was plotting with Dane Magnus of Norway to take control of the English throne. Edward had no choice and stripped his mother of her land and treasure. Emma was allowed to stay in England until her death.

Geoffrey Martel, count of Anjou, captured the town Tours and took control of the county of Touraine.

Crinan, the Abbot of Dunkfeld, led an uprising against Macbeth in an attempt to put his grandson Malcolm (III) on the Scottish throne. Malcolm was living at the court of Edward the Confessor at the time. Crinian was killed and the uprising failed.

A revolt flared up in Normandy against Duke William. The revolt was led by William's cousin, Guy of Brionne, the son of the Count of Burgundy. William was able to get the support of other Norman lords and Henry, King of France, and together they defeated the rebels at the battle of Val es Dunes.

Sweyn Godwinson attempted to return to England and wanted forgiveness for his earlier crimes. Earl Beorn went to meet Sweyn as part of Sweyn's return, but Sweyn had the Earl murdered. For this new crime Sweyn Godwinson was exiled again from England by Edward the Confessor.

Sweyn Godwinson was pardoned and allowed to return to England.

The unpopular military tax was abolished by Edward the Confessor. It had been collected for many years to provide funds for defending the country from raiders.

Godwin, Earl of Wessex, his son Harold and a large fleet sailed up the Thames to London forcing Edward to reinstate them into their previous positions of power.

Battle fought between Henry, the King of France, and William, the Duke of Normandy. Henry wanted to take control of the Normandy area which was preventing the French access to the English Channel. The Normans defeated the French.

A force of Welsh and Irish men led by Gruffydd ap Llywelyn, a Welsh prince attacked and burnt the building.

Aelfgar, earl of Mercia was outlawed by the witan. In revenge he built a force and allied himself with Welsh Gruffydd ap Llywelyn. After defeating the King's nephew, Radulf, they attacked Hereford and raided the church killing several canons and taking everything of value leaving the building on fire. The rebels also attacked Leominster.

Death of Athelstan, bishop of Hereford; succeeded by Leofgar, who tried to take reprisals against Gruffydd, the Welsh Prince.

In reponse to the attack on Hereford Catherdal, Leofgar the bishop of Hereford took an army into Wales to deal with the Welsh prince. In battle Gruffydd ap Llywelyn killed the bishop and others near Glasbury on Wye. Earl Godwin raised an army in response but the two side eventually came to peaceful terms and Aelfgar was later restored to his position.

Another battle fought between Henry, the King of France, and William, the Duke of Normandy. Again the Normans defeated the French King's army.

Macbeth was killed by Malcolm III, also known as Malcolm Canmore, who later became the King of Scotland. Macbeth was succeeded by his stepson Lulach who was crowned at Scone.

The Normans under the the leadership of Robert Guiscard and his brother Robert were fighting in southern Italy to claim lands from the Byzantines. At the treaty of Melfi in 1059 Robert had been granted the lands of Sicily, Apulia and Calabria by the Pope in return for their support. In 1060 they were in control of southern Italy and in 1061 had captured parts of Sicily including Messina. But they could not capture the whole of the island.

Harold led an attack on the stronghold of Gruffydd ap Llywelyn at Rhuddlan in north Wales. The attack was a success but the Welsh Prince managed to escape.

Harold invaded south Wales while Tostig of Northumbria attacked the north.

The Welsh Prince, Gruffydd ap Llywelyn, was killed by his own men. (Need to find out why)

A rebellion against Tostig, Earl of Northumbria leads to Tostig fleeing to Flanders and Morcar becoming the new Earl.

Fulk Rechin was at war with his brother Geoffrey. They were fighting over the lands of Anjou and Touraine which had been left to them by their uncle Geoffrey Martel, the count of Anjou. Fulk captured Geoffrey the Bearded and captured Anjou later taking the title of count.

After being expelled from Northumbria Tostig spent time in Flanders. Here he raised an army and fleet and attempted to invade the south of England. The English armies around the Isle of Wight were too strong so Tostig was forced to look for another place to attack. His fleet sailed up the east coast of England to Lincolnshire.

