See Also

Norman conquest of England

The Norman conquest of England was the invasion Invasion

An invasion is a military [i] action consisting of armed forces [i] of one geopolitical [i] ... 

 of the Kingdom of England Kingdom of England

The Kingdom of England was a state [i] located in western Europe [i], in the southern part of the islan ... 

 by William the Conqueror William I of England

William of Normandy ruled as the Duke of Normandy [i] from 1035 [i] to 1087 [i] and as King of England [i] ... 

 , in 1066 at the Battle of Hastings Battle of Hastings

The Battle of Hastings was the most decisive Norman [i] victory in the Norman conquest of England [i] ... 

 and the subsequent Norman Normans

The Normans were a people who colonized Normandy [i], conquered England [i], and played a major politic ... 

 control of England. It is an important watershed in English history for a number of reasons. The conquest linked England more closely with Continental Europe Europe

Europe is one of the seven traditional continent [i]s of the Earth [i]. ... 

 and lessened Scandinavia Scandinavia

Scandinavia is a region [i] in Northern Europe [i]. ... 

n influence, created one of the most powerful monarchies in Europe, created the most sophisticated governmental system in Europe, changed the English language English language

English is a widely distributed language that originated in England [i] but is now the primary language ... 

 and culture, and set the stage for English England

England is the largest and most populous constituent country [i] of the United Kingdom [i]. ... 

-French France

France, officially the French Republic, is a country [i] whose metropolitan territory [i] ... 

 conflict that would last into the 19th century.

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The Norman conquest of England was the invasion Invasion

An invasion is a military [i] action consisting of armed forces [i] of one geopolitical [i] ... 

 of the Kingdom of England Kingdom of England

The Kingdom of England was a state [i] located in western Europe [i], in the southern part of the islan ... 

 by William the Conqueror William I of England

William of Normandy ruled as the Duke of Normandy [i] from 1035 [i] to 1087 [i] and as King of England [i] ... 

 , in 1066 at the Battle of Hastings Battle of Hastings

The Battle of Hastings was the most decisive Norman [i] victory in the Norman conquest of England [i] ... 

 and the subsequent Norman Normans

The Normans were a people who colonized Normandy [i], conquered England [i], and played a major politic ... 

 control of England. It is an important watershed in English history for a number of reasons. The conquest linked England more closely with Continental Europe Europe

Europe is one of the seven traditional continent [i]s of the Earth [i]. ... 

 and lessened Scandinavia Scandinavia

Scandinavia is a region [i] in Northern Europe [i]. ... 

n influence, created one of the most powerful monarchies in Europe, created the most sophisticated governmental system in Europe, changed the English language English language

English is a widely distributed language that originated in England [i] but is now the primary language ... 

 and culture, and set the stage for English England

England is the largest and most populous constituent country [i] of the United Kingdom [i]. ... 

-French France

France, officially the French Republic, is a country [i] whose metropolitan territory [i] ... 

 conflict that would last into the 19th century. It remains the last successful military conquest of England.

Origins

Normandy Normandy

Normandy is a geographical region in northern France [i]. ... 

 was a region in northwest France which in the 155 years prior to 1066 had experienced extensive Viking Viking

The term Viking commonly denotes the ship-borne explorers, traders, and warriors of the Norsemen [i] who ... 

 settlement. In the year 911, French Carolingian ruler Charles the Simple had allowed a group of Vikings, under their leader Rollo Rollo of Normandy

Rollo was the founder and first ruler of the Viking [i] principality in what soon became known as Normandy [i] ... 

, to settle in northern France with the idea that they would provide protection along the coast against future Viking invaders. This proved successful and the Vikings in the region became known as the Northmen from which Normandy is derived. The Normans Normans

The Normans were a people who colonized Normandy [i], conquered England [i], and played a major politic ... 

 quickly adapted to the indigenous culture, renouncing paganism Paganism

Paganism is a blanket term which has come to connote a broad set of western spiritual [i] ... 

 and converting to Christianity; adopting the langue d'oïl of their new home through the introduction of Norse Old Norse

Old Norse is the Germanic language [i] spoken by the inhabitants of Scandinavia [i] a ... 

 features, transforming it into the Norman language Norman language

Norman is a Romance language [i] and one of the Ol languages [i]. ... 

