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On December 25, 1066,
Duke
William of Normandy was crowned king at West Minster Abbey.
The cries of the people in English and French were so clamorous that
they alarmed the Norman guard. They assumed something had gone
horrible wrong and set fire to the near by houses.
The Hystorica
Calamitatum reports that the fire spread rapidly. The people
in the church were thrown into confusion. Crowds abandoned the
ceremony to put out the fire, and the Troublesome
Ones to loot. Only the monks, bishops and a few clergy
remained before the altar.
Terrified, they managed to
complete the consecration of the king who trembled violently.
Read about
Edward Longshanks and the Barley
Stein of the MacThoi.
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