William the Conqueror made preparations to invade England. His invasion fleet gathered in the estuary of the River Dives and other ports in Normandy.

King Harold gathered an army and waited on the south coast of England to defend the country against William's invasion.

William the Conqueror's invasion fleet arrived at St-Valery-Sur-Somme further up the Normandy coast. William had either decided to move the fleet to the inlet or the fleet was forced to take shelter there after being hit by a storm. William's fleet remained there waiting for winds blowing in the right direction to take them to England.

Harold Hardrada's forces invaded England and started ravaging the countryside as they made their way to York. English forces led by Earl Edwin and Earl Morcar battled with Harold Hardrada at Gate Fulford, but the English were severely beaten. Following this defeat King Harold was forced to march his army away from the south coast where they were preparing to defend against William the Conqueror's invasion to deal with the invasion in the north.

King Harold defeated the invasion threat from Harold Hardrada, King of Norway and his own brother Tostig, both of whom were killed. This stretched his forces to the limit as they quickly had to march south to defend against William the Conqueror's invasion from Normandy.

Just after dawn the main part of William's fleet landed on the English coast at Pevensey while some split from the main group and came ashore at Romney.

William the Conqueror moved his army to Hastings. The village of Hastings in 1066 was on a peninsula of land with marsh and water on two sides. The area was a natural defensive site with a hill to the north that could be used as a lookout point. William possibly built extra defences at Hastings while he prepared to move towards London.

King Harold was resting his army in York when he learnt that William had landed on the south coast.

King Harold had to march south from Stamford Bridge to counter the threat of invasion from William the Conqueror.

King Harold left London with an army and headed for the south coast.

King Harold and his army reached Caldbec Hill near the road from London to Hastings. Here they prepared for the battle to come.

William the Conqueror and King Harold met in battle at Hastings. Although Harold had the superior position on the battlefield his tactics failed and he was killed. This left England open for William to continue with his invasion plans.

After his victory at the battle of Hastings William moved along the south coast to Dover where extra fortifications were built in the existing castle at the top of the cliffs. From there he moved on to Canterbury. After the death of King Harold the archbishops of York and Canterbury, Ealdred and Stigand supported the plan to put Edgar the Atheling on the English throne but William moved too quickly for this to be done and Edgar was too young and inexperienced to take on the role. Canterbury submitted to William and he moved on to London. Instead of entering London from the south he moved around the west of the city crossing the Thames at Wallingford. Finally archbishop Stigand and the other Anglo-Saxon leaders submitted to William and after turning south at Little Berkhamsted William the Conqueror entered London.

Construction of Chepstow Castle is begun.

A motte and bailey castle is built at Norwich.

A castle at Wallingford was built in this year. It would have been a motte and bailey type castle.

Construction of a wooden castle was begun at Winchester.

William the Conqueror granted Arundel Castle to Roger de Montgomery.

William the Conqueror ordered the building of Warwick Castle.

Many of the northern English lords escaped to Scotland and to the court of Malcolm III when it was clear that William the Conqueror had control of the country.

William and the Normans started construction of the castle at Nottingham. This would have been a wooden building. It was built on the high ground above the town using the steep slope down to the river Leen as a defence.

William the Conqueror ordered that building work on a castle at Lincoln was to be started.

The Normans built a motte and bailey castle on the north side of the River Cam.

Although William had defeated Harold at Hastings, Harold's mother Gytha and her forces still had not submitted to William's rule. They refused to pay the taxes that William demanded and held out at Exeter until their defences were broken. William had to take heavy casualties in the confrontation. William was still collecting the land tax known as Danegeld. After the city fell, William had a castle constructed to keep control of the population there.

Following the rebellion in the West William orders the construction of a castle at Exeter.

An attack by a Danish invasion fleet led by Sweyn Estrithson of Denmark was fought off by a garrison stationed at a castle at Sandwich. Sandwich was an important port on the south coast. The location has now been found and the site is being investigated.

Land from the nearby Cathedral was used to build a new Norman motte and bailey castle on the bank of the River Severn.

