the norman conquest

the nature, structure and diversity of late Anglo-Saxon society

structure:

• king - most power, most land, expected to be a strong leader + warrior in order to protect the kingdom, gathered taxes for defence, roads and bridges, responsible for law courts and the work of the Church

• earls - powerful members of the Witan who could influence who became king, did not keep private armies but led the king’s “fyrd” in times of war, by 1065 the six existing earls came from 3 families

• thegns - land owners who owned around 2500 hectares, ran local courts and collected taxes, were expected to fight for the king if necessary

• ceorls - majority of the country’s population, some were tradesmen, but majority worked the land, expected to serve in the king’s “fyrd”

• thralls - property of their master, were not allowed to find work elsewhere, formed around 10% of the population

women:

• had the right to own land and property, and to leave their husband who had committed adultery

• 5% of land in England was owned by women - almost all of them were related to earls

• in “double monasteries” where monks and nuns lived the women were in charge

• women had the same Wergild as that of a man of equivalent status - increased by 50% if pregnant

religion in late anglo-saxon england

church buildings:

• most towns did not have a stone church until the Normans

• most places worshipped around large stone crosses like the one in Gosforth, Cumbria

beliefs and sermons

• unlike churches on the continent, English churches preached in English as opposed to Latin

• according to sermons, people were fond of binge-drinking and over-eating, especially on holy days

• English people were very proud of their own traditions - eg saints were often locals who were highly thought of after death - officially could only be made in agreement with the Pope

• most people had strong beliefs in witchcraft and spells as well as elves and goblins which could do harm - although they were technically Christian, in anglo-saxon bibles, illustrations of devils and demons were often depicted similar to Pagan elves

st dunstan

• monk from Somerset who became the Archbishop of Canterbury in 960AD

• worked to end corruption and greed within church leaders, and also worked to improve the commitment and education of priests, monks and nuns

• organised the rebuilding of many churches, abbeys, and monasteries using funding from local thegns and earls who wanted the monks and nuns to pay for their souls

stigand

• Archbishop of Canterbury after Dunstan, did little to try to improve the quality of the church or priests - served more as an advisor to the King

• by 1065, Stigand was the Bishop of Winchester and also and also Archbishop of Canterbury - “pluralism”, and also committed “simony” - selling off Church property to the highest bidder

anglo-saxon culture: buildings, art and literature

buildings:

• Westminister Abbey: built in the Norman style by Edward and influenced by Robert of Jumieges - stone arches and longer and taller than AS churches

• Wilton Nunnery: compared to the Temple of Solomon in the Bible, know for its opulence - fine wooden carvings, intricately painted plasterwork, winding staircases, precious stones and gold ornaments

art:

• the Alfred Jewel: used to read Bibles, with intricate metal work and an enamel pattern of a man holding two long plants

• the Fuller Brooch: made of silver, with carvings representing the five senses

• the anglo-saxons were known throughout Europe for their engraving skills

literature:

• “marvels of the East”: manuscript depicting the world outside Europe - contained odd monsters and different people, originally written by the Greeks but had Pagan influences

• Beowulf: a 3000 line long poem, first orally told - a story of a hero who hunted a monster then killed its mother

norman society, culture and warfare pre-1066

feudal system:

• fiefs - duchies or counties ruled by dukes/counts on behalf of the King

• in England, earls and thegns raised armies which were owned by the King, but these were independent of the Crown

Normandy started as a Viking colony:

• from 911AD when Rollo became a vassal, Normandy doubled their territory through conquest and marriage alliances

• adopted language, laws, and forms of government of the French people they now ruled

• appointed trusted local men to rule each part of the duchy

warfare:

• Chevaliers (knights) who were full time soldiers - mastered the art of fighting on horseback

  • part of the feudal system - swore to serve their lord and in return received a piece of their own land

  • used military power to take as much tax and rent from people who lived under their control as they wanted

• Castles

  • some made of stone, but mostly made of timber and earthworks - similar to AS buhrs

  • only served as the knight’s home and fortress - not for the wider community like the anglo-saxons

  • either a ringwork castle- bailey surrounded by a ditch and earthwork bank

  • or motte and bailey - within the bailey was a manmade mount called a motte

church:

• norman monks and nuns were praised by Popes for their devotion, teaching, art and music

• architecture defined by tall, rounded arches - described as Romanesque, as they were similar to those used in the Roman Empire centuries ago

the succession crisis of 1066

Harold Godwinson:

• persuaded the Witan that Edward had granted him the throne, and then nobles agreed he should be King

• previous King’s wife, Edith, was his sister - was the most powerful earl in England

Edgar Aetheling:

• English and had a direct bloodline to the throne - Edward’s great nephew

• about 12 years old

• Witan rejected his claim

Harald Hardrada:

• powerful and experienced Danish ruler

• inherited claim to the throne from King Cnut

• Witan ignored his claim

William of Normandy

• Duke of Normandy - powerful and experienced, defeated Anjou in 1049, conquered Maine, defeated Brittany

• Great Aunt was Queen of England (Emma of Normandy)

