Who were England's new elite after 1066?

2a.3

THE END OF THE ENGLISH ARISTOCRACY

what did william initially envisage about the anglo saxon aristocracy and what evidence is there of this

invisaged ruling with the anglo saxon arisocracy (he allowed edwin and morcar to keep their earldoms and even promised edwin the hand of his daughter)

at a lower level, thegns were allowed to retain their lands as long as they had not fought at the battle of hastings although they did have to buy them back at a price

why was there a dramatic shift in williams treatment of the aristocracy

the rebellions led to a dramatic shift in williams treatment of the native aristocracy

what evidence is there that william replaced much of the anglo saxon aristocracy after 1068?

of the 1000 tenants in chief the domesday book lists, only 13 were english

the thegnly class who once numbered 4000-5000 largely vanished and the normans were in charge from the smallest village up to the greatest lordship

EYK - DOMESDAY

summarise what the domesday survey was

an investigation into england economic assets and land ownership

commissioners were sent into every county with a detailed list of questions

what did the domesday survey wish to find out

they needed to find out who owned the land in edward the confessors time, who held it now, how many people lived there , how much livestock, how much money the land generated, what was its tax rate and so on

what are the different ideas regarding why domesday was commissioned

• william may have wanted to use the information to reform the geld system - however no reassessment ever took place and the way the book is constructed makes it unsuitable for individual geld system

• it was most probably designed to provide William and his officials with up-to-date information about who owned what land

CHANGES IN LAND TENURE

what was the key difference between the way that land was held before and after the conquest

edward had been only one of many landholders, albeit dominant

after hastings, william claimed ownership over the entirety of england

he then granted lands to loyal supporters who in turn handed them to their followers in a process called subinfeudation

how did william change the way territory was carved up

• he granted huge consolidated blocks to his closest supporters paying no regard to previous patterns of ownership

• odo of bayeux received kent

• william fitzosbern received isle of wight

• 1/3rd of england was granted out this way

• many individuals were rewarded for their role in the fighting by a direct transfer of an anglo saxon extate - 10% of properties were delivered in this way

define the term ‘rapes’

after 1066, Sussex was a strategic gateway between england and france

to ensure its protection, william divided this shire into 5 separate strips known as rapes, each under the control of a leading magnates

hastings was granted to Robert of Eu while Roger Montgomery controlled Arundel

what evidence is there of illegal seizing of land

richard fitzGilbert was accused of seizing 3 manors in surrey

church property was also seen as fair game and the monastery at Ely suffered particularly badly

what did Odo of Bayeux do to be described as a ‘ravening wolf’

for the way he preyed on the estates of Evesham abbey

what was the only real option for english landholders if their land was seized

try and negotatiate to have some of it back, most probably on unfavourable terms of service

how was the domesday survey used to try and resolve land disputes

• it acted as judicial enquiry

• during its process of investigation, special sessions of the shire courts were held in every county and juries were assembled from local hundreds

• they were asked to state who owned the land

• this document acted as a charter of confirmation giving the great landowners legal security over their estates

NEW EARLDOMS AND THE GROWTH OF NORMAN INFLUENCE

what evidence is there of william being a good friend by 1086

by 1086 half the land in england was held by just 200 normans and half of that was in the hands of only 10 magnates

what happened to wessex and east anglia and why did willam do this

wessex was divided up soon after the conquest after learning from the way edward had been dominated by his earls

the new earldoms of kent, herefordshire, shropshire and cheshire were far smaller than their anglo saxon predecessors and were primarily focused on defending vulnerable parts of the kingdom

how did williams magnates compare with the anglo saxon earls

they enjoyed far less wealth and power than the preceeding english earls

what evidence is there to suggest that the norman magnates were not as rich as the anglo saxons

at the start of edwards reign , the collective value of the lands held by the earls equalled those of a king - edwards subsequent lack of power was shown by his inability to remove the godwin family in 1051

odo of bayeux topped the post conquest rich list

even a coalition of the top 10 magnates could not match the resources of william

william had twice as much land as all of them put together and an income of £12,600

what evidence is there that william could deal with anyone he wished

1082 - william ordered the arrest of Odo - he had finally grown tired of his half brothers limitless ambition, including designs on the papacy

he was placed on trial and then imprisioned in Rouen

EYK - Bishop Odo of Bayeux

how were william and Odo related

odo was the son of herleva who also bore duke william

what did Odo contribute to the invasion

100 ships to the invasion fleet and he gave advice to william during the battle

how was odos position transformed after the conquest

he became one of the kings elite tenants in chief through his appointment as earl of kent in 1067 with responsibiliity for protecting this strategic gateway into england

what evidence is there that odo was useful to william

1075 - odo led an army to confront ralph de gael during the revolt of the earls

what did odo do that was a step too far

he planned an unauthorised military expedition to italy, possibly in pursuit of the papacy

what did odo do after william I’s death that saw him banished

1088 - odo joined a coalition of leading magnates determined to install robert of normandy as king of england

william rufus efficiently defeated the rebels and bishop odo was banished from england and disinherited

how did odo die

on the 1st crusade 1097 in the holy land

THE NORMAN ARISTOCRACY

THE KNIGHTS OF ANGLO NORMAN ENGLAND

what were the similiarities between anglo saxon and norman middle ranking nobility

• both were the principal warriors of the age and would have gone to war equipped with a saddled horse, armour, sword, spear and shield

• both groups also had strong bonds of loyalty to their lord

• cementing these ties with symbolic acts such as the giving of arms and armour was also a consistent feature both before and after the conquest

identify the differences between thegns and knights

• a thegn had to possess 5 hides or more - but a knights estate varied in size

• knights typically fought on horseback and their service was more militarily orientated than thegns (periods of garrison duty or active service in the royal army)

• thegns were county gentlemen and military service could form just one part of their wider duties to their locality and when they did fight it was on foot

• thegns held land for their lifetime or 3 lifetimes if it was granted to them by a charter

• the estates of the knights became hereditary towards the end of williams reign

define primogeniture

the firstborn son inherited the family estate - advantage of ensuring power bases remained intact