1069-70
The "harrying" was carried out by William the Conqueror after his taking England in 1066, in order to lay waste to surviving rebels against his rule and to their potential resources. The rebel army had faded north and their Danish allies had agreed a deal with William and left also. William, according to the "Anglo-Norman Chronicle" over 50 years later, "cut down many people and destroyed homes and land. Nowhere else had he shown such cruelty...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." His army destroyed crops and settlements and forced rebels into hiding. In the New Year of 1070 he split his army into smaller units and sent them out to burn, loot, and terrify. According to Florence of Worcester William's men burnt whole villages and slaughtered the inhabitants; food stores and livestock were destroyed so that anyone surviving the initial massacre would starve over the winter. Even as late as 1086 Yorkshire still had large areas of waste territory. The Domesday Book entries in 1086 indicate "it is wasted" for estate after estate; in all a total of 60% of all holdings were waste. The Book states that 66% of all villages contained wasted manors. Even the prosperous areas of the county had lost 60% of its value compared to 1066. Only 25% of the population and plough teams remained with a reported loss of 80,000 oxen and 150,000 people.