, and intermarrying with the local populations. They also used the territory granted them as a base to extend the frontiers of the Duchy to the west, annexing territory including the Bessin, the Cotentin Peninsula and the Channel Islands Channel Islands

The Channel Islands are a group of British-dependent [i] island [i]s off the coast of Normandy [i] ... 

.

Meanwhile in England, the Viking attacks increased and in 991 the Anglo-Saxon king of England Aethelred II Ethelred the Unready

Ethelred the Unready , also known as Ethelred II and elred Unrd, was King of England [i] ... 

 agreed to marry Emma Emma of Normandy

Emma , daughter of Richard I [i], Duke of Normandy [i], by his second wife Gunnora ... 

, the daughter of the Duke of Normandy, to cement a blood-tie alliance for help against the raiders. The Viking attacks of England grew so bad that in 1013 the Anglo-Saxon kings fled and spent the next 30 years in Normandy, not returning to England until 1042.

When the Anglo-Saxon king Edward the Confessor Edward the Confessor

Edward the Confessor or Eadweard III was the penultimate Anglo-Saxon [i] King of England [i] ... 

 died a few years later in 1066 with no child, and thus no direct heir to the throne, it created a power vacuum into which three competing interests laid claim to the throne of England.

The first was Harald III of Norway Harald III of Norway

Harald III Sigurdsson , later surnamed Harald Hardrde was the king [i] of Norway [i] from ... 

 who had blood ties to the Anglo-Saxon family. The second was William, Duke of Normandy William I of England

William of Normandy ruled as the Duke of Normandy [i] from 1035 [i] to 1087 [i] and as King of England [i] ... 

 because of his blood ties to Aethelred Ethelred the Unready

Ethelred the Unready , also known as Ethelred II and elred Unrd, was King of England [i] ... 

. The third was an Anglo-Saxon by the name of Harold Godwinson Harold Godwinson

Harold Godwinson, or Harold II of England was the last Anglo-Saxon [i] King of England [i] ... 

 who had been elected in the traditional way by the Anglo-Saxon Witenagemot Witenagemot

The Witenagemot was a political institution in Anglo-Saxon England [i] which operated between approxima ... 

 of England to be king. The stage was set for a battle among the three.

Conquest of England

King Harald of Norway invaded northern England in September 1066 which left Harold of England little time to gather an army. Harold's forces marched north from London and surprised the Vikings at the Battle of Stamford Bridge Battle of Stamford Bridge

The Battle of Stamford Bridge [i] in England [i] is generally... 

 on September 25th. It was an Anglo-Saxon victory, King Harald was killed and the Norwegians were driven out — it was the last Viking invasion of England. The victory however came at a great cost: the Anglo-Saxon army was left in a battered and weakened state.
Meanwhile William had assembled an invasion fleet of around 600 ships and an army of 7000 men. This was far greater than the reserves of men in Normandy alone: William recruited soldiers from all of Northern France, the low countries, and Germany. Many soldiers in his army were second- and third-born sons who had little or no inheritance under the laws of primogeniture. William promised that if they brought their own horse, armour, and weapons to join him, they would be rewarded with lands and titles in the new realm.

At this daunting task, William showed his best side: that of a supremely able administrator, a skill which was to help bring England under his heel once he was crowned.

After being delayed for a few weeks by unfavourable winds and weather, he finally arrived in the south of England just days after Harold's victory over the Norwegians. The delay turned out to be crucial: had he landed in August when he originally planned, Harold would have been waiting with a fresh and numerically superior force. William finally landed at Pevensey Pevensey

Pevensey is a small village [i] and civil parish [i] on the south-east coast of the county of East Sussex [i] ... 

 in Sussex Sussex

Sussex is a traditional county [i] in South East [i] ... 

 on September 28, 1066 and assembled a prefabricated wooden castle near Hastings as a base.

