The Norman Conquest and Beyond

At the start of 1066, Harold Godwin became King of England (King of the Anglo

Saxons). Later that year, Vikings invaded at Stamford Bridge. Harold won.

William, Duke of Normandy, said that he should be King and invaded from the

south.

William invaded and won the Battle of Hastings:

Harold had to march his tired army from the north of England, near to York to

the south to meet William, trying to gather more soldiers as they went.

1) William had moved his army to Hastings.

2) Harold positioned his army to block the road from Hastings to London.

3) William now had to attack if he wanted to become king.

The Battle of Hastings was fought on October 14th, 1066. William’s army was

well-trained and had lots of knights. Harold had about the same number of

soldiers but they were all tired foot soldiers.

1) William tried archers first, then spearmen and then knights.

2) Nothing seemed to be working. Then he got lucky- his Breton allies ran

away and some of the Saxons followed them, leaving fewer to fight

against William.

3) The Normans rode them down and the Saxon line was now thinner.

4) The Norman archers could now shoot at the Saxons.

5) The knights charged the Saxons and Harold was killed- William had won.

The Normans made the Bayeux Tapestry to show what they say happened.

Being King of England wasn’t easy:

William was crowned King on Christmas Day 1066, but his problems were just

starting.

1) William built castles to try and take control of the country.

2) William ordered the Domesday Book to record everything about England

and to see how much tax he should be given.

3) There were three serious rebellions against his rule which he put a stop

to- in the North, the South West and in East Anglia.

4) In 1069 some Vikings and northern Englishmen rebelled against William. They failed, but William was worried, so he burned and destroyed

everything in the North.

William’s son became the next King:

William the Conqueror died in 1087 after a riding accident. The new King was his

son, William Rufus. He was known as Rufus because of his red complexion (Rufus

means “red” in Latin).

1) Rufus took control of the English throne.

2) His reign was bloody, but not a total failure. He taxed people as much as

he could and beat off foreign invaders and revolts at home.

3) He conquered Cumbria and Wales and overthrew the Scottish King.

4) Some of his barons rebelled in support of his brother Robert, but he beat

them off too.

5) In 1100, Rufus was shot in the back on a hunting trip. Some people think

that the chief suspect (Walter Tyrel) was obeying orders from the King’s

younger brother, Henry, who became king afterwards.