The Great Harrying: William the Conqueror's Genocide of the North

In the winter of 1069-70, William the Conqueror unleashed a campaign of deliberate devastation across northern England that contemporaries and modern historians alike have called genocide. This episode explores the Harrying of the North — a scorched-earth operation that destroyed crops, livestock, and entire communities from York to Durham. We look at the causes, including the Danish invasion and the rebellions of Edgar the Atheling and the northern earls. The population of Yorkshire may have fallen by 75%. The Domesday Book records vast areas as 'waste'. We also examine the lasting trauma: a region scarred for generations, a king's calculated brutality, and how this event shaped the legend of William as both conqueror and butcher. Specific figures include Gospatric, Waltheof, and Earl Morcar. Drawing on the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, Orderic Vitalis, and modern archaeological evidence, we piece together the horror of that winter and its legacy in English memory. #HarryingOfTheNorth #WilliamTheConqueror #NormanConquest #DomesdayBook #AngloSaxonChronicle #OrdericVitalis #York #Durham #EdgarTheAtheling #Waltheof #Gospatric #MedievalEngland #ScorchedEarth #Genocide #1069 #NorthernEngland #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo