1066: The Only Date All Brits Know

Think Game of Thrones. Instead of the Iron Throne, we have the throne of England up for grabs, three candidates, and a lot of bloodshed.

England just before the Norman conquest is just that—it doesn’t include Wales or Scotland yet, and was technically only conquered by Vikings a couple of generations ago and still suffering frequent coastal raids. It’s divided into earldoms which answer to the king. but the earls’ estates are further divided into Hundreds (a collection of one hundred households with a court to settle local matters), a name that still exists within some land descriptions. London is the center of trade, and King Edward (later sanctified and known as Edward the Confessor) has begun to build the Palace and Abbey of Westminster, a mile downriver, possibly planning to move the royal seat from the current capital, Winchester.

But Edward has no direct heirs. The correct procedure in this case should pretty much mirror that set out by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. We anticipate a not particularly star-studded event in which the leading nobles of England elect the new king from among their peers, just like the Academy Awards. Except this doesn’t happen. But as he's dying in 1065, shortly before his death, Edward wakes to tell of a dream where two monks appeared to tell him England is destined for war and chaos. How right he is.