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Reign of Aethelred 'the Unready'Reign of Edmund IIReign of Harold 'Harefoot'Reign of HarthacnutReign of Edward 'the Confessor'Reign of Harold II 'Godwinson'Reign of William II 'Rufus'
Athelred the Unready attacked Strathclyde and Isle of Man....(more)

Leif Ericsson lands on North American coast...(more)

Danish raids on Sussex and Devon....(more)

Athelred was forced to pay the Danes that were camped on the Isle of Wight...(more)

Nov Athelred paid the Vikings a sum of £24,000 to try and stop further invasions....(more)

Nov 13 Athelred ordered the massacre of all Danes living in England because he was...(more)

A Viking raiding fleet landed in Norfolk. The Ealdorman in the area was...(more)

Malcolm killed his cousin Kenneth III to become Malcolm II, King of the Scots....(more)

Aelfheah becomes Archbishop of Canterbury....(more)

Athelred ordered England to build a massive fleet of ships. The people of...(more)

The unstable sixth Caliph of Egypt, Al-Hakim, ordered the destruction of the...(more)

Swein Fork-Beard and Olaf Trygvasson repeatedly attacked England over several...(more)

The Vikings captured Canterbury and obtained a payment of £48,000. In a druken...(more)

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

Swein Fork-Beard and his son Canute sailed from Denmark to attack England....(more)

Lyfing becomes Archbishop of Canterbury....(more)

Autumn Forced to leave England by the inavsion from Denmark, Emma Athelred's wife,...(more)

Nov London was the last part of the country to accept Swein as the new king of...(more)

Athelred had to abandon his country to Swein and went to Normandy to join his...(more)

Feb 3 Swein Fork-Beard died. Canute left England not sure of his ability to hold the...(more)

Qtr 3 Canute invaded England taking control of Mercia and Northumbria. Athelred was...(more)

Apr Canute advanced on London for a fight with Athelred but Athelred died in the...(more)

Apr Edmund II became king at the death of his father Athelred II in London. London...(more)

May Edmund had gone to Wessex to accept the support of the people there as the new...(more)

Oct 18 Canute defeated Edmund Ironside at Ashingdon and a treaty was signed leaving...(more)

Nov 30 Edmund Ironside died only a month after the treaty with Canute. Canute then...(more)

Jul Canute married Emma, the widow of Athelred the Unready. This helped Canute...(more)

Dec Canute had the treacherous Ealdorman Eadric Streona of Mercia killed....(more)

Canute arranged for a massive Danegeld to be paid to the Viking fleet. Happy...(more)

Canute travelled to Denmark after the death of his brother to ensure his own...(more)

Aethelnoth became Archbishop of Canterbury....(more)

William is born at Falaise....(more)

Canute attended the coronation of Emperor Conrad II in Rome. This proved his...(more)

Canute defeated Olaf Haraldsson and took control of Norway....(more)

Robert, King of France, died to be followed by his eldest son Henry....(more)

According to the A-S Chronicle, Canute travels to Scotland where he forces the...(more)

Robert I, Duke of Normandy was an ally of the French King Henry I and also...(more)

Already the ruler of Strathclyde Duncan killed his grandfather Malcolm II to...(more)

Jul In the eighth year of his life William (the Conqueror) became the Duke of...(more)

Nov 12 King Canute died at Shaftesbury leaving the rule of the country in dispute...(more)

Alfred landed in England to take back the English throne, but his army was met...(more)

Archbishop Aelfric canonised John of York, responsible for founding the...(more)

Dec Harold Harefoot was proclaimed king of England and Emma was exiled to to...(more)

Eadsige became Archbishop of Canterbury after the death of Aethelnoth....(more)

Earl Leofric builds a new Minster on the site of older religious buildings at...(more)

Mar 17 Harold died at Oxford leaving the English throne open for Hathacanute to claim....(more)

Jun After a period in Denmark, Harthacanute returned to England to reclaim the...(more)

Aug 14 MacBeth killed Duncan I and became the King of Scotland....(more)

Stormy weather destroyed crops and diseases killed many cattle during the year....(more)

Jun 8 Harthacanute collapsed while attending a party and died shortly afterwards. He...(more)

Leofric and his lady Godgifu found the Abbey on the site of Coventry Cathedral....(more)

Easter Edward the Confessor was crowned at Winchester on Easter day....(more)

Nov Edward learnt that his mother Emma was plotting with Dane Magnus of Norway to...(more)

