Anglo Saxon History Home Background Landscape Changing Landscape and Language Sea Levels in AD400(Pevensey) Sea Levels in AD400(The Wash) Sea level changes last 2000 years Andredsweald and Anderida Where are the Roman Roads History of the Romney Marsh The Great Storm 1287AD List of Landscape Documents Local The Saxon Kingdom of the Haestingas The Cinque Ports 914AD Alfred the Great's fort in Hastings Battle Museum Battle History Society Villagenet Local Gazeteer World War 2 Tank database Simon the Piman(Raspberry Pi) Tourist Guides for the area Romans First Invasion 55BC Second Invasion 43AD Roman roads in Britannia Ptolemy Geographica Tribes MAP-Margary Roman Roads MAP-Roman Roads South East MAP-Roman Roads South West MAP-Roman Roads Wales MAP-Roman Roads South Midlands MAP-Roman Roads South Yorkshire MAP-Roman Locations Norfolk MAP-Roman Locations Essex MAP-Wealden Roads/Bloomeries Wealden Bloomeries 1st Century Wealden Bloomeries 2nd Century Wealden Bloomeries 3rd Century Wealden Bloomeries 4th Century MAP-Antonine Itinery I Roman Industry in the Brede Valley Decline in Roman Wealden Ironworking The Gallic Empire 260AD - 274AD Types of Roman Fortification List of Roman Documents Saxon Chronicles 449AD Hengest & Horsa arrive 455AD Hengest & Horsa defeat Wurtgern 457AD Hengest & Horsa take over Kent 460AD Hæstinga Saxons arrive 477AD Cymensora 485AD Suth Saxons Mercredesburnan 491AD Suth Saxons Pevensey 914AD Burghal Hideage Locations - 449AD Ebbsfleet Locations - 455AD Agelesþrep Locations - 485AD Mearcredesburnan Stede Locations - 914AD Eorpeburnan List of Saxon Chronicles Documents 1066 Battle Documentary Evidence Available Documents  1 Anglo Saxon Chronicles  2 Battle Abbey Chronicles  3 Bayeux Tapestry  4 Carmen Guy d'Amiens  5 Florence of Worcester  6 Henry of Huntingdon  7 Master Wace  8 Orderic Vitalis(Gesta)  9 William of Jumièges(Gesta) 10 William of Malmesbury 11 Quedam Exceptiones Reference to Locations Phases of the Events Phases 1066AD  1 Background 1066AD  2 In Normandy 1066AD  3 Channel Crossing 1066AD  4 The Landing 1066AD  5 Feast after Landing 1066AD  6 Building the Forts 1066AD  7 Raiding the Area 1066AD  8 Warning to Harold 1066AD  9 Stamford Bridge 1066AD 10 Harold returns to London 1066AD 11 William is Alerted 1066AD 12 Exchange of Messages 1066AD 13 Defenses 1066AD 14 Harold Reconnoitres 1066AD 15 Preparations 1066AD 16 The Night Before 1066AD 17 The Battle 1066AD 18 Harold is Killed 1066AD 19 The English Rout 1066AD 20 After the Battle 1066AD 21 The Malfosse Warriors, Weapons & Snippets Saxon - Huscarl Saxon - Fyrd(Fyrð) Senlac Hill The Malfosse The Hoar Apple Tree The Shield Wall Salt Production near Hastings The Battle of Jengland 851AD William's Ship List Norman/Viking Ships and stuff Norman bows and crossbows Harold was NOT killed by an arrow The Time Team view of the Battle 1066AD Landscape Details 1066AD Sailing from Normandy 1066AD Norman Landing 1066AD Possible Fort 1066AD to Pevensey and Hastings 1066AD Manors Wasted 1066AD Manors All 1066AD Warning to Harold 1066AD Harold to Hastings  List of 1066AD Documents List of 1066AD Weapons 1086AD Domesday Boundary of Anderida Domesday Hursts Post Domesday Hursts Domesday Manors Wasted UK Norfolk Salt Production Salt Production near Hastings The Wash at 1086 The Humber estuary at 1086 Domesday County details B Bedfordshire Domesday Population Berkshire Domesday Population Buckinghamshire Domesday Population Domesday County details C Cambridgeshire Domesday Population Cheshire Domesday Population Cornwall Domesday Population Domesday County details D Derbyshire Domesday Population Devon Domesday Population Dorset Domesday Population Domesday County details E Essex Domesday Population Domesday County details G Gloucestershire Domesday Population Domesday County details H Hampshire Domesday Population Herefordshire Domesday Population Hertfordshire Domesday Population Huntingdonshire Domesday Population Domesday County details K Kent Domesday Population Domesday County details L Leicestershire Domesday Population Lincolnshire Domesday Population Domesday County details M Middlesex Domesday Population Domesday County details N Norfolk Domesday Population Northamptonshire Domesday Population Nottinghamshire Domesday Population Domesday County details O Oxfordshire Domesday Population Domesday County details R Rutland Domesday Population Domesday County details S Shropshire Domesday Population Somerset Domesday Population