Norman England

Question 1

The death of Edward the Confessor
5 January 1066

Answer 1

Rules of inheritance:
Inheritance as the son of the previous king (not just the eldest son).
‘Post obitum’ (after death) – a nomination or bequest to become King.
Novissima verba – the previous King named his heir on his deathbed.
The Witan – a group of nobles and leading churchmen could suggest an heir.
Use of force – claimants challenged each other through battle.

Question 2

Edgar the Outlaw/the Aethling

Answer 2

the great nephew of Edward the Confessor. Edgar was treated as Edward’s adopted son and he had the support of many Anglo-Saxon earls.

Question 3

Harald Hardrada

Answer 3

King of Norway and a powerful Viking. Related to a previous King- King Cnut . It was said that Harald’s father had been promised the throne by King Cnut.

Question 4

Harold Godwinson

Answer 4

The most important earl of Essex. He was a sub-regulus (deputy king). Harold said Edward had promised him the throne on his deathbed.

Question 5

William, Duke of Normandy

Answer 5

he was a successful warrior and was a distant cousin of Edward through his mother, Emma. William claimed that Edward had promised him the throne earlier in his reign. William said that Harold had sworn to support his claim to the throne in 1064.

Question 6

Battle of Fulford Gate
20 September 1066

Answer 6

Hardrada, Tostig and about 7000 Viking soldiers invaded. They fought the Anglo-Saxon earls, Edwin and Morcar and around 3500 English.
Only a few Norwegians arrived at the battle and the English won an advantage through superior numbers. However, more Vikings arrived and they eventually overwhelmed the Anglo-Saxons.
Hardrada and the Vikings won but both sides suffered losses. Edwin and Morcar were forced to flee.

Question 7

Battle of Stamford Bridge

Answer 7

Harold Hardrada travelled from Fulfold to Stamford Bridge.
Harold reached Tadcaster
Harold entered York and came upon the Viking troops at Stamford Bridge.
The Vikings were camped on the opposite side of the bridge and had not defended the bridge properly.
Harold Godwinson won. Hardrada and Tostig were both killed.

Question 8

Battle of Hastings tactics and support

Answer 8

King Harold had a fyrd (peasant army)
Harold had housecarls (professional soldiers) and thegns (landowners).
William had trained knights.
Harold used a shield wall. Most soldiers were infantry. William had cavalry and infantry.
William chose the site at the base of Senlac Hill. Harold was at the top of Senlac Hill.
William had plenty of horses and supplies.

Question 9

Battle of Hastings events

Answer 9

The battle started at 9am. The Norman archers walked up Senlac Hill. The archers were too close to the hill. The Anglo-Saxons used the shield wall to defend.
A section of the Norman army ran away from the Norman line in a feigned retreat. Members of the fyrd ran after them but got stuck in marshy land. The Normans turned and slaughtered the Anglo-Saxons.
Midday a break in the fighting. William moved his archers to the front of the battlefield which meant the arrows hit the Anglo-Saxons.
William ordered the cavalry to charge, which led to heavy casualties on both sides. The Normans used the feigned retreat tactic again.
By 4pm the Anglo-Saxon shield wall was breaking up and Harold got killed. The fyrd then broke ranks and fled.
The Bayeux tapestry shows the preparation and events of the battle.

Question 10

The Harrying of the North (1069)

Answer 10

1068 Edwin and Morcar and Edgar the Aethling fled north to gather support. They defeated the Normans outside the castle in York and captured the castle.
William paid the Vikings money to leave, which they accepted.
1069 William laid waste to vast areas of land around York, burning and salting the fields. This was to send a clear message that William was in control.

Question 11

Revolts against William
Edwin and Morcar

Answer 11

Rebelled immediately after William became King.
William sent his knights to deal with the rebels.
Citizens of London submitted themselves. Edwin and Morcar submitted to William at Berkhampstead.
William returned all of Edwin and Morcar’s possessions and titles to them.

Question 12

Revolts against William
Rebellion of the Welsh borders

Answer 12

1067 Edric the Wild started a revolt with a large number of English followers.
Edric gained the support of Welsh princes and stole property along the border.
1069 Edric launched a second attack, reaching Cheshire and Staffordshire.
Commanders at the castle in Shrewsbury held the gates against the rebels. William led the forces personally to meet the rebels and they were defeated.

