The Norman conquest and control Flashcards
How many people lived in England before 1066?
Around 2 million
Since when had King Edward the Confessor ruled England?
1042
When and where was Earl Godwin born?
Sussex in 1001
When and where did Earl Godwin die?
Winchester in 1053
What was Earl Godwin’s earldom?
Wessex
Who was Earl Godwin’s wife?
Gytha Thorkelsdóttir, a Danish Princess
How was Earl Godwin related to King Edward the Confessor?
Father in law of King Edward the Confessor
When did Godwin have a major dispute with King Edward?
1052
Who were housecarls?
Professional, well-trained soldiers hired by the king or an earl
How was England defended before 1066?
The king and earls had around 2500 - 3000 housecarls, earls could call upon their peasants to fight for them when necessary
What was the religion of Anglo-Saxons in England?
All Christians following the Roman Catholic religion
Who was the head of the Roman Catholic Church and where did he live?
The Pope in Vatican in Rome
How rich was England and how advanced was its economy?
Very wealthy, many natural resources, good trade links, sophisticated minting system and had a treasury; advanced economic system
Who were some children of Earl Godwin and when did they die?
Sweyn 1052, Harold II 1066, Edith 1075, Tostig 1066, Gyrth 1066, Leofwine 1066, Wulfnoth 1094
Who was given the earldom of Wessex after Earl Godwin?
Harold Godwinson
When did the Viking leader Rollo attack northern France?
911
When did King Ethelred the Unready die?
1016
Who inherited the English throne after King Cnut died in 1035?
Harold I
When did Emma of Normandy summon her elder sons back to England to support their half-brother Harthacnut’s claim to the English throne?
1040
When did Emma of Normandy die?
1052
Which thrones did King Cnut have?
King of England, Denmark and Norway
When did Emma of Normandy flee to Normandy?
1013
When did Edward the Confessor become King of England?
1042
At what age did William inherit Normandy and when and from who?
William inherited Normandy at the age of 7 from his father Duke Robert I in 1035
Who was William’s mother and why was he illegitimate?
William’s mother was Herleva, Duke Robert (father) had not been married to William’s mother, Herleva
When did Edward the Confessor die?
5th January 1066
In what ways could the throne be passed on?
Son (not necessarily eldest) or male relative of previous king could be chosen; post obitum (“after death”, throne of England bequeathed); novissima verba (king could name heir on deathbed); Witