Hereward Returns!
It is that time of year again folks! When the WakeHereward Project arranges 'Hereward Returns!' marking the anniversary of the return from exile of the folk hero of the Fens, Hereward the Wake.
This year, the WakeHereward Project marks the occasion through medieval re-enactor Rory G appearing as Hereward at Bourne Town FC on Saturday 6th September 3pm and opening the Hereward Wargames Show at 10am on Sunday 7th at The Cresset, Peterborough.
On Saturday 6th: Hereward will be in attendance for the whole of The Wakes match in the FA Trophy versus the once mighty Rushden & Diamonds from 3pm kick-off to 5pm. The ground is Abbey Lawn, Abbey Road, Bourne, Lincolnshire, PE10 9EN, UK. Details can be found at The Wakes' website bournetownfc.co.uk
On Sunday 7th: Hereward will Open the Hereward Wargames Show at 10am at The Cresset, Bretton, Peterborough PE3 8DX. Hereward will be at the show until 1pm, it closes at 4pm.
Details at: www.hereward-wargames.co.uk
So what about the History, why these dates?
1st September 1067 - the death of Baldwin V, Count of Flanders, hastened the return to England of the Outlaw Hereward.
Baldwin was father of Matilda, the wife of England's new King, William I 'the Conqueror'. Hereward had been fighting in the Count's army as a military commander under his son Robert the Frisian when he heard of England's fate and decided to return home to collect his inheritance after hearing of the death of his father.
The 12th Century Gesta Herwardi claims that when Hereward returned to his hometown of Bourne he discovered his brother's decapitated head hanging from the entrance to his family estate and a group of unarmed Normans occupying his home. Enraged, he swiftly leapt from the shadows and slaughtered them, hanging their heads in place of his brother's and firing the rebellion in the Fens that would span across five years.
Hereward's name passed into legend as it was happening. His exploits in defending his own folk, their land, property and institutions was being written about by monk clerics out of the monastic houses at Ely, Peterborough and Crowland within one hundred years of his time.
In 1866 the author Charles Kingsley published the historical novel Hereward the Wake and it catapulted Hereward to fame as a figure of folklore rivaling Robin Hood and King Arthur. Following World War Two his popularity waned and by the 1980's he had become, largely, a forgotten hero, swept away with the shackles of empire.
Today, much due to the efforts of the WakeHereward Project, Hereward is experiencing a revival and on occasions such as these, medieval re-enactor Rory G brings him to life again, lifting him from 'forgotten memory' into 'active memory'. Through the efforts of the WakeHereward Project and all who have contributed Hereward lives again and his epic tales can be heard and passed down as an integral part of the Cultural Heritage of the Fen folk in particular and the English in general.
Dads! Bring the kids! Football, Wargames and Hereward the Wake will thrill and educate!
herewardthewake.co.uk
Also check out other Sports events in Stamford, Arts events in Stamford, Literary Art events in Stamford.
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