The choice of landing was a direct provocation to Harold Godwinson as this area of Sussex was Harold's own personal domain. William began immediately to lay waste to the land. It may have prompted Harold to respond immediately and in haste rather than to pause and await reinforcements in London. Again, it was an event that favoured William. Had he marched inland, he may have outstretched his supply lines, and possibly have been surrounded by Harold's forces.

They fought at the Battle of Hastings Battle of Hastings

The Battle of Hastings was the most decisive Norman [i] victory in the Norman conquest of England [i] ... 

 on October 14. It was a close battle but in the final hours Harold was killed and the Saxon army fled. With no living contender for the throne of England to oppose William, this was the defining moment of what is now known as the Norman Conquest.

After his victory at Hastings, William marched through Kent to London but met fierce resistance at Southwark Southwark

The Borough or Southwark is an area of the London Borough of Southwark [i] situated 1.5 miles eas ... 

. He then marched down the old Roman Road Roman road

The Roman road [i]s were essential for the growth of their empire [i], by enabling them to... 

 of Stane Street Stane Street

There are several Roman Stane Streets - see also Stane Street [i]
... 

 to link up with another Norman army on the Pilgrims' Way Pilgrims' Way

The Pilgrims' Way is the route taken by pilgrim [i]s from Winchester [i] in Hampshire [i] ... 

 near Dorking Dorking

Dorking is a market town [i] nestling under the North Downs [i] approximately 25 miles south of London,... 

, Surrey Surrey

Surrey is a county [i] in southern England [i], part of the South East England [i] region [i] ... 

. The combined armies then avoided London altogether and went up the Thames valley to the major fortified Saxon town of Wallingford Wallingford

Wallingford is a small market town [i] in the Thames Valley [i] in southern England [i].
... 

, Oxfordshire Oxfordshire

Oxfordshire is a county in south-east [i] England [i], bordering on Northamptonshire [i] ... 

, whose Saxon lord, Wigod, had supported William's cause. While there, he received the submission of Stigand, the Archbishop of Canterbury Archbishop of Canterbury

The Archbishop of Canterbury is the head of the Church of England [i] and of the worldwide Anglican Communion [i] ... 

. One of William's favourites, Robert D'Oyley of Lisieux, also married Wigod's daughter, no doubt to secure the lord's continued allegiance. William then travelled north east along the Chiltern escarpment Escarpment

In geology [i], an escarpment is a transition zone between different physiogeographic provinces that inv ... 

 to the Saxon fort at Berkhamstead Berkhamsted

Berkhamsted is a historic town of some 19,000 people, situated in the west of Hertfordshire [i], to the... 

, Hertfordshire Hertfordshire

Hertfordshire is an inland county [i] in England [i] and is one of the Home Counties [i] ... 

 and waited there to receive the submission of London. The remaining Saxon noblemen surrendered to William there, and he was acclaimed King of England around the end of October and crowned on December 25, 1066 in Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey

The Collegiate Church of St Peter, Westminster, which is almost always referred to as Westminster Abb... 

.

Although the south of England submitted quickly to Norman rule, resistance continued, especially in the North, for six more years until 1072 when William moved north, subduing rebellions by the Anglo-Saxons and installing Norman lords along the way. However, particularly in Yorkshire, he made agreements with local Saxon Lords to keep control of their land in exchange for avoidance of battle and loss of any controlling share.

Hereward the Wake led an uprising in the fens and sacked Peterborough Peterborough

The City of Peterborough is a cathedral [i] city [i] and Unitary Authority [i] ... 

 . Harold's sons attempted an invasion of the south-west peninsula. Risings also occurred in the Welsh Marches and at Stafford Stafford

Stafford is the county town [i] of Staffordshire [i] in England [i]. ... 

