The effect of the Norman Conquest on the English Church

The Power of Religion

• Religion in this period is a matter of life and death. It held great significance.

• Religious leaders were as powerful as kings and the pope was the most powerful person in Europe.

• Everywhere in England were outposts of Christianity - where once a week people came to mass, be told how to live so they could get into heaven.

The Wealth of the Church

• The church was the largest landowner in England. By 1086, it held a quarter of all land in England.

• Everyone had to pay a tax to the church called tithe - villagers had to give a tenth of what they produced and one tenth of any profit they made to the church.

• There were many seasonal taxes as well, such as Easter dues that was payed to the church.

• People were taxed when they died and had to pay surplice fees to the pries for ceremonies such as marriages, baptisms and funerals.

How did William reform the Church?

• William appointed his friend Archbishop Lanfranc to be Archbishop of Canterbury.

• The church had 3 main criticisms:

  • A number of people who held multiple positions - this was known as pluralism.

  • Positions within the church were often sold (this was called simony) and positions were often given to relatives (this was known as nepotism) , not the most suitable candidates.

  • Many members of the clergy (church men) were married , which went against the traditional vow of celibacy.

Lanfranc v Thomas

• Both Lanfranc (archbishop of Canterbury) and Thomas (archbishop of York) wanted to establish Primacy (to be seen as the leader of the English church). So became rivals.

• Lanfranc had two main advantages:

  • He had ties to the pope.

  • He had been appointed before Thomas had so Thomas had to be consecrated (to be declared as archbishop) by Lanfranc . He required that Thomas swear loyalty to Lanfranc (making Thomas less powerful) so he refused until William ordered him to submit to Lanfranc. which he did.

• In 1072 the Pope confirmed Thomas and Lanfranc’s appointment by giving them their pallia. Thomas complained to the Pope who said they should deal with it in England.

• Thomas eventually submitted to Lanfranc after being pressed to by the king.

Lanfranc’s Reforms

He brought most of his reforms between 1070 and 1076.

• Establishing synods. Synods were Church councils that helped spread the message of reform.

• Moving cathedrals to bigger towns and cities. This helped centralise the church.

• A new church hierarchy. This was to be clearer who answered to who. It became: Pope > Archbishops > Bishops > Archdeacons > Deans > Parish priests.

• Developing parishes and the role of parish priest. The number of village churches doubled between 1070 and 1170 - over 2000 village churches were recorded in the Domesday survey.

• Officially ending marriage amongst the clergy. The already married priests could stay, however none could get married in the future.

Church and Law Courts

• The council of Winchester in 1076 established church courts meaning that the clergy were now to be tried in the bishop’s courts and not in the lay courts (the secular/ non-religious courts).

• Lanfranc wanted spiritual offences (such as Blaspheming, failure to attend church, adultery and incest) to be tried at church courts.

  • Church courts were less severe then secular courts.

How did William change Church Buildings?

• By 1100s every major Anglo-Saxon cathedral and abbey (excluding Westminster abbey) had been knocked down and rebuilt in the Norman’s favoured architectural style - Romanesque.

• England was a wealthy country so this allowed the romans to build on a huge scale. They also used ‘forced labour’.

• The religious buildings were intended to show that god favoured the new regime and that the impressive building were a display of Norman power and prestige.

Why did William II come into Conflict with the Church?

• Lanfranc anointed and crowned William II on 26th September 1087 but he was soon in conflict with the church.

• Where William I was genuinely religious, his son seemed to be more in the church for the money and the church disapproved of his morals.

  • William never got married or had children - it is almost certain he was homosexual.

• His lifestyle and exploitation of the Church led to conflict with it.

Conflict with William of St Calais

• There was a rebellion against William II in 1088 and The bishop of Saint-Calais had informed the King and agreed to bring reinforcements for him.

  • The bishop changed his mind and never brought the troops. So William II put him on trail for treason.

• Saint-Calais argued that he should be tried in a church court but the king refused.

• Saint-Calais’ trail took place in November 1088 where in just one day he was declared guilty.

  • He lost his bishopric and was exiled.

• This demonstrated that William II wouldn’t be controlled by the church, but the church by him.

Conflict between Anselm and William II

• When the archbishop of Canterbury died he wasn’t replaced so Rufus could take the income from the Lanfranc’s old estates.

  • But later on he fell ill and thought it was god punishing him so appointed Anselm as the new archbishop.

• Anselm forced Rufus to provide him with the lost lands and didn’t want to submit to a king who wasn’t very interested in the church

  • By 1094 he was preaching about the lack of morality in the king’s court.

The Council of Rockingham, 1095

• William II stopped Anslem travelling to Rome to get approval for his appointment as archbishop to limit the influence of the pope.

• Eventually a truce was called and William II accepted the pope but the pope had to stay out of english affairs.

  • But the king blocked Anselm’s attempts to reform the church councils.

• By 1097 Anselm had been exiled and fled to Rome so the king was able to profit from an empty position in the Church.

Simony

• Simony had been abolished under Lanfranc's reforms, but William reintroduced the practice.

• Herbert Losinga paid 1000 marks to become Bishop of Thetford in 1091.

• William II’s ally Ranulf Flambard was skilled at raising money from the Church but unpopular with the clergy.

• William made Ranulf ‘Bishop of Durham’, but he had to pay £1000 for the position.

Relations with the Pope?

Under William I

• Anglo-Saxon kings had remote relations with the Pope, but William I had a closer relationship with Pope Alexander II.

• Alexander gave William a Papal banner to bless his invasion

• Both wanted to reform the corrupt English Church and bring it in line with Christianity in Europe.

