The Norman Conquest of England in 1066 By Robert Wilde Updated October 27, 2016. In 1066, England experienced (some contemporaries might say suffered) one of the few successful invasions in its history. While Duke William of Normandy needed several years and a firm military grip to finally secure his hold on the English nation, his major rivals were eliminated by the end of the Battle of Hastings, one of the most pivotal events in English history. Edward the Confessor and Claims to the Throne Edward the Confessor was king of England until 1066, but a set of events during his childless reign had seen the succession disputed by a group of powerful rivals. William, Duke of Normandy, might have been promised the throne in 1051, but he certainly claimed it when Edward died. Harold Godwineson , leader of the most powerful aristocratic family in England and long term hopeful for the throne, was supposed to have had it promised to him while Edward was dying.

The situation was complicated by Harold possibly having sworn an oath to support William, albeit while under duress, and Harold’s exiled brother Tostig , who allied with Harald III Hardrada, King of Norway after persuading him to try for the throne. continue reading below our video 10 Best Universities in the United States The result on Edward’s death on Jan 5th 1066 was that Harold was in control of England with the English armies and a largely allied aristocracy, while the other claimants were in their lands and with little direct power in England. Harold was a proven warrior with access to large English lands and wealth, which he could use to sponsor / bribe supporters. The scene was set for a power struggle, but Harold had the advantage. More on the Background to the Claimants 1066: The Year of Three Battles Harold was crowned the same day Edward was buried, and probably took care to select the Archbishop of York, Ealdred, to crown him as the Archbishop of Canterbury was a controversial figure. In April Halley’s Comet appeared, but no one is sure how people interpreted it; an omen, yes, but one good or bad?

William, Tostig and Hardrada all began initiatives to claim the throne of England from Harold. Tostig began raids on the coasts of England, before being driven to Scotland for safety. He then combined his forces with Hardrada for an invasion. At the same time William sought support from his own Norman nobles, and possibly the religious and moral support of the Pope, while gathering an army. However, bad winds may have caused a delay in his army sailing. It is equally likely William chose to wait for strategic reasons, until he knew Harold had drained his supplies and the south was open. Harold gathered a large army to see off these enemies, and he kept them in the field for four months. However, with provisions running low he disbanded them in early September. William seems to have marshalled the resources needed for an invasion very effectively, and amidst the skill there was luck: Normandy and surrounding France had reached a point where William could safely leave it without fear of attack. Tostig and Hardrada now invaded the north of England and Harold marched to face them. Two battles followed. Fulford Gate was fought between the invaders and northern earls Edwin and Morcar, on September 20th, outside York.

The bloody, day long battle was won by the invaders. We don’t know why the earls attacked before Harold arrived, which he did four days later. The next day Harold attacked. The Battle of Stamford Bridge occurred on September 25, during which the invading commanders were killed, removing two rivals and demonstrating again that Harold was a successful warrior. Then William managed to land in the south of England, on September 28 at Pevensey, and he began pillaging the lands – many of which were Harold’s own - to draw Harold into battle. Despite having just fought, Harold marched south, summoned more troops and engaged William immediately, leading to the Battle of Hastings on October 14th 1066. The Anglo-Saxons under Harold included a large number of the English aristocracy, and they assembled on a hilly position. The Normans had to attack uphill, and a battle followed in which the Normans faked withdrawals. At the end, Harold was killed and the Anglo-Saxons defeated. Key members of the English aristocracy were dead, and William’s route to the throne of England was suddenly very open.

More on the Battle of Hastings King William I The English refused to surrender en mass, so William then moved to seize key areas of England, marching in a loop around London to frighten it into submission. Westminster, Dover and Canterbury, key areas of royal power, were seized. William acted ruthlessly, burning and seizing, to impress on the locals that there was no other power who could help them. Edgar the Atheling was nominated by Edwin and Morcar as a new Anglo-Saxon king, but they soon realised William had the advantage and submitted. William was thus crowned king in Westminster Abbey on Christmas Day. There were revolts over the next few years, but William crushed them. One, the ‘Harrying of the North’, saw large areas destroyed. The Normans have been credited with introducing castle building into England, and William and his forces certainly built a large network of them, as they were vital focal points from which the invading force could extend their power and hold onto England. However, it’s no longer believed the Normans were simply replicating the system of castles in Normandy: the castles in England weren’t copies, but a reaction to the unique circumstances facing the occupying force.

Consequences Historians once attributed many administrative changes to the Normans, but increasing amounts are now believed to be Anglo-Saxon: effective tax and other systems were already in place under the preceding governments. However, the Normans worked on tweaking them, and Latin became the official tongue. There was a new ruling dynasty established in England, and a large number of changes in the ruling aristocracy, with Normans and other European men given tracts of England to rule both as a reward and to secure control, from which they rewarded their own men. Each held their land in return for military service. Most of the Anglo-Saxon bishops were replaced with Normans, and Lanfranc became Archbishop of Canterbury. In short, the ruling class of England was almost completely replaced by a new one coming from Western Europe. However, this wasn’t what William had wanted, and at first he tried to reconcile the remaining Anglo-Saxon leaders like Morcar until he, like others, rebelled and William changed his approach. William faced problems and rebellions for the next twenty years, but they were uncoordinated, and he dealt with them all efficiently.

