Norman Conquest of England

Norman conquest of England
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Norman conquest of England was the

11th-century invasion and occupation of
England by an army of Norman, Breton, and
French soldiers led by Duke William II of
Normandy, later styled as William the
Conqueror.
William's claim to the English throne

derived from his familial relationship with
the childless Anglo-Saxon King Edward the
Confessor, who may have encouraged
William's hopes for the throne. Edward died
in January 1066 and was succeeded by his
brother-in-law Harold Godwinson. The
Norwegian king Harald Hardrada invaded
northern England in September 1066 and
was victorious at the Battle of Fulford, but
Harold defeated and killed him at the Battle
of Stamford Bridge on 25 September.
Within days, William landed in southern
England. Harold marched south to confront
him, leaving a significant portion of his Location of major events during the Norman conquest of England in
army in the north. Harold's army confronted 1066
William's invaders on 14 October at the
Battle of Hastings; William's force defeated
Harold, who was killed in the engagement.
Although William's main rivals were gone, he still faced rebellions over the following years and was not secure on
his throne until after 1072. The lands of the resisting English elite were confiscated; some of the elite fled into
exile. To control his new kingdom, William granted lands to his followers and built castles commanding military
strongpoints throughout the land. Other effects of the conquest included the court and government, the introduction
of the Norman language as the language of the elites, and changes in the composition of the upper classes, as
William enfeoffed lands to be held directly from the king. More gradual changes affected the agricultural classes
and village life: the main change appears to have been the formal elimination of slavery, which may or may not
have been linked to the invasion. There was little alteration in the structure of government, as the new Norman
administrators took over many of the forms of Anglo-Saxon government.
Contents
1 Origins
2 Tostig's raids and the Norwegian invasion
3 Norman invasion
3.1 Norman preparations and forces
3.2 Landing and Harold's march south
3.3 Hastings
3.4 Aftermath of Hastings
4 English resistance
4.1 First rebellions
4.2 Revolts of 1069
4.3 Danish troubles
4.4 Last resistance
5 Control of England
6 Consequences
6.1 Elite replacement
6.2 English emigration
6.3 Governmental systems
6.4 Language
6.5 Immigration and intermarriage
6.6 Society
7 Historiography
8 Notes
9 Citations
10 References
11 External links
Origins
In 911 the Carolingian French ruler Charles the Simple allowed a group of Vikings under their leader Rollo to
settle in Normandy as part of the Treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte. In exchange for the land, the Norsemen under
Rollo were expected to provide protection along the coast against further Viking invaders.[1] Their settlement
proved successful, and the Vikings in the region became known as the "Northmen" from which "Normandy" and
"Normans" are derived.[2] The Normans quickly adopted the indigenous culture, renouncing paganism and
converting to Christianity.[3] They adopted the langue d'ol of their new home and added features from their own
Norse language, transforming it into the Norman language. They intermarried with the local population[4] and used
the territory granted them as a base to extend the frontiers of the duchy westward, annexing territory including the
Bessin, the Cotentin Peninsula and Avranches.[5]
In 1002 King thelred the Unready married Emma of Normandy, the sister of Richard II, Duke of Normandy.[6]
Their son Edward the Confessor, who spent many years in exile in Normandy, succeeded to the English throne in
1042.[7] This led to the establishment of a powerful Norman interest in English politics, as Edward drew heavily
on his former hosts for support, bringing in Norman courtiers, soldiers, and clerics and appointing them to
positions of power, particularly in the Church. Childless and embroiled in conflict with the formidable Godwin,
Earl of Wessex and his sons, Edward may also have encouraged Duke William of Normandy's ambitions for the
English throne.[8]
When King Edward died at the beginning of 1066, the lack of a clear heir led to a disputed succession in which
several contenders laid claim to the throne of England.[9] Edward's immediate successor was the Earl of Wessex,
Harold Godwinson, the richest and most powerful of the English aristocrats. Harold was elected king by the
Witenagemot of England and crowned by the Archbishop of York, Ealdred, although Norman propaganda claimed
the ceremony was performed by Stigand, the uncanonically elected Archbishop of Canterbury.[9][10] Harold was
immediately challenged by two powerful neighbouring rulers. Duke William claimed that he had been promised
the throne by King Edward and that Harold had sworn agreement to this;[11] King Harald III of Norway,
commonly known as Harald Hardrada, also contested the succession. His claim to the throne was based on an
agreement between his predecessor, Magnus the Good, and the earlier English
king, Harthacnut, whereby if either died without heir, the other would inherit both
England and Norway.[12][a] William and Harald at once set about assembling troops
and ships to invade England.[16][b]
Tostig's raids and the Norwegian invasion

