8.6 The effect of the Conquest on the English Church

Question 1

What religion did everyone follow?

Answer 1

Catholic Christianity

Question 2

What roles do the Catholic Church play in society?

Answer 2

• Religion (allow people to understand God’s law and words)
• Law (own courts and laws without the kings involvement)
• Politics (advise the King, Bishop Odo even a relative, international and has global relations)

Question 3

Education and the Church?

Answer 3

• Education important, every literate person is a churchmen

- Most scribes work for the church

Question 4

Role of scribes?

Answer 4

Copy books by hand, no printing press

Question 5

Economic role of the church?

Answer 5

• own 20% land
• everybody pays 10% of everything they own to the church- tithe
• pilgrimage is another way they earn income

Question 6

How does the church spend their income?

Answer 6

Cathedral, abbey, monastery building

Creates employment and therefore is a source of income

Question 7

Role of the Church in village life

Answer 7

• centre of Community cohesion
• join village society together
• Everybody is together during Sundays, Holidays, Weddings, Funerals, Christenings
• Village priest source of knowledge for everyone in church and knows everyone

Question 8

What is the role of pilgrimages in Norman society?

Answer 8

Generate income, power and influence

Question 9

How does the Church play a role in the battle of Hastings 1066?

Answer 9

William through his religious advisor Lanfranc persuaded the Church to provide him supports that the church is corrupt in England and the current King broke paths on holy relics.

William had been given a Papal banner by Pope Alexander Il to show his
support for the Norman conquest of England.

Question 10

How was the church corrupt in Anglo-Saxon England?

Answer 10

• Pluralism
• Simony
• Nepotism
• Breaking oath of celibacy

Question 11

Define Pluralism

Answer 11

Holding more than one high office in the church

Question 12

Define Simony

Answer 12

Selling Church positions

Question 13

Define Nepotism

Answer 13

Giving high offices to the church to family members

Bishop Odo

Question 14

Define oath of celibacy

Answer 14

Oath by churchmen about remaining pure and abstaining from sex and marriage

Question 15

Give an example of corruption in the Church.

Answer 15

Archbishop of Canterbury Stigand was guilty of pluralism

Question 16

How did Lanfranc want to change the Church?

Answer 16

Wanted to make them more in line with the rulings of Pope Gregory

Question 17

How did Lanfranc change the church?

Answer 17

• Replaces all the English bishops with Norman bishops
• Made a change to architecture making the building a more grandiose Romanesque style
• organised the churches into a series of diocese governed by an Archbishop, making it similar to how the church is organised in Rome
• Involving the church with law through the creation of church courts and synods (church councils)

-He introduced new positions into the Church hierarchy. These included
archdeacons (who served bishops) and deans. He also officially ended
marriage amongst the clergy.

However the local priests and lower church positions do not change

Question 18

Who is the pope when William the Conqueror is on the throne?

Answer 18

Pope Alexander II 1061-1073

Pope Gregory VII 1074-85

Pope Victor III 1086-1087

Question 19

Who is the pope when William Rufus is on the throne?

Answer 19

Pope Urban II 1088-1099

Question 20

Who is the pope when Henry I is on the throne?

Answer 20

Pope Paschal II 1100-1118

Question 21

Which Archbishop did Lanfranc conflict with and why? How was this solved?

Answer 21

He came into conflict with Thomas, Archbishop of York. Both wanted to
show the primacy of their position (that it was the most important). Eventually, Thomas submitted to Lanfranc, but only after King William and
the Pope got involved.

Question 22

How did the parish church change under Norman rule?

Answer 22

The role of the parish (local) church also increased. The number of parish
churches doubled from 1070 to 1170.

Question 23

What was the only Anglo-Saxon cathedral which remained?

Answer 23

Westminster Abbey

Question 24

Give an example of a Norman cathedral?

Answer 24

Durham cathedral

Question 25

What was the ulterior purpose of building Norman cathedrals?

Answer 25

These churches were a display of Norman power and a sign that God favoured the Normans.

Question 26

What pope did William conflict with?

Answer 26

However, William came into conflict with Gregory VIl who became Pope in 1073. William refused to swear loyalty to Gregory.

Question 27

Who does Pope Gregory VII come into conflict with after death of Lanfranc, due to the person stealing the churches money?

Answer 27

William Rufus

Question 28

Which Archbishop openly criticised William Rufus in 1094?

Answer 28

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Anselm, openly criticised William Rufus for not being religious enough.

Question 29

How did William Rufus interfere with the Churches legal powers?

Answer 29

William put the Bishop of Durham, William of St Calais, on trial in 1088 because he did not provide troops to stop a rebellion. Rufus refused to let St Calais be tried by a Church court.

Question 30

What corruption reappeared to churches under William Rufus? Provide an example.

Answer 30

Simony reappeared. Ranulf Flambard paid £1000 to be made Bishop of Durham.

Question 31

What did the Investiture Controversy have to do with relations between king and pope? How was it solved?

Answer 31

The Investiture Controversy was an argument about who had more power - the king or the pope. It was a problem throughout Europe, not just in England.

❖ Kings expected to ‘invest’ bishops with the emblems of their office, and to receive homage from them.

❖ This was because bishops held land from the king, as tenants-in-chief.

❖ The Church opposed this, because it did not like the idea of churchmen paying homage to a secular ruler.

❖ If a tenant-in-chief did not perform homage to the king, however, this would damage the king’s authority in his own kingdom.

This led to the King of France being exiled. However was solved through the Concordat of London agreed that bishops would be given their investiture by the Pope, but would swear homage to the King.