• said Edward chose him in 1051

• Witan ignored his claim

the battles of Fulford, Stamford Bridge and Hastings

Fulford, 20th September 1066:

• Morcar and Edwin vs Hardrada and Tostig

• English had the marshland behind them and were forced into the marshland, thousands of English troops killed and many taken hostage

• impact - number of troops on the English side severely declined, Harold had to march his army north quickly - right after disbanding it

Stamford Bridge, 25th September 1066:

• Harold’s army surprised the Viking army

• Barold was victorious - Tostig and Hardrada were killed in battle

• 300 ships had sailed to Britain, only 24 were needed for the journey home

• Hardrada’s son Olaf was allowed to sail back to Normandy on the condition that he never returned

Hastings, 14th October 1066:

• preparations in Normandy

  • invasion force of 7000 men, with around 2000-3000 horsemen

  • had the support of the Pope in the form of a papal banner - used to win over the support of a large army

  • offered great rewards for those who backed him

  • spend spring building ships and moving armour, weapons, food and wine to the coast

  • set up camp at Dives sur Mer

• William’s decisions in battle

  • repeatedly attacked then retreated, drawing the English off the hillside

  • William had advantage on flat ground due to many horsemen

• Harold’s weaknesses

  • rode from York to London in four days in an attempt at the element of surprise

  • if had waited, may have gathered more men - would have allowed time for rest, re-organisation of army and supplies

• luck

  • weather meant William set sail two weeks later than he would have and therefore did not face Harold on the coast as he was fighting Hardrada in the North

  • Pillaged the surrounding area of Pevensey and Hastings to draw Harold down

first uprisings to norman rule including in the west and mercia, 1066-68

Hereford, August 1067

• Edric the Wild, used to be a powerful thegn in England, raided Norman-held lands with the Welsh princes

• William did not deal with the raids and they continued for years

Exeter, January 1068

• Mother of Harold, Gytha had been plotting with Irish lords and the Danish King - William tried to negotiate but failed

• Besieged the city of Exeter, gouged out the eyes of one of the rebels to prove a point, stayed under besiegement for 18 days, until they surrendered and swore loyalty to him

  • promised not to plunder the city, or to punish its people, or to demand extra tax

• treated the Exeter rebels leniently

  • shows him as just and fair - wanted people to like him as it made ruling easier

  • did not want them to become martyrs

• built castles in Berkhamsted, Wallingford and Hereford

northern resistance and william’s “harrying” of the north

reasons for rebellion:

• revenge - many families had members who were lost in the Battle of Hastings

• pride - they hated having foreigners ruling over them, normans travelling along at night were regularly attacked

revolt of Edwin and Morcar in 1068

• Edwin was promised William’s daughter as his wife but William went back on his word, Morcar had parts of his earldom reduced and given to Normans

• William heard and marched north, building a castle in Warwick, in the centre of Edwin’s lands

• marched on to York, Edwin and Morcar had surrendered - William built castles in Lincoln, Huntingdon and Cambridge on the march back south

Harrying of the north

• william sent his troops to destroy the land and root out the rebels

• crops, animals, and food were destroyed causing widespread famine

• some areas of the north were completely depopulated - Doomsday Book

• know about this from the half French, half English monk Orderic Vitalis

the rebellion of Hereward in the East and the end of English resistance, 1070-71

church reforms

• ordered monasteries to provide the money burnt from uprisings - confiscated money and treasure from wealthy English men which were hidden in monasteries

• replaced Stigand as Archbishop of Canterbury with Lanfranc, an Italian priest who cam from a monastery in Normandy

Hereward and resistance at Ely

• Ely was an island in the Fens, and had been overtaken by the Danes in June 1070 - the locals hoped that the Vikings would remove of William

• support for Hereward grew whilst William was in Normandy - by the time he returned, the Abbot of Ely had openly given support to Hereward, and English bishop brought rebels from across the country, all gathered at Ely

• William sent ships to block off supplies to the island on the East, and built a causeway on the West side

• William’s army reached the island - English surrendered, Morcar and other leaders were imprisoned, Hereward escaped, becoming an English legend like Edric the Wild

pre-conquest fortifications and the first Norman castles in England

buhr-geats

• fortified towns, with a two meter deep ditch and then a 2m high earth bank, often with a 2m tall wooden palisade

• Goltho in Lincolnshire

Pevensey Castle

• built on the top of ancient Roman ruin - used as a base once the Normans had arrived in England

• became a stone keep, with a 17×9m tower as well as 7 projecting towers measuring up to 25 meters high

Hastings Castle

• similarly to Pevensey, was built on the site of an Iron Age fort, and built with earthworks, a wooden keep and a palisade wall in the interest of speed, and later upgraded in stone

Tower of London

• built with Kentish ragstone and detailed with Caen Limestone on the south-eastern corner of the old Roman walls of London

• strategic importance, site next to the Thames defended the entrance to London from the sea - statement of prestige

the distribution and design of Norman castles throughout England in 1087

• in 1071 there were around 35 castles in England, by 1087 this had increased to around 500, most of which had been built by Norman lords

• built castles next to important rivers or roads or on top of important Saxon sites as a reminder of the Normans’ quenching power