In early 1066, Harold's exiled brother, Tostig Godwinson, raided southeastern
England with a fleet he had recruited in Flanders, later joined by other ships from
Orkney.[c] Threatened by Harold's fleet, Tostig moved north and raided in East
Anglia and Lincolnshire, but he was driven back to his ships by the brothers
Edwin, Earl of Mercia, and Morcar, Earl of Northumbria. Deserted by most of his
followers, Tostig withdrew to Scotland, where he spent the summer recruiting fresh
forces.[23][d] King Harold spent the summer on the south coast with a large army
and fleet waiting for William to invade, but the bulk of his forces were militia who
needed to harvest their crops, so on 8 September Harold dismissed them.[24]
King Harald Hardrada invaded northern England in early September, leading a

fleet of more than 300 ships carrying perhaps 15,000 men. Harald's army was
further augmented by the forces of Tostig, who threw his support behind the
Norwegian king's bid for the throne. Advancing on York, the Norwegians defeated
a northern English army under Edwin and Morcar on 20 September at the Battle of
Fulford.[25] The two earls had rushed to engage the Norwegian forces before King
13th-century depiction of
Harold could arrive from the south. Although Harold Godwinson had married
Rollo (top) and his
Edwin and Morcar's sister Ealdgyth, the two earls may have distrusted Harold and
descendants William I
feared that the king would replace Morcar with Tostig. The end result was that their
Longsword and Richard I of
forces were devastated and unable to participate in the rest of the campaigns of
Normandy
1066, although the two earls survived the battle.[26]
Hardrada moved on to York, which surrendered to him. After taking hostages from the leading men of the city, on
24 September the Norwegians moved east to the tiny village of Stamford Bridge.[27] King Harold probably learned
of the Norwegian invasion in mid-September and rushed north, gathering forces as he went.[28] The royal forces
probably took nine days to cover the distance from London to York, averaging almost 25 miles (40 kilometres) per
day. At dawn on 25 September Harold's forces reached York, where he learned the location of the Norwegians.[29]
The English then marched on the invaders and took them by surprise, defeating them in the Battle of Stamford
Bridge. Harald of Norway and Tostig were killed, and the Norwegians suffered such horrific losses that only 24 of
the original 300 ships were required to carry away the survivors. The English victory was costly, however, as
Harold's army was left in a battered and weakened state, and far from the English Channel.[28]
Norman invasion
Norman preparations and forces
William assembled a large invasion fleet and an army gathered from Normandy and all over France, including
large contingents from Brittany and Flanders.[30] He mustered his forces at Saint-Valery-sur-Somme and was ready
to cross the Channel by about 12 August.[31] The exact numbers and composition of William's force are
unknown.[32] A contemporary document claims that William had 726 ships, but this may be an inflated figure.[33]
Figures given by contemporary writers are highly exaggerated, varying from 14,000 to 150,000 men.[34] Modern
historians have offered a range of estimates for the size of William's forces: 70008000 men, 10002000 of them
cavalry;[35] 10,00012,000 men;[34] 10,000 men, 3000 of them cavalry;[36] or 7500 men.[32] The army would have
consisted of a mix of cavalry, infantry, and archers or crossbowmen, with about equal numbers of cavalry and
archers and the foot soldiers equal in number to the other two types combined.[37] Although later lists of
companions of William the Conqueror are extant, most are padded with extra names; only about 35 individuals can
be reliably claimed to have been with William at Hastings.[32][38][e]
William of Poitiers states that William obtained Pope Alexander II's consent for the invasion, signified by a papal
banner, along with diplomatic support from other European rulers. Although Alexander did give papal approval to
the conquest after it succeeded, no other source claims papal support before the invasion.[f] William's army
assembled during the summer while an invasion fleet in Normandy was constructed. Although the army and fleet
were ready by early August, adverse winds kept the ships in Normandy until late September. There were probably
other reasons for William's delay, including intelligence reports from England revealing that Harold's forces were
deployed along the coast. William would have preferred to delay the invasion until he could make an unopposed
landing.[40]
Landing and Harold's march south
The Normans crossed to England a few days after Harold's victory over the
Norwegians at Stamford Bridge on 25 September, following the dispersal
of Harold's naval force. They landed at Pevensey in Sussex on 28
September and erected a wooden castle at Hastings, from which they raided
the surrounding area.[30] This ensured supplies for the army, and as Harold
and his family held many of the lands in the area, it weakened William's
Landing in England scene from the opponent and made him more likely to attack to put an end to the
Bayeux Tapestry, depicting ships
raiding.[41]
coming in and horses landing
Harold, after defeating his brother Tostig and Harald Hardrada in the north,
left much of his force there, including Morcar and Edwin, and marched the rest of his army south to deal with the
threatened Norman invasion.[42] It is unclear when Harold learned of William's landing, but it was probably while
he was travelling south. Harold stopped in London for about a week before reaching Hastings, so it is likely that he
took a second week to march south, averaging about 27 miles (43 kilometres) per day,[43] for the nearly 200 miles
(320 kilometres) to London.[44] Although Harold attempted to surprise the Normans, William's scouts reported the
English arrival to the duke. The exact events preceding the battle remain obscure, with contradictory accounts in
the sources, but all agree that William led his army from his castle and advanced towards the enemy.[45] Harold
had taken up a defensive position at the top of Senlac Hill (present-day Battle, East Sussex), about 6 miles (10
kilometres) from William's castle at Hastings.[46]
Contemporary sources do not give reliable data on the size and composition of Harold's army, although two
Norman sources give figures of 1.2 million or 400,000 men.[47] Recent historians have suggested figures of
