Sweyn Forkbeard's revenge for the St Brice's Day massacre began with the sack of Exeter, betrayed by a Norman reeve named Hugh. The Chronicle's noting of the Norman reeve's treachery is historically significant: it shows the presence of Norman officials in England under Aethelred (who had married Emma of Normandy) and their potentially divided loyalties — prefiguring the broader Norman involvement in English politics that culminated in 1066.
Aubrey generates in-depth historical research for any location in Britain — drawing on Domesday records, scheduled monuments, Victorian OS maps, geological data and archaeological archives to tell the full story of a place.
Research a location near Devon