Crinan, the Abbot of Dunkfeld, led an uprising against Macbeth in an attempt to...(more)

Jan Edward married Edith, the daughter of Earl Godwine. Godwine was then in an...(more)

Extremely cold weather caused many deaths amongst animals and people....(more)

Magnus, King of Norway and Denmark, died in this year. Magnus had stated that...(more)

A large earthquake is supposed to have been felt across England....(more)

Aldred, bishop of Worcester refounded a monastery at Gloucester. A monastery...(more)

Sweyn Godwineson was exiled from England by Edward the Confessor to Flanders...(more)

May 1 A large earthquake was felt in Worcester and Derby and many people were...(more)

Macbeth took time to travel to Rome on a pilgimage. Reports of his visit tell...(more)

Sweyn Godwineson was pardoned and allowed to return to England....(more)

The See of Devon and Corwall had been located at Crediton in Devon but in 1050...(more)

Edward appointed the French abbot Robert of Jumieges to the post of Archbishop...(more)

The unpopular military tax was abolished by Edward the Confessor. It had been...(more)

An incident occurred when Eustace II Count of Boulogne visited Edward the...(more)

Mar Queen Emma died at Winchester....(more)

May Godwine, Earl of Wessex, his son Harold and a large fleet sailed up the Thames...(more)

Summer Stigand, Bishop of Winchester, mediated between the Godwines and Edward the...(more)

In spite of objections from Pope Leo, William married Matilda, the daughter of...(more)

Harold Godwinson invited the exiled Edward the Exile back to England in the...(more)

Apr Godwine, Earl of Wessex, died and Harold inherited his title....(more)

Dec 21 Extremely strong winds destroyed churches and buildings....(more)

Jul The supernova that occurred in this year formed the Crab Nebula and the event...(more)

The tribe of Tatars known also as the Seljuk Turks invaded parts of Persia and...(more)

Aelfgar, earl Mercia was outlawed by the witan. He built a force and allied...(more)

Gruffydd ap Llywelyn killed Leofgar, bishop of Hereford and others near...(more)

Death of Athelstan, bishop of Hereford; succeeded by Leofgar, who tried to take...(more)

A force of Welsh and Irish men led by Griffith, a Welsh prince attacked and...(more)

Edward the Exile died in mysterious circumstances. Edward was the rightful heir...(more)

Aug MacBeth was killed by Malcolm III (Malcolm Canmore) who later became the King...(more)

Mar Malcolm had killed Macbeth at Lumphanan in Aberdeenshire. Macbeth's stepson...(more)

Henry I King of France died. His son, Philippe, became King although he was...(more)

Sep 8 A monk at Worcester from 1040, Wulfstan was recommended for the position of...(more)

Dec Harold led an attack on the stronghold of Gruffydd ap Llywelyn at Rhuddlan in...(more)

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

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

A mysterious meeting is reported to have taken place in Normandy between...(more)

Oct A rebellion against Tostig, Earl of Northumbria leads to Tostig fleeing to...(more)

Dec Work on the Abbey at Westminster was either complete or very nearly so at its...(more)

Jan 4 Edward the Confessor died at Westminster. The death of Edward was an important...(more)

Jan 6 Harold was chosen as king but his reign was not to last very long....(more)

Apr The comet named after Edmund Halley who accurately predicted the return of the...(more)

Jul Harold, King of England, gathered an army and waited on the south coast of...(more)

Jul William the Conqueror prepared to invade England. His invasion fleet gathered...(more)

Sep 20 Harold Hardrada's forces invaded and started ravaging the countryside as they...(more)

Sep 25 King Harold II defeated the invasion threat from Harold Hardrada, King of...(more)

Sep 27 After dawn the main part of William's fleet landed on the English coast at...(more)

Oct 1 Harold was resting his army in York when he learnt that William had landed on...(more)

Oct 6 Harold II had to march south from Stamford Bridge to counter the threat of...(more)

Oct 11 Harold left London with an army and headed for the south coast....(more)

Oct 14 William the Conqueror and Harold II met in battle at Hastings. Although Harold...(more)

Dec 25 William the Conqueror was coronated as King of England in Westminster Abbey on...(more)

Construction of a wooden castle was begun at Winchester....(more)

A castle at Wallingford was built in this year. It would have been a motte and...(more)

A motte and bailey castle is built at Norwich....(more)

Construction of Chepstow Castle is begun....(more)

Odo,the Bishop or Bayeux, became William the Conqueror's deputy in England and...(more)