. Most seriously William faced separate attempts at invasion by the Danes and the Scots. William's defeat of these led to what became known as The Harrying of the North in which Northumbria Northumbria

Northumbria is primarily the name of a petty kingdom [i] of Angles [i] which was formed in Great Britain [i] ... 

 was laid waste to deny his enemies its resources.

The conquest of Wales Wales

Wales is one of four constituent parts [i] of the United Kingdom [i]. ... 

 took place piecemeal and finished only in 1282, during the reign of King Edward I Edward I of England

Edward I , popularly known as "Longshanks" because of his 6 foot 2 inch frame and the "Hammer ... 

. Edward also subdued Scotland Scotland

Scotland is a nation [i] in northwest Europe [i] and one of the constituent [i] countries [i] ... 

 but did not truly conquer it as it retained a separate monarchy until 1603 and remained an independent kingdom until 1707.

Control of England

Once England had been conquered, the Normans faced a number of challenges in maintaining control. The Anglo-Norman speaking Normans were in very small numbers compared to the native English population. Historians estimate their number at 5,000 armoured knights. The Anglo-Saxon lords were accustomed to being fully independent from centralised government, contrary to the Normans who had a centralised system, which the Anglo-Saxons resented. Revolts had sprung up almost at once from the time of William's coronation, led either by members of Harold's family or disaffected English nobles. William dealt with these challenges in a number of ways. New Norman lords constructed a variety of forts and castle Castle

A castle is a structure that is fortified for defence against an enemy and generally serves as a milita... 

s in order to provide a stronghold against a popular revolt and to dominate the nearby town and countryside. Any of the remaining Anglo-Saxon lords who refused to acknowledge the legitimacy of William's accession to the throne or who rose in revolt were summarily stripped of titles and lands, which were then re-distributed to Norman favourites of William. If an Anglo-Saxon lord died without issue the Normans would always choose a successor from Normandy. In this way the Normans displaced the native aristocracy and took control of the top ranks of power.

Keeping the Norman lords together and loyal as a group was just as important, as any friction could easily give the English-speaking natives a chance to divide and conquer their minority Anglo-French speaking lords. One way William accomplished this was by giving out land in a piece-meal fashion. A Norman lord typically had property spread out all over England and Normandy, and not in a single geographic block. Thus, if the lord tried to break away from the King, he could only defend a small number of his holdings at any one time. This proved a very effective deterrent from rebellion and kept the Norman nobility loyal to the King.

Over the longer range, however, the same policy greatly facilitated contacts between the nobility of different regions and encouraged the nobility to organise and act as a class, rather than on an individual or regional base which was the normal way in other feudal countries. Further, the existence of a strong centralised monarchy encouraged the nobility to form ties with the city dwellers, which was eventually manifested in the rise of English parliamentarianism Parliamentary system

|
|-
|
|}
A parliamentary system, also known as parliamentarianism, is distinguished by the executive branch of government [i] ... 

.

William disliked the Anglo-Saxon Archbishop of Canterbury Archbishop of Canterbury

The Archbishop of Canterbury is the head of the Church of England [i] and of the worldwide Anglican Communion [i] ... 

, Stigand and in 1070 manoeuvred to get him replaced with the Italian Lanfranc and proceeded to appoint Normans to church positions.

Significance

The changes that took place because of the Norman Conquest were significant for both English and European development.

One of the most obvious changes was the introduction of the Latin-based Anglo-Norman language as the language of the ruling classes in England, displacing the Germanic-based Anglo-Saxon language Old English language

Old English is an early form of the English language [i] that was spoken in parts of what is now England [i] ... 

. Anglo-Norman retained the status of a prestige language for nearly 300 years and has had a significant influence on modern English. It is through this, the first of several major influxes of Latin or Romance languages, that the predominant spoken tongue of England began to lose much of its Germanic and Norse vocabulary, although it retained Germanic sentence structure in many cases.

Another direct consequence of the invasion was the near total loss of Anglo-Saxon aristocracy, and Anglo-Saxon control over the Church in England. As William subdued rebels, he confiscated their lands and gave them to his Norman supporters. By the time of the Domesday Book Domesday Book

Domesday Book , was the record of the great survey of England [i] completed in 1086 [i], executed fo ... 