The battles of 1066 had removed the chance of a united opposition that could have proved fatal, although had Edgar Atheling been made of better material, things might have been different. The main chance might have been co-ordinating the further Danish invasions – which all fizzled out without much result – with the revolts of the Anglo-Saxon earls, but in the end each was defeated in turn. However, the cost of maintaining this army, as it moved from an occupying force gripping onto England into an established ruling class over the next decades, cost money, much of it was raised from England through taxes, leading to the commission of a land survey known as the Domesday Book . More on the Consequences Sources Divided English sources, often written by men of the church, tended to view the Norman Conquest as a punishment sent by God for a feckless and sinful English nation. These English sources also tend to be pro-Godwine, and the different versions of the Anglo-Saxon chronicle, which each tell us something different, continued to be written in the defeated party’s own language. Norman accounts, unsurprisingly, tend to favour William, and argue God was very much on his side.

They also argued the conquest was entirely legitimate. There is also an embroidery of unknown origin - the Bayeux Tapestry - which showed the events of the conquest. BBC - History - British History in depth: Overview: The Normans, 1066 - 1154 Print this page Twin invasions When Edward the Confessor died in 1066, he left a disputed succession. The throne was seized by his leading aristocrat, Harold Godwinson, who was rapidly crowned. Almost immediately, Harold faced two invasions - one from the king of Norway, Harald Hardrada, who was supported by Harold Godwinson's brother Tostig, and the other from William, Duke of Normandy. Harold defeated the Norwegian invasion at the Battle of Stamford Bridge in September 1066, but he was defeated and killed shortly afterwards at the Battle of Hastings, on 14 October in the same year. At William's death, his lands were divided, with his second son, William Rufus, becoming king of England. The victorious William, now known as 'the Conqueror', brought a new aristocracy to England from Normandy and some other areas of France.

He also strengthened aristocratic lordship and moved towards reform of the church. At the same time, William was careful to preserve the powerful administrative machinery that had distinguished the regime of the late Anglo-Saxon kings. At William's death, his lands were divided, with his eldest son Robert taking control of Normandy, and his second son, William Rufus, becoming king of England. Rufus successfully dealt with rebellions and with the threat of his elder brother (he defeated Robert during an invasion of Normandy), and maintained the powerful kingship of his father. Following the death of Archbishop Lanfranc of Canterbury, good relations between king and church broke down, and the new archbishop, Anselm, became involved in quarrels with both Rufus and his successor Henry I. Top Disputed succession Rufus died in a hunting accident in the New Forest in 1100, and his younger brother, Henry, swiftly and successfully moved to seize the throne. He further strengthened the ties of the Norman regime with the Anglo-Saxon past by marrying Edith (also known as Matilda), the great grand-daughter of Edmund Ironside, King of England.

In 1106, Henry succeeded in wresting control of Normandy from his brother, Robert, whom he thereafter kept imprisoned. While there continued to be conflict in Normandy, England experienced a lengthy peace during Henry's reign. The powerful royal government that had characterised earlier Norman kingship broke down. At the same time, royal government continued to develop, notably in the field of royal financial accounting with the emergence of the 'exchequer'. Henry's only legitimate son drowned in a shipwreck in 1120, and when the king died in 1135 the succession was again uncertain. Henry's nephew, Stephen, count of Boulogne, seized the crown. Matilda, Henry's daughter, challenged Stephen's position. She and her husband Geoffrey, Count of Anjou, enjoyed quite rapid success in Normandy, but in England an extended civil war developed. The powerful royal government that had characterised earlier Norman kingship broke down. In 1153 it was agreed that Stephen should enjoy the throne for the rest of his life, but that he should be succeeded by Matilda's son, Henry of Anjou.

The settlement might not have meant to have been observed, but Stephen died late in 1154, and Henry was crowned king. He thus added England to his extensive continental lands, which included Normandy, Anjou, and his wife Eleanor's inheritance of Aquitaine. Top Fresh conquests The Normans also expanded into Scotland and Wales, although in a very different way from the conquest of England. Scottish kings from the time of Malcolm Canmore (1058 - 1093) looked to introduce Norman personnel and practices into their realm, perhaps out of respect for a perceived cultural superiority, but certainly in order to strengthen their own political position. Particularly under David I (1124 - 1153), major land grants were made to Frenchmen - for example the grant of Annandale to Robert Bruce, ancestor of the later Scottish king of that name. In Wales, aggressive Norman expansion was led largely by the aristocracy. The kings and churchmen also brought the Scottish church more closely into line with that of Christendom further south.

Malcolm and his wife Margaret founded the Benedictine monastery of Dunfermline, while David I introduced new monastic orders such the Cistercians and Premonstratensians. There were significant periods of antagonism between Scottish and English kings, but also periods of peace such as in the time of David I of Scotland and Henry I of England. Norman expansion into Wales took a different form still. Whereas in England the invasion was led by the duke, and in Scotland Normans were invited in by kings of the native line, in Wales, aggressive Norman expansion was led largely by the aristocracy. Incursions took place all along the Anglo-Welsh border, but most notably in the north, from the earldom of Chester, and in the south. In the latter region emerged the Marcher lordships such as those of Pembroke and Ceredigion. The English kings did participate in the process, and Henry I in particular was active in Wales. However, with the accession of Stephen in England there was a major reassertion of independent Welsh power. Feudalism?

