This day in 1066 saw the Coronation of Harold II of England, the man fated to die at Hastings: the last Anglo-Saxon King of England.
Some say the Godwinsons were power-mad and their lust for power angered William of Normandy into grabbing the crown by force, with all the repercussions for the Saxons of England (and the knock on effects on the Scots and Welsh).
Some blame Edward the Confessor, a man who had brought peace, stability and more to England for his entire reign, for failing to make the succession clear.
Others still blame William the Conqueror for pressing his claim (which some claim was dubious) and certainly his post-Conquest treatment of the peoples on Britain (despite close links between Saxon England and Normandy even in the reigns of Edward and Harold) does little to make William's claim seem justifiable to later generations.
This day in 1066 could be seen as the first day in which Saxon England's fate was doomed, because when Harold II was crowned it started the anger at a (rightly or wrongly) perceived betrayal of an oath that would make William of Normandy amass an army from across Northern France and Flanders for a huge invasion of England.
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Harold II
Tuesday, 6 January 2009
"1066 and all that" Started Today: Harold II Crowned
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Interesting information regarding William The Conqueor and The Norman Invasion taken from a BBC article found at:-
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/5076900.stm
How did the history of Jews in Britain start?
It is a very long history. The first substantial Jewish community arrived in England after the Norman Conquest of 1066, although some historians suggest there was a presence in even earlier times.
The Jews who arrived with William the Conqueror were merchants and bankers - they became an integral part of the early Norman period because Christians (much like Muslims today) were forbidden from lending money at interest.
By the middle of the 13th century, there were substantial Jewish communities in London, Lincoln and York.
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