Question 13

Revolts against William
The Revolt of Eustace

Answer 13

King Edward’s brother in law, Eustace attacked Dover Castle, Kent.
Eustace was defeated by knights in the castle.
He later made peace with William.

Question 14

Revolts against William
The south west and Exeter

Answer 14

1068 the city of Exeter rebelled. William besieged the city with an army.
The city held out for 18 days but then was forced to surrender.
On his way back William suppressed Bristol and Gloucester.

Question 15

Revolts against William
The rebellion of the Norman earls

Answer 15

1075 William faced rebellion from his Norman earls, led by Ralph de Gael and joined by Robert de Breteil.
The earls had support from Waltheof, the English earl of Northamptonshire.
King Philip I of France encouraged the rebellion.
William left his regents, Lanfranc and Odo to deal with the rebellion.
1075 Waltheof was beheaded. The other rebels were blinded and murdered by William in 1075.

Question 16

Revolts against William
Hereward the Wake

Answer 16

Hereward had a grudge against William. He joined a rebellion with the English earls and their foreign supporters.
1070 the rebels looted and burned Peterborough Abbey. Hereward was able to defend Ely so William besieged the island.
William built a rampart to cross the marshland to Ely but too many Norman soldiers crossed at once and it sank.
William built a siege tower. Hereward set fire to the area, including the siege tower.
Hereward was betrayed by monks who told William about a secret route to find him.
The rebels surrendered and Hereward disappeared.

Question 17

King William’s leadership and government

Answer 17

William used the feudal system to help him gain control. Land ownership remained with William himself and he gave control of land to barons and nobles in return for loyalty.
Tenants-in-chief could reward their followers through subinfeudation (giving them small pieces of land).
The barons gave protection and shelter to the knights in return for them providing troops. The knights could avoid military service by paying scutage (a tax).
The knights gave the peasants food, protection and shelter in return for them working in the fields.
There were a small number of earls (In Mercia, Northumbria, Essex and East Anglia),

Question 18

King William’s leadership and government

Answer 18

Domesday Book (1086)
William ordered a survey to help him raise more taxes.
It is a formal written record of England at the time.
Domesday allowed William to collect as many taxes as possible and to check his feudal lords were not withholding money.
William owned all of the land in England. William wanted to reward his followers at Hastings and he would not tolerate disloyal Anglo-Saxon earls.
Domesday Book showed that the land in England was controlled by about 250 people (similar to under Edward the Confessor).
The Ely Inquiry shows the questions asked by Domesday Book e.g. Who holds the land? How many ploughs are there? How many animals are there?
The Survey became known as Domesday (day of judgement).

Question 19

William II (William Rufus) and his inheritance

Answer 19

King William I had three sons – Robert, William and Henry.
In 1087 William promised Normandy to Robert and England to William. Henry was to receive £5000.
Robert was bitter towards William II and rebelled against him when he became King of England.
1096 Robert mortgaged Normandy to William II for £10,000.
1100 William II was murdered.

Question 20

Law and order
Shire courts

Answer 20

The shire courts remained the main method of enforcing law and order for cases involving land disputes, crimes, taxes and rebellions.
Large Anglo-Saxon earldoms were replaced with larger earldoms based around shire towns.
Castles were built in shire towns such as Chester and Shrewsbury. Castles became the basis for law and order, including the sheriff and the court.
Honorial courts made shire courts less important. Tenants could appeal cases with their lord.

Question 21

Law and order
Hundred courts

Answer 21

Hundred courts continued under the Normans. They normally dealt with land issues.
Hundred courts met more frequently than shire courts and were run by the sheriff’s deputy.

Question 22

Law and order
Inheritance

Answer 22

New earldoms could not be split between the earl’s sons after death so the eldest son inherited all the land. This was called primogeniture.
Younger sons and daughters did not inherit any land.

Question 23

Law and order
The oath system

Answer 23

The Normans introduced murdrum fines. If a Norman ealr was murdered the area around where the criminal lived was heavily fined. This included any Norman who was attacked or injured by an Anglo-Saxon.
Oaths of allegiance meant that people promised not to be involved in any major crime.