The Domesday Book, c.1086 © The economy of England had been expanding for at least a century before the Norman conquest, and was characterised by growing markets and sprawling towns. By the 12th century, one of the ways in which English writers disparaged other peoples, notably the Welsh and Irish, was to depict their economies as primitive, as lacking markets, exchange and towns. At the same time, kings and lords outside England deliberately sought to stimulate the wealth of their countries, as can be most clearly seen by the introduction of coinage and the establishment of boroughs by David I of Scotland and his successors. The Domesday Book shows 11 leading members of the aristocracy held a quarter of the realm. Within such an economy, there was clearly room for men to rise by increasing their wealth. At the same time, it remained a notably hierarchic society, and the process of conquest itself strengthened the role of lordship. The Domesday Book, the product of William I's great survey of his realm in 1086, shows that the 11 leading members of the aristocracy held about a quarter of the realm.

Another quarter was in the hands of fewer than 200 other aristocrats. These nobles had received their lands by royal grant, and in turn gave some of their lands to their own followers. This form of landholding is often regarded as a key element of a 'feudal' system - a form of social organisation once routinely held to have been introduced by the Normans in 1066. In recent years there has been considerable debate about the problems arising from the use of the term 'feudal', a debate wittily foreseen by the great Victorian historian, FW Maitland, who said: 'Feudalism is a useful word, and will cover a multitude of ignorances.' Nevertheless, whatever the wider problems of writing about 'feudalism', the process of Norman conquest and settlement did tie a variety of types of lordship closely together - regarding protection, service, and jurisdiction - and linked them to the bond of land tenure, the holding of what men at the time referred to as a 'feudum' or 'fief'. The strength of lordship could result in royal weakness and the break-up of large scale political control.

This happened in England during the civil war of the reign of Stephen, 1135 - 1154. Yet it would be wrong to see aristocracy and king, lordship and kingship as necessarily opposed. Kings and lords often regarded one another as natural companions, engaged in a mutually beneficial relationship. In addition, in England both kings and aristocrats continued to operate in political and judicial arenas other than those defined by lordship. Most notable amongst these were the counties or shires that the Normans inherited from the Anglo-Saxons. A thousand castles The Norman-era Clifford's Tower, York Castle, York © The Normans had an enormous influence on architectural development in Britain. There had been large-scale fortified settlements, known as burghs, and also fortified houses in Anglo-Saxon England, but the castle was a Norman import. Numbers are uncertain, but it seems plausible that about 1,000 castles had been built by the reign of Henry I, about four decades after the Norman conquest. Some were towers on mounds surrounded by larger enclosures, often referred to as 'motte and bailey castles'.

Others were immense, most notably the huge palace-castles William I built at Colchester and London. A lord might display his wealth, power and devotion through a combination of castle and church in close proximity. These were the largest secular buildings in stone since the time of the Romans, over six centuries earlier. They were a celebration of William's triumph, but also a sign of his need to overawe the conquered. Churches were also built in great numbers, and in great variety, although usually in the Romanesque style with its characteristic round-topped arches. The vast cathedrals of the late 11th and early 12th centuries, colossal in scale by European standards, emphasised the power of the Normans as well as their reform of the church in the conquered realm. Buildings such as Durham cathedral suggest the strength and vibrancy of the builders' culture in rather the same way as the early sky-scrapers of New York. The Normans also continued the great building of parish churches, which had begun in England in the late Anglo-Saxon period. Such churches appeared too in the rest of the British Isles, and can still be seen, for example at Leuchars in Fife.

A lord might display his wealth, power and devotion through a combination of castle and church in close proximity, again as still spectacularly visible at Durham. Particularly striking are regional groups of great churches, a characteristic too of 11th-century Normandy. One of the most telling examples is the group of border abbeys in southern Scotland - David I's foundation of Jedburgh, still impressive and crowning its hill; the Premonstratensian house of Dryburgh; the Cistercian house at Melrose; and most spectacular of all in the splendour which even the limited remains indicate, another royal foundation at Kelso.

Books Battle of Hastings 1066 by MK Lawson (Tempus, 2003) England under the Norman and Angevin Kings, 1075 - 1225 by Robert Bartlett (Oxford University Press, 2000) William the Conqueror by David Bates (Tempus, 2004) The Political Development of the British Isles, 1100 - 1400 by Robin Frame (Oxford University Press, 1990) Anglo-Norman England, 1066 - 1166 by Marjorie Chibnall (Blackwell, 1987) Colonial England, 1066 - 1215 by JC Holt (Hambledon, 1997) Kingship and Unity: Scotland 1000 - 1306 by GWS Barrow (Edinburgh University Press, 1981) The Age of Conquest: Wales 1063 - 1415 by RR Davies (Oxford University Press, 1991) Domination and Conquest: The Experience of Ireland, Scotland and Wales, 1

100 - 1300 by RR Davies (Cambridge University Press, 1990) Top About the author John Hudson is Professor of Legal History in the Department of Mediaeval History, University of St Andrews.

