A Nasty Post.

Somebody on the TV tonight mentioned the harrying of the north by William I in the winter of 1069-70. Crops were laid waste, people and animals slaughtered – and many of those who remained subsequently died of cold or starvation. Nasty lot, those Normans. But do you know what was really nasty?

By the time William died he’d grown excessively fat, and when they came to put his body in the stone coffin it was a very tight fit. So they pushed and forced and twisted – and somebody went off to fetch a crowbar, I expect – and guess what happened: his abdomen burst and the contents spewed all over the church floor.

It was remarked at the time, apparently, that there was an unpleasant smell in the air for some time afterwards. And I expect the Saxons cheered mightily.