Mar William returned to Normandy taking as guests Edgar the Aetheling (the grandson...(more)

William the Conqueror ordered that all church bells should be sounded at eight...(more)

William and the Normans started construction of the castle at Nottingham. This...(more)

Edgar the Aetheling took refuge with Malcolm III in Scotland along with his...(more)

Many of the northern English lords escaped to Scotland and the court of Malcolm...(more)

William the Conqueror ordered the building of Warwick Castle....(more)

Feb Although William had defeated Harold at Hastings, Harold's mother Gytha and her...(more)

Spring Following the rebellion in the West William orders the construction of a castle...(more)

May 11 William brought his wife Matilda of Flander to England to crown her Queen of...(more)

An attack by a Danish invasion fleet led by Sweyn Estrithson of Denmark was...(more)

Dec William's forces defeat rebels in the North and Midlands....(more)

The Abbey of Dunfermline was founded by Malcolm III, King of the Scots and his...(more)

William Fitz Osbern built the hall at Chepstow Castle....(more)

The Scottish king attacked towns in the north of England....(more)

Using the prehistoric hill fort's defensive position to good use, the Normans...(more)

William continues his castle building spree at both Chester and Stafford....(more)

William the Conqueror placed Lanfranc in the position of Archbishop of...(more)

Jun As part of a revolt against the new Norman invaders, Hereward the Wake sacks...(more)

The construction of Richmond Castle began around this time by Alan Rufus, the...(more)

The Abbot of Abingdon was imprisoned at Wallingford Castle....(more)

After Eadwin, the Earl of Mercia, was killed in the revolt against William his...(more)

The rebels Hereward the Wake and Morcar on the Isle of Ely were attacked and...(more)

William orders a castle to be built at Ely....(more)

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

The Byzantine army was destroyed at Manzikert by the Turks. Romanus IV...(more)

Canterbury Cathedral was rebuilt at this time by Archbishop Lanfranc. The...(more)

The Norman Bishop of Fecamp began work on the first Cathedral church at...(more)

Treaty between William the Conqueror and Malcolm III of Scotland. In this...(more)

The first cathedral at Old Sarum was built between 1075 and 1092. Its builder...(more)

Serlo, William the Conqueror's chaplain, revived the floundering monastery at...(more)

William orders the castle as Durham to be built....(more)

Feb Lanfranc held a Church council at Winchester where the reoganisation of Bishops...(more)

Jun It is possible that William the Conqueror was planning to attack King Malcolm...(more)

Edgar joins forces with King Malcolm in Scotland and King Philippe I of France....(more)

Roger Fitz Osbern joined an unsuccessful uprising against the king and lost....(more)

At the Council of London Archbishop Lanfranc instigated the movement of many...(more)

Construction of Windsor castle started by William the Conqueror....(more)

Chichester was made a bishopric in this year when the bishop moved there from...(more)

Eventhough incomplete, Battle Abbey is consecrated....(more)

Gundulf became Bishop of Rochester, remaining there for thirty years and where...(more)

Work began on St. Albans Cathedral. (More Information to follow)...(more)

Work on Rochester Cathedral began. (More Information to follow)...(more)

Jul 14 The Bayeux Tapestry is first shown at the dedication of Odo's cathedral....(more)

Osmond was a Norman who came to England with William the Conqueror. He...(more)

The two bishoprics of East Anglia and Dunwich (Suffolk) were merged into one...(more)

Gundulf began work on the White Tower, the Tower of London....(more)

Work began on the crypt and transepts of Winchester Cathedral. Until 1093....(more)

Work on a castle at Lewes began in 1080 and lasted possibly to around 1100....(more)

To defend the esturies of Essex against attacks from the Danes William the...(more)

Robert de Losinga, a Norman Bishop started work on a new Cathedral at Hereford....(more)

Ripon monastery destroyed by Normans....(more)

William the Conqueror may have ordered the creation of a castle at Cardiff...(more)

William the Conqueror visited South Wales and St. David's. He met Rhys ap...(more)

The civil wars following the battle of Manzikert led to Alexius Comnenus...(more)

William imprisoned his half-brother Odo, Bishop of Bayeux....(more)

Work began on Ely Cathedral...(more)

Building work starts on Worcester Cathedral. Orchestrated by Bishop Wulfstan....(more)

Toledo was recaptured from the Moors....(more)

Dec 25 At the Christmas Council William ordered the creation of survey of property...(more)

Violent storms killed many people while cattle died from disease....(more)

The Spanish are defeated at Zallaca....(more)