He is author of Land, Law, and Lordship in Anglo-Norman England (Oxford University Press, 1994) and The Formation of the English Common Law (Longmans, 1996). He has edited and translated a major twelfth-century chronicle, The History of the Church of Abingdon (two volumes, Oxford University Press, 2002, 2007) and is currently working on the volume of The Oxford History of the Laws of England covering the period 870-1220. His media contributions include interviews for Radio 4's Making History and he is a member of the editorial advisory board for the BBC History Magazine. The Norman Conquest of England By Ben Johnson | Comments To understand who the Normans were, we have to go back a little to 911. In this year a rather large Viking chief (reckoned to be so big that a horse could not carry him!) called Rollo accepted the 'kind' offer of a large area of Northern France from the then king of France, Charles II ('The Simple' ) as part of a peace treaty.

Rollo and his 'Nor(th) Men' settled in this area of northern France now known as Normandy. Rollo became the first Duke of Normandy and over the next hundred years or so the Normans adopted the French language and culture. On 5th January 1066, Edward the Confessor, King of England , died. The next day the Anglo-Saxon Witan (a council of high ranking men) elected Harold Godwin, Earl of Essex (and Edward's brother-in-law) to succeed him. The crown had scarcely been put on his head when King Harold's problems started. In Normandy Duke William did not agree with the voting of the Witan. William claimed that years earlier, Edward had promised the crown of England to him. In addition, he believed that he had strengthened his claim still further when in 1063 he had tricked Harold into swearing to support his claim to the English throne. More than a little annoyed, William prepared to invade. King Harold also had problems to the north of England - sibling rivalry. Harold's brother Tostig had joined forces with Harold Hardrada, King of Norway, and had landed with an army in Yorkshire .

Harold marched his own English army north from London to repel the invaders. Arriving at Tadcaster on 24th September, he seized the opportunity to catch the enemy off guard. His army was exhausted after the forced march from London, but after a bitter, bloody battle to capture the bridge at Stamford , Harold won a decisive victory on 25th September. Harold Hardrada and Tostig were both killed. On October 1st Harold and his depleted army then marched the three hundred kilometres south to do battle with Duke William of Normandy who had landed at Pevensey, Kent on the 28th September. Harold's sick, exhausted Saxon army met William's fresh, rested Norman troops on October 14th at Battle near Hastings, and the great battle began. At first, the two-handed Saxon battleaxes sliced through the armour of the Norman knights , but slowly the Normans began to gain control. King Harold was struck in the eye by a chance Norman arrow and was killed, but the battle raged on until all of Harold's loyal bodyguard were slain. William could truly now be called 'The Conqueror'!

On Christmas Day 1066 Archbishop Ealdred of York crowned William King of England. This stone marks the spot at Battle Abbey where the high altar stood on the place where King Harold is said to have died. The early years of William's English rule were a little insecure. He built castles across England to convince everyone who was the boss, meeting force with even greater force as rebellious regions like Yorkshire were laid waste (the harrowing of the North). By around 1072, the Norman hold on the kingdom was firmly established. Normans controlled most major functions within the Church and the State. The Domesday Book exists today as a record, compiled some 20 years after the Battle of Hastings, showing all landholder's estates throughout England. It demonstrates the Norman genius for order and good government as well as showing the vast tracts of land acquired by the new Norman owners. Norman genius was also expressed in architecture. Saxon buildings had mostly been wooden structures; the French 'brickies' at once made a more permanent mark on the landscape. Massive stone castles , churches, cathedrals and monasteries were erected, these imposing structures again clearly demonstrating just who was now in charge.

BBC - History: Normans History The story behind the Battle of Hastings and the leaders who fought it out in 1066. Overview: The Normans 1066 - 1154 Hands On History: The Normans - Download family activity packs and teachers' resources. Background to the Norman Conquest English and Norman Society by Dr Mike Ibeji The Events of 1066 This huge survey is England's earliest public record and a legal document that is still valid today. Inside Domesday - The Domesday Book provides a fascinating insight into the 11th-century Norman takeover of Anglo-Saxon England. Norman Art and Architecture Explore the British History Timeline from the Neolithic to the present day World War One Centenary Find out more about how the BBC is covering the World War One Centenary , and see the latest programmes and online content Surviving the trenches Discover more about castles, feasting and life in Norman Britain with fun activities. BBC iD BBC © 2014 The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more. This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled.

While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so. The Norman Conquest The Norman Conquest The Aftermath of Conquest Edward the Confessor was the son of a Norman mother and had brought many of his Norman friends to England. But the impact of William's conquest was immensely greater. William replaced much of the English aristocracy with his own Norman followers; both his and their successors long regarded their Continental interests as just as important as their English possessions. Initially William's hold on England was far from secure. He faced rebellions in Kent in 1067-8, at Exeter in 1068, and - the most serious - in the North of England in 1068. The revolt was centered on Northumbria, led by Edgar the ï¿½theling (Atheling) and supported by the Danish fleet and Malcolm III, King of the Scots. William sent Robert de Comines to suppress the rebellion, but he and his forces were defeated in January 1069, and the rebels captured York.