between 5000 and 13,000 for Harold's army at Hastings,[48] but most agree on a range of between 7000 and 8000
English troops.[49][50] These men would have comprised a mix of the fyrd (militia mainly composed of foot
soldiers) and the housecarls, or nobleman's personal troops, who usually also fought on foot. The main difference
between the two types was in their armour; the housecarls used better protecting armour than that of the fyrd. The
English army does not appear to have had many archers, although some were present.[49] The identities of few of
the Englishmen at Hastings are known; the most important were Harold's brothers Gyrth and Leofwine.[32] About
18 other named individuals can reasonably be assumed to have fought with Harold at Hastings, including two other
relatives.[39][g]
Hastings
The battle began at about 9 am on 14 October 1066 and lasted all day, but
while a broad outline is known, the exact events are obscured by
contradictory accounts in the sources.[51] Although the numbers on each
side were probably about equal, William had both cavalry and infantry,
including many archers, while Harold had only foot soldiers and few
archers.[52] The English soldiers formed up as a shield wall along the ridge,
and were at first so effective that William's army was thrown back with
heavy casualties. Some of William's Breton troops panicked and fled, and
some of the English troops appear to have pursued the fleeing Bretons.
Norman cavalry then attacked and killed the pursuing troops. While the
Bretons were fleeing, rumours swept the Norman forces that the duke had
been killed, but William rallied his troops. Twice more the Normans made
feigned withdrawals, tempting the English into pursuit, and allowing the
Norman cavalry to attack them repeatedly.[53] The available sources are Depiction of Harold's death from the
more confused about events in the afternoon, but it appears that the Bayeux Tapestry
decisive event was the death of Harold, about which differing stories are
told. William of Jumieges claimed that Harold was killed by the duke. The Bayeux Tapestry has been claimed to
show Harold's death by an arrow to the eye, but this may be a later reworking of the tapestry to conform to 12th-
century stories that Harold had died from an arrow wound to the head.[54] Other sources stated that no one knew
how Harold died because the press of battle was so tight around the king that the soldiers could not see who struck
the fatal blow.[55] William of Poitiers gives no details at all about Harold's death.[56]
Aftermath of Hastings
The day after the battle, Harold's body was identified, either by his armour or marks on his body.[h] The bodies of
the English dead, who included some of Harold's brothers and his housecarls, were left on the battlefield,[58]
although some were removed by relatives later.[59] Gytha, Harold's mother, offered the victorious duke the weight
of her son's body in gold for its custody, but her offer was refused. William ordered that Harold's body be thrown
into the sea, but whether that took place is unclear.[58] Another story relates that Harold was buried at the top of a
cliff.[60] Waltham Abbey, which had been founded by Harold, later claimed that his body had been buried there
secretly.[58] Later legends claimed that Harold did not die at Hastings, but escaped and became a hermit at
Chester.[59]
After his victory at Hastings, William expected to receive the submission of the surviving English leaders, but
instead Edgar the theling[i] was proclaimed king by the Witenagemot, with the support of Earls Edwin and
Morcar, Stigand, the Archbishop of Canterbury, and Ealdred, the Archbishop of York.[62] William therefore
advanced, marching around the coast of Kent to London. He defeated an English force that attacked him at
Southwark, but being unable to storm London Bridge he sought to reach the capital by a more circuitous route.[63]
William moved up the Thames valley to cross the river at Wallingford, Berkshire; while there he received the
submission of Stigand. He then travelled north-east along the Chilterns, before advancing towards London from
the north-west, fighting further engagements against forces from the city. Having failed to muster an effective
military response, Edgar's leading supporters lost their nerve, and the English leaders surrendered to William at
Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire. William was acclaimed King of England and crowned by Ealdred on 25 December
1066, in Westminster Abbey.[63][j] The new king attempted to conciliate the remaining English nobility by
confirming Morcar, Edwin and Waltheof, the Earl of Northumbria, in their lands as well as giving some land to
Edgar the theling. William remained in England until March 1067, when he returned to Normandy with English
prisoners, including Stigand, Morcar, Edwin, Edgar the theling, and Waltheof.[65]
English resistance
First rebellions
Despite the submission of the English nobles, resistance continued for several years.[66] William left control of
England in the hands of his half-brother Odo and one of his closest supporters, William fitzOsbern.[65] In 1067
rebels in Kent launched an unsuccessful attack on Dover Castle in combination with Eustace II of Boulogne.[66]
The Shropshire landowner Eadric the Wild,[k] in alliance with the Welsh rulers of Gwynedd and Powys, raised a
revolt in western Mercia, fighting Norman forces based in Hereford.[66] These events forced William to return to
England at the end of 1067.[65] In 1068 William besieged rebels in Exeter, including Harold's mother Gytha, and
after suffering heavy losses managed to negotiate the town's surrender.[68] In May, William's wife Matilda was
crowned queen at Westminster, an important symbol of William's growing international stature.[69] Later in the
year Edwin and Morcar raised a revolt in Mercia with Welsh assistance, while Gospatric, the newly appointed Earl
of Northumbria,[l] led a rising in Northumbria, which had not yet been occupied by the Normans. These rebellions
rapidly collapsed as William moved against them, building castles and installing garrisons as he had already done
in the south.[71] Edwin and Morcar again submitted, while Gospatric fled to Scotland, as did Edgar the theling
and his family, who may have been involved in these revolts.[72] Meanwhile, Harold's sons, who had taken refuge
in Ireland, raided Somerset, Devon and Cornwall from the sea.[73]
Revolts of 1069
Early in 1069 the newly installed Norman Earl of Northumbria, Robert de

