Norman conquest

Thralls

Slaves. Thralls made up as much as 10% of the population.

Ceorls

'Free' peasant farmers not tied to their land

Thegns

Landowners owning at least 250 hides of land.

Earls

Highest members of the aristocracy. Administered regions and sat in the Witan.

Fyrd

The men of each shire called up to fight for the king.

Burh

fortified settlement established to protect towns against Viking invasion

Witan

group of elders which helped advice and council the King of England

Moot

Local assemblies of each shire, attended by local thegns, bishops, the shire-reeve and representatives of each village.

Shires

Governmental districts in early England; governed by a shire-reeve (sheriff).

Reeve

An official appointed to supervise a village or a shire.

Beowulf

An Old English epic poem. Based on an spoken performance and perhaps written in the 8th century.

Timbrend

The Old English word for a builder. It literally means 'wood worker'.

St. Dunstan

A monk who became Archbishop of Canterbury in the 10th century. He reformed the English church to high standards, forbidding simony, enforcing celibacy and building monasteries.

Simony

the selling or buying of a position in a Christian church. Considered an offense in the Catholic church.

Marvels of the East

A book written in Old English. It is part travel guide and partly a description of fantastical beasts.

Robert of Jumieges

A Norman churchman brought to England by Edward the Confessor. He became Bishop of London and later Archbishop of Canterbury.

anglo saxon churches

These were usually smaller than others on the continent.

Exeter Book

10th century anthology of Anglo-Saxon poetry

Fuller Brooch

An ornately crafted silver brooch showing the five senses.

Archbishop Stigand

An English churchman he served King Canute and Edward the Confessor. He held the titles of Bishop of Winchester and Archbishop of Canterbury at the same time.

Lindisfarne Gospels

an illuminated manuscript gospel book produced around the year 700 in a monastery off the coast of Northumberland at Lindisfarne.

Magical Rings

Rings with runic inscrpitions thought to carry magical or protective powers.

Alfred Jewel

A piece of Anglo-Saxon goldsmithing work made of enamel and quartz enclosed in gold.

Pluralism

holding more than one church office, considered an offense in the Catholic Church

Westminster Abbey

A Cathedral and palace built on the Thames upriver from London. It was commissioned by Robert of Jumieges and is based on the Romanesque style of Jumieges Abbey in Normandy.

Stone Crosses

These were erected in many places in the countryside. Religious ceremonies took place here where there were no churches.

King Alfred the Great

King of Wessex, 871-899. He held back the attacks of the Danish Great Army and reformed the kingdom. His descendent then united England into one kingdom.

Danegeld

A tax to pay for defense against Viking invasions and/or money paid to Viking armies to leave the kingdom.

Danelaw

Northeastern region of England ruled by the Vikings

House of Wessex

The royal family of England. The descendants of King Alfred.

English Saints

There were numerous saints in the English church. The Pope criticised the English church for canonising too many saints.

Old English

The Anglo-Saxon language. It was more common for books to be written in the local language (Old English) rather than Latin that it was elsewhere in Europe.

Weregild

A payment in compensation for a death in Anglo-Saxon England. The prices were different for different classes, but the same for women and men.

Dublin

A Viking-ruled settlement in Ireland. It was a slave-trading centre with many links to the Danelaw.

Battle of Maldon

An epic poem about a battle between the English and the Vikings in 991. The Vikings were victorious and Earldorman Byrhtnoth of Essex was killed.

The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle

a collection of annals in Old English chronicling the history of the Anglo-Saxons. It was probably begun by scribes in Wessex under the reign of Alfred the Great.

Burghal Hidage

A document that outlines Alfred's system of trade towns that economizes the state and also serves as protection from the Vikings

Charters

Documents granting the right to organize settlements in an area. Granted by Anglo-Saxon kings, often in front of assemblies of nobles.

Edgar Atheling

Edward the Confessor's great-nephew. He was declared king by the Witan after the Battle of Hastings.

Edwin

Earl of Mercia and brother of Morcar. Claimed that William had promised to marry his daughter to him.

Morcar

Earl of Northumbria and brother of Edwin

Gytha

Mother of Harold Godwinson, a major landowner in Wessex.

Exeter

A Burh which defied King William in the winter of 1067-68. Hostages were blinded and the town beseiged before it submitted.

Edric the Wild

An English thegn and rebel leader on the Welsh Marches. Made alliances with Welsh princes and launched raiding against the Normans. He attacked and burned Shrewsbury in 1069-70

Hiberno-Norse

The part-viking rulers of the coastal lands of Ireland. They had often raided England and had links to the Danelaw. Had supported the Godwins in the past.

Ealdred

Archbishop of York. He crowned William in 1066 and advised against rebellions, supporting William until his death in 1069

Stigand

Archbishop of Canterbury. William claimed was corrupt and refused to be crowned by him. He was removed from office in 1070

Lanfranc

This man was the most important monk in Normandy. He was the counselor to William the Conquerer and he became the Archbishop of Canterbury in 1070.

Odo of Bayeux

William's half brother and a bishop. William left him in England when he returned to England. He probably commissioned the famous tapestry.

William FitzOsbern

A distant cousin of King William, and a trusted lieutenant. He was given land all over south of England, and left in England when William returned to Normandy

Robert de Comines

A Norman lord appointed as Earl of Northumbria in 1068. He was trapped in Durham by rebels and burned to death in the bishop's house.