• The Pope wanted to get rid of corrupt bishops, and William agreed to eliminate simony and enforce celibacy.

• William's main goal was to remove untrustworthy Englishmen from powerful roles in the Church.

• By 1070, only two English bishops remained, one of whom was senile and the other was popular enough to become a saint.

Declining relations under Pope Gregory

• The next Pope, Gregory VII, was more radical that Alexander and thought that the Church had more authority than kings.

• This meant relations with William started to decline.

• The king refused to swear loyalty to the Pope but did agree to bring back the payment of ‘Peter’s Pence’ (a tax of 1 penny from every household was paid to the Pope).

Under William II

• The main conflict under William II was over appointing church leaders.

  • Gregory wanted to make his own appointments which led him to be forced out of the office by rulers in Europe.

• His successor Pope Urban II, agreed to not interfere with appointments while Rufus was king but the relationship was hostile

Henry I - The Investiture Controversy

• Under Henry I the key conflicts were lay investiture (appointments of religious officials) and Homage (showing respect publicly).

• Archbishop Anselm refused to perform homage to or be invested by the King so was exiled in 1103.

Henry was then threatened with excommunication but in 1107 an agreement was made.

• Henry could treat his clergy as his vassals and they would have to swear loyalty and provide service when required.

Monasticism and language

Monastic Life

• A monastery is a religious house where monks and nuns live and work.

  • In the eleventh century they were known as abbeys, priories or nunneries.

• Monasteries were expensive to build so needed a rich patron who could give the money and land needed.

• This lead to a secular (non-religious) influence over many monasteries, something reformers wanted to reduce.

Vows

• Monks and nuns took vows of poverty chastity and obedience.

  • Poverty: they had to give up all their possessions.

  • Chastity: they had to promise not to get married and remain celibate

  • Obedience: they had to promise to obey their abbot/abbess or prior/prioress and obey all the rules of their monastery.

Why was there a need for reform?

• Throughout the tenth century monasticism had been in decline due to instability caused by Viking raids, poverty and an over-reliance on local lords.

• Many clergy men were worried there was too much secular interference in monasteries.

  • If a monastery needed land they would need support from their local lord so they would often have a say over who became abbot.

• Reformers wanted to reduce the influence the state and lords had over the monasteries.

  • Monasteries had changed, for example not all monks were strictly vegetarian or wore rich clothing. Reformers wanted to bring back more traditional practices.

The Norman revival of Monasticism

• When the Normans took over England they helped to revive monasticism

  • Between 1066 and 1135 the number of monks and nuns increased from about 1000 to between 4000 and 5000.

  • The number of religious houses also grew from around 60 to over 250.

• There were also new reforms and monastic orders introduced.

Cluniac Monasteries

• Cluny Abbey was founded in 910 by Duke William of Aquitaine and became a Benedictine house with its own identity.

• Cluny was granted permanent freedom from military service and feudal duties, and answered only to the Pope.

• Cluny strictly followed the Rule of St Benedict and was used by the Popes to help revive monasticism and reform many other religious houses.

• All Cluniac monasteries answered directly to the Abbot of Cluny and there was an annual meeting of priors at Cluny to deal with issues.

Cluny’s Influence in England

• The first English Cluniac priory was founded in 1077 by William de Warrene, at Lewes in Sussex.

• By 1135, there were 24 Cluniac monasteries in England.

• New religious houses were often built next to castles aiming to demonstrate that the Norman domination of England had God’s blessing.

Lanfranc’s Reforms of the Monasteries

• Gradually the Normans changed the leaders of monasteries in England from Anglo-Saxon to Norman.

• Lanfranc introduced new reforms in his new constitution, at Christ Church, Canterbury in around 1077.

• His reforms included changes to the liturgy, hierarchy, rules about creating saints, and domestic life.

• The regulations were adopted at other monasteries, but not all were adopted without protest.

  • For example, in Glastonbury the monks refused and according to the Anglo-Saxon chronicle, Knights were sent to enforce changes which resulted in 3 deaths and 18 monks were injured.

What else did Monasteries do?

• Some monasteries grew rich through farming, such as Fountains Abbey and Rievaulx, which farmed sheep and sold wool.

• Monasteries had infirmaries for the sick, and the almoner cared for the poor who visited for food.

• Monasteries provided accommodation for pilgrims, who often left gifts for the monastery.

• Monks were the most educated members of society and the monasteries were centres of scholarship and learning.

• Monasteries built up libraries of ancient manuscripts, and monks copied texts in a scriptorium.

  • Monks were also the historians of their time, writing the history of the country.

Schools and Education

• Monasteries and churches were the main providers of education.

  • Education had to be paid for but some monastic schools did teach local boys from poor families as exchange for work in the monastery - this was rare.

• Girls were excluded from education however some girls from rich families did receive a basic one.

• Education was mainly focused on training pupils to become monks or priests.

Church Education

• By 1100, all cathedrals and many larger churches had schools.

• Church schools focused on Latin, music and verse, astronomy and mathematics, and law.

  • Latin was essential for future priests and monks.

  • Music and verse were needed to aid in delivering services.

  • Astronomy and mathematics were necessary for the Church calendar.

  • Law was required for administration.

• Education was narrow both in terms of who received it and what was taught.

Norman Influence on Language

• Latin had become the language of the government and church. English was removed and became obsolete in written works.

• While Latin was the official language most people either spoke Norman-French or English in everyday life

• Most of the population (peasants) still spoke English.

• Norman-French became the Vernacular (native language of a place) for the upper classes, clerks and middle classes in the towns.