Two disturbing and forgotten bits of english History they dont now teach

[UKSmartypants]

The Battle of Towton:

Fought between the Houses of Lancaster and York in Yorkshire, England, 1461. The largest and bloodiest battle to ever take place on British soil, one of the largest battles to ever take place in Europe. 65.000 men, half of all of England's fighting strength was assembled in one spot for control of the English throne.

35.000 were killed in one day, thousands more mortally wounded. It doesn't sound like much, but considering the population of England was only around 4 million at this time, this was the Somme Ypres and Verdun rolled into one . 1 in 2 English fighting age men were present at this battle, which is staggering. Half of them died, and more left disabled for life after.

If you survived, however, you were spoilt for choice with women; in 1462 women outnumbered men by about 2 to 1 because of this battle. Consequently there was an upsurge of women entering Convents.

Practically unheard of today, except for people local to the area and history enthusiasts.

The Harrying of the North: Northern England, 1069

After the successful Battle of Hasting in 1066, William set about those who still opposed him. Contemporary chronicles vividly record the savagery of the campaign, the huge scale of the destruction and the widespread famine caused by looting, burning and slaughtering. Contemporary biographers of William considered it to be his cruelest act and a "stain upon his soul". Writing about the Harrying of the North, over fifty years later, the Anglo-Norman chronicler Orderic Vitalis wrote (summarized):

"The King stopped at nothing to hunt his enemies. He cut down many people and destroyed homes and land. Nowhere else had he shown such cruelty. This made a real change. To his shame, William made no effort to control his fury, punishing the innocent with the guilty. He ordered that crops and herds, tools and food be burned to ashes. More than 100,000 people perished of starvation. I have often praised William in this book, but I can say nothing good about this brutal slaughter. God will punish him."

Indeed, upon his death bed, it is said that William was indeed begging God to forgive him for what he had done to the Saxons in the North, and was something he is said to have felt deeply remorseful of near the end.

The Harrying of the North is today considered the worst genocide in British history.

[WarriorRob]

What's so weird about Englands History is the Saxons, Angles and Jutes were Germanic and Danish tribes, the Normans were originally Danish and Norwegian tribes.

I heard the Marxists in England want to erase Saxons from History, saying they didn't exist

[Oceander]

The Battle of Towton:

Fought between the Houses of Lancaster and York in Yorkshire, England, 1461. The largest and bloodiest battle to ever take place on British soil, one of the largest battles to ever take place in Europe. 65.000 men, half of all of England's fighting strength was assembled in one spot for control of the English throne.

35.000 were killed in one day, thousands more mortally wounded. It doesn't sound like much, but considering the population of England was only around 4 million at this time, this was the Somme Ypres and Verdun rolled into one . 1 in 2 English fighting age men were present at this battle, which is staggering. Half of them died, and more left disabled for life after.

If you survived, however, you were spoilt for choice with women; in 1462 women outnumbered men by about 2 to 1 because of this battle. Consequently there was an upsurge of women entering Convents.

Practically unheard of today, except for people local to the area and history enthusiasts.

The Harrying of the North: Northern England, 1069

After the successful Battle of Hasting in 1066, William set about those who still opposed him. Contemporary chronicles vividly record the savagery of the campaign, the huge scale of the destruction and the widespread famine caused by looting, burning and slaughtering. Contemporary biographers of William considered it to be his cruelest act and a "stain upon his soul". Writing about the Harrying of the North, over fifty years later, the Anglo-Norman chronicler Orderic Vitalis wrote (summarized):

"The King stopped at nothing to hunt his enemies. He cut down many people and destroyed homes and land. Nowhere else had he shown such cruelty. This made a real change. To his shame, William made no effort to control his fury, punishing the innocent with the guilty. He ordered that crops and herds, tools and food be burned to ashes. More than 100,000 people perished of starvation. I have often praised William in this book, but I can say nothing good about this brutal slaughter. God will punish him."

Indeed, upon his death bed, it is said that William was indeed begging God to forgive him for what he had done to the Saxons in the North, and was something he is said to have felt deeply remorseful of near the end.

The Harrying of the North is today considered the worst genocide in British history.

Wow. From the wiki article on The Harrying: Records from the Domesday Book of 1086 suggest that as much as 75% of the population could have died or never returned.

[UKSmartypants]

Wow. From the wiki article on The Harrying: Records from the Domesday Book of 1086 suggest that as much as 75% of the population could have died or never returned.

The population of England was stable between Domesday and the Black Death, ie 1086 to 1347, about 4 million. If thats correct it would put the 1066 population around 10 million, which im a bit dubious. Of course we'll never know, there arent any records to go by. Even Domesday only records land holdings and worth, not actual population numbers.

[UKSmartypants]

What's so weird about Englands History is the Saxons, Angles and Jutes were Germanic and Danish tribes, the Normans were originally Danish and Norwegian tribes.

I heard the Marxists in England want to erase Saxons from History, saying they didn't exist

The irony is the lefties spent most of the time before 1990 insisting there was no such thing as 'races', and we were all the same. They only did a U turn and started insisting there WERE races and calling us all racists when DNA proved there was such a thing as distinct genetic groups , and the Out of Africa Theory also got popular about the same time, which pulled the rug from under them.


I spent years telling lefties that the English, irish, Scottish and Welsh were a distinct indigenous peoples, like the native Americans, or the Aborigines, or the Inuit, only to be derided mocked and insulted - until Dr Stephen Oppenheimer, a world class Paleoanthropoligist and Forensic Geneticist wrote a book on it proving i was right.