William counterattacked and devastated much of Northern England. One of William the Conqueror's earliest English coins One of those who resisted William the Conqueror was a Lincolnshire thegn called Hereward the Wake, who later became a legendary folk hero. He and Earl Morcar of Northumbria tried to defend the region around Ely in 1070-1071. After their defeat, Hereward organized a kind of guerilla resistance in the region, the memory of which survived in a later fictionalized, romantic account. In 1070, William made peace with Swein of Denmark and in 1071-2 invaded Scotland and forced Malcolm III to submit, and to expel Edgar the ï¿½theling who had been given refuge there. [Malcolm III married Margaret (1045-93) who was Edgar the ï¿½theling's sister. One of their children was Matilda of Scotland (1079-1118) who married Henry I of England. It is because of these unions that the present royal family of England traces its descent all the way back to the Anglo-Saxon kings of England].

After 1072 William spent much time in France. Normandy was initially allied with Flanders, but intermittently at war with first Henry (1031-60), then Philip of France (1060-1108) and with Geoffrey I Martel and Fulk "le Rechin" ("the rude") of Anjou. In fact, William died during military operations in France in 1087 - probably from stomach injuries caused when his horse shied, throwing him violently against the pommel of the saddle. The impact of the Norman Conquest 1066 is probably the most remembered date in English history - recognized by people who know virtually nothing else about Britain or history. But some have questioned whether it should really be regarded as such a significant and revolutionary event. The answer revolves especially around three issues: Whether the Norman Conquest fundamentally altered social, legal and political relations by introducing a new "feudal system"? Knight's servic e A tenant by knight's service was obliged to equip and support one fully-armed horseman for forty days of royal service each year.

This obligation was incumbent on each fief; if a tenant held (say) fifty fiefs, then fifty knights were required. By the mid 12th Century, land held in knight's service supplied the king with approximately 6,500 knights. [In practice, the king often accepted a cash payment (scutage) in lieu of the knights' attendance - this was then spent on hiring mercenaries]. When the tenant received or inherited his land he had to pay a relief or fine. (Failure to pay gave the lord the right to take back the land.) Additionally, tenants-in-chief who inherited were subject to primer seisin - the right of the king to a year's profits of the inherited land. "If any earl, baron, or other person that holds lands directly of the Crown, for military service, shall die, and at his death his heir shall be of full age and owe a relief, the heir shall have his inheritance on payment of the ancient scale of relief. That is to say, the heir or heirs of an earl shall pay ï¿½100 for the entire earl's barony, the heir or heirs of a knight 100s.

at most for the entire knight's fee, and any man that owes less shall pay less, in accordance with the ancient usage of fees". (Magna Carta 1215) If a vassal's lord was captured, an aid was liable from the tenant to help with the costs of ransom. [A ransom of 100,000 marks of silver was paid for the release of Richard I in 1194; he had been captured, and was held by the German Emperor, 1193-94]. If the tenant's heir was still a child (under twenty-one in the case of a boy, under fourteen in the case of a girl), the lord could administer the land until the ward came of age. The lord could also arrange the ward's marriage. Rights of wardship and marriage were valuable, and not only for financial reasons. Disposing of a wealthy heiress and control of extensive estates allowed a lord to secure cooperative relationships and family bonds amongst his own circle of supporters. If a tenant died without heirs his land escheated (returned) to his lord. This right, too, was valuable as mortality amongst noble families was high.

Socage & villeinage Lower down the social scale, socage tenure (sometimes known as free socage) was common. The tenant paid a money rent (sometimes rendering additional limited labor services), and other fines incidental on events such as his daughter's marriage or the knighting of his son. Socage tenure became gradually more common in Medieval England. Villeins made up the lowest rank of tenants. A villein was tied to the land, obliged to perform extensive labor services for his lord, and could not obtain any legal redress against his lord. Theoretically, a villein was a mere chattel, who could be imprisoned at will and whose possessions were not his own but his lord's. A villein could not marry or enter the church without his lord's permission. Even a villein could not be killed or maimed, and custom soon began to set limits to the amount of labor a lord could require. At the time of Domesday Book, villeins made up a majority of Englishmen, but became rarer in the later Middle Ages.

The rulers of Norman England The Norman Conquest not only changed the legal and social structure of England, but also led to an almost total change in the people holding land and therefore power. William I left only two major English landowners (Thurkill of Arden and Colswein of Lincoln) in possession of their estates, giving the rest to his Norman and other followers. Only three English-born bishops remained in authority under William I - one was an old man who died in 1075; another had been educated on the Continent. Whole areas of England were given to William's supporters: Kent to his half-brother, Odo of Bayeux; Hereford to William Fitz-Osborne; Cornwall to another half-brother, Robert of Mortain. By the end of William's reign, the royal family owned about 20% of English land, the top ten nobles 25%; and the church another 25%. It is more difficult to say how much land was taken by foreigners lower down the social scale - at the time of the Conquest, 29% of Winchester property-holders had foreign names; by 1100, the figure was 62%.