Brian of Brittany

A nobleman who served William and helped him control the South-west. He defeated forces from Ireland led by Harold's sons in 1069

Swein II

King of Denmark. He sent an army to England to join with Edgar Atheling in 1069.

Asbjorn

Brother of the King of Denmark. He led the Danish army in their invasion of 1069.

Hereward

The English thegn that led one of the most famous rebellions against King William in 1069

Ely

An island monastery in the marshes of Cambridgeshire were Hereward's rebels were beseiged in 1071

Danegeld

How William removed the threat of the Danish army in 1069

Harrying of the North

1069-70: William's forces spread out across the North searching for rebels, burning villages and crops and killing livestock.

Christmas Day 1069, York

William's second coronation.

Christmas Day 1066, London

William's first coronation.

Edgar, Edwin, Morcar, Stigand and Ealdred

Taken to Normandy with William as hostages during 1067

1068

Edwin and Morcar's revolt in the North. When William marches North they submit and are taken back into William's court after forfeiting lands.

1071

Edwin and Morcar flee William's court. Edwin dies en route to Scotland. Morcar joins with Hereward on Ely.

Margaret of Scotland

The sister of Edgar Atheling. She was married to King Malcolm III of Scotland.

Scotland

Edgar Atheling fled William's court in 1068 and found refuge in...

1069

Rebellion breaks out in Northumbria. Danish invasion. Rebellion in the Welsh Marches. Rebellion in the South-west. Invasion from Ireland led by Harold's sons.

Harold's sons

Godwin, Edmund and Magnus had connections in England, Denmark, Ireland and Flanders. The reputation of this half-viking family meant warriors would follow them.

1067

William returns to Normandy with hostages and leaves trusted men in control in England. Norman knights spread out across England building castles.

1066

William wins the Battle of Hastings and gains the submission of the Witan and Edgar Atheling after ravaging the countryside around London.

English and Latin

Documents issued in these languages at Queen Matilda's coronation.

English and French

William was crowned by two bishops in these languages.

Why did Norman soldiers burn part of London at Christmas 1066?

They thought that the English cries of acclamation at William's coronation were calls for an attack.

Huscarls

Anglo-Danish professional warriors. Elite soldiers in the houshold of a nobleman and sworn to serve him to the death. They were famed for their skill with the war axe.

Fyrd

Working men, mainly peasants, from each shire. Called to serve the king in times of trouble

Reconnaissance

Norman armies under Duke William had made use of cavalry for scouting in wars in France.

Edwin

Earl of Mercia, brother of the Earl of Northumbria. English leader at the Battle of Fulford.

Morcar

Earl of Northumbria, brother of the Earl of Mercia. English leader at the Battle of Fulford.

Tostig Godwinson

Exiled former Earl of Northumbria, may have visited Normandy to offer an alliance to Duke William. Raided the Isle of Wight and supported Harald Hardrada for King of England.

Pevensey

William, Duke of Normandy landed here on the 28th September 1066

Ringwork Castle

The Normans built this in the ruins of an old Roman fort at their landing site.

Sussex

The Norman army ravaged and pillaged this shire to provoke King Harold into attacking them

Carmen de Hastingae

'Song of the Battle of Hastings' perhaps the earliest record of the Battle of Hastings, written for William's court to celebrate the event.

Battle of Fulford Gate

20th September 1066, the Norwegian army outflanks the English defenders of York to capture the city.

Battle of Stamford Bridge

25th September 1066, King Harold's army surprises the Norwegians near York after a rapid march and defeats them.

Battle of Hastings

14th October 1066, after a day-long battle King Harold is killed and his army scattered.

300 ships

The number of ships reported to have brough Harald Hardrada's army to England.

30 ships

The number of ships reported to have carried the survivors of Stamford Bridge back to Norway.

Killed at Stamford Bridge

Harald Hardrada and Tostig Godwinson

Killed at Hastings

King Harold, Gyrth Godwinson and Leofine Godwinson

Encastellation

The process by which castles spring up everywhere and power becomes localized. This had taken place in France in the 10th century and the building of Motte and Bailey and Ringwork castles was common.

Saint-Valery-sur-Somme

A town in the County of Flanders were William's fleet landed after they were hit by a storm in August. Here William ordered a procession of relics of the saint.

Pope Alexander II

Disapproved of many practices in the English church. Agreed to bless William's claim to the English throne and gave his banner to the cause.

Lanfranc

An Italian monk and advisor to William of Normandy. William sent him to Rome to get the Pope's support in 1066. He became Archbishop of Canterbury in 1070

Gytha and Gyrth

Advised Harold to wait for reinforcements in London before marching against William's army.

Count of Flanders

William of Normandy's father-in-law.

Harvest

King Harold had to dismiss his fyrd in late August to take in the harvest.

Abbaye aux Dames, Caen

Commissioned by Matilda of Flanders as penance for marrying her cousin.

Abbaye aux Hommes, Caen

Commissioned by William of Normandy as penance for marrying his cousin.

Rivals that William had fought and defeated before 1066

The King of France, The Count of Anjou, The Count of Maine, The Duke of Brittany, his own barons.

All over Northern France and beyond.

Where did William draw his army from?