Comines, and several hundred soldiers accompanying him were massacred
at Durham; the Northumbrian rebellion was joined by Edgar, Gospatric,
Siward Barn and other rebels who had taken refuge in Scotland. The
castellan of York, Robert fitzRichard, was defeated and killed, and the
rebels besieged the Norman castle at York. William hurried north with an
army, defeated the rebels outside York and pursued them into the city,
The remains of Baile Hill, the second
massacring the inhabitants and bringing the revolt to an end.[74] He built a
motte-and-bailey castle built by
second castle at York, strengthened Norman forces in Northumbria and
William in York
then returned south. A subsequent local uprising was crushed by the
garrison of York.[74] Harold's sons launched a second raid from Ireland and
were defeated in Devon by Norman forces under Count Brian, a son of Eudes, Count of Penthivre.[75] In August
or September 1069 a large fleet sent by Sweyn II of Denmark arrived off the coast of England, sparking a new
wave of rebellions across the country. After abortive raids in the south, the Danes joined forces with a new
Northumbrian uprising, which was also joined by Edgar, Gospatric and the other exiles from Scotland as well as
Waltheof. The combined Danish and English forces defeated the Norman garrison at York, seized the castles and
took control of Northumbria, although a raid into Lincolnshire led by Edgar was defeated by the Norman garrison
of Lincoln.[76]
At the same time resistance flared up again in western Mercia, where the forces of Eadric the Wild, together with
his Welsh allies and further rebel forces from Cheshire and Shropshire, attacked the castle at Shrewsbury. In the
south-west, rebels from Devon and Cornwall attacked the Norman garrison at Exeter, but were repulsed by the
defenders and scattered by a Norman relief force under Count Brian. Other rebels from Dorset, Somerset and
neighbouring areas besieged Montacute Castle but were defeated by a Norman army gathered from London,
Winchester and Salisbury under Geoffrey of Coutances.[76] Meanwhile, William attacked the Danes, who had
moored for the winter south of the Humber in Lincolnshire, and drove them back to the north bank. Leaving
Robert of Mortain in charge of Lincolnshire, he turned west and defeated the Mercian rebels in battle at Stafford.
When the Danes attempted to return to Lincolnshire, the Norman forces there again drove them back across the
Humber. William advanced into Northumbria, defeating an attempt to block his crossing of the swollen River Aire
at Pontefract. The Danes fled at his approach, and he occupied York. He bought off the Danes, who agreed to leave
England in the spring, and during the winter of 106970 his forces systematically devastated Northumbria in the
Harrying of the North, subduing all resistance.[76] As a symbol of his renewed authority over the north, William
ceremonially wore his crown at York on Christmas Day 1069.[70]
In early 1070, having secured the submission of Waltheof and Gospatric, and driven Edgar and his remaining
supporters back to Scotland, William returned to Mercia, where he based himself at Chester and crushed all
remaining resistance in the area before returning to the south.[76] Papal legates arrived and at Easter re-crowned
William, which would have symbolically reasserted his right to the kingdom. William also oversaw a purge of
prelates from the Church, most notably Stigand, who was deposed from Canterbury. The papal legates also
imposed penances on William and those of his supporters who had taken part in Hastings and the subsequent
campaigns.[77] As well as Canterbury, the see of York had become vacant following the death of Ealdred in
September 1069. Both sees were filled by men loyal to William: Lanfranc, abbot of William's foundation at Caen,
received Canterbury while Thomas of Bayeux, one of William's chaplains, was installed at York. Some other
bishoprics and abbeys also received new bishops and abbots and William confiscated some of the wealth of the
English monasteries, which had served as repositories for the assets of the native nobles.[78]
Danish troubles
In 1070 Sweyn II of Denmark arrived to take personal command of his

