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Awake the Hereward |
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The spoils of war
One of the most famous of those attacks involved the plunder of Peterborough Abbey. At the Abbey, some 24 miles from the Isle of Ely, Abbot Brand (possibly Hereward’s uncle) died and word got out that William was to replace him with the Norman, Turold, reputed to have a stern reputation and strong military leanings. Hereward got wind of this appointment and led his men onto the Abbey to plunder 
Peterborough Abbey, now the Cathedral, was plundered
© Andrew Watson |
its many riches (indeed, prior to the attack, Peterborough was renamed "Gildenburgh" meaning "Golden Borough" a reflection of its vast treasures).
Hereward and his men escaped with hordes of loot from the Abbey back to the waiting cover of the fens. They defended their actions by declaring that they were protecting the religious artefacts from the sacrilegious Norman hands, and acting on behalf of their people.
The Isle of Ely itself was an 11th Century Vietnam. Guerrilla warfare ruled as dense marshland covered tracks, thick reeds absorbed telltale sound and canny knowledge of the layout offered the only guarantee against drowning. Added to that, the land provided well for its protectors: food was plentiful as was wood and water, and with full support of the Monks at the Ely Monastery and the resistance was a credible force.
One of the first things that William did after the invasion was to 
The Monks at Ely Cathedral supported Hereward with food and water |
erect motte and bailey castles in key positions around the country to provide power-bases for his rule. The one at Cambridge gave his soldiers easy access to the Midlands and the North. The fen approach still remained impassable and threatened the Norman strategy with the resistance easily able to target the foreign soldiers on the open road and withdraw quickly back to their inaccessible base.
William knew that he had to act against this band of fen-men. He ordered many attacks on the Isle of Ely, with little success (even going so far as to employ a witch, who bared her bottom at William’s foe in an act of repulsion!). Finally, he found the resistors’ Achilles heel: the Ely monastery whose monks fought along side and gave succour to the rebels.
Words: Emma Borley
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