Anglo-Saxon & Norman England Flashcards
What was the Social System?
King - Most powerful person in the country, made laws & could raise an army
Earls - They owned earldoms and competed for rewards from the King, collected taxes
Thegns - Local lords, controlling land in their area, lived in the local manor house
Peasants - farmers who worked for their local lord
Slaves - people at the bottom of society, seen as property
The Witan
- A council of advisers to the king
- Made up of important people like earls and archbishops
- Discussed threats and disputes
- Chose the new king
Earls
-Most important after the king
-They collected taxes
-In charge of justice and legal punishments in their earldom
-Great military power
Shire reeves
-Carried out the king’s instructions in each shire
-They collected fines, enforced the law
-Provided men for the fyrd
-Collected geld tax
Geld tax
Tax on land originally to pay off the Vikings
Blood feuds
Grudges between families which lasted generations
Blood feuds
Grudges between families which lasted generations
The Wergild system
The victims family received compensation from the murderer’s family
Burh
Fortified towns
1066 & the Rival Claimants for the throne
Harold Godwinson - Appointed by Edward on his deathbed, family connection - STRONG (support by witnesses)
William, Duke of Normandy - An agreement made with King Edward & confirmed during Harold’s embassy 1064 - STRONG (Backed by the Pope)
Harald Hardrada - inherited claim from previous Viking kings - WEAK (Exiled Tostig allied with him for support)
Edgar Aethling - Edward’s nephew and heir - WEAK (too young)
Harold’s coronation and Reign
- Harold was crowned quickly as the Witan feared an attack by William
- Challenged from powerful earls
- Tostig was looking for allies in Europe
- William was reportedly being prepared to invade
Battle of Gate Fulford (1st)
-Harald Hardrada & Tostig vs Morcar & Edwin
- Edwin (Earl of Mercia)
- Morcar (Earl of Northumbria)
- Victory for Tostig & Harald Hardrada
- Their mistake was fighting just outside York, rather than within the city walls
The Battle of Stamford Bridge (second)
- Harold heard about the invasion and marched north
- He surprised Hardrada & Tostig at Stamford Bridge
- Both of them were killed
- Harold won because:
Vikings had left their armour on their ships
Hardrada & Tostig had fought at Gate Fulford 5 days before
Harold’s men broke the Viking shield wall
The Battle of Hastings (Third)
- After leaving York, Harold stopped in London for around 5 days to gather troops
- He then continued south and met William
- Harold’s strong shield broke down
- Harold Godwinson and his brothers Gyrth & Leofwine held their position at the top of the hill
- Eventually they were killed
Why did William Win?
William’s tactics and leadership:
- Cavalry to break up the shield wall
- pretending to retreat
- Stole food and destroyed houses
Harold’s leadership and bad luck:
- His army had been out since May
- He rushed south to fight William
- His men were poorly disciplined
- Harold’s men were tired after fighting up north
The submission of the Earls 1066
- The submitted to William, swore an oat to obey him
- William was crowned king on Christmas Day
- William rewarded the anglo-saxons by having them keep their Earldoms
- William rewarded his own followers by promising them land and money
Marcher earldoms
- Smaller which made them easier to control
- Had special rights that the king only had (creating towns & establishing churches)
- Had almost full control of the legal system
- Did not have to pay tax
- Free to build castles
Building castles
- Built in strategic places
Gatehouse - building that controlled access to the castle
Palisade - strong wooden fence surrounding the castle
Keep - strong wooden tower on top of the motte
Difference between Burhs & Castles
- Burhs were public, castles were private
- castles were smaller & easier to defend
- castles were much harder to burn down as they were protected by earthworks
- Castles were designed to control people, burhs were meant to protect people
Reasons for the revolt of Edwin & Morcar
- William had given parts of Morcar’s earldom to other people
- William broke his promise that Edwin could marry his daughter
- William’s heavy geld tax was hated
- Castles were hated (symbol of Norman control)
- Odo & William Fitzobern, had seized land illegally
Then Anglo-Danish attack on York (1069)
- Edgar joined forces with a fleet sent by King Sweyn of Denmark
- They attacked York, destroying castles and killed around 300 Normans
- William paid the Danes a large amount of money to leave
- He then began the Harrying of the North
The Harrying of the North (1069-70)
- Around 100k people died
- People starved or froze to death
- People resorted to cannibalism or slavery
- Reducing the threat of future Danish invasion
- Area would be wasted for years to come
The Revolt of the Earls 1075
- This time Normans rebelled against William
- Ralph de Gael, loss of power and wealth
- Roger de Breteuil, loss of authority and land
- Waltheof, unclear
The defeat of the revolt
- Ralph escaped to Brittany
- Roger was imprisoned for life (like Morcar)
- Waltheof thought he would be forgiven but he was executed