fleet and renounced the earlier agreement to withdraw, sending troops into
the Fens to join forces with English rebels led by Hereward the Wake,[m] at
that time based on the Isle of Ely. Sweyn soon accepted a further payment
of Danegeld from William, and returned home.[80] After the departure of
the Danes the Fenland rebels remained at large, protected by the marshes,
and early in 1071 there was a final outbreak of rebel activity in the area.
Edwin and Morcar again turned against William, and although Edwin was
quickly betrayed and killed, Morcar reached Ely, where he and Hereward
were joined by exiled rebels who had sailed from Scotland. William arrived
with an army and a fleet to finish off this last pocket of resistance. After
some costly failures the Normans managed to construct a pontoon to reach
the Isle of Ely, defeated the rebels at the bridgehead and stormed the island, Coin of Sweyn II of Denmark
marking the effective end of English resistance. [81] Morcar was imprisoned
for the rest of his life; Hereward was pardoned and had his lands returned to him.[82]
Last resistance
William faced difficulties in his continental possessions in 1071,[83] but in 1072 he returned to England and
marched north to confront King Malcolm III of Scotland.[n] This campaign, which included a land army supported
by a fleet, resulted in the Treaty of Abernethy in which Malcolm expelled Edgar the theling from Scotland and
agreed to some degree of subordination to William.[82] The exact status of this subordination was unclear the
treaty merely stated that Malcolm became William's man. Whether this meant only for Cumbria and Lothian or for
the whole Scottish kingdom was left ambiguous.[84]
In 1075, during William's absence, Ralph de Gael, the Earl of Norfolk, and Roger de Breteuil the Earl of Hereford,
conspired to overthrow him in the Revolt of the Earls.[85] The exact reason for the rebellion is unclear, but it was
launched at the wedding of Ralph to a relative of Roger's, held at Exning. Another earl, Waltheof, despite being
one of William's favourites, was also involved, and some Breton lords were ready to offer support. Ralph also
requested Danish aid. William remained in Normandy while his men in England subdued the revolt. Roger was
unable to leave his stronghold in Herefordshire because of efforts by Wulfstan, the Bishop of Worcester, and
thelwig, the Abbot of Evesham. Ralph was bottled up in Norwich Castle by the combined efforts of Odo of
Bayeux, Geoffrey of Coutances, Richard fitzGilbert, and William de Warenne. Norwich was besieged and
surrendered, and Ralph went into exile. Meanwhile, the Danish king's brother, Cnut, had finally arrived in England
with a fleet of 200 ships, but he was too late as Norwich had already surrendered. The Danes then raided along the
coast before returning home.[85] William did not return to England until later in 1075, to deal with the Danish
threat and the aftermath of the rebellion, celebrating Christmas at Winchester.[86] Roger and Waltheof were kept in
prison, where Waltheof was executed in May 1076. By that time William had returned to the continent, where
Ralph was continuing the rebellion from Brittany.[85]
Control of England
Once England had been conquered, the Normans faced many challenges in
maintaining control.[88] They were few in number compared to the native English
population; including those from other parts of France, historians estimate the
number of Norman landholders at around 8000.[89] William's followers expected
and received lands and titles in return for their service in the invasion,[90] but
William claimed ultimate possession of the land in England over which his armies
had given him de facto control, and asserted the right to dispose of it as he saw
fit.[91] Henceforth, all land was "held" directly from the king in feudal tenure in
return for military service.[91] A Norman lord typically had properties located in a
piecemeal fashion throughout England and Normandy, and not in a single
The Tower of London, geographic block.[92]
originally begun by William
To find the lands to compensate his Norman followers, William initially
the Conqueror to control
confiscated the estates of all the English lords who had fought and died with
London[87]
Harold and redistributed part of their lands.[93] These confiscations led to revolts,
which resulted in more confiscations, a cycle that continued for five years after the
Battle of Hastings.[90] To put down and prevent further rebellions the Normans constructed castles and
fortifications in unprecedented numbers,[94] initially mostly on the motte-and-bailey pattern.[95] Historian Robert
Liddiard remarks that "to glance at the urban landscape of Norwich, Durham or Lincoln is to be forcibly reminded
of the impact of the Norman invasion".[96] William and his barons also exercised tighter control over inheritance of
property by widows and daughters, often forcing marriages to Normans.[97]
A measure of William's success in taking control is that, from 1072 until the Capetian conquest of Normandy in
1204, William and his successors were largely absentee rulers. For example, after 1072, William spent more than
75 per cent of his time in France rather than England. While he needed to be personally present in Normandy to
defend the realm from foreign invasion and put down internal revolts, he set up royal administrative structures that
enabled him to rule England from a distance.[98]
Consequences
Elite replacement
A direct consequence of the invasion was the almost total elimination of the old English aristocracy and the loss of
English control over the Catholic Church in England. William systematically dispossessed English landowners and
conferred their property on his continental followers. The Domesday Book meticulously documents the impact of
this colossal programme of expropriation, revealing that by 1086 only about 5 per cent of land in England south of
the Tees was left in English hands. Even this tiny residue was further diminished in the decades that followed, the
elimination of native landholding being most complete in southern parts of the country.[99][100]
Natives were also removed from high governmental and ecclesiastical office. After 1075 all earldoms were held by
Normans, and Englishmen were only occasionally appointed as sheriffs. Likewise in the Church, senior English
office-holders were either expelled from their positions or kept in place for their lifetimes and replaced by
foreigners when they died. By 1096 no bishopric was held by any Englishman, and English abbots became
uncommon, especially in the larger monasteries.[101]
English emigration
Following the conquest, many Anglo-Saxons, including groups of nobles,

