The
Trial of Penenden Heath occurred in the decade after Norman Conquest of
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
in 1066, probably in 1072, and involved a dispute between Odo Bishop of Bayeux, half-brother of William the Conqueror and
LanfrancLanfranc was Archbishop of Canterbury, and a Lombard by extraction.-Early life:He was born in the early years of the eleventh century at Pavia, where later tradition held that his father, Hanbald, held a rank broadly equivalent to magistrate...
,
Archbishop of CanterburyAlso see Leaders of ChristianityThe Archbishop of Canterbury is the chief bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury, the see that churches must be in communion with in order to be...
and others.
Odo de Bayeux was previously
Earl of KentThe peerage title Earl of Kent has been created eight times in the Peerage of England and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom.See also Kingdom of Kent, Duke of Kent.-Earls of Kent, first creation :*Godwin, Earl of Wessex...
and the primary landowner of the region subsequent to his half-brother William the Conqueror's invasion of England in 1066.
The
Trial of Penenden Heath occurred in the decade after Norman Conquest of
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
in 1066, probably in 1072, and involved a dispute between Odo Bishop of Bayeux, half-brother of William the Conqueror and
LanfrancLanfranc was Archbishop of Canterbury, and a Lombard by extraction.-Early life:He was born in the early years of the eleventh century at Pavia, where later tradition held that his father, Hanbald, held a rank broadly equivalent to magistrate...
,
Archbishop of CanterburyAlso see Leaders of ChristianityThe Archbishop of Canterbury is the chief bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury, the see that churches must be in communion with in order to be...
and others.
Background
Odo de Bayeux was previously
Earl of KentThe peerage title Earl of Kent has been created eight times in the Peerage of England and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom.See also Kingdom of Kent, Duke of Kent.-Earls of Kent, first creation :*Godwin, Earl of Wessex...
and the primary landowner of the region subsequent to his half-brother William the Conqueror's invasion of England in 1066. In 1070, Archbishop
LanfrancLanfranc was Archbishop of Canterbury, and a Lombard by extraction.-Early life:He was born in the early years of the eleventh century at Pavia, where later tradition held that his father, Hanbald, held a rank broadly equivalent to magistrate...
succeeded to the
seeAn episcopal see is, in the original sense, the official seat of a bishop. This seat, which is also referred to as the bishop's cathedra, is placed in the bishop's principal church, which is therefore called the bishop's cathedral...
of
CanterburyAlso see Leaders of ChristianityThe Archbishop of Canterbury is the chief bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury, the see that churches must be in communion with in order to be...
and requested an inquiry into the activities of Odo (and Lanfranc's predecessor,
StigandStigand was an English churchman in pre-Norman Conquest England. By 1020, he was serving as a royal chaplain and advisor. He was named bishop of Elmham in 1043, and then later Bishop of Winchester and Archbishop of Canterbury. Stigand acted as an advisor to several members of the Anglo-Saxon and...
) who had allegedly defrauded the
ChurchThe Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church. With more than a billion members, over half of all Christians and more than one-sixth of the world's population, the Catholic Church is a communion of the Western, or Latin Rite Church, and...
(and possibly the
CrownThe Crown is a corporation sole that in certain countries of the Commonwealth of Nations, as well as in any provincial or state sub-divisions thereof, represents the legal embodiment of executive government...
) during his tenure as Earl of Kent. It has subsequently been argued that: "most of the lands had been lost not to Odo, but to
Earl GodwineGodwin of Wessex , also known as Goodwin, was one of the most powerful lords in England under the Danish king Canute the Great and his successors. Canute made him the first Earl of Wessex...
and his family during
EdwardEdward the confessor , son of Æthelred the Unready and Emma of Normandy, was one of the last English kings of England and is usually regarded as the last king of the House of Wessex, ruling from 1042 to 1066 Edward the confessor ...
's reign and perhaps even earlier..." and that "Odo had simply succeeded to these encroachments and the conflict between archbishop and earl was to a large extent a reprise of that between
Robert of JumiègesRobert of Jumièges was the first Norman Archbishop of Canterbury. He had previously served as prior of the Abbey of St Ouen at Rouen in France, before becoming abbot of Jumièges Abbey, near Rouen, in 1037...
and Godwine in 1051-2," the suggestion being that Lanfranc, despite being the
PriorPrior is an ecclesiastical title, derived from the Latin adjective for 'earlier, first', with several notable uses.-Monastic superiors:A Prior is a monastic superior, usually lower in rank than an Abbot. In the Rule of St...
of a Norman
monasteryMonastery , a term derived from the Greek word μοναστήριον, neut. of μοναστήριος - monasterios denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer Monastery (plural: monasteries), a term derived from the Greek word μοναστήριον, neut. of μοναστήριος - monasterios...
(and born in
PaviaPavia , the ancient Ticinum, is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy, northern Italy, 35 km south of Milan on the lower Ticino river near its confluence with the Po. It has a population of c. 71,000...
,
LombardyLombardy is one of the 20 regions of Italy. The capital is Milan. One-sixth of Italy's population lives in Lombardy and about one fifth of Italy's GDP is produced in this region...