An army sent by Sweyn of Denmark landed in the north and captured York. Local rebels joined the Danes and attacked the two castles within the city. A fire lit by the Normans in an attempt to prevent the Danes attacking the castles got out of control and a large part of the city was destroyed including the cathedral. The confusion aided the Danes in capturing the castles and killing most of the Normans in the city.

Wiilliam laid waste to the northern lands of England to bring the area for ever under his control. The destruction was so severe that towns were left without inhabitants and so much of the crops and animals were burnt and destroyed that thousands of Northumbrians died of hunger. William also ordered that the land be poisoned so that crops would not grow again for years to come. This has become known as the Harrying of the North.

William the Conqueror continued his castle building programme at both Chester and Stafford.

Using the prehistoric hill fort's defensive position to good use, the Normans built a new castle on the Old Sarum site. William the Conqueror paid off his soldiers here in this year.

Malcolm, the Scottish king attacked towns in the north of England.

William Fitz Osbern built the hall at Chepstow Castle.

As part of a revolt against the new Norman invaders, Hereward the Wake sacked the abbey at Peterborough.

The Byzantine army was destroyed at Manzikert by the Turks. Romanus IV Diogenes, emperor of Byzantium, was defeated by the Sultan Alp-Arslan of Persia and imprisoned. Michael VII Ducas became the new emperor.

The Seljuk Turks conquer Syria, Jerusalem and parts of Palestine.

William orders a castle to be built at Ely.

The rebels Hereward the Wake and Morcar on the Isle of Ely were attacked and defeated by William the Conqueror.

After Eadwin, the Earl of Mercia, was killed in the revolt against William his castle and lands at Dudley were given to William's Norman followers.

The Abbot of Abingdon was imprisoned at Wallingford Castle.

The construction of Richmond Castle began around this time by Alan Rufus, the cousin of the Duke of Brittany.

A Norman army attacked the northern Welsh town of Bangor and destroyed the Cathedral there.

Robert D'Oilly was given the task of building a castle at Oxford by William the Conqueror at the important Thames river crossing. A motte and bailey castle would have been the type of castle built at this time.

William orders the castle as Durham to be built.

In response to the earlier Scottish raid into northern England, King William took an army into Scotland. At the Treaty of Abernethy between William the Conqueror and Malcolm III of Scotland, Malcolm agreed to pay homage to William and gave his eldest son as hostage.

It is possible that William the Conqueror was planning to attack King Malcolm to prevent him protecting Edgar the Aetheling and to stop him advancing into the north of England. The treaty 'Peace of Abernethy' brought a solution to the situation where Malcolm agreed to become William's vassal and to expel Edgar.

Edgar the Aetheling joined forces with King Malcolm in Scotland and King Philippe I of France in an attempt to take the English throne. A storm in the North Sea brought the endevour to an end and Edgar surrendered to William the Conqueror.

At Rhuddlan, by 1073, a motte and bailey castle had been built on the site of the earlier Welsh fort. This was done by Robert of Rhuddlan, a deputy of the Earl of Chester.

Construction of Windsor Castle started by William the Conqueror.

Roger Fitz Osbern joined an unsuccessful uprising against the king and lost. The castle then passed to the crown.

Gundulf began work on the White Tower, the Tower of London.

The first of two castles located in London taking the name Baynard's Castle was built shortly after the Norman Conquest by Ralph Baynard, a Norman who was granted large amounts of land by William the Conqueror. The castle was demolished by King John in 1213.

Ripon monastery destroyed by Normans.

To defend the estuaries of Essex against attacks from the Danes William the Conqueror ordered the construction of a new castle at Colchester.

Work on a castle at Lewes began in 1080 and progressed possibly until 1100.

The civil wars following the battle of Manzikert led to Alexius Comnenus becoming the Eastern Emperor.

William the Conqueror visited South Wales and St. David's. He met Rhys ap Tewdwr, the ruler of the area and allowed him to remain in control of the region for a yearly sum of money.

William the Conqueror may have ordered the creation of a castle at Cardiff during his tour of Southern Wales. The first castle on the site would have been a motte and bailey type and it was built on the site of existing Roman fortifications.

