History: Anglo Saxon England and the Norman Conquest 1060-1066

Who was the most powerful person?

The King

Who did the King grant some of his power to?

Their Earl's but the King also took advice off his council, The Witan

What did the King have power to do?

Law making - only the King made laws but everyone had to obey them

Money - the King controlled the distribution of coins

Taxation - the King decided when and how much tax should be

Religion - the King was chosen by God to lead people

Fyrd - the King could ride the Fyrd army and fleet

Landownership - the King could grant land to loyal followers or take it a way as a punishment

Who were the Witan?

The council that advised the King. The King decided who was appointed the Witan, what they should advise him on but they were not a limitation to the Kings power

Earls

The most important after the King, governed areas of England on the Kings behalf. They had to guarantee the King some things though : Collecting taxes from their Earldoms, the Earls kept a third of taxes for governing and protecting their Earldoms. Overseeing law and order in the Earldoms and judging cases and deciding punishments for those found guilty.

What were Thegns?

Local lords, who could complain to the King about Earls who governed an Earldom badly

Who was the King from 1003-1066?

Edward the Confessor

Edward the Confessor disadvantages

Had been exiled in Normandy for most of his life so had few supporters in England

Had no children to succeed him

Struggled to keep control Earl of Godwin

What was a Shire Reeve?

The Kings representative in local government.

King issued orders to Shire Reeves via "writs"

Judged at the Shire court

Was responsible for the defence of the Shire

What was Geld Tax?

The tax levied on land, Edward the Confessor only levied the tax rarely, he lived on the revenues from his own land.

Shires, hundreds, tithings and hides

Each Earldom was divided into Shires

Each shire was divided into hundreds

Watch hundred was divided into tithings

A tithing was originally 10 households, a hundred was originally 100 hides of land

Administration of Anglo Saxon England

Based on the hide. Each hide of land (about 120 acres) carried obligations. For example, having 5 hides of land meant the obligation to provide one man for fyrd.

Shire

An Earldom was divided into Shires

Hide

An area of land covering about 120 acres

Ceorls

Peasant farmers

Fyrd

The men of the Anglo Saxon army and fleet

Writ

Written orders from the King, a royal seal proved it was official

What gave England its strong economy?

Good climate for farming

Strong trade links across North Sea and the Channel

Efficient tax system

Central control of money, meant money was reliable and kept its value

Thegns

Anglo Saxon warrior/Nobel class with 5 hides of land or more

Ceorls

Most depended on Thegns for land and work, some Ceorls were freer

Slaves

Treated as poverty, people who could be brought and sold

Burhs

Fortified main town of each shire

People from the countryside would take refuge in the Burh when Vikings were around

All significant trade had to be carried out in Burhs by law, the trade was then taxed

The church

Bishops were rich and important controlling large church districts, The Witan always had important Bishops

Social roles

Anglo Saxon society was flexible

Peasant farmers could become Thegns if they did well and squired more than 5 hides of land. At the same time peasants who did badly might have to sell themselves into slavery. Slaves could be freed by their masters and become peasants.

The Godwins

By the 1060's the "Hours elf Godwin" had come to dominate Anglo Saxon society and politics. They built themselves a power base from Wessex out to all the major Earldoms of England, except one, Mercia

Tostig Godwinson

Became Earl of Northumbria in 1055

Gyrth Godwinson

Was made Earl of East Anglia in 1057

Leofwine Godwinson

Became Earl of several smaller shires in 1055-57

What happened when Earl Godwin died?

When Earl Godwin died in 1053, Harold Godwinson succeeded as Earl of Wessex, the richest Earldom in England

How did the "House of Godwin" increase power?

Through Political Marriages.

Earl Godwins daughter Edith married King Edward

Harold Godwinson married Edith of Mercia, daughter to Aelfgar and then a second marriage to Edith the Fair who was influential in East Anglia

Tostig Godwinson married Judith, daughter of Baldwin of Flanders

Harold's Embassy to Normandy

King Edward sent Harold to Normandy but we don't know what message he wanted him to give William of Normandy

William rewarded hi with gifts of weapons and armour

Why was the embassy important?

It shows that Harold was King Edwards trusted right hand man for politics as well as for leading military campaigns

Norman's used the embassy to claim that Harold was an oath breaker when he took the crown for himself

Key events in the rising against Earl Tostig

1) October 1065: Northumbrian Thegns revolt aghast Tostig, marching in York

2) Northumbrians invite Morcar to be earl instead

3) King Edward orders his Earls to put down the uprising, but they found ways to disobey

4) instead Harold agrees to the rebels and Tostig was to be replaced by Earl Morcar

5) by 1st November Tostig is exiled. Harold was weakened by the "House of Godwins" but perhaps strengthened his claim to the throne.

Reasons for the uprising

Tostig went too far on his crackdown on lawlessness abusing his power to threaten nobels and assassinating rivals. He then became friendly with Malcolm iii of Scotland instead of fighting him and he over taxed the Northumbrians

Harold Godwinson's claim to the throne

Claim - appointed successor by the King on his death bed

Strength - good, supported by witnesses

Chance - excellent Harold has the support required from the witan in order to be made King

WAS CROWNED KING ON THE SAME DAY AS EDWARD THE CONFESSORS FUNERAL

Edgar Aethling's claim to the throne

Claim - royal blood, a descendant of King Alfred the Great

Strength - strong in theory but Edgar had nothing to back it up with

Chance - weak, Edgar was only a teenager and the threat off invasion was too higher risk for him to control

Harald Hardrada's claim to the throne

Claim - secret deal made with two other Vikings

Strength - weak, what mattered thought was the force Hardrada could call on to back his claim

Chance - good, Hardrada had 300 ships and 15,000 warriors all with battle experience

William of Normady's claim to the throne

Claim - an agreement with King Edward following Harold's embassy to Normandy

Strength - backed by the Pope but lacking evidence

Chance - quite good because of William's military strength but only if he was able to get his knights across the channel to England

Battle of Gate Fulford (20th September)

Edwin and Morcar were outnumbered

English shield wall was surged forwards against Tostig's weaker troops Hardrada hit the English troops with his best warriors from the side

Thousands of English troops were killed or wounded making the unable to fight against the Norman invasion, Hardrada and Tostig took many English as hostage

Harold was forced to move North to deal with Hardrada and Tostig with consequences for the Battle of Hastings

Battle of Stamford Bridge (25th September)

King Harold achieved a great victory defending England from invasion

William invaded in the south while Harold was in the north so Harold had to rapidly move south towards him tiring out his housecarls

Harold's victory made have made him complacent to Williams threat

The battles in the north may have prevented troops reaching Hastings from Mercia and Northumbria

Battle of Hastings timeline

27 Sep - Williams fleet sets sail

28 Sep - the Normans land at Pevensey

2 Oct - Harold leaves York

6 Oct - Harold reaches London

12 Oct - Harold leaves London

14 Oct - the Battle of Hastings

Norman Knights

REFER TO POSTER "BATTLE OF HASTINGS"

Advantages - highly trained, heavily armoured, mounted Knights

Disadvantages - horses were vulnerable to attack

English housecarls (trained soldiers who were also bodyguards to their lords)

REFER TO POSTER "BATTLE OF HASTINGS

Advantages - disciplined shield wall very hard to break, housecarls knew how to fight together and their axes were highly effective.

Disadvantages - once the shield wall began to break housecarls were vulnerable to cavalry and archer attacks

Reasons for Williams victory in the Battle of Hastings

REFER TO POSTER "BATTLE OF HASTINGS

Norman tactics

Leadership

Luck

English tactics

Harold's leadership