1066 |
William, Duke of
Normandy, invades southern England and defeats and kills the
Anglo- |
1067 |
Having been crowned king of England at Westminster Abbey, London, on Christmas Day 1066, William begins the Norman Conquest, not fully completed until the early 1080s. |
1069 |
Resistance begins to grow across the
country. William starts building a fortress at Windsor, the
first of some 80 castles
built across his new kingdom over the next twenty- A serious rebellion breaks out in Northumbria, supported by a Danish invasion force. It is swiftly and ruthlessly crushed by what becomes known as The Harrowing of the North. |
1070 |
An English landowner, Hereward the Wake, rebels against the Normans from his stronghold on the Isle of Ely. He has some success, but is defeated the following year. The Italian Lanfranc, moral reformer and advisor to the King, is appointed Archbishop of Canterbury and begins a thorough reorganisation of the English Catholic Church. |
1071 |
The Seljuk Turks, now at the height of their power, overrun Anatolia and, after defeating the Byzantines at the Battle of Manzikert, take control of the Holy City of Jerusalem. |
1072 |
The Norman adventurer Robert Guiscard lays the foundation of the Norman kingdom of Sicily by attacking the Byzantines in southern Italy and the Muslims on the island. |
1075 |
A bitter dispute breaks out between Pope Gregory VII and the German King, Henry IV. Known as the Investiture Controversy, it is a power struggle between Church and State. Work begins on the Tower of London, a fortress on the Thames designed to defend the entrance to the busy port or Pool of London. |
1076 |
Having settled in Morocco, the Almoravids, a nomadic people from the Western Sahara, overrun the wealthy Kingdom of Ghana and prepare for an invasion of Spain, successfully carried out in 1086. |
1077 |
The Bayeux Tapestry, a pictorial record of the Norman invasion and the Battle of Hastings, is possibly completed this year, in time for the dedication of Bayeux Cathedral. |
1083 |
Aided by assistants, the Chinese scholar and statesman Sima Guang completes his epic history of China, a mammoth record of events covering over thirteen hundred years. |
1084 |
St Bruno of Cologne founds the Carthusian Order at Chartreuse, near Grenoble, in southern France. The order is based on rules of severe austerity |
1086 |
Domesday Book is completed. A detailed survey of England for the assessment of tax, it is regarded as the greatest public record produced in medieval Europe. |
|
The Almoravids of North Africa cross into Spain and quickly gain ground. Alfonso VI of Castile, having just taken Toledo from the Moors, is defeated at the Battle of Zalaca. |
1087 |
The King dies at Rouen after falling from his horse. He is buried at Caen. He is succeeded to the English throne by his son William II, known as William Rufus because of his red hair. |