Hereward the Wake - The Anglo-Saxon Guerilla

From the marshy wetlands of the East Anglian fens, Hereward the Wake led a desperate Anglo-Saxon rebellion against the rule of the Norman King, William the Conqueror. This is the story of Hereward, a Saxon nobleman who went on to embody English resistance to Norman oppression.

This mini-documentary gives a brief overview of Hereward the Wake.

All materials are used under fair use for education and commentary.

Music:

Timestamps:
Intro - 0:00
Hereward's Early Life - 1:45
The Norman Invasion - 3:32
Hereward Returns to England - 4:35
Hereward's Rebellion at Ely - 5:42
Treachery and the End of Hereward - 8:24
Conclusion - 9:44

[JustAnotherHistoryChannel]

I neglected to explain what Hereward's epithet 'Wake' means - it most likely means 'watchful', or else relates to the Anglo-Norman Wake family, in order to claim descent from Hereward!

[davidharvey]

Excellent video, I'm always amazed that so many English people have never heard of Hereward the Wake.

[ronaldwinfield]

I have always esteemed Hereward as a hero.

[esm]

When I lived in Waltham Abbey, Essex there was a nearby pub called etc The Wake Arms, and there was ac local Essex gentleman whom had the title Sir Hereward The Wake, back in the 1960’s..

[jackwhitehead]

My boy rocking the tash n mullet look, directly from the Bayeux Tapestry. 12/10.
Liked, Commented, Subscribed.

[henryfitch]

Hereward is a true Cambridgeshire hero where I live. He defied the invading Normans. Go to Ely and see.

[kaykek]

Good call to switch between edited video and real life footage, makes the video more engaging. Thank you for another quality video.

[bremnersghost]

Hard to imagine the landscape before the Fens were drained, Back when much of the British Isles really were Islands most of the year.

[donnadiscalotta]

Excellent little video – well done and thank you.

[GrandeSalvatore]

Love the obscure topics! And the face reveal 🤣 this channel is about to blow up

[markdavids]

Bernard Cornwells book about Hereward is great, a work of faction admittedly but it’s wort a look at if you’re into this stuff.

[sorrysirmygunisoneba]

Fascinating subject and a fantastic video. Very well made. It’s production quality is something of channels with hundreds of thousands of subs. Well done, and consider me subscribed!

[JForkbeard]

Great video! There is a fen north of Ely called Burnt Fen, allegedly Herward instructed some of his rebels to torch the land as a distraction so Hereward could escape Ely and fight another day. Not found a physical reference to this though, only word of mouth. A good story nonetheless!

[bobyouel]

great information REspect to all that fight for their freedom

[TitanJonkler]

FEEL MY POWER!!!


*Rebellion Blade!*

[williamkz]

Nice presentation. Thank you. Hereward is a fascinating, possibly mythical character, linked in with the legend of Lady Godiva. I read Charles Kingsley's novel as a child and loved it. My own suspicion is that Hereward is composite character made up from a number of Anglo-Saxon rebels who resisted William I after Hastings.

[edgeeffect]

Fascinating... it's a name I've heard over and over and over again... now I finally find out who the hell he was. :)

[Bullet-Tooth-Tony-]

He's like an Uhtred of Bebbanburg type of character.

[bremnersghost]

Interesting that it was a Warrene sent to deal with him at Ely, considering the Warrene's controlled Sandal Castle and the Manor of Wakefield amongst their many other holdings, Coincidence?

[Medievalshields]

Amazing and informative video thank you