Chapter 2: Life under the Normans

Feudalism and Government

The Feudal System

Under the Normans

• Anglo-Saxon kings had armies raised when needed - this continued but more formal with knights guaranteeing a certain number of days service.
• To increase the King’s power of Patronage, he began to assert more control over his tenants:
  • Charging fees when tenants died
  • controlling marriages of tenants’ widows
  • redistributing land when there was no male heir
• The English the thegns land was taken away.
• William did not let any one person have too much land unlike the Anglo-Saxons.
• William used the same basic framework as the Anglo-Saxons but had more power.

Military control

• William needed a reliable supply of soldiers - he did this, by in return for land a tenant offered loyalty and provided a certain number of knights.
• Knights were similar to the the old Anglo-Saxon thegns but there were two main differences.
  • Knights made an oath tot their lord - making it a religious duty.
  • Knights always had to serve, usually around for 40 days.
• By 1100 the king could call on about 5000 who were obliged to provide military service.

Wales and the Marcher Lords

• Wales was not a united country but 5 kingdoms which ruled by a warrior prince so William couldn’t conquer it as he had England.
• The princes did in theory swear loyalty to William in exchange for his protection. However they were not very co-operative and the boarder area between England and Wales was constantly under threat of attack.
• William gave larger areas of land on the boarders to the ‘Marcher Lords’ to avoid invasion

National Government

The Role of the King

• In medieval times people thought a good king needed to be a good warrior but also generous.
• Medieval kings were powerful rulers
  • The king was the only one who could make laws for the whole kingdom
  • He alone could raise taxes on a national level
  • Some more serious legal cases were only heard by the king or in his courts
• William used the the coronation ceremony to show how he had god’s approval meaning he was important.
• 3 times a year when his Great council met he would wear his crown.
• The king needed a lot of loyal people to help him run the country - the chancery were people who wrote the royal documents (this did not exist in Normandy as it was from the Anglo-Saxons).

Patronage

• To encourage loyalty the king would offer land but also granted offices
• Those who weren’t loyal could have their land taken off them.
• This meant that any lords who wanted power needed to remain loyal to the King
• The king also changed the inheritance system meaning:
  • If the tenant died without any heirs their land would be returned to their lord.
  • If the heir was underaged the Lord would temporarily take the land (and any profits it made) until the heir was of age.

Local Government

• Under Anglo-Saxons, England had been split into 134 shires.
  • A shire-reeve was in charge of each shire.
• Each shire had a effective capital where justice and the payment of taxes was organised.
  • Theses shires were then split into smaller areas known as Hundreds or wapentakes.
• The Normans kept this system but over the years replaced the sheriffs with Normans.
• The Normans also created new roles such as the Castellans, who looked after the royal castles and forests.
  • The role of the castellans may be performed by the sheriff or local lord.

The Legal System

• The legal system retained many features from Anglo-Saxon times to prove the Normans were legitimate rulers and that it worked rather well.
• However one change was to unify the system everywhere as before the Normans there could be a large disparity depending on the region.
• The most important courts remained - the Kings court, the shire court and the hundred court but there was a new court created: the honourial court of the local lord.
• In the 1070s William made sure that the church courts only dealt with Ecclesiastical cases (only cases that related to the church).

How was the Law enforced?

• Constables - They could arrest people, break up fights and prevent fires. They were not paid much and this was usually not their only job.
• Watchmen - Most towns had a watchman to make sure people kept to the curfew. They were either volunteers or given the job as a duty.
  • Many did not take their role seriously and used it as a chance to drink with friends.
• Hue and cry - This was the system for catching criminals after an offence had occurred.
  • Everyone had a duty to raise the alarm if they saw a crime taking place and those who heard the alarm had to help catch the suspect. If one ignored the hue and cry they would be fined.
• Tithing - This was a group of 10-12 freemen who promised to prevent each other from committing a crime.
  • If one of them did they had to reveal the guilty one or risk the whole group being punished (usually by a fine).
• The Normans also introduced the Murdrum fine as protection from the Anglo-Saxons
  • If a Norman was killed and their murderer had not been found within 5 days then the whole local community would be fined.

How were Suspects tried?

• Oaths - People who knew the accused would comment on their character and to ensure they told the truth they had to swear on a holy book or a relic.
  • They were from the Anglo-Saxon system but declined in popularity especially in more serious cases.
• Trial by ordeal - These trials were brutal but were based on religious beliefs and that god would protect the innocent. The trials were:
  • Trial by cold water - People believed the holy water would repel a sinner so the guilty would float and the innocent would sink.
  • Trial by hot iron - The accused would carry a red hot iron in their hand for three paces and if three days later the wound was infected they were guilty, if not innocent.
• Trial by Battle - The Normans introduced this for serious offences. The battle took place between the accused the accuser or they could use champions to fight on their behalf if it was between rich people.
  • This was not used often as even threatening to use it could lead someone to confess or settle their case.