fled the country[102] for Scotland, Ireland, or Scandinavia.[103] Members of
King Harold Godwinson's family sought refuge in Ireland and used their
bases in that country for unsuccessful invasions of England.[69] The largest
single exodus occurred in the 1070s, when a group of Anglo-Saxons in a
fleet of 235 ships sailed for the Byzantine Empire.[103] The empire became
a popular destination for many English nobles and soldiers, as the
Depiction of the Varangian Guard
Byzantines were in need of mercenaries.[102] The English became the from the 12th-century Madrid
predominant element in the elite Varangian Guard, until then a largely Skylitzes
Scandinavian unit, from which the emperor's bodyguard was drawn.[104]
Some of the English migrants were settled in Byzantine frontier regions on
the Black Sea coast, and established towns with names such as New London and New York.[102]
Governmental systems
Before the Normans arrived, Anglo-Saxon governmental systems were more sophisticated than their counterparts
in Normandy.[105][106] All of England was divided into administrative units called shires, with subdivisions; the
royal court was the centre of government, and a justice system based on local and regional tribunals existed to
secure the rights of free men.[107] Shires were run by officials known as shire reeves or sheriffs.[108] Most
medieval governments were always on the move, holding court wherever the weather and food or other matters
were best at the moment;[109] England had a permanent treasury at Winchester before William's conquest.[110] One
major reason for the strength of the English monarchy was the wealth of the kingdom, built on the English system
of taxation that included a land tax, or the geld. English coinage was also superior to most of the other currency in
use in northwestern Europe, and the ability to mint coins was a royal
monopoly.[111] The English kings had also developed the system of issuing writs to
their officials, in addition to the normal medieval practice of issuing charters.[112]
Writs were either instructions to an official or group of officials, or notifications of
royal actions such as appointments to office or a grant of some sort.[113]
This sophisticated medieval form of government was handed over to the Normans
and was the foundation of further developments.[107] They kept the framework of
government but made changes in the personnel, although at first the new king
attempted to keep some natives in office. By the end of William's reign most of the
officials of government and the royal household were Normans. The language of
official documents also changed, from Old English to Latin. The forest laws were
Page from the Warwickshire introduced, leading to the setting aside of large sections of England as royal
Domesday survey forest.[108] The Domesday survey was an administrative catalogue of the
landholdings of the kingdom, and was unique to medieval Europe. It was divided
into sections based on the shires, and listed all the landholdings of each tenant-in-
chief of the king as well as who had held the land before the conquest.[114]
Language
One of the most obvious effects of the conquest was the introduction of Anglo-Norman, a northern dialect of Old
French, as the language of the ruling classes in England, displacing Old English. French words entered the English
language, and a further sign of the shift was the usage of names common in France instead of Anglo-Saxon names.
Male names such as William, Robert and Richard soon became common; female names changed more slowly. The
Norman invasion had little impact on placenames, which had changed significantly after earlier Scandinavian
invasions. It is not known precisely how much English the Norman invaders learned, nor how much the knowledge
of French spread among the lower classes, but the demands of trade and basic communication probably meant that
at least some of the Normans and native English were bilingual.[115] Nevertheless, William the Conqueror never
developed a working knowledge of English and for centuries afterwards English was not well understood by the
nobility.[116]
Immigration and intermarriage
An estimated 8000 Normans and other continentals settled in England as a result of the conquest, although exact
figures cannot be established. Some of these new residents intermarried with the native English, but the extent of
this practice in the years immediately after Hastings is unclear. Several marriages are attested between Norman
men and English women during the years before 1100, but such marriages were uncommon. Most Normans
continued to contract marriages with other Normans or other continental families rather than with the English.[117]
Within a century of the invasion, intermarriage between the native English and the Norman immigrants had
become common. By the early 1160s, Ailred of Rievaulx was writing that intermarriage was common in all levels
of society.[118]
Society
The impact of the conquest on the lower levels of English society is difficult to assess. The major change was the
elimination of slavery in England, which had disappeared by the middle of the 12th century.[119] There were about
28,000 slaves listed in Domesday Book in 1086, fewer than had been enumerated for 1066. In some places, such as
Essex, the decline in slaves was 20 per cent for the 20 years.[120] The main reasons for the decline in slaveholding
appear to have been the disapproval of the Church and the cost of
supporting slaves, who unlike serfs, had to be maintained entirely by their
owners.[121] The practice of slavery was not outlawed, and the Leges
Henrici Primi from the reign of King Henry I continue to mention
slaveholding as legal.[120]
Many of the free peasants of Anglo-Saxon society appear to have lost