, only two English landowners of any note survived the purges. By 1096, no church See or Bishopric was held by any native Englishman, but by Normans.

No other medieval European conquest had such disastrous consequences for the defeated ruling class. William's prestige among his followers gained a tremendous boost, however, for he was able to award them vast tracts of land with little cost to himself. His awards also had a basis in consolidating his own control: with each gift of land and titles, the newly-created Lord would have to build a castle and subdue the natives. Thus was the conquest self-perpetuating.

Governmental systems

Even before the Normans arrived, the Anglo-Saxons had one of the most sophisticated governmental systems in Western Europe for the time. All of England had been divided into administrative units called shires of roughly uniform size and shape and were run by an official known as a "shire reeve" or "sheriff Sheriff

Sheriff is both a political [i] and a legal [i] office held under English common law [i] ... 

". The shires tended to be somewhat autonomous and lacked co-ordinated control. Anglo-Saxons made heavy use of written documentation which was unusual for kings in Western Europe at the time and made for more efficient governance than word of mouth.

The Anglo-Saxons also established permanent physical locations of government. Most medieval governments were always on the move, holding court wherever the weather and food or other matters were best at the moment. This practice, however, limited the potential size and sophistication of a government body to whatever could be packed on a horse and cart, including the treasury and library. The Anglo-Saxons established a permanent treasury at Winchester Winchester

Winchester is a historic city [i] in southern England [i], with a popu ... 

, from which a permanent government bureaucracy and document archive had begun to grow.

This sophisticated medieval form of government was handed over to the Normans and grew even stronger. The Normans centralised the autonomous shire system. The Domesday Book Domesday Book

Domesday Book , was the record of the great survey of England [i] completed in 1086 [i], executed fo ... 

 exemplifies the practical codification which enabled Norman assimilation of conquered territories through central control of a census Census

A census is the process of obtaining information about every member of a population [i] . ... 

. It was the first kingdom-wide census taken in Europe since the time of the Romans Roman Empire

The Roman Empire was a phase of the ancient Roman [i] civilization characterized by an autocratic [i] ... 

, and enabled more efficient taxation of the Norman's new realm.

Systems of accounting grew in sophistication. A government accounting office called the exchequer was established by Henry I Henry I of England

King Henry I of England , called Henry Beauclerc was the fourth son of William I of England [i]... 

; from 1150 onward this was located in Westminster Westminster

Westminster is a district within the City of Westminster [i] in London [i], England [i]. ... 

.

Anglo-Norman and French relations

Anglo-Norman Anglo-Norman

The Anglo-Normans were the descendants of the Normans [i] who ruled England [i] following the conquest b ... 

 and French political relations became very complicated and somewhat hostile after the Norman Conquest. The Normans still retained control of the holdings in Normandy and were thus still vassals to the King of France. At the same time, they were the equals as King of England. On the one hand they owed fealty Fealty

An oath [i] of fealty, from the Latin fidelitas or faithfulness, is a pledge of allegiance [i] of on ... 

 to the King of France, and on the other hand they did not, as they were peers. In the 1150s with the creation of the Angevin Empire the Normans controlled half of France and all of England, dwarfing the power of France. Yet the Normans were still technically vassals to France. A crisis came in 1204 when the French king Philip II Philip II of France

Philip II Augustus , was King of France [i] from 1180 [i] to 1223 [i].
... 

 seized all Norman and Angevin holdings in mainland France except Gascony Gascony

Gascony is an area of southwest France [i] that constituted a province of France [i] prior to the French Revolution [i] ... 

. This would later lead to the Hundred Years War Hundred Years' War

The Hundred Years' War was a conflict between England [i] and France [i] ... 

 when Anglo-Norman English kings tried to regain their dynastic holdings in France.

During William's lifetime, his vast land gains were a source of great alarm by not only the King of France, but the Counts of Anjou and Flanders. Each did his best to diminish Normandy's holdings and power, creating centuries of skirmishes and battles in the region.

