Norman England c1066-c1100, Part Two: Life under the Normans

Question 1

How many earldoms were held by Anlgo-Saxons in 1076?

Answer 1

Only two

Question 2

How did William convince Norman nobles to fight for him at Hastings?

Answer 2

He promised them land in return.

Question 3

Who were the most powerful Norman earls?

Answer 3

Robert of Mortmain and Bishop Odo and William Fitzosbern

Question 4

What was Bishop Odo’s relation to William the Conqueror?

Answer 4

They were half-brothers

Question 5

What was Robert of Mortmain’s relation to William the Conqueror?

Answer 5

They were half brothers

Question 6

What was William Fitzosbern’s relation to William the Conqueror?

Answer 6

They were cousins.

Question 7

What were villeins?

Answer 7

A class of peasants who were not allowed to leave the land or marry without the lord’s permission.

Question 8

What were freemen?

Answer 8

A class of peasants who paid rent to the local lord but not tied to him in any way.

Question 9

What was patronage?

Answer 9

Swearing allegiance to the king in exchange for land.

Question 10

When was the Domesday survey carried out?

Answer 10

In 1086

Question 11

Under whose reign was the Domesday survey carried out?

Answer 11

William II

Question 12

Who ordered the Domesday survey?

Answer 12

William I

Question 13

What did the Domesday survey investigate?

Answer 13

• Who lived where and who owned what land
• Value of each man’s property
• What taxes were owed from the time of Edward the Confessor
• Who held wealth

Question 14

Why was the Domesday Book made?

Answer 14

To collect taxes accurately and to make sure no one was hoarding wealth to threaten the king.

Question 15

How much land did the Church control?

Answer 15

25%

Question 16

How much land did 10 Norman barons control between them?

Answer 16

25%

Question 17

How many knights were there in England?

Answer 17

2000

Question 18

How many Norman settlers were there in total?

Answer 18

10,000

Question 19

What was the total population of England?

Answer 19

Between 1.5 million and 2 million

Question 20

What can the king do when it comes to who owns what land?

Answer 20

King William can distribute land however he sees fit.

Question 21

What were Shire courts?

Answer 21

They met twice a year when the sheriff would hear cases.

Question 22

What cases appeared in Shire courts?

Answer 22

Land disputes, crime, taxes and rebellions.

Question 23

What were Hundred courts?

Answer 23

Courts that dealt with more local issues. They met more frequently

Question 24

What were Hundreds?

Answer 24

Each shire was divided into smaller areas called hundreds.

Question 25

How did the Normans change the inheritance system?

Answer 25

The Normans introduced the idea of primogeniture. Before, land would be split up among the family. Normans said the eldest son would inherit everything.

Question 26

What was the Anglo-Saxon oath system?

Answer 26

All Anglo-Saxons would swear not to commit a crime. If they did, their family would be heavily punished.

Question 27

What was the Norman murdrum fines?

Answer 27

If a Norman was murdered, all Anglo-Saxons in the area would be heavily fined.

Question 28

What did the Anglo-Saxon punishments entail?

Answer 28

Execution and mutilation common. Another was the ordeal system. Exile was also possible.

Question 29

What was the Anglo-Saxon ordeal system?

Answer 29

Based on the principle of '*Judicium Dei*'. Accused put through a painful ordeal. It was believed that God would save the innocent.

Question 30

Give examples of some ordeals under the Anglo-Saxons.

Answer 30

Ordeal by fire: accused holds a red-hot iron bar. Ordeal by water.

Question 31

How did the Normans change the ordeal system?

Answer 31

They kept the old ones and introduced a new one: ordeal by combat.

Question 32

What was 'ordeal by combat'?

Answer 32

The accuser and accused fought to the death. The survivor was presumed to be telling the truth.

Question 33

What was the language of the law under Edward the Confessor?

Answer 33

English

Question 34

How did the Normans change the language of the law?

Answer 34

All laws were recorded in latin. Latin was the official language of the government and the Church.

Question 35

What were Forest laws?

Answer 35

Laws introduced by the Normans to stop peasants from hunting in the forest.

Question 36

Before William, could peasants hunt in the forest?

Answer 36

Yes

Question 37

What changes did William bring about peasant life?

Answer 37

Largely none. The same life, with a new lord.

Question 38

How much of the land of a village could the lord keep?

Answer 38

Up to 35%

Question 39

What were the main crops grown in peasant villages?

Answer 39

Wheat, barley oats and rye.

Question 40

How long was a peasant working day?

