3.22 Changes in Everyday Life Flashcards
How did land change for peasants?
Although the nationality of many of their landlords changed, life for peasants did not change significantly in terms of their relationship with the land.
What were William’s initial actions in terms of land changing for Norman aristocracies?
At first, William tried to retain as many Anglo-Saxon landowners as he could. However, many took part in rebellions and had to be replaced.
How did William change the land distribution - Norman aristocracy? (3)
- Before the Conquest, a few earls owned vast areas of land.
- After the Conquest, King William took possession of all of the land.
- He gave some to the Church, kept some for himself, and divided the rest between mainly Norman earls.
What did William’s redistribution of land result in? (2)
- As a result, smaller earldoms and a greater number of earls made it harder for a significant group to set themselves up to oppose the king.
- Most of their time and energy was spent travelling between the areas they were in charge of, checking that things were running smoothly.
What new social class was introduced?
A new social class was introduced in the form of knights, who could also be landlords.
How did William change the economic systems?
King William was impressed by the Anglo-Saxon financial system, so he retained it and introduced the Exchequer (where the king’s money was kept) and minting system (the creation of coins) to Normandy.
What new laws did William introduce for Norman aristocracy?
The Normans introduced trial by jury and trial by combat, which only the Norman aristocracy had the right to demand.
What new laws did William introduce that impacted peasants? (4)
- Previously, peasants had hunted to supplement their
diets, particularly in the winter and early spring when food supplies were running low. - New forest laws meant that peasants faced fines, imprisonment or even death if they hunted in the forest.
- Murdrum fines also had a big impact on peasant life, the whole area could be fined if a Norman was killed.
- As a result, peasants were less likely to support rebellions.
How did changes in language impact Norman aristocracy? (4)
- As the vast majority of earls were Norman, the language of the new English aristocracy became French rather than English.
- Norman French became the language used at court, in law and for government.
- However, the language of religion was still Latin.
- As time went on, the Norman French and Anglo-Saxon languages started to merge to create the ‘Anglo Norman’ language.
How did changes in language impact peasants? (2)
- Peasants continued to speak the English they were used to for some time after the Conquest.
- However, Norman words crept into everyday use; for example, veal, arrow, bow, armour, battle, castle, baron, knight and earl.
What did William to in terms of change - summary?
He took positive aspects from both systems to make sure that the governments of England and Normandy were successful, efficient, profitable and, most importantly, secure.