English cultural development

One interpretation of the Conquest maintains that England became a cultural and economic backwater for almost 150 years. Few kings of England actually resided for any length of time in England, preferring to rule from cities in Normandy Normandy

Normandy is a geographical region in northern France [i]. ... 

 such as Rouen Rouen

Rouen is the historical capital city of Normandy [i], in northwestern France [i] on the River Seine, an ... 

 and concentrate on their more lucrative French holdings. Indeed, a mere four months after the Battle of Hastings, William left his brother-in-law in charge of the country while he returned to Normandy. The country remained an unimportant appendage of Norman lands and later the Angevin fiefs of Henry II Henry II of England

Henry II of England ruled as Count of Anjou [i], Duke of Normandy [i], and as King of England [i] and, ... 

.

Another interpretation has it that the Norman Duke-Kings neglected their continental territories, where they in theory owed fealty to the Kings of France, in favour of consolidating their power in their new sovereign realm of England. The resources poured into the construction of cathedral Cathedral

A cathedral is a Christian [i] church [i] building, specifically of a denomination with an... 

s, castle Castle

A castle is a structure that is fortified for defence against an enemy and generally serves as a milita... 

s and the administration of the new realm arguably diverted energy and concentration away from the need to defend Normandy, alienating the local nobility and weakening Norman control over the borders of the territory, while at the same time the power of the Kings of France grew.

The eventual loss of control of continental Normandy divided landed families as members chose loyalty over land or vice-versa.

The Saints Rule!!!!

Legacy

The extent to which the conquerors remained ethnically distinct from the native population of England varied regionally and along class lines, but as early as the twelfth century, the Dialogue on the Exchequer attests to considerable intermarriage between the native English and Norman immigrants. Over the centuries, particularly after 1348 when the Black Death Black Death

The Black Death, also known as the Black Plague, was a devastating pandemic [i] that first struck ... 

 pandemic carried off a significant number of the English nobility, the two groups merged and became barely distinguishable.

The Norman conquest was the most recent successful invasion of Great Britain from outside. The last real attempt at a full-scale invasion was the Spanish Armada Spanish Armada

------

The Spanish Armada or "Great/Grand Armada" or "The Mother of all armada"(Old Spanish [i] ... 

, which was squashed at sea by the British Navy. Napoleon Napoleon I of France

Napoleon I Bonaparte, Emperor of the French, King of Italy, Mediator of the Swiss Confederation and Prot... 

 and Hitler Adolf Hitler

Adolf Hitler was Chancellor of Germany [i] from 1933, and Fhrer [i] of Germany [i] from 1934 until h ... 

 both made plans to invade Great Britain, but neither got to try . Some minor military expeditions to Great Britain were successful within their limited scope-such as the small 1595 Spanish military raid on Cornwall, or small scale raids on Cornwall by Arab slavers in the 17th and 18th centuries.

For the importance of the concept in mass culture, note the spoof history book 1066 and All That as well as the iconic status of the Bayeux Tapestry Bayeux Tapestry

The Bayeux Tapestry is a 50 cm by 70 m long embroidered [i] cloth which depicts scenes comm... 

.

Similar conquests include the Norman conquests of Apulia Apulia

Apulia is a region in southeastern Italy [i] bordering the Adriatic Sea [i] in the east, the Ionian Sea [i] ... 

, Sicily Sicily

Sicily is an autonomous region [i] of Italy [i] and the larges ... 

, the Principality of Antioch Principality of Antioch

The Principality of Antioch, including parts of modern-day Turkey [i] and Syria [i], was one of the crusader states [i] ... 

, and Ireland Ireland

Ireland is the third largest [i] island [i] in Europe [i]. ... 

.

Alan Ayckbourn wrote a series of plays entitled The Norman Conquests. Their subject matter has nothing to do with the Norman conquest of England.

See also

  • Norman conquest of Sicily

References


Bibliography



External links