Question 24

Forest law

Answer 24

King William did not tolerate the general population hunting on his lands.
Anyone caught hunting in forests could be fined, mutilated or executed.

Question 25

Justice and the legal system

Answer 25

The Normans ended the practice of paying compensation to the families of victims and introduced the concept of paying fines to the government.
The legal system became more modern as laws were written rather than oral, making them easier to enforce.
Written English declined after 1066 as writs and charters (laws) were written in Latin as well as church laws and literary texts.
Latin became the language of government. Schools and universities all taught in Latin.
Punishments were often an extension of the Anglo-Saxon system. The Anglo-Saxons used ordeal by fire and water and the Normans also used ordeal by combat.

Question 26

Norman villages

Answer 26

90% of people lived in the countryside in Norman England.
The village was controlled by the lord of the manor who lived in the manor house. The lord used 25% to 35% of the land and the rest was divided amongst the peasants.
For the majority of peasants, the Normans had little impact.
The church was at the centre of the village. There were church services on Sundays and feast days. The church was also used to store goods, as a prison and sometimes as a fortress.
The fields were divided into strips but they were not separated by fences or hedges so it was known as the open field system.
Peasants grew grain, vegetables and herbs. They had to make enough food to feed themselves and give to their lord as rent. They also made beer for the laord.
Some fields were left fallow (empty) to allow the soil to recover.

Question 27

Norman villages

Answer 27

The poorest peasants lived in houses around the lord’s manor. They were not allowed to leave the area without the lord’s permission.
Peasants’ homes were cold, damp and dark. They had very small windows to keep it warm. There was one room only. Houses had thatched rooves and could easily be destroyed by fire.
Manors included the manor house, barns, churches, villager’s houses, grazing land and mills. A group of peasants called freemen lived in the manor. They still had to pay rent and work for the lord during sowing and harvest time.
The name for the land owned by the lord was the demesne. Thegns, knights and barons also controlled areas of land.
The reeve was a peasant senior official who worked on behalf of the crown. He ensured everyone did their jobs.
The bailiff was in charge of collecting taxes.
The priest ran the local church and was responsible for ensuring marriages and wills.
The miller produced grain to make bread for the area.

Question 28

A peasant’s year

Answer 28

Most peasants were farmers and worked in fields owned by their lord. Some were millers or brewers. Peasants had to use the lord’s ovens to bake bread, which was expensive.
Late spring was the hardest time of year.
Poor harvests the previous year could mean that peasants starved to death.
Peasants usually got up half an hour before sunrise. During the day they had a light meal of rye bread and their evening meal would be mostly vegetables. Drink was homemade beer or cider. Meat was rarely eaten and sugar and fruit were also expensive.
The lord of the manor and richer thegns enjoyed meat, fish, honey, cakes and pastries.
Peasants worked six days a week. Sundays would be spent at church services.
Peasants paid taxes to their lord and a tithe to the church.
Peasants also had to work for free on church land.

Question 29

Norman towns

Answer 29

King William encouraged the growth of towns to increase trade and taxes to the crown.
London and Norwich grew in importance. Winchester decreased in importance but a new cathedral was built there so it increased in religious importance.
Smaller towns like Bury St Edmunds due to markets being held there.
1066-1200 21 new towns were created.
Many towns developed around cathedrals such as Durham, Ely, Salisbury and Lincoln.
The largest towns were London, Winchester, Norwich, Lincoln and York.
The Normans built castles for defence and they became centres of trsde. Houses were destroyed to make way for castles

Question 30

Norman towns

Answer 30

Burgesses in towns had legal and administrative responsibilities.
Houses were built close together and conditions were cramped.
Trade links with France strengthened while those with Scandinavia declined.
Droitwich grew rapidly due to the salt trade.
Towns that specialised in metalwork were often situated near woodland such as Gloucester.
The trade in wool created links for trading fine cloth and wine, for example from Bristol.
Craftsmen joined together to form guilds.
2800 grants were given in Norman England for the holding of markets and fairs in towns. Fairs were sponsored by the church, which made money from them.