[BooBoo]

Seems William was a Busy Bloke way back when :



w/o GunPowder and Cannons, using only Arrows, Spears, Battle Axes, Swords and People...!!! What a Bloody Mess...!!

[kazenatsu]

The devastation of this military campaign could be part of the explanation why Northern England (specifically the northeast) fell behind and never developed as much wealth as the South.

In an alternate future, Newcastle and York might have been like smaller slightly second-class versions of London, that still had independent economic centers. Maybe a little analogous to the relationship between Boston and New York in the U.S.

[Sunsettommy]

The Battle of Towton:

Fought between the Houses of Lancaster and York in Yorkshire, England, 1461. The largest and bloodiest battle to ever take place on British soil, one of the largest battles to ever take place in Europe. 65.000 men, half of all of England's fighting strength was assembled in one spot for control of the English throne.

35.000 were killed in one day, thousands more mortally wounded. It doesn't sound like much, but considering the population of England was only around 4 million at this time, this was the Somme Ypres and Verdun rolled into one . 1 in 2 English fighting age men were present at this battle, which is staggering. Half of them died, and more left disabled for life after.

If you survived, however, you were spoilt for choice with women; in 1462 women outnumbered men by about 2 to 1 because of this battle. Consequently there was an upsurge of women entering Convents.

Practically unheard of today, except for people local to the area and history enthusiasts.

The Harrying of the North: Northern England, 1069

After the successful Battle of Hasting in 1066, William set about those who still opposed him. Contemporary chronicles vividly record the savagery of the campaign, the huge scale of the destruction and the widespread famine caused by looting, burning and slaughtering. Contemporary biographers of William considered it to be his cruelest act and a "stain upon his soul". Writing about the Harrying of the North, over fifty years later, the Anglo-Norman chronicler Orderic Vitalis wrote (summarized):

"The King stopped at nothing to hunt his enemies. He cut down many people and destroyed homes and land. Nowhere else had he shown such cruelty. This made a real change. To his shame, William made no effort to control his fury, punishing the innocent with the guilty. He ordered that crops and herds, tools and food be burned to ashes. More than 100,000 people perished of starvation. I have often praised William in this book, but I can say nothing good about this brutal slaughter. God will punish him."

Indeed, upon his death bed, it is said that William was indeed begging God to forgive him for what he had done to the Saxons in the North, and was something he is said to have felt deeply remorseful of near the end.

The Harrying of the North is today considered the worst genocide in British history.

An illegitimate child can do that much damage too bad Duke of Normandy created this slimeball.

[WarriorRob]

Seems William was a Busy Bloke way back when :



w/o GunPowder and Cannons, using only Arrows, Spears, Battle Axes, Swords and People...!!! What a Bloody Mess...!!

Anglo-Saxon Harold Godwinson didn't have a chance he was attacked by William the Bastard in the south and Harold Hardrade in the North, by some miracle after a long march he beat Harold Hardrade in the north then lost to William the Conqueror.

[LadyMoonlight]

The Battle of Towton:

Fought between the Houses of Lancaster and York in Yorkshire, England, 1461. The largest and bloodiest battle to ever take place on British soil, one of the largest battles to ever take place in Europe. 65.000 men, half of all of England's fighting strength was assembled in one spot for control of the English throne.

35.000 were killed in one day, thousands more mortally wounded. It doesn't sound like much, but considering the population of England was only around 4 million at this time, this was the Somme Ypres and Verdun rolled into one . 1 in 2 English fighting age men were present at this battle, which is staggering. Half of them died, and more left disabled for life after.

If you survived, however, you were spoilt for choice with women; in 1462 women outnumbered men by about 2 to 1 because of this battle. Consequently there was an upsurge of women entering Convents.

Practically unheard of today, except for people local to the area and history enthusiasts.

The Harrying of the North: Northern England, 1069

After the successful Battle of Hasting in 1066, William set about those who still opposed him. Contemporary chronicles vividly record the savagery of the campaign, the huge scale of the destruction and the widespread famine caused by looting, burning and slaughtering. Contemporary biographers of William considered it to be his cruelest act and a "stain upon his soul". Writing about the Harrying of the North, over fifty years later, the Anglo-Norman chronicler Orderic Vitalis wrote (summarized):

"The King stopped at nothing to hunt his enemies. He cut down many people and destroyed homes and land. Nowhere else had he shown such cruelty. This made a real change. To his shame, William made no effort to control his fury, punishing the innocent with the guilty. He ordered that crops and herds, tools and food be burned to ashes. More than 100,000 people perished of starvation. I have often praised William in this book, but I can say nothing good about this brutal slaughter. God will punish him."

Indeed, upon his death bed, it is said that William was indeed begging God to forgive him for what he had done to the Saxons in the North, and was something he is said to have felt deeply remorseful of near the end.

The Harrying of the North is today considered the worst genocide in British history.

I envy people from the UK, Western and Eastern Europe, and Russia. All of these countries have fascinating histories. Don't get me wrong, I cannot imagine ever living anywhere but Australia, and I do think Australia is a great country (less so in recent years with the immigration and PC), but our history compared to yours is just so uninteresting. Imagine wandering around England, knowing that the Romans and Celts lived and fought there, walking down an old Roman road, exploring castles, the artefacts, the buildings, the written records. Sure, lots of brutal history, death, disease etc., but that makes for fascinating history. We have had no revolutions, no wars fought on our soil (a few Aboriginals killed in a few skirmishes and settlers also killed does not a war make, especially in light of your post). I wonder how many people who live in Europe and the UK really appreciate the interesting history that surrounds them.