Staffordshire Domesday Population Suffolk Domesday Population Surrey Domesday Population Sussex Domesday Population Domesday County details W Warwickshire Domesday Population Wiltshire Domesday Population Worcestershire Domesday Population Domesday County details Y Yorkshire Domesday Population Place names Translate my Location Celtic name snippets Jutish name snippets Roman name snippets Saxon name snippets Viking name snippets Norman name snippets Modern name snippets Villages containing EY/EYE/SEA Villages containing HAM Villages containing TON Villages containing CASTLE Sussex Locations with ING Domesday Sussex with ING Kent Locations with ING Sussex Locations with HURST Loads of Village Translations Res Battle of Hastings 1066AD - F - Hastings and its associations with Normandy Emma of Normandy and Fecamp In 1014, King Aethelred II (the Unready) promised the Saxon Manor of Rameslie to the Benedictine Abbey of Fécamp in Normandy, which was under the rule of his brother-in-law, Duke Richard II. This grant was made in return for the abbey sheltering him during Danish invasions. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (MS C, 1014) records Aethelred’s exile in Normandy, though it does not explicitly mention the Rameslie grant—suggesting the promise may have been a private arrangement. Although Aethelred regained the throne, he died in 1016 before fulfilling his pledge. However, his Norman widow, Emma, married his successor, Cnut the Great, and in 1017, the Manor of Rameslie was transferred to Fécamp Abbey—a transaction likely facilitated by Emma’s political ties, as noted in the Encomium Emmae Reginae (c. 1041), a contemporary text praising her influence. The manor remained under Norman control until 1247. The Manor of Rameslie included the lands now known as Rye, Old Winchelsea, and some of the outskirsts of modern Hastings, along with five churches and an estimated 100 salt pans—essential for preserving herring and other fish, a major industry documented in the Domesday Book (1086) under the abbey’s holdings. The Abbot of Fécamp wielded extensive rights, including a tithe (one-tenth) of fishing catches, as recorded in a 12th-century charter held in the Fécamp Abbey archives. He also collected taxes and customs dues, controlled shipbuilding, and monopolized trade in salt and high-quality Caen stone tiles, evidenced by archaeological finds in Rye. The abbey’s wealth funded local courts, as seen in the Cartulaire de l’Abbaye de Fécamp, which details its judicial authority. The combined privileges of the Cinque Ports and Fécamp’s oversight spurred Rye’s growth into a prosperous medieval port. The involvement of Fécamp’s monks in planning the invasion is supported by the Carmen de Hastingae Proelio (c. 1067), a near-contemporary poem claiming a Fécamp monk carried William’s message to Harold. This connection likely spared Rye from the destruction inflicted on New Romney, which the Domesday Book describes as heavily penalized for attacking Norman ships. Archaeological evidence, such as the lack of widespread burning layers in Rye compared to Romney, supports the theory of its exemption from retaliation.   Contemporary documents regarding Fécamp 1. William of Jumièges – Gesta Normannorum Ducum (c. 1070) Mentions Fécamp as a key ducal residence and religious center. Discusses Duke Richard II (996–1026) and Robert the Magnificent (1027–1035), who were buried at Fécamp. Notes that William the Conqueror spent time there in his youth under the protection of the abbey. 2. William of Poitiers – Gesta Guillelmi (c. 1071–1077) Refers to Fécamp in Normandy as a place where William held councils and gathered support before the invasion of England. Implies its political and strategic importance in Norman governance. 3. Dudo of Saint-Quentin – De moribus et actis primorum Normanniae ducum (early 11th c.) Written before 1017 but includes early Norman history. Describes Fécamp as a favored residence of Duke Richard I (the Fearless) and a center of Norman power. 4. Charters & Abbey Records Fécamp Abbey’s own records (some surviving in later copies) attest to donations and privileges granted by Norman dukes. Other historic mentions of Fecamp Fécamp Abbey’s own records (some surviving in later copies) attest to donations and privileges granted by Norman dukes. Copyright saxonhistory.co.uk 2013 - 2025 Contact Simon Author Simon M - Last updated - 2025-05-29 05:56:38 All pages on our site (Sitemap)