and he returned to England in December 1067. Other threats to Norman rule at that time included the revolt of Edric the Wild in Herefordshire and a failed attack on Dover Castle, but the defiance of Exeter with the connected threats of the Danes and Harold's sons was the most pressing matter. William's march west King William celebrated Christmas in London and then began his move towards Exeter. The fact that he took the unusual step of campaigning in the depths of winter is indicative of William's determination to deliver a pre-emptive strike against the Godwinsons. For the first time, William supplemented his Norman cavalry by calling out the fyrd, the traditional force of English militia infantry, which besides increasing the size of his force, would have been a test of loyalty for his new subjects. On William's march through Dorset, he took the opportunity to pillage the towns which he perceived were supporting Exeter; the damage inflicted at Dorchester, Shaftesbury and Bridport was still evident at the time of the Domesday survey some 18 years later. The siege When William arrived in Exeter's environs, he made camp, probably at the village of Clyst Honiton. Here, William was met by a delegation of prominent Exeter citizens, who pledged their submission to William and handed over hostages as surety. There are two interpretations of this encounter; firstly that two parties had emerged in Exeter, one hoping for a peaceful settlement, and the other, led by Gytha, being determined to resist, while the second possibility was that this was a bluff by Gytha who was playing for time, hoping for the timely arrival of her grandsons with an Anglo-Irish army. Whatever the intention, when William and his army arrived at the East Gate of Exeter, he found it closed against him and the walls crowded with armed men. In response to this afront, he had one of the hostages blinded in full view of the city's defenders, although this did not diminish their resolve; according to William of Malmesbury, one of the men on the battlements responded by lowering his breeches and farting towards the Normans. The various accounts of the details of the siege are divergent on some points and difficult to reconcile. According to the D Version of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle attributed to John of Worcester, the siege lasted for eighteen days and William's army suffered large losses, presumably in