Toledo was recaptured from the Moors.

The Spanish are defeated at Zallaca.

The earldom of Warwick was created by William II and given to Henry de Beaumont. Henry de Beaumont changed his name to Newburgh.

Many Norman barons held land both in England and Normandy. With two opposing lords, William in England and Robert in Normandy, the barons were finding it difficult to know who to support. A revolt led by Odo sprung up in England with the aim of removing William from the throne. Odo's revolt in Kent and Sussex was supported by barons across the country. Roger Bigod from Norwich and Geoffrey of Coutances and Robert Mowbray from Bristol supported Odo. In Worcestershire Roger de Lacy captured Hereford and attacked Worcester. In the south-east Roger Montgomery at Arundel Robert of Mortain at Pevensey and Gilbert de Clare at Tonbridge also prepared to fight the King. Robert of Belleme, a Norman baron, who was able to bring support from Normandy. Robert also controlled castles in the Welsh Marches where the revolt also took place.

The Worcestershire rebellion led by Robert of Lacy was dealt with quickly by Wulfstan, the Bishop of Worcester, who called on those knights and local landowners still loyal to the King to defend Worcester. Many of the rebels were captured or killed.

William Rufus had insufficient men at his disposal to deal with the rebellion in the south-east as there were too many ports to guard. The King called the representatives of the fyrd (the ordinary people of the country organised into an army) to a meeting in London where, with the support Lanfranc, he promised the people better laws and the removal of unfair taxes if they supported him against the rebels. The people agreed and together with the King they captured the castle at Tonbridge after a two day siege.

William Rufus lay siege to Pevensey Castle where Odo had taken shelter with Robert of Mortain. The siege lasted for six weeks. Robert, the Duke of Normandy, sent a force to support the rebels at Pevensey but they were unable to land because the King had made sure the ports were well guarded. Robert admitted defeat and withdrew his support for the rebels. Odo had little choice, other than that to starve, and surrendered to the King. Odo agreed to go to Rochester where he would convince the rebels to accept William Rufus as the rightful King of England.

Odo was accompanied to Rochester Castle by an escort but When they reached the castle the rebels captured the escort and refused to accept William Rufus as their King. Again William called for the people of England to support him against the rebels and together they lay siege to the castle. Odo surrendered when it was agreed that those in the castle would have their lives spared if the they came out. Odo and the rebels were allowed to leave but their lands in England were taken from them. Odo went into exiled in Normandy.

Construction of keep at Lancaster Castle by Roger of Poitou.

A motte and bailey castle was built at Pembroke by Arnulf of Montgomery.

The first castle to be built at Caernarfon was constructed by Hugh of Avranches, Earl of Chester, in about 1090. He built a wooden motte and bailey castle.

Once the threat from invasion had reduced, the castle was passed into the control of Eudo de Rie, who held the position of high steward.

The fourth major invasion into the north of England by Malcolm III started when the Scots began a siege of Durham.

The Normans, led by William Rufus, went north to deal with the Scots but a conflict was averted and a renewal of the treaty of Abernethy was agreed.

The Norman baron, Roger de Montgomery, had a motte and bailey castle constructed at Cardigan as he attempted to control the Welsh.

William Rufus ordered the construction of a castle at Carlisle because of the thrreat that the Scottish King Malcolm III posed.

A meeting was arranged between Malcolm III of Scotland and William II of England at Gloucester. It was here that William demanded that the failing peace between the two nations should be judged by the barons. Malcolm refused, returning to Scotland and raising an army.

Malcolm III, the king of Scotland, and his son Edward were both killed at the battle of Alnwick in Northumberland. Malcolm had invaded England after William II had made moves to take more control over Cumbria and had fortified Carlisle. The bodies of the Scottish king and his son where buried at Tynemouth Priory.

After Malcolm III and his eldest son Edward by his second marriage were killed near Alnwick Donald, Malcolm's brother, became the king of Scotland. Malcolm's family were forced into exiled in England. Malcolm had another son, Duncan, by his first wife. But Duncan was being held hostage at the court of William Rufus.

