Hereward the Wake

Hereward the Wake (Traditional pronunciation /ˈhɛ.rɛ.ward/, modern pronunciation /ˈhɛ.rɪ.wəd/) (c. 1035 – c. 1072) (also known as Hereward the Outlaw or Hereward the Exile) was an Anglo-Saxon nobleman and a leader of local resistance to the Norman Conquest of England. His base when he led the rebellion against the Norman rulers was the Isle of Ely, in eastern England. According to legend, he roamed the Fens, which covers parts of the modern counties of Cambridgeshire, Lincolnshire and Norfolk, and led popular opposition to William the Conqueror.

"Hereward" redirects here. For the college in Coventry, see Hereward College.
For the novel by Charles Kingsley, see Hereward the Wake (novel). For the 1965 TV series, see Hereward the Wake (TV series).

Hereward the Wake
Hereward fighting Normans, illustration from Cassell's History of England (1865)
Bornc. 1035
Lincolnshire
Diedc. 1072 (aged 36–37)
Other namesHereward the Outlaw and Hereward the Exile
MovementEnglish anti-Norman rebellion

Hereward is an Old English name, composed of the elements here, "army", and ward "guard" (cognate with the Old High German name Heriwart). The epithet "the Wake", first recorded in the 14th century, may mean "the watchful" or derive from the Anglo-Norman Wake family, which later claimed descent from him.

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