Anglo-Saxon thegn who returned from exile to lead the last organized Anglo-Saxon resistance against the Norman invaders. In 1070 he sacked Peterborough with the aid of a Danish fleet. He held the Isle of Ely against William the Conqueror for nearly a year (10701), then disappeared from history, and entered mediaeval outlaw legend as a celebrated opponent of the forces of injustice.
Hereward the Wake, known in his own times as Hereward the Outlaw or Hereward the Exile, was an 11th century leader in England who led resistance to the Norman Conquest, and was consequently labelled an outlaw. According to legend, Hereward's base was the Isle of Ely and he roamed the surrounding fenlands of what is now Lincolnshire, leading popular opposition to William the Conqueror. In Old English, Hereward would have literally meant "herd guardian".
Life and legend
Partly because of the sketchiness of evidence for his existence, his life has become a magnet for speculators and amateur scholars.
His place of birth is supposed to be in or near Bourne in Lincolnshire.
It is thought that he had already before 1066 rebelled under Edward the Confessor, whom he saw as already aligning England with the Normans, and that he was declared an outlaw as a result.
It is claimed that in 1069 or 1070 the Danish king Swein Estrithson sent a small army to try to establish a camp on the Isle of Ely. They were joined by many, including Hereward.
The next year he and many others made a desperate stand on the Isle of Ely against the Conqueror's rule. Hereward is said to have escaped with some of his followers into the wild fenland, and to have continued his resistance.
The 15th century chronicle, Gesta Herewardi, by Ingulf of Croyland, says Hereward was eventually pardoned by William.
Tales and songs based on Hereward
Some of the legends about Hereward were incorporated into later legends about Robin Hood. Charles Kingsley's novel of 1865 is a highly-romanticised account of Hereward's exploits, and makes him the son of Earl Leofric of Mercia. Jack Trevor Story wrote a long dramatised life of Hereward for one of Tom Boardman's boys' annuals. Cold Heart, Cruel Hand: A novel of Hereward the Wake (2004) is novel by Laurence J Brown. An Endless Exile (2004), by Mary Lancaster, is a historical novel based on Hereward's life. The rock band Pink Floyd referred to Hereward in the track "Let There Be More Light" (1968); in which a psychedelic vision of Mildenhall reveals 'The living soul of Hereward the Wake'.Hereward the Wake gives his name to the Peterborough radio station Hereward FM.
The Hereward Way
There is a long-distance footpath through the Cambridgeshire fenland from Peterborough to Ely, called the Hereward Way.
Hereward's family
Hereward is believed to have been the son of Earl Leofric of Mercia and his wife Lady Godiva.
The Wakes of Bourne
There is an English family with the surname of Wake and a baronetcy (hereditary knighthood). The heir apparent to the baronetcy is traditionally called Hereward, and is therefore known as Sir Hereward Wake when he succeeds.
It is possible that the Wake family may have created a spurious connection to Hereward, in order to retain claim to his lands, but there is no reason to think so. Hereward's great-great-granddaughter, Emma, married Hugh Wake. She was heiress to some of what had been Hereward's father's property.
The earlier names in the family tree are Anglo-Flemish and Anglo-Norman so they are found in several forms.
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