Other changes showed that native Englishmen were being edged from power. Latin became the official language of government after the Northern rebellions against William's rule. Both William and his barons were deeply concerned about developments on the Continent, especially France. England's policies were no longer directed by domestic concerns, and Scandinavia ceased to be the main area of foreign interest. The History Guy: Norman Invasion and Conquest of England Norman Conquest of England The Bayeaux Tapestry, depicting the Norman Invasion of England Norman Conquest of Englandï¿½(Sept. 28, 1066-1072): William, the Duke of Normandy, invaded England in the autumn of 1066, beginning a campaign of conquest leading to his crowning as the King of England and the establishment of Norman rule over England. The story of The Conquest, as it is known in England, began with the death of the old king of England, Edward the Confessor. King Edward had no sons to inherit his throne, a four-way conflict developed over who would become the next King of England. The English Witanagemot, the traditional council of nobles, chose Harold Godwinson as the new king.

The other claimants included; King Harold's half-brother, Tostig Godwinson, Harald Hardrada, the King of Norway, and William, Duke of Normandy, a region in northwest France. Both Tostig and Harald Hardrada invaded England to unseat King Harold, but both attacks failed. The third invasion, by William of Normandy, proved successful. William landed his invasion force of nearly 7,000 Normans and assorted European mercenaries on Sept. 28, 1066 at Pevensey. Following this landing, he built a base near Hastings. Harold marched toward Hastings after defeating and killing Harald Hardrada and Tostig at Stamford Bridge, a victory which left his army tired and weakened. On Oct. 14, 1066, the Anglo-Saxon army of England battled the invading Normans. The battle ended with Haroald dead and William of Normandy as the sole living claimant to the throne. William then marched his forces northward toward London, defeating the English at Southwark.

Journeying toward the capital city, William received the surrender and submission of several important Anglo-Saxon nobles, and was crowned as King William (the First) on December 25, 1066. This ended the first phase of the Norman Conquest of England. William still had to consolidate his power, and over the next several years, he and his Norman followers defeated several Anglo-Saxon rebellions, including an invasion by Harold Godwinson's surviving sons. The Anglo-Saxon rebel, Hereford the Wake, was defeated at the Battle of Ely Isle in 1070, and a final campaign in 1072 finally brought northern England under William's control. The Norman Conquest is significant for several reasons. William was the new King of England, but he was also still the Duke of Normandy in France, which put him and his successors in the awkward position of ruling one counrty, while still serving as a vassal (underling) of another country's ruler, in this case, the King of France. This dilemma set up England and France for hundreds of years worth of warfare as the ruling families of each kingdom battled for control of both countries.

(See the History Guy page on the Anglo-French Wars ). Also, The Conquest created an ongoing link between the island of Great Britain (which includes England, Scotland, and Wales) with the European Continent through the connection of England and French Normandy. This connection can be seen in the development of English culture, language, history, and economics. The Norman Conquest of England - William the Conqueror - Quatr.us The Norman Conquest of England - William the Conqueror MEDIEVAL EUROPE William's castle at Caen in Normany December 2016 - Around 1000 AD , some of the Vikings who had been raiding France got permission from the French king to settle down and live in France instead. They were supposed to help protect France against other Vikings (as the Visigoths had done before). As part of the deal, these Vikings also converted from their German gods to Catholicism . These settlers were called the Normans (which is short for North-Men, because they came from the North). The part of France where they lived is called Normandy, the land of the North-Men, even today.

Animated version of the Bayeux tapestry showing the invasion of England After a while, though, the children and grandchildren of these Vikings were tired of just living in Normandy and farming , and wanted some adventure and a chance to get rich. In 1066 AD , one of these men, William, decided to attack England and try to conquer it from the Anglo-Saxons . Williams's mother had not been married to his father when he was born, but William still inherited his father's property and his title of Duke of Normandy. People called him William the Bastard (that means that his parents were not married). He wanted to do something big and adventurous, and when the King of England died without leaving a son, William thought he saw a chance to take over England. "Harold Rex interfectus est" - King Harold is killed (Bayeux Tapestry, 1070s AD) image of a battle ) William thought if he conquered England he might get rich. A lot of his friends agreed with him. So they sailed across the English Channel in a lot of small boats , and when they got there they did beat the Anglo-Saxons in the Battle of Hastings.

The Anglo-Saxon king, Harold, got shot in the eye with an arrow and died. William (now people called him William the Conqueror) became the new king of England. He was crowned in Westminster Abbey . He built the Tower of London to live in, to keep himself and his family safe. William and all his friends spoke French, but the English people spoke Saxon. So for a long time rich people in England spoke French, and poor people spoke Saxon or English. Some of the Anglo-Saxons seem to have left England about 1074 and sailed away to the Black Sea , where they started their own country of New England with their own city of New London. Many of them fought in the bodyguard of the Byzantine emperor Alexius . But the Normans never really settled down to just stay at home in England either. They also fought as mercenaries for the Byzantine kings and the Lombards in Italy, they invaded Greece (where they probably fought the New England Saxons ), and by 1096 they were off in Jerusalem fighting the First Crusade . Invasion of England, 1066 Invasion of England, 1066.