• motte and bailey castles: smaller than buhrs, designed to house a small number of soldiers

• some castles were not built on a motte, instead had earthwork defences called ringworks, often built on the sites of existing fortresses

the purpose of castles in England, including their military and economic functions

traditionalist view:

• Ella Armitage, 1912 - The Early Norman Castles of the British Isles

• overturned the previous idea that mottes were mostly built by Romans and Saxons - her studies of maps and books confirmed that they were first built by Normans

• Castles mostly played a military role - generally geographically located in positions were large battles/conflict had happened - Hastings, York etc

revisionist view:

• features of standing stone castles showed they were weak - castles were more used to show off status and power - Higham and Parker, Timber Castles, 1992

• many earlier Norman castles were ringworks - first built by the Anglo-Saxons

recent interpretations:

• “first and foremost military installations” - Marc Morris, 2012

• originally used to control unwilling English populations - early Norman castles were heavily fortified with large garrisons to hold many Norman cavalrymen

examining stone structures (Exeter castle gatehouse):

• built facing into the city, with two large triangular headed windows - Anglo Saxon design

• more like the wooden gatehouses designed by Saxon thegns intended to show the status of the owners

surveying earthworks:

• earthwork defences - made from digging mud, studied using aerial photographs or detailed surveys of sites

• ringworks - simple enclosures with a ditch and an inner back topped with a timber palisade, often built on natural features or preexisting structures

• mottes - built from the soil thrown up from digging the ditch or using natural hills

• surviving earthwork defences suggest Norman castles existed fro defensive purposes

looking at landscapes:

• more than 80% of castles were located in the countryside

• most castles were status symbols - Castle Acre first had a castle, then had monks built a priory, and in the 12th century a deer park was created and Roman Road diverted to give more impressive views - changed surrounding landscape

digging castle sites:

• Hen Domen on the Welsh border - 1960-92

• built in 1070 to secure dangerous territory

• the castle has large towers to give distance views

• not many luxury/valuable items were found suggesting housed soldiers and was purely for military purposes

the domesday book, creation and purpose

• ordered to be created by William in a time of unrest - King of Danes and Count of Flanders had joined forces to invade England

• two books not one - Little Domesday (Essex, Norfolk, Suffolk) and Great Domesday

  • originally called book of Winchester, book of Treasury or King’s Book

  • Name “Domesday” means Day of Judgement, given by the English peoples - its ruling was final

• information for over 13,000 manors was collected in six months

  • information about the people, the land, resources and worth

  • inquests were held to decide who owned the land - some people had written proof from William, others had merely been granted verbally - decided by jurors from each group of manors in a special shire court session

• created for taxation purposes??

  • needed money due to threat of Viking invasion - comissioners were instructed to note where “more could be taken than is now being taken”

  • layout does not support tax collection, as is linear instead of a large map

• created to establish legal power

  • confirmed Norman lords as the legitimate owners of lnad they had taken from the English

  • demonstrated William to be the rightful ruler of England - powerful instrument of royal power and control

changes to social structure in Norman England including changes in land ownership and the elite

• After the Battle of Hastings, William divided up the lands of English thegns and earls who had died, but allowed surviving English nobles to keep their land

• Changed after four years of rebellions, by 1086 50% of English land was held by Norman lords

  • Even then, he divided up the land so that his lords would not be able to challenge him - cousin Alan Rufus owned land in 12 different Shires, some as southern as Cambridgeshire and some as northern as Yorkshire

• Domesday book showed that the population of Yorkshire was a quarter of what it had been pre-Harrowing of the North

• Made daily life for the English who worked the land incredibly difficult

  • 90% of English population worked in agriculture

  • On top of increased taxation, forced Saxons to build castles as part of the services the peasants owed to the manor, prevented from fishing or collecting firewood on the lord's land

changes and continuities: laws, language and the Church

• New laws

  • Textus Roffensis, written by a monk in Rochester, Kent

  • Saxons had trial by ordeal, holding a red hot iron or placing hand in boiling water - if the wound healed it was a sign from God that the accused was innocent

  • Normans kept trial by ordeal and added trial by combat - in cases where and Englishman was accused and there were no witnesses he allowed the Englishman to fight the Norman

  • Murdrum Fine - if a Norman was murdered, the local English community had to pay a fine until the murderer was handed over for trial

  • Forest Law - prevented the English from hunting in royal forests - rabbit, two fingers chopped off; a deer, eyes gouged out

• New languages

  • Before the Conquest, manuscripts were written in English - use of written English came to a stop in 1066, and became Latin instead

  • Ruling class spoke Norman French

  • Languages began to blend together - around quarter of words from modern English come from Norman French

• Changes to the Church

  • Papal Legates of 1070 crowned William king again, showing he had the Pope's blessing

  • Stigand was replaced by Lanfranc, by 1080 only one of the 16 bishops was English

  • William began to rebuild England's cathedrals, building them bigger and grander, in Norman style

  • Nearly all Saxon parish churches were destroyed and few Saxon saints survived - Normans began to dedicate churches to their own saints