), was attempting to restore the pre-conquest landholdings for the
Church of CanterburyCanterbury Cathedral in Canterbury, Kent, is one of the oldest and most famous Christian structures in England and forms part of a World Heritage Site. It is the cathedral of the Archbishop of Canterbury, leader of the Church of England and symbolic leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion...
.
William I determined that the matter should be settled by the nobles of
KentKent , originally Cantia, is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the River Thames estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent...
and ordered that an assembly be formed on
the heath at Penenden Penenden Heath is a suburb in the town of Maidstone in Kent, England.As the name suggests it is nucleated around a former heath .-History:...
(near present-day
MaidstoneMaidstone is the county town of Kent, England, south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town linking Maidstone to Rochester and the Thames Estuary. Historically, the river was a source and route for much of the town's trade. Maidstone was the centre of the agricultural...
) for the purpose. William I ordered that the findings of the inquiry or '
trialA trial is, in the most general sense, a test, usually a test to see whether something does or does not meet a given standard.It may refer to:*Trial , the presentation of information in a formal setting, usually a court...
' of Odo de Bayeux were to be final.
Various prominent figures in the country at the time were called including
Geoffrey de MontbrayGeoffrey de Montbray , bishop of Coutances , a right-hand man of William the Conqueror, was a type of the great feudal prelate, warrior and administrator at need....
Bishop of Coutances (who represented the King), Lanfranc (for the Church), Odo de Bayeux (defending himself),
Arnost-Life:He was a monk at Bec Abbey in Normandy France before being selected for the see of Rochester. He was consecrated early 1076. He died on 15 July 1076.-References:* accessed on 30 October 2007...
Bishop of RochesterThe Bishop of Rochester is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Rochester in the Province of Canterbury.The diocese covers the west of the county of Kent. The see is in the city of Rochester where the seat is located at The Cathedral Church of Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary, which...
,
Æthelric IIÆthelric was the second to last medieval Bishop of Selsey in England before the see was moved to Chichester. Consecrated a bishop in 1058, he was deposed in 1070 for unknown reasons and then imprisoned by King William I of England...
(former Bishop of Selsey), Richard de
TunibridgeTonbridge is a market town in the English county of Kent, with a population of 30,340 in 2007. It is located on the River Medway, approximately four miles north of Tunbridge Wells, 12 miles south west of Maidstone and 25 miles south east of London...
, Hugh de Montfort, William de Arsic, Hamo Vicecomes and many others.
Æthelric II in particular had been compelled by William I to attend as the authority on pre-Norman law. Described as: "
[A] very old man, very learned in the laws of the land" he was brought by chariot or other carriage to Penenden Heath "in order to discuss and expound these same old legal customs".
The presence of a contingent of English (or Saxon) witnesses as experts in ancient laws and customs as well as the French-born representation is regarded as a significant indication of the basis of the Church's claims being grounded in the ancient laws of the land. However it is unclear from the sources which of those laws were cited.
Precisely when the inquiry was held is unclear although many historians have determined it took place between 1075 and 1077. Similarly a number of varying transcripts or records of the trial exist and it is unclear which may be regarded as the definitive version of events.
The trial of Odo de Bayeux lasted three days and ended in the partial recovery of properties for the church from Odo and others.
Significance and reliability
The trial is regarded by some commentators as "one of the most important events in the early history of English Law because of the light it sheds on the relationship between Norman Law and English Law" with the trial being a possible indication of Norman respect for
Anglo-SaxonAnglo-Saxons is the term usually used to describe the invading Germanic tribes in the south and east of Great Britain from the early 5th century AD, and their creation of the English nation, to the Norman conquest of 1066...
legal history. The trial was the first indictment of Odo of Bayeux perhaps setting sufficient precedent for him to be stripped of his properties entirely and imprisoned for five years following further challenges to his wealth and powers in 1082.
By all accounts the Penenden trial occurred prior to the
Domesday surveyThe Domesday Book is the record of the great survey of England completed in 1086, executed for William I of England, or William the Conqueror...
and was an early attempt by the church to reclaim rights and interests from the Crown and its agents. Since the assessments of property and rights which followed the trial were of significance, the Domesday Book has come to be seen as a response to a need to have a definitive record of the ownership and administration of Crown property.
At the same time, doubt over the authenticity or reliability of transcripts of the trial has meant that much of the analysis of the trial's findings has been undertaken with a degree of scepticism.
The trial is known from two narratives. The older is a condensed version whilst the second, slightly later document, contains exaggerated assessments concluding with an overly-detailed description of the jurisdiction of the Archbishop of Canterbury over offences committed on the King's highways.
Analysis of the relationship between these two documents by historians suggests that the later transcript was composed after the monks of Christ Church Priory, Canterbury failed to have their claims to the trial's established privileges recorded in the Domesday Survey.
Thus it has been argued that at least the later of the trial narratives should be regarded as an example of the undermining of Anglo-Saxon governance by the power of private interests rather than evidence of the continuation of Anglo-Saxon law and custom after the Conquest.