Welcome to the British History Podcast.

My name is Jamie and this is episode 422, Heraldward, The Man, The Myth, The Legend.

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The situation on Ely was getting out of hand.

The Libre alliance speaks of how Heraldward and his army carried out raids far and wide,

bringing with him bands of a hundred men or more.

And a growing number of landbagnates and aristocrats who were populating William's

army were personally losing a great deal of wealth due to the wake and his army.

Even worse for the Normans, Heraldward's raiding skills and open defiance were turning

Ely into a magnet for even more rebels.

And beyond that, now that even monasteries were no longer safe from the normen raids,

Ely was now one of the only places in the kingdom where the old English ruling classes

could bring their possessions for safe keeping.

There are even accounts that suggest that Archbishop Stigand of Canterbury sent some of

his property to Ely after William and his papal allies deposed him, deposed him.

And at about this point, there are also reports that he personally visited the island.

...