Assisted by Norman knights and his half-brother Edmund, Duncan invaded Scotland to unseat his uncle Donald from the Scottish throne. The invasion succeeded and he became king in May. His reign only lasted until November when he was killed in battle and Donald retook the Scottish throne. Edmund sided with Donald at this time and was named as heir to the throne as the King had no children. It is possible that Edmund shared the rule of Scotland with Donald from 1094.

Donald III was restored to the Scottish throne after the death of Duncan II. He shared the Scottish rule with his nephew Edmund.

After attacking four merchant ships Robert Mowbray was called for by William Rufus to explain his actions. Instead Mowbray rose up in rebellion against the king along with other powerful Norman Barons. Mowbray chose the castle at Tynemouth as his base and converted the large enclosure into a strong fortification. The castle fell to William Rufus after a siege of two months. Mowbray managed to escape to Tynemouth church but was captured and made prisoner.

At the Council of Piacenza a delegation visited Pope Urban II led by the Byzantine Emperor Alexius Comnenus to raise the problems he was having fighting the Muslims in the East. Pope Urban removed the excommunication that had been placed on the Emperor by Pope Gregory and promised to help.

On the last day of the Council or Clemont Pope Urban II preached about the oppression being inflicted on the Christians in the Middle East by the Muslim Seljuks. Christian churches were being destroyed and Christians attacked. The Pope called for the Christians in the West to help.

Building work on Alnwick Castle began.

Robert of Normandy became under pressure from William Rufus who laid claim to Normandy. William was gaining support from some Norman barons and Robert took the opportunity to leave Normandy to answer Pope Urban II's call for a Crusade. Robert agreed that William could lease Normandy for three years for a sum of 10,000 marks. This money would help him fund the expedition.

Following Pope Urban's speech at Clermont Peter the Hermit, a simple man with a powerful ability to move people by his words, started preaching for Christians to help their fellow Christians in the East. He started to gain a large number of followers eager to go to Jerusalem with promises of absolution and freedom from a life of hunger and depravation. His followers were poor, not prepared for the journey and not armed.

Peter the Hermit's army of ordinary people was large and it needed feeding. One of the more noble members of the army was Walter Sans Avoir, also known as Walter the Penniless. When the army reached Cologne in April Peter decided to halt the army to take advantage of the good supply of food. Walter was impatient and with a small section of the army continued on. They passed through Hungary but at the town of Semlin a dispute broke out when some of his men stole food. When his men were refused food at Belgrade because the harvest had not yet been gathered Walter's army began pillaging the surrounding area. Finally Alexius Comnenus sent supplies and an escort to guard the Crusaders as they marched to Constantinople. The guard ensured that the Crusaders didn't cause any more trouble.

At Constantinople the Emperor Alexius welcomed Peter's army but there were too many people and no provision had been made for them. There was a general lack of discipline that resulted in repeated attacks and thefts from surrounding villages. Alexius warned Peter to wait for better trained troops to arrive before moving on but the pressure of the army was so great on Constantinople that they were forced to move before help could arrive.

Hugh of Vermandios was the first of the barons to reach Constantinople. His army had travelled via Italy and Greece using ships rather than across land like the other barons.

The Crusaders defeated an army led by Kilij Arslan, the Seljuk Sultan of Rum, who wanted revenge for the capture of Nicaea. In the battle many of the Crusaders were killed but the Turks were forced to flee and abandon their tents and treasure after being surprised by the arrival of a second Crusader army. After a couple of days rest the army continued south east but were short of water. At Heraclea a Turkish army was defeated and the Crusaders would the supplies they needed.

After a delay of many months the crusaders under the leadership of Raymond of Toulouse left Antioch and headed south towards Jerusalem.

The Crusaders capture Jerusalem. When they ended the siege and entered the city they murdered non-Christians including Muslims and Jews and forced many to leave.

The last battle of the First Crusade was fought between the Christians and Muslims at Ascalon. Led by Godfrey of Bouillon, the king of Jerusalem, the heavily out-numbered Christian army used their heavy armour to good affect. The Muslim army consisted mainly of Egyptians intent of driving the Christians out of Jerusalem.