Dyfed and Gwynnedd fight each other to a standstill. A peace treaty is signed in the small Welsh kingdom of Morgannwg. Dyfed is allowed to keep such territory as it has already taken and both kingdoms undertake not to attack each other.
May – There are several minor uprisings in Swein of Denmark's name in East Anglia. Many of the "English" living there are of Danish descent.
June – After his success in stemming the "Danish" unrest William grows nervous about the security of London and sounds out his supporters about moving the capital to Winchester.
August – Harald makes preparations for defence against the expected Scottish raids. The main problem is the old kingdom of Strathclyde, not part of Scotland which juts dangerously into Harald’s territory.
September – Malcolm launches a series of raids into England to try and gain information on weak points in Harald’s defences.
October – Malcolm makes Edgar ‘Prince of Strathclyde’. This leads to murmuirings of discontent among the Scottish nobility who see Edgar as an English interloper.
1072
January – Malcolm launches a full-scale invasion of Haralds’ England from Strathclyde. The Englishmen of the North in Harald’s army fight just as hard as the
Norwegians.
March – William announces that he is moving his capital to Winchester. The announcement states that William is ‘returning the capital of the English people to it’s proper home’. It is not lost on the cynical that William is talking about the English
but he can’t speak a word of the language himself.
April – Harald manages to push the Scots back across the border in most places but Malcolm is able to remain in control of the piece of England between Strathclyde and the west coast, which he gives to Edgar as part of Strathclyde.
June - A Danish nobleman Jarl Asbjorn lands with several hundred men near the Fens, a large marshy area in East Anglia(At this time the Fens would be similar to the Florida Everglades). He sets up a base on the Isle of Ely, an area of the Fens that is very difficult to attack. With the support of many locals Asbjorn launches a series of attacks on local Norman forces.
August – Cadwagn ap Meurig, Prince of Morgannwg sends an ambassador to William. Morgannwg is always under threat of attack from either Dyfed or Gwynnedd and has need of a strong ally. Cadwagn feels that the Normans fit the bill perfectly.
September – In the six years since the Norwegian invasion both the invaders and the northern English have gotten into the habit of called Harald’s territory ‘Jorvik’ after the Viking word for York. On the sixth anniversary of his victory at Stamford Bridge Harald officially announces that his kingdom will now be called Jorvik.
October –Fergus, grandson of Eoghan the Bald (last sub-king of Strathclyde before it was totally absorbed
into Scotland) raises the standard of revolt. He states that ‘the proud people of Strathclyde will no longer stand for foreign princes ruling over them’
He soon acquires a large following of native Strathclyders and is joined by a number of disaffected Scots annoyed with Malcolm’s marriage to Margaret and his donation of Strathclyde to Edgar.
November – Fergus’ troops quickly gain control of part of southern Strathclyde that borders with Jorvik.
December –William holds a re-coronation ceremony in his ‘new’ capital of Winchester. Robert of Jumieges crowns him Roi d’Angleterre in front of a
congregation that includes members of numerous European royal families and a Papal legate. Edwin and Morcar, as leading members of what remains of the southern English nobility also attend.
1073
January – Cadwagn acknowledges William as his liege lord and William undertakes to protect Morgannwg from attacks by Dyfed.
February – Malcolm attempts to put down the revolt of Fergus of Strathclyde; however, he cannot rely on much support from the ordinary Strathclyders as most of them support Fergus. While Malcolm moves against Fergus, Harald who is as opportunistic as the next man launches an attack into southeast Scotland.
April – William asks his clerks to travel around the territory under his control and make a record of all land and livestock holdings and taxes payable thereupon to see what finances are available for war and other such necessities.
July – Reports reach William from the Italian Normans that large numbers of Saxons have been seen fighting in the Byzantine empire’s Varangian Guard, an elite mercenary unit previously largely made up of Vikings. Unconfirmed reports also state that the sons of Harold II may be among those involved.
September – Malcolm has so far been unable to make much impact upon Fergus’ revolt. However, this is because part of his army has been forced to try to defend Scotland against the attack from Jorvik.
1074
March – William attempts to drive back the Welshmen of Gwynedd from the land they had taken from him several years ago. He cannot devote as many troops as he would like to this enterprise, as he also has to guard the border with Jorvik.
May – Fergus of Strathclyde increases the amount of land under his control with help from Harald.
June – Mareddud of Dyfed takes advantage of William’s concentration on Gwynedd and launches an invasion of Morgannwg. Under the treaty he signed with Cadwagn in 1073 William is obliged to send troops to help defend Morgannwg.
July – William is now in the unfortunate position of having three unfriendly nations on his borders. He has also managed to give the two largest Welsh nations, Gwynedd and Dyfed a common enemy.
September – Fergus now controls most of the old kingdom of Strathclyde. At a gathering of the lords of Strathclyde he is acclaimed as King. Harald immediately accepts Fergus’ coronation.
1075
March – William’s clerks complete their survey of his land. Monk in Canterbury are given the task of collating the survey into a collection of leather-bound volumes.
June – Godred Covan of Islay declares himself Lord of Man and the Isles (the Isle of Man and the Hebrides). In doing so he breaks away from the control of the Irish kings of Leinster.
July – Godred swears allegiance to Harald. This is not a shock as Man and the Isles used to be part of the Earldom of Orkney. This now means that Harald or men loyal to him surround Malcolm on three sides.
September – Representatives from the Isles, the Orkneys, the Faroes, and Norway all come to Jorvik to witness being invested with the title ‘Lord of the North’. Not only does this make Harald pre-eminent amongst Norwegians but it also serves as a warning to all the other countries in Britain.
