Page "Northumbria" Paragraph 22

To acknowledge the remote independence of Northumbria and ensure England was properly defended from the Scots, William gained the allegiance of both the Bishop of Durham and the Earl and confirmed their powers and privileges.

However, anti-Norman rebellions followed.

William therefore attempted to install Robert Comine, a Norman noble, as the Earl of Northumbria, but before Comine could take up office, he and his 700 men were massacred in the city of Durham.

In revenge, the Conqueror led his army in a bloody raid into Northumbria, an event that became known as the harrying of the North.

Ethelwin, the Anglo-Saxon Bishop of Durham, tried to flee Northumbria at the time of the raid, with Northumbrian treasures.

The bishop was caught, imprisoned, and later died in confinement ; his seat was left vacant.