William establishes control

Aftermath

• William buried all the dead Normans but left all the English bodies except Harold
• William for a while only controlled the area around Pevensey until a few months later where he gained control over the rest of the country

From Hastings to London

• After the battle the earls and lords didn’t surrender.
• William went round ‘punishing’ towns around England - during this he left a garrison of soldiers at Hastings
• While he was ‘punishing’ William sent troops to Winchester to take control of the city as it housed the royal treasury and confirmed the surrender of the Queen
• William headed to London in late November
• The English didn’t want William as their king. However Edward’s nearest relative, Edgar Aetheling, was an unsupported alternative due to him being too young
• The English nobles knew the best way to keep their power was to back William

Dealing with the powerful English lords

• William claimed he was the rightful heir to the throne
• English lords who were loyal to him were allowed to keep their land
• For those who died at Hastings, William took their land, disinherited and gave it to the Normans who fought for him.
• In March 1067 he returned to Normandy and left England to his half-brother Odo - William took some of his enemies to Normandy with him to keep an eye on them.

Dealing with revolts

• Most of the leading English hated the Norman rule
• During 1067 small local risings took place these became more serious within the following 2 years.
• These rebellions ended any idea of including English nobles in the Norman government.

The Harrying of the North

• The north had always been a difficult area to control
• William appointed a new earl called Robert Cumin to the area
• Robert let his army to loot and kill, so the Northumbrians fought back
• Edgar Atheling came back and joined the locals leading an attack on York - William promptly shut it down and built a second castle in York.
• In September 1069 King Swein of Denmark captured York - William, being too busy to fight him, paid the Danish to leave by spring
• William then dealt with the rest of the northern rebels with mass killings, burning of homes , animals and crops, and plundering - this was called the Harrying of the north
• William had no regrets and celebrated Christmas in York

Castles

• Castles were essential to Norman control
• very few castles had been built in England before 1066 - the closest thing to castles were the Burhs (fortified towns)
• William build castles mostly in vulnerable areas - the boarders of Wales and Scotland, the south coast etc.
• No significant town was more than a days march away from a castle giving Normans the ability to deal with rebellions swiftly

William dies

• William died after damaging his intestines at the Battle of Mantes - on the 9th of September 1087 at the age of 59.
• William gave the throne to his second surviving son, William II (who was often called Rufus to avoid confusion)

King William II

• On the 26th of September 1087 Rufus was crowned king
• In 1088 Bishop Odo began plotting a rebellion, 6/10 Norman barons supported him, this was because they didn’t want to swear loyalty to two different rulers in two different countries.
• The bishop of Durham informed Rufus of the plot and made them swear loyalty - Odo surrendered by the end of the summer
• Rufus died on the 2nd of August 1100 in a hunting accident

Henry I

• In 1101 Henry reached an agreement with his brother Robert that they would stay in each others own domain.
• However in 1105 Henry attacked Normandy and in 1106 he defeated Robert
• By 1107 Henry ruled both Normandy and England just like his father