How were Offenders punished?

• If the accused was found innocent the accuser would have to pay compensation to both the kind and the accused.
• For less serious offences (theft or causing injury) if found guilty the accuser would pay compensation to the victim.
• For serious offences (such as murder) were usually punished by hanging or physical mutilation.

The Domesday Survey

• In 1085 William asked his officials to conduct a survey of all property and resources in England - it was completed in less than a year and one of the best sources on Norman England.
• The survey showed who owned what reducing land disputes and allowing William to charge rents and tax people more efficiently.
• William likely did the survey due to the threat of invasion so he could raise as much geld as possible and see who owed military service.
• The survey was gathered by splitting the country into seven circuits and then commissioners who asked questions about land ownership along with other officials.
  • The findings were written up into two books later known as Little Domesday and Great Domesday.

Economic and social changes and their consequences

Towns and Villages before 1066

• Most people worked for a thegn who gave them a place to live and to farm
  • Henceforth most people lived in the countryside.
  • Only 5% of the population at the time lived in towns.
• Famine could strike at any time leaving people starved.
• The main industry was sheep farming.

Economic impact of the Norman Conquest

Daily life in Norman villages

Work for the Poor

• Working life changed very little by the Norman Conquest .
• Peasants worked long hours in the fields and almost everything was done by hand with almost no machines to help.
• Crops could be destroyed by disease and bad weather.
  • Even when conditions were good it was difficult to grow enough food for the winter months.
• Most people in villages were peasant farmers but most villages would need a blacksmith and a miller.

Work for the Rich

• Lords and bishops were the richest people after the kings.
  • Bishops ran the diocese (a group of parishes).
  • Lords owned land but weren’t farmers.
• Knights were quite rich and spent their time perfecting their military skills.

Housing and Health

Houses were dark, damp and smoky - made up of a large single room usually without windows.

• There would be a fire in the middle of a room for warmth and cooking - heat would escape through a hole in the roof.
• The floor was made of earth covered in straw.

Diet for the Poor

• The poor ate what they could grow so the diet was very simple.
• The staple foods were bread, oat porridge and vegetable stew
  • Bread was made from rye and they had to pay to bake it in the lords ovens.
• Meat was rare and the only way to preserve meat was by salting or smoking it.
  • Salt was expensive so meat would usually be smoked.
• They kept hens for eggs and grew vegetables and fruit.
• Water was not safe to drink so peasants would brew their own weak beer to drink - they would also drink milk.
• The diet of peasants was very repetitive but likely healthier than the rich but if the crops failed peasants were at risk of hunger and even famine.

Diet for the Rich

• The rich ate bread made from wheat and was called ‘white bread’ though it is more like modern brown bread.
• They ate more meat that the poor such as pheasant, woodcock, partridge, larks and blackbirds.
• The rich didn’t eat many vegetables, dairy or fresh fruit as it was seen for the poor. Apart from onions, garlic and leeks.

How were towns affected by the Norman Conquest?

Why did Norman towns grow?

• Towns grew as trading centres mainly in livestock, fish, salt and wool.
  • Britain’s main export was wool to the towns of Flanders so costal towns on the south east coast grew.
• Other towns grew where rivers crossed or where important roads met.
  • Or around important castles and abbeys.
• Town citizens had responsibilities such as: serving as watchmen and paying taxes.
• Once a town became large and established it could apply for a charter from the lord or king to become independent.
  • This meant it could govern itself and maybe run its own market.

Features of Norman towns

• There were churches , Abbeys and monasteries
• Sine towns had market places
• Houses (usually wooden) were built close together, often the buildings were larger above the ground floor because land in towns was expensive.
  • Streets were narrow and there was very little provision for hygiene.
• A high street would’ve been wider and the main street of the town.
• Overcrowding led to overflowing waste and an increased risk of disease, house fires and theft.

Jobs in Norman towns

• Blacksmiths - Made a tools and weapons (usually with iron) and earned a good living.
• Bakers - Bread was the staple food but some bakers would cheat their customers so their food was subject to strict laws.
• Armourers - A person who makes, repairs, and supplies weapons.
• Moneylenders - A person whose business is lending money to others who pay interest.
• Barbers - They cut hair, extracted teeth and amputated limbs of poor people.
• Carpenters - A person who makes and repairs wooden objects and structures.
• Apothecaries - Sold remedies made from herbs and plants.

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