The siege of Exeter occurred early in 1068 when King William I of England marched a combined army of Normans and loyal Englishmen westwards to force the submission of the city of Exeter in Devon, a stronghold of Anglo-Saxon resistance against Norman rule following the Norman Conquest of England. After a siege lasting eighteen days, the city surrendered to William under generous terms and allowed the Normans to consolidate their hold over the West Country. Background Exeter originated as a Roman civitas called Isca Dumnoniorum, which was provided with town walls in about 200 AD. It later became an Anglo-Saxon burh or fortified settlement and the Roman walls were said to have been repaired and improved by King Æthelstan in the 10th century. After the Battle of Hastings in October 1066, Duke William of Normandy marched on London and accepted the surrender of the leading English nobles at Berkhamsted and was subsequently crowned King of England at Westminster Abbey on Christmas Day. After the death of Harold Godwinson, his mother, Gytha Thorkelsdóttir, took refuge in Exeter, which then became the main focus in the West Country of resistance to Norman rule. Gytha had considerable wealth and hoped for the arrival of Harold's three sons, Godwin, Edmund and Magnus, who had gone to Ireland to raise an army. Orderic Vitalis states that she sent messages to other towns and cities in the region asking for support and was in contact her nephew, Sweyn II of Denmark. In March 1067, William had returned to Normandy in triumph, but there news arrived of events in Exeter. According to Orderic, some Norman soldiers that William had sent across to England ended up in Exeter where they were badly treated; they were stated to have been blown off course by bad weather, but were possibly on a reconnaissance mission. This, together with evidence that Exeter was soliciting support for an uprising, caused William to issue a demand of fealty from the city. When the reply came from Exeter, it was made clear that the citizens not only declined to swear allegiance to William or to allow him to enter their city, but also refused to pay any taxes beyond those that were customary, probably in reference to the severe taxes imposed after the Conquest that are described in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. Orderic relates that William said that he would not accept subjects under those conditions