Editing Whitwick (section)

=== Lead up to the [[harrying of the north]] ===
Between the defeat of Harold in 1066 and the creation of the doomsday book in 1086, William the Conqueror faced a number of rebellions which culminated in a "scorched earth" policy attack on the north of England destroying homes, food stores and farms. This attack resulted in the deaths of thousands by starvation and the elements. One such rebellion happened at Nottingham. Witewic Castle would appear to have been created in response to the threat from the north. There have been no signs of a pre-Norman occupation and it is known that the rapid creation of [[motte and bailey]] castles by William was in response to the rebellions.  It is, therefore, possible that the town grew around the castle and not the other way around. The middle-English proves difficult however when considering the 1000ad meaning of Wite as Guard (c1000 Sax. Leechd. III. 154 Þæt bið god swefen, wite þu þæt georne on þinre heortan.)<ref name="OED Online. Oxford University Press 2020"/> and Wic from roughly the same period meaning 'dwelling' (c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 8512 Iosæp..bærenn ure laferrd crist..Fra land to land. fra tun to tun. Fra wic to wic i tune.)<ref name="ReferenceB"/> It would appear that the castle was a "guard-house" and the town that sprouted up around it took its name.