The Church

Question 1

Who were the three key leaders of the church and the state?

Answer 1

There were three key leaders who were involved in the relations between the Church and the State:
- The Archbishop of Canterbury
- The King
- The Pope
There was a little bit of conflict however this was because the Pope and the Archbishop disliked each other (although they both liked the king)

Question 2

Describe the leaders of the church

Answer 2

• The king was not the head of the Church (this did not happen until Henry VIII in the 16th century) but he was always involved in decisions about the leaders of the Church
• Church leaders were vital to the king’s resources and to guide the legal and religious life of the country.
• William was a Christian king, he wanted to bring more Norman men over to run the churches. However, he waited until 1070 to make those changes.
• The Pope was the head of the Church throughout the world. His headquarters were in Rome.
• All priests and Christians obeyed the Pope.

Question 3

Describe the turning point for the church in 1070

Answer 3

• All three leaders were involved in a major change in the Church in England.
• The Pope (Alexander II) sent an ambassador to England in 1070 to carry out the 2nd coronation of King William I.
• The Pope’s men crowned William at Easter, and then removed Stigand from Archbishop of Canterbury and his brother Aethelmaer from Bishop of Elmham.
• A few weeks later Lanfranc became Archbishop of Canterbury & Thomas of Bayeux as Archbishop of York.

Question 4

Describe Lanfranc’s reformation of the Church

Answer 4

• Lanfranc was a very strict leader of the Church and introduced a lot of reforms.
• As the new Archbishop, Lanfranc’s achievements included:
• stricter obedience from England’s priests to the rules of the Church
• strong loyalty to both King William and to the Pope
• succession of William’s son, William Rufus, when the king died in 1087
• supremacy of the Archbishop of Canterbury over York

Question 5

Describe the monasteries

Answer 5

• The monasteries existed alongside the local churches in English Christianity.
• The monks and nuns were devoted to the faith and lived in isolated communities away from non-religious people.
• The leader of the monastery was called an abbot, and Norman monks replaced many of the abbots of the large monasteries during the time of Lanfranc
• The monasteries played a vital role in the limited amount of education that was available for people in England.
• Boys who wanted to become priests or government clerks had to learn Latin - and they were taught this in Anglo-Norman, not in English.
• Once the Normans settled in England, they established the Anglo-Norman language as the spoken language of everyday life.