status and become indistinguishable from the non-free serfs. Whether this
change was due entirely to the conquest is unclear, but the invasion and its
after-effects probably accelerated a process already under way. The spread Modern-day reconstruction of an
of towns and increase in nucleated settlements in the countryside, rather Anglo-Saxon village at West Stow
than scattered farms, was probably accelerated by the coming of the
Normans to England.[119] The lifestyle of the peasantry probably did not
greatly change in the decades after 1066.[122] Although earlier historians argued that women became less free and
lost rights with the conquest, current scholarship has mostly rejected this view. Little is known about women other
than those in the landholding class, so no conclusions can be drawn about peasant women's status after 1066.
Noblewomen appear to have continued to influence political life mainly through their kinship relationships. Both
before and after 1066 aristocratic women could own land, and some women continued to have the ability to
dispose of their property as they wished.[123]
Historiography
Debate over the conquest started almost immediately. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, when discussing the death of
William the Conqueror, denounced him and the conquest in verse, but the king's obituary notice from William of
Poitiers, a Frenchman, was full of praise. Historians since then have argued over the facts of the matter and how to
interpret them, with little agreement.[124] The theory or myth of the "Norman yoke" arose in the 17th century,[125]
the idea that Anglo-Saxon society had been freer and more equal than the society that emerged after the
conquest.[126] This theory owes more to the period it was developed in than to historical facts, but it continues to
be used in both political and popular thought to the present day.[127]
In the 20th and 21st centuries historians have focused less on the rightness or wrongness of the conquest itself,
instead concentrating on the effects of the invasion. Some, such as Richard Southern, have seen the conquest as a
critical turning point in history.[124] Southern stated that "no country in Europe, between the rise of the barbarian
kingdoms and the 20th century, has undergone so radical a change in so short a time as England experienced after
1066".[128] Other historians, such as H. G. Richardson and G. O. Sayles, believe that the transformation was less
radical.[124] In more general terms, Singman has called the conquest "the last echo of the national migrations that
characterized the early Middle Ages".[129] The debate over the impact of the conquest depends on how change
after 1066 is measured. If Anglo-Saxon England was already evolving before the invasion, with the introduction of
feudalism, castles or other changes in society, then the conquest, while important, did not represent radical reform.
But the change was dramatic if measured by the elimination of the English nobility or the loss of Old English as a
literary language. Nationalistic arguments have been made on both sides of the debate, with the Normans cast as
either the persecutors of the English or the rescuers of the country from a decadent Anglo-Saxon nobility.[124]
Notes
a. Harthacnut was the son of King Cnut the Great and Emma of Normandy, and thus was the half-brother of Edward the
Confessor. He reigned from 1040 to 1042, and died without children.[13] Harthacnut's father Cnut had defeated
thelred's son Edmund Ironside in 1016 to claim the English throne and marry thelred's widow, Emma.[14] After
Harthacnut's death in 1042, Magnus began preparations for an invasion of England, which was only stopped by his own
death in 1047.[15]
b. Other contenders later came to the fore. The first was Edgar theling, Edward the Confessor's great nephew who was a
patrilineal descendant of King Edmund Ironside. He was the son of Edward the Exile, son of Edmund Ironside, and was
born in Hungary, where his father had fled after the conquest of England by Cnut. After his family's eventual return to
England and his father's death in 1057,[17] Edgar had by far the strongest hereditary claim to the throne, but he was only
about thirteen or fourteen at the time of Edward the Confessor's death, and with little family to support him, his claim
was passed over by the Witenagemot.[18] Another contender was Sweyn II of Denmark, who had a claim to the throne as
the grandson of Sweyn Forkbeard and nephew of Cnut,[19] but he did not make his bid for the throne until 1069.[20]
Tostig Godwinson's attacks in early 1066 may have been the beginning of a bid for the throne, but after defeat at the
hands of Edwin and Morcar and the desertion of most of his followers he threw his lot in with Harald Hardrada.[21]
c. Tostig, who had been Earl of Northumbria, was expelled from that office by a Northumbrian rebellion in late 1065. After
King Edward sided with the rebels, Tostig went into exile in Flanders.[22]
d. The King of Scotland, Malcolm III, is said to have been Tostig's sworn brother.[22]
e. Of those 35, 5 are known to have died in the battle Robert of Vitot, Engenulf of Laigle, Robert fitzErneis, Roger son of
Turold, and Taillefer.[39]
f. The Bayeux Tapestry may possibly depict a papal banner carried by William's forces, but this is not named as such in the
tapestry.[40]
g. Of these named persons, eight died in the battle Harold, Gyrth, Leofwine, Godric the sheriff, Thurkill of Berkshire,
Breme, and someone known only as "son of Helloc".[39]
h. A 12th-century tradition stated that Harold's face could not be recognised and Edith the Fair, Harold's common-law wife,
was brought to the battlefield to identify his body from marks that only she knew.[57]
i. theling is the Anglo-Saxon term for a royal prince with some claim to the throne.[61]
j. The coronation was marred when the Norman troops stationed outside the abbey heard the sounds of those inside
acclaiming the king and began burning nearby houses, thinking the noises were signs of a riot.[64]
k. Eadric's by-name "the Wild" is relatively common, so despite suggestions that it arose from Eadric's participation in the
northern uprisings of 1069, this is not certain.[67]