Answer 40

From half an hour before sunrise and until sunset.

Question 41

What told the peasants it was the start or end of the working day?

Answer 41

The church bells rang to signify it.

Question 42

What did peasants usually eat for lunch?

Answer 42

Rye bread

Question 43

What did peasants usually eat for dinner?

Answer 43

Something vegetable-based

Question 44

What would peasants drink?

Answer 44

Weak beer or cider.

Question 45

Why did peasants not drink water?

Answer 45

Water was not purified. You could get sick drinking it.

Question 46

What days would peasants work?

Answer 46

Everyday except Sundays and Holy Days

Question 47

What was the tithe?

Answer 47

A tax paid to the Church

Question 48

How much money did the peasants have to give through the tithe?

Answer 48

10% of all they earned.

Question 49

What were peasants' houses like?

Answer 49

Cold, damp and dark. Animals were often brought inside. Most families would only have a single room.

Question 50

What was the manor house?

Answer 50

The lord lived in the manor house.

Question 51

Who lived in the manor?

Answer 51

The manor contained the manor house and the houses of freemen.

Question 52

Who owned the manor?

Answer 52

The manor was owned by the lord. It was known as his demesne.

Question 53

What did the Reeve do?

Answer 53

Manages the day-to-day running of the manor and ensures the peasants are all working.

Question 54

What did the Bailiff do?

Answer 54

He was responsible for collecting taxes for the king, ensuring crops were gathered and debts repaid.

Question 55

What did the Priest do?

Answer 55

He was responsible for marriages and wills, as well as running the local church.

Question 56

What did the Miller do?

Answer 56

He produced grain to make bread for the whole village.

Question 57

How was the Reeve chosen?

Answer 57

He was chosen by the lord or by peasant vote.

Question 58

What did peasants do in spring?

Answer 58

They sow seeds in the fields.

Question 59

What did peasants do in summer?

Answer 59

The harvest the crops when they are ready.

Question 60

What did peasants do in Autumn?

Answer 60

Peasants use oxen to plough the fields.

Question 61

What did peasants do in Winter?

Answer 61

They live off food harvested earlier in the year.

Question 62

What was the common structure of a Norman town?

Answer 62

Houses cramped together with a cathedral or castle (or both) at the centre.

Question 63

How many new towns developed under William?

Answer 63

Between 1066 and 1100, 21 new towns developed.

Question 64

What was the castles' significance in towns?

Answer 64

They became administrative centres and centres of trade and commerce.

Question 65

Were can evidence of growth of towns be found?

Answer 65

In the Domesday Book.

Question 66

What products were traded in towns?

Answer 66

Metalwork, salt, wool etc.

Question 67

What product did Gloucester become specialised in?

Answer 67

Iron and lead production.

Question 68

Where did towns that specialised in metalwork tend to be situated?

Answer 68

Near forests so they could use wood in their furnaces.

Question 69

What town grew as a resut of salt production?

Answer 69

Droitwich

Question 70

How significant was the trade of wool in England?

Answer 70

It was produced in the countryside and transported south. It was sold to Europe so many coastal towns became centres of international trade.

Question 71

What was the permission called to have a market or fair in a town?

Answer 71

A franchise, given in the form of a grant.

Question 72

How many grants did William give out?

Answer 72

2800 grants for markets or fairs

Question 73

What was a fair?

Answer 73

A religious celebration, but commerce also took place.

Question 74

What are guilds?

Answer 74

Specialist associations of a certain trade. They often had significant power.

Question 75

What changed in terms of land ownership for the Anglo-Saxon aristocracy?

Answer 75

Land was taken, split up and redistributed among Norman earls. This made earldoms less powerful and more stable.

Question 76

What changed in terms of castles?

Answer 76

The Norman aristocracy built them very fast, which would have intimidated the local peasant population.

Question 77

What new laws did William put in place?

Answer 77

Forest laws, Murdrum fines.

Question 78

What change did William make to the Anglo-Saxon financial system?

Answer 78

None. He even implemented the minting system and the exchequer to Normandy.

Question 79

What change was made to language?

Answer 79

The aristocracy spoke French. Over time, the English spoken by peasants and French merged into Anglo-Norman.

Question 80

When did William I die?

Answer 80

1087

Question 81

Who succeeded William I?

Answer 81

William II, his son

Question 82

When did William II die?

Answer 82

1100, after a hunting 'accident'

Question 83

Who succeeded William II?

Answer 83

Henry, his younger son