Aug 1 A meeting was called by William the Conqueror where he invited his most...(more)

The Priory was founded by William de Warrene a Norman follower of William the...(more)

William Rufus gave the Manor of Tewkesbury to his cousin, Robert FitzHamon....(more)

Work on rebuilding St. Paul's Cathedral started after the Old St. Paul's burnt...(more)

Sep 9 William I of England died at the abbey of St Gervais, near Rouen....(more)

Sep 26 William II (Rufus) was crowned at Westminster by Archbishop Lanfranc after the...(more)

The earldom of Warwick was created by William II and given to Henry de...(more)

Bath Abbey is founded by John de Villula and populated by Benedictine monks....(more)

Urban II was elected Pope in 1088. His real name was Odo of Lagery and chose...(more)

William Rufus lays siege to Pevensey Castle in the dispute over the English...(more)

Spring Many Norman barons held land both in England and Normandy. With two opposing...(more)

Jul William and the barons who had remained loyal to him in England attacked the...(more)

Some seventeen years after after taking his position at Gloucester, Serlo built...(more)

After the death of Archbishop Lanfranc William Rufus held open the post of...(more)

Aug 11 An earthquake was felt across England....(more)

The first castle to be built at Caernarvon was constructed by Hugh of Avranches...(more)

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

Construction of keep at Lancaster Castle by Roger of Poitou....(more)

London was hit by a terrible storm, possibly a tornado. Damage was done to the...(more)

Once the threat from invasion had reduced, the castle was passed into the...(more)

Nov William Rufus renewed the arrangement that his father had with Malcolm III,...(more)

The cathedral at Old Sarum was completed and dedicated to Blessed Virgin. The...(more)

Work began on the nave and the southern transept....(more)

Secular canons founded a collegiate church at Carlisle....(more)

A collegiate church was founded at this time at Carlisle and a Norman church...(more)

Robert FitzHamon, the cousin of William Rufus, together with Abbot Giraldus,...(more)

Chester was a strategic site after the Norman Conquest and the Saxon church...(more)

Anselm became Archbishop of Canterbury in 1093 succeeding Lanfranc. The post of...(more)

Durham Cathedral was the first building in Western Europe with ribbed vaulting...(more)

Spring William fell ill early in this year and the illness was so serious that reports...(more)

Nov 13 After Malcolm III and his second son Edward were killed near Alnwick Donald,...(more)

Nov 13 Malcolm III, the king of Scotland, and his son Edward were both killed at the...(more)

Nov 16 Margaret of Scotland died only days after her son and husband had been killed...(more)

Herbert de Losinga purchased the see (seat of the bishop) for the area around...(more)

Building work at Battle Abbey was completed and the abbey reconsecrated by...(more)

May Assisted by Norman knights, Duncan became king in May. His reign only lasted...(more)

Nov Donald III was restored to the Scottish throne after the death of Duncan II. He...(more)

After attacking four merchant ships Robert Mowbray was called for by William...(more)

Wulfstan was bishop of Worcester. The location of his grave is not known....(more)

Mar A delegation led by the Byzantine Emperor Alexius Comnenus visited Pope Urban...(more)

Nov 27 On the last day of the council Pope Urban II preached about the oppression...(more)

Robert of Normandy became under pressure from William who laid claim to...(more)

Canterbury Choir, East Transepts and Crypt building work....(more)

Building work on Alnwick castle began....(more)

Work starts on Norwich Cathedral....(more)

Qtr 1 Following Pope Urban's speech at Clermont Peter the Hermit, a simple man with a...(more)

Jul At Constantinople the Emperor Alexius welcomed Peter's army but there were too...(more)

Aug The People's Crusaders were shipped across the Bosperus to a disused army base...(more)

Oct ....(more)

Oct 21 The Turks attacked the People's Crusades in their base at Civetot and ended...(more)

Edgar, the son of Malcolm III of Scotland, became the king of Scotland after...(more)

Apr Crusaders reach Constantinople...(more)

Oct 4 A star with a long tail was seen in the south-west....(more)

A treaty was signed between Edgar, King of Scotland, and Magnus III of Norway...(more)

Ranulf Flambard is made the Bishop of Durham by William Rufus....(more)

Construction of the nave at Durham Cathedral began in 1099 and lasted until...(more)

Jul 15 The Crusaders take Jerusalem and Godfrey of Bouillon becomes King of Jerusalem....(more)

Aug 12 The last battle of the First Crusade was fourght between the Christians and...(more)

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