l. Gospatric had bought the office from William after the death of Copsi, whom William had appointed in 1067. Copsi was
murdered in 1068 by Osulf, his rival for power in Northumbria.[70]
m. Although the epithet "the Wake" has been claimed to be derived from "the wakeful one", the first use of the epithet is
from the mid-13th century, and is thus unlikely to have been contemporary.[79]
n. Malcolm, in 1069 or 1070, had married Margaret, sister of Edgar the theling.[70]
Citations
1. Bates Normandy Before 1066 pp. 810
2. Crouch Normans pp. 1516
3. Bates Normandy Before 1066 p. 12
4. Bates Normandy Before 1066 pp. 2021
5. Hallam and Everard Capetian France p. 53
6. Williams thelred the Unready p. 54
7. Huscroft Ruling England p. 3
8. Stafford Unification and Conquest pp. 8699
9. Higham Death of Anglo-Saxon England pp. 167181
10. Walker Harold pp. 136138
11. Bates William the Conqueror pp. 7377
12. Higham Death of Anglo-Saxon England pp. 188190
13. Keynes "Harthacnut" Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Anglo-Saxon England
14. Huscroft Norman Conquest p. 84
15. Stenton Anglo-Saxon England pp. 423424
16. Huscroft Ruling England pp. 1214
17. Huscroft Norman Conquest pp. 9697
21. Thomas Norman Conquest pp. 3334
22. Stenton Anglo-Saxon England pp. 578580
26. Marren 1066 pp. 6571
27. Marren 1066 p. 73
29. Marren 1066 pp. 7475
31. Douglas William the Conqueror p. 192
32. Gravett Hastings pp. 2021
33. Bennett Campaigns of the Norman Conquest p. 25
34. Lawson Battle of Hastings pp. 163164
36. Marren 1066 pp. 8990
37. Gravett Hastings p. 27
38. Marren 1066 pp. 108109
39. Marren 1066 pp. 107108
41. Marren 1066 p. 98
42. Carpenter Struggle for Mastery p. 72
43. Marren 1066 p. 93
46. Marren 1066 pp. 99100
47. Lawson Battle of Hastings p. 128
49. Gravett Hastings pp. 2834
50. Marren 1066 p. 105
55. Marren 1066 p. 137
60. Marren 1066 p. 146
62. Douglas William the Conqueror pp. 204205
67. Williams "Eadric the Wild" Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
72. Williams English and the Norman Conquest pp. 2427
75. Williams English and the Norman Conquest p. 35
79. Roffe "Hereward" Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
87. Douglas William the Conqueror p. 216 and footnote 4
89. Carpenter Struggle for Mastery pp. 8283
94. Chibnall Anglo-Norman England pp. 1113
95. Kaufman and Kaufman Medieval Fortress p. 110
96. Liddiard Castles in Context p. 36
99. Thomas English and Normans pp. 105137
100. Thomas "Significance" English Historical Review pp. 303333
101. Thomas English and Normans pp. 202208
102. Ciggaar Western Travellers pp. 140141
103. Daniell From Norman Conquest to Magna Carta pp. 1314
104. Heath Byzantine Armies p. 23
105. Thomas Norman Conquest p. 59
107. Loyn Governance of Anglo-Saxon England p. 176
108. Thomas Norman Conquest p. 60
113. Keynes "Charters and Writs" Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Anglo-Saxon England p. 100
116. Crystal "Story of Middle English" English Language
118. Thomas Norman Conquest pp. 107109
120. Clanchy England and its Rulers p. 93
121. Huscroft Ruling England p. 94
124. Clanchy England and its Rulers pp. 3135
125. Chibnall Debate p. 6
126. Chibnall Debate p. 38
128. Quoted in Clanchy England and its Rulers p. 32
129. Singman Daily Life p. xv
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1-84176-133-6.
Hallam, Elizabeth M.; Everard, Judith (2001). Capetian France 9871328 (Second ed.). New York: Longman.
ISBN 978-0-582-40428-1.
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Huscroft, Richard (2009). The Norman Conquest: A New Introduction. New York: Longman. ISBN 978-1-4058-1155-2.
Huscroft, Richard (2005). Ruling England 10421217. London: Pearson/Longman. ISBN 978-0-582-84882-5.
Kaufman, J. E. & Kaufman, H. W. (2001). The Medieval Fortress: Castles, Forts, and Walled Cities of the Middle Ages.
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Keynes, Simon (2001). "Charters and Writs". In Lapidge, Michael; Blair, John; Keynes, Simon; Scragg, Donald.
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Encyclopaedia of Anglo-Saxon England. Malden, MA: Blackwell. pp. 229230. ISBN 978-0-631-22492-1.
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F13074). Retrieved 29 March 2013. (subscription or UK public library membership (https://global.oup.com/oxforddnb/info/freeod
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Singman, Jeffrey L. (1999). Daily Life in Medieval Europe. Daily Life Through History. Westport, CT: Greenwood
Press. ISBN 978-0-313-30273-2.
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85285-382-2.
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Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/8512 (https://doi.org/10.1093%2Fre
f%3Aodnb%2F8512). Retrieved 29 March 2013. (subscription or UK public library membership (https://global.oup.com/oxford
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External links
Essential Norman Conquest (http://www.essentialnormanconquest.com) from Osprey Publishing
Normans a background to the Conquest (http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/normans/background_01.sht
ml) from the BBC
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Categories: Norman conquest of England 1060s conflicts 1066 in England Duchy of Normandy
Medieval England High Middle Ages Military history of England Military history of Normandy
Succession to the British crown William the Conqueror 11th century in England
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Norman conquest of England

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Norman conquest of England was the

William's claim to the English throne

Tostig's raids and the Norwegian invasion

King Harald Hardrada invaded northern England in early September, leading a

Landing and Harold's march south

Early in 1069 the newly installed Norman Earl of Northumbria, Robert de

In 1070 Sweyn II of Denmark arrived to take personal command of his

Following the conquest, many Anglo-Saxons, including groups of nobles,

Immigration and intermarriage

Many of the free peasants of Anglo-Saxon society appear to have lost

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Norman_conquest_of_England&oldid=789505740"

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