Invasion of England, 1066 The Battle of Hastings King Edward of England (called "The Confessor" because of his construction of Westminster Abbey) died on January 5, 1066, after a reign of 23 years. Leaving no heirs, Edward's passing ignited a three-way rivalry for the crown that culminated in the Battle of Hastings and the destruction of the Anglo-Saxon rule of England. Harold Godwinson From the Bayeux Tapestey The leading pretender was Harold Godwinson, the second most powerful man in England and an advisor to Edward. Harold and Edward became brothers-in-law when the king married Harold's sister. Harold's powerful position, his relationship to Edward and his esteem among his peers made him a logical successor to the throne. His claim was strengthened when the dying Edward supposedly uttered "Into Harold's hands I commit my Kingdom." With this kingly endorsement, the Witan (the council of royal advisors) unanimously selected Harold as King. His coronation took place the same day as Edward's burial. With the placing of the crown on his head, Harold's troubles began.

Across the English Channel, William, Duke of Normandy, also laid claim to the English throne. William justified his claim through his blood relationship with Edward (they were distant cousins) and by stating that some years earlier, Edward had designated him as his successor. To compound the issue, William asserted that the message in which Edward anointed him as the next King of England had been carried to him in 1064 by none other than Harold himself. In addition, (according to William) Harold had sworn on the relics of a martyred saint that he would support William's right to the throne. From William's perspective, when Harold donned the Crown he not only defied the wishes of Edward but had violated a sacred oath. He immediately prepared to invade England and destroy the upstart Harold. Harold's violation of his sacred oath enabled William to secure the support of the Pope who promptly excommunicated Harold, consigning him and his supporters to an eternity in Hell. The third rival for the throne was Harald Hardrada, King of Norway. His justification was even more tenuous than William's. Hardrada ruled Norway jointly with his nephew Mangus until 1047 when Mangus conveniently died.

Earlier (1042), Mangus had cut a deal with Harthacut the Danish ruler of England. Since neither ruler had a male heir, both promised their kingdom to the other in the event of his death. Harthacut died but Mangus was unable to follow up on his claim to the English throne because he was too busy battling for the rule of Denmark. Edward became the Anglo-Saxon ruler of England. Now with Mangus and Edward dead, Hardrada asserted that he, as Mangus's heir, was the rightful ruler of England. When he heard of Harold's coronation, Hardrada immediately prepared to invade England and crush the upstart. The Invasions of England, 1066 Hardrada of Norway struck first. In mid September, Hardrada's invasion force landed on the Northern English coast, sacked a few coastal villages and headed towards the city of York. Hardrada was joined in his effort by Tostig, King Harold's nere-do-well brother. The Viking army overwhelmed an English force blocking the York road and captured the city. In London, news of the invasion sent King Harold hurriedly north at the head of his army picking up reinforcements along the way.

The speed of Harold's forced march allowed him to surprise Hardrada's army on September 25, as it camped at Stamford Bridge outside York. A fierce battle followed. Hand to hand combat ebbed and flowed across the bridge. Finally the Norsemen's line broke and the real slaughter began. Hardrada fell and then the King's brother, Tostig. What remained of the Viking army fled to their ships. So devastating was the Viking defeat that only 24 of the invasion force's original 240 ships made the trip back home. Resting after his victory, Harold received word of William's landing near Hastings. Construction of the Norman invasion fleet had been completed in July and all was ready for the Channel crossing. Unfortunately, William's ships could not penetrate an uncooperative north wind and for six weeks he languished on the Norman shore. Finally, on September 27, after parading the relics of St. Valery at the water's edge, the winds shifted to the south and the fleet set sail. The Normans made landfall on the English coast near Pevensey and marched to Hastings. Harold rushed his army south and planted his battle standards atop a knoll some five miles from Hastings.

During the early morning of the next day, October 14, Harold's army watched as a long column of Norman warriors marched to the base of the hill and formed a battle line. Separated by a few hundred yards, the lines of the two armies traded taunts and insults. At a signal, the Norman archers took their position at the front of the line. The English at the top of the hill responded by raising their shields above their heads forming a shield-wall to protect them from the rain of arrows. The battle was joined. The English fought defensively while the Normans infantry and cavalry repeatedly charged their shield-wall. As the combat slogged on for the better part of the day, the battle's outcome was in question. Finally, as evening approached, the English line gave way and the Normans rushed their enemy with a vengeance. King Harold fell as did the majority of the Saxon aristocracy. William's victory was complete. On Christmas day 1066, William was crowned King of England in Westminster Abbey. The Bayeux Tapestry The Bayeux Tapestry (actually an embroidery measuring over 230 feet long and 20 inches wide) describes the Norman invasion of England and the events that led up to it.

It is believed that the Tapestry was commissioned by Bishop Odo, bishop of Bayeux and the half-brother of William the Conqueror. The Tapestry contains hundreds of images divided into scenes each describing a particular event. The scenes are joined into a linear sequence allowing the viewer to "read" the entire story starting with the first scene and progressing to the last. The Tapestry would probably have been displayed in a church for public view. History is written by the victors and the Tapestry is above all a Norman document. In a time when the vast majority of the population was illiterate, the Tapestry's images were designed to tell the story of the conquest of England from the Norman perspective. It focuses on the story of William, making no mention of Hardrada of Norway nor of Harold's victory at Stamford Bridge. The following are some excerpts taken from this extraordinary document. King Edward sends Harold on a Mission King Edward sends Harold Norman Conquest facts, information, pictures | Encyclopedia.com articles about Norman Conquest The Oxford Companion to British History © The Oxford Companion to British History 2002, originally published by Oxford University Press 2002. Norman Conquest .

William the Conqueror's victory at the battle of Hastings in October 1066 was followed by six years of campaigning, which irrevocably established the new king's grip on England . In the succeeding decades, the Norman kings and their followers expanded their power into Wales and Lowland Scotland . The sequence of events which led up to William's victory is uncertain, because of the existence of accounts which are contradictory and irreconcilable. It is undeniable that at some point, probably in the year 1051, an arrangement was made which William believed entitled him to claim the English succession as Edward the Confessor's legitimate heir. From William's point of view, it was irrelevant that Edward had made a similar promise on his death-bed to Harold Godwineson , since Harold had visited Normandy in 1064 or 1065 as Edward's ambassador and sworn an oath to accept William's succession. However, since this story is told exclusively in Norman sources and since later English sources cast doubt on both the purpose and the nature of the visit, it may not be the whole truth. The massive support which Harold enjoyed in 1066 shows that the English regarded him as a popular and rightly chosen king.

William's belief in the legitimacy of his kingship, which was buttressed by the support which the papacy gave in and after 1066, conditioned many of the developments which followed the battle of Hastings; not only was William's kingship legal, but so also was the settlement of thousands of Normans , Flemings, Bretons, and other Frenchmen which he sanctioned. A massive take-over of English land and resources accomplished within a framework of notional legality was largely complete by 1086, the year when Domesday Book was made. On a longer-term perspective, it is arguable that the Conquest was the last in a series of conquests of lowland Britain and itself had relatively little impact on a broader evolutionary process of economy, society, landscape, and language. The newcomers were a small military élite who were gradually assimilated into Britain and whose connections with the continent were severed with the loss of Normandy in 1204. On the other hand, it is not unreasonable to think of the Norman Conquest as a decisive shift within this broader process; the England and the Britain which emerged from the Norman military take-over were surely significantly different from the one which would have developed if Harold had won.

There can be no doubt that William and his successors governed through mechanisms which were essentially those of the late Old English kingdom. The new aristocracy claimed to exercise the same rights and powers over their peasants as their English predecessors had done. Not everyone, however, would accept this appearance of continuity at face value. William I, William II, and Henry I all intervened with increasing frequency in the shires; it is far from certain that Harold and his successors would have made the same use of the existing structures. At a local level, many estates were reorganized, apparently in the short term depressing the fortunes of the peasantry. It was also the case that the Conquest's creation of the cross-channel Anglo-Norman realm sucked England into the feuds between the territorial rulers of northern France and can be linked over centuries to the outbreak of the Hundred Years War . The new connection with France also established cultural connections which ensured that England's place in the 12th-cent. renaissance was more closely linked to developments in France than it would otherwise have been.

The Conquest extracted England from the Scandinavian political orbit which had brought about the earlier conquest by Sweyn Forkbeard and Cnut and Harold Hardrada's invasion, defeated in 1066 by Harold Godwineson at the battle of Stamford Bridge . It is doubtful whether Wales, Scotland, and—ultimately—Ireland would have been as intensively colonized from England but for the presence there of a new aggressive aristocracy. David Richard Bates Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography. MLA The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright The Columbia University Press Norman Conquest, period in English history following the defeat (1066) of King Harold of England by William, duke of Normandy, who became William I of England. The conquest was formerly thought to have brought about broad changes in all phases of English life. More recently historians have stressed the continuity of English law, institutions, and customs, but the subject remains one of controversy. The initial military conquest of England was quick and brutal.

The members of the Anglo-Saxon upper class who were not killed in the battle of Hastings were almost all involved in the rebellion from 1068 to 1070 and were either killed or deprived of their lands. Thus a Norman aristocracy was superimposed on the English, and the new elite brought with it Norman feudal customs (see feudalism ), which were reinforced by the need for cohesion and mutual military support among the fairly small group of conquerors. Thus the rebellions among the Norman barons were minor and short-lived, the interests of stability being paramount. To consolidate his position William used the existing Anglo-Saxon administrative system, which functioned as part of a centralized monarchical tradition. It was this tradition, as adapted by the Normans, that gave English feudalism its uniquely cohesive nature. There was little change in the administrative and judicial systems during the Norman period (usually defined as ending with the accession of the Plantagenet Henry II in 1154) and later developments were not in the nature of Norman superimpositions.

William I's archbishop of Canterbury, Lanfranc , established a separate system of canon law courts, effectively asserted the supremacy of his archdiocese, and brought the English church into closer contact with developments in Europe, particularly with the reforms of Pope Gregory VII. The Norman kings, however, successfully resisted papal encroachment on their control over episcopal appointments. The period saw many churches and castles built, the latter chiefly on the south and east coasts and on the Welsh and Scottish borders (see Norman architecture ). Norman French became the language of the court and upper classes, and of literature, and had great effect on the development of the English language . See D. J. A. Matthew, The Norman Conquest (1966); D. C. Douglas, The Norman Achievement, 1050–1100 (1969); F. M. Stenton, The First Century of English Feudalism, 1066–1166 (2d ed. 1961) and Anglo-Saxon England (3d ed. 1971); J.

LePatourel, Feudal Empires: Norman and Plantagenet (1984). Cite this article

Question: What did the Normans conquer in 1066?
Answer: England