Anglo Saxon and Norman England: 2.1 Flashcards
Establishing control
1
Q
What happened after the Battle of Hastings ?
A
- William and his army remained in Hastings for a while to see if any English nobles would meet him and submit to him
[] none did, and began his March on London on the 15th of October - Witan hastily elected Edgar Aethling to be the new king
[] supported by Stigand (Archbishop of Canterbury) as well as Edwin and Morcar - sent some troops ahead of him and the main Norman army to capture the royal treasury at Winchester
[] thus, William could reward his followers, but Edgar Aethling couldn’t - during March on London, avoided going directly to London as he knew that London had many fortifications and would likely gather fyrds from surrounding areas
[] route = Dover, Canterbury, Berkhamstead, London
[] devastated and pillaged villages and towns as they went, and eventually the Anglo-Saxons began to submit to him out of fear of destruction like the others - Edgar Aethling, Earldred, Edwin and Morcar all met William at Berkhamstead and submitted to him, pledging loyalty
[] swore oath to William
[] Edgar offered him the crown
[] William promised to be a merciful king to them (shows that William greatly rewarded loyalty)
2
Q
Why did Edwin, Morcar, Earldred and Edgar Aethling submit to William at Berkhamstead, and why might they not have ?
A
- reasons for:
[] William had seized Winchester, meaning Edgar had no way of rewarding his followers whilst William could
[] William’s route for the March on London would cut London off from any reinforcements and thus weaken chances of success for the Anglo-Saxons if they decided to fight
[] all the best Anglo-Saxon warriors had died in the Battle of Hastings
[] people began to view William’s success thus far as God’s punishment to England for being sinful
[] William’s destruction in the March on London meant that the majority of the country rushed to submit to him
[] Edgar was a weak king with little experience and without widespread support - reasons against:
[] Edgar was already viewed as a legitimate king by the English, whilst William wasn’t
[] William’s claim to the throne was irrelevant now that the Witan had already chosen a new king
[] London was heavily fortified and William’s army had been weakened by battle and illness at this point
[] Edwin and Morcar, earls of Mercia and Northumbria, still held the second and third highest populations in the country after Wessex and easily outnumbered William’s army at this point
3
Q
How did William reward his followers after the Battle of Hastings ?
A
- Anglo-Saxon followers:
[] allowed them to keep their lands and some power, though often reduced it
[] some given important roles
[] told Edwin he could marry his daughter (didn’t hold up to this promise) - European mercenaries:
[] gave money/treasure from Winchester
[] paid others using heavy geld taxes on England - Catholic clergy:
[] sent gifts to the Pope and important (arch)bishops - Norman followers:
[] gave lands in England
[] gave rewards from Winchester
[] gave high positions in Church, government and William’s royal court
[] gave Odo, William FitzOsbern and Roger de Montgomery the Godwinsons’ previous lands (Odo was given the most)
4
Q
Where were the Marcher earldoms ?
A
- the Welsh border
[] Chester
[] Hereford
[] Shrewsbury
5
Q
Why were the Marcher earldoms made ?
A
to prevent from Welsh invasion, especially as Anglo-Saxon rebels may gain support there then invade
6
Q
Describe the key features of the Marcher earldoms and their earls’ powers
A
- were smaller than normal earldoms
[] easier to control
[] easier to stamp out any rebellion
[] made sure that the Marcher earls still had less power than William - had full legal powers and ran shire courts with the help of shire reeves THAT WORKED FOR THE EARLS AND NOT WILLIAM
[] meant that the earls could enact justice and punishment without having to relay everything to William first
[] this helped with quick-decision making to stamp out resistance
[] HOWEVER, were not allowed to try people for crimes against the king; this had to be done formally - had the power to build castles without William’s permission
[] essential for establishing control
[] quicker to stamp out resistance without relaying messages back and forth first
[] castles were essential for sending attacks into Wales if necessary as well, so good for controlling the borders as well as the people within the earldoms - earls had the power to construct and declare new burhs (boroughs), churches and markets
[] helped to attract Norman settlers to colonise the area ad weaken the chance of Anglo-Saxon organised rebellion - Marcher earldoms were exempt from taxation
[] reward for the Marcher earls for loyalty
[] gave incentive to the Marcher earls to spend this extra money on new defences and improvements to the earldoms
7
Q
Describe the key features of Norman motte and bailey castles
A
- motte (mound of earth)
[] fireproof since made of soil (many rebels used arson at the time) - sometimes would even cover with wet animal hide to fireproof further
[] good vantage point to see oncoming armies, rebels etc. - bailey (enclosure)
[] shelter for the lord and his garrison + their horses
[] stables and barracks for people and livestock that lived there during attacks - palisade wall
[] big wooden stakes
[] sometimes with earth packed between a double fence - had moats/ditches to protect the palisade
- gatehouse to control access to the castle
- built 32 km away from one another in particularly rebellious areas like the north
[] 32 km is how far the Norman horses + foot soldiers could travel in a day
[] good for quick response to rebellion and thus control - could be constructed within around 9 months (very quick) with the use of peasant labour
- often had to clear away Anglo-Saxon houses/villages to make way for these
[] very unpopular with locals
[] demonstrated the Norman control - were a symbol of Norman control and intimidated any possible rebels
8
Q
Why did William build castles ?
A
- to establish control over the Anglo-Saxons in rebellious areas
[] thus built in strategic locations - as a symbol of the Norman reign in England
- used as bases by the lords in the area for in/outcoming attacks
9
Q
What were the differences between Anglo-Saxon burhs and Norman castles ?
A
- burhs were built for public use, whilst castles were mostly private (for the lord’s use only)
- burhs were built for the Anglo-Saxon community, whilst castles were used to oppress them
- burhs and castles both had fortifications, but castles were also suited to attack as well as defence
- burhs were much bigger than castles
- burhs took longer to build than castles
- burhs were more focused on commerce and trade whilst castles were for domination or shelter
