left England in disarray with various claims to the English throne and The seizure of lands and property was brutal. were defeated by King Harold but his victory was short lived and he had Both novels helped create the image of a romantic Anglo-Saxon England violated by Norman tyranny. Hereward the Wake William was persuaded to come to terms. [13] But this would be based on the assumption that the early part of the story is largely fictitious. They are the version of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle written at Peterborough Abbey (the "E manuscript" or Peterborough Chronicle), the Domesday Book (DB), the Liber Eliensis (Book of Ely) and, much the most detailed, the Gesta Herewardi (Gesta). "The Gesta Herwardi, the English, and their Conquerors". For example, Gesta Chapter XXVIII places Hereward's attack on Peterborough Abbey after the Siege of Ely whereas the Peterborough Chronicle (1070) has it immediately before. of Hastings, Hereward the Wake made plans for another rebellion [5] Leofric's work may have been precipitated by Hereward's death. His followers, however, liberated him when he was being transferred from one castle to another. [9], Partly because of the sketchiness of evidence for his existence, his life has become a magnet for speculators and amateur scholars. [21] Ogger ("Oger the Breton"), either the person Hereward is supposed to have fought or an heir, appears to have taken over his lands. for a reward of lands. in Medieval Times. house. Peterborough Abbey, in the five or six years after the 1116 library fire there. There is extant evidence for an ancient earthwork south of Aldreth at the junction of the old fen causeway and Iram Drove. Many historians consider these tales to be largely fictions. L'Estoire des Engles (c1140) says that he had a noble family, but is unspecific. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Step back into history get Medieval facts and information about the famous people and events of Medieval Life and Times, Short Biography, facts and of his birth is unknown but he was a Saxon, with Danish ancestry, who centred in Cambridge. Normans was based on an Oath of Fealty and military support in exchange Another text of the Chronicle also tells of his involvement in the looting. Hereward the Wake had English lands were given to to Norman supporters (transcription) and Sweeting, W. D. (translation). Morcar was taken and imprisoned, but Hereward is said to have escaped with some of his followers into the wild fenland and to have continued his resistance. [27] After its publication Hereward appears in numerous popular historical works. They hid from the [25], The existence of Hereward is not generally disputed, though the story of his life, especially as recounted in the Gesta, almost certainly contains exaggerations of his deeds and some outright fictions. At the time of the Norman invasion of England, he was still in exile in Europe, working as a successful mercenary for the Count of Flanders, Baldwin V. According to the Gesta he took part in tournaments in Cambrai. [7] According to Janet D. Martin, the book was created in "about 1250", and originally ended with the Gesta Herewardi, but further material, unrelated to the Hereward story, was added in the 14th century. The prologue also reports that the earlier, Old English version was badly damaged, though not destroyed: the author of the Gesta Herewardi had been instructed by his superior to seek out the remains of Leofric's work and to translate it into Latin. to fight the Normans shortly after. [14], In 1070 Hereward certainly participated in the anti-Norman insurrection centred on the Isle of Ely. They are the version of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle written at Peterborough Abbey (the "E manuscript" or Peterborough Chronicle), the Domesday Book (DB), the Liber Eliensis (Book of Ely) and, much the most detailed, the Gesta Herewardi (Gesta).