A Footprint in Time

Chapter 1 1066 – The Norman Conquest “It was out of all this that we came” Before launching into my personal background with all my dubious recollections it would be apposite to look back in time to 1066 when a rather self-indulgent Norman leader and his bunch of social controllers (these days we might possibly refer to them as politicians or lawyers) crossed the Channel and altered the course of English History, much as the Romans had done centuries before and the Vikings in the intervening period. Clearly the Normans, as a form of colonial power, would call it civilisation, much as we have done ever since, to justify our own empirical ambitions. The Vikings, on the other-hand, suffered no such illusions; it was simple a case of help yourself to what you can. But why did the Normans want to invade Britain, after all the Romans had long since decided it was a wasted cause and the Vikings had turned their attentions to the East. A number of disparate and ungovernable tribes fighting amongst themselves to establish dominance – not so vastly different to the Europe of latter years I hear you say. Call it pride, avarice, lust for power or family dominance, or just a blend of them all. The problem can be laid at the door of Edward the Confessor, who died at the end of 1065, and, according to his wife, named his younger son, Harold Godwinson as his successor. This was swiftly endorsed by the Witans, the ruling advisory body of the day, and Harold was crowned within weeks, much to the consternation of the other claimants to the throne. Firstly, Tostiq the younger brother of Harold, who was the Earl of Northumbria until he was banished from the kingdom for brutality and misrule in October 1065. Tostiq then persuaded Harald Hardrada of Norway to undertake a joint invasion of England to help him seize back the territories he had lost. Secondly, William, Duke of Normandy who maintained that Harold, whilst in his custody (prisoner), had sworn allegiance and support of William’s claim to the throne for which reason he felt justified in declaring that he was prepared to invade England and take what he considered rightfully his – well he would, wouldn’t he! In anticipation of William’s planned invasion, Harold had assembled his troops on the Isle of Wight, but the invasion was delayed for several months due to bad weather and Harold, much to his dismay, felt unable to keep and feed an army indefinitely. He disbanded his merry men and returned to London; only to find that Harald Hardrada had landed at the mouth of the Tyne and, joining Tostiq, marched south to York. There they defeated the newly established Earl of Northumbria. Having received the news, Harold put together another army and led them almost 200 miles to York in 4 days, an incredible feat for those days, it really was a ‘forced march’. Nevertheless, despite his men being somewhat exhausted, he caught the invaders by surprise, defeating them at Stamford Bridge and killing both Tostig and Hardrada in the process. But not before he had offered Tostiq reinstatement as the Earl of Northumbria if he swore allegiance, which he refused. It is suggested that Harold rode up to them before the battle and made the offer to Tostig who then enquired what Harold would offer Harald Hardrada. It is alleged, that he replied, “7 feet of English Soil”, sufficient for Hardrada, as he was a big man. I suppose it could be considered a ‘grave’ offer! As if that wasn’t enough, two days later Harold received the news that William’s invasion fleet had set sail for England, destined to land on the south east coast at Pevensey. No rest for the wicked. So, Harold had to turn around and march his army 241 miles south to intercept the invaders. He and his men must have been exhausted. The two armies clashed at the Battle of Senlac Hill, later to be called the Battle of Hastings, on 14th October 1066. The English were outnumbered 3 to 1 and lacked mounted cavalry which the Normans had landed from their 600 ships in support of the invading army. After 9 hours of fighting, Harold and his brothers Gyrth and Leofwine were killed and their army defeated, thereby marking the arrival of the Normans and the end of the Anglo-Saxon reign, which had existed from the end of Roman Britain in the 5th century. Justified or not it was to be a turning point in British history. Amongst the influx of Normans came the supporting contingent of troops, camp followers and hangers-on, including those from Evraux, an area of Normandy in what we would now refer to as France, a settlement that had been created in the distant past by the migrating Eborhards. As the Germanic name implies, my ancestors were pig hunters from central Europe – well nothing has changed then. Truly, I’m uncertain as to which pigs they were hunting! As a result, it was out of all this that we, the Everett’s, came presumably as vassals of the Normans or latter-day Vikings, and settled in the green and pleasant lands of southern England, close to the old Roman fortification of Londinium. You could therefore describe us as the first true migrating Europeans – heaven forbid! Although to be fair, steeped in Viking blood or somebody else’s. How do I know this? Well mainly supposition, based on historical research and by embroidering fact with fiction, a little as those early day chroniclers did in creating the Norman’s reputation and many others in history have subsequently done. What a pity Harold had to fight two major battles and in between travel half way across England - well he couldn’t turn a blind eye to these events could he! But for this, things might have been vastly different. However, there is little doubt that the Normans, for whatever reason, brought significant improvements and a sense of order to our country. Something that had been missing since the departure of the Romans and the arrival of the “Dark Age”. From the invasion, one can track the Everett pedigree through those early warriors from Evraux who, like many in those days, bore the name of the area or town from which they originated; hence the derivations such as Eborhard, Everard, Everett and for those who can’t spell, like the early census enumerators, Everitt. Many of these families can be traced, following the Norman invasion, to locations around the Thames Estuary and, in particular, the county of Essex. Well it had to have something in its favour, as the Romans made Colchester the Capital of England although I would have mixed feelings about my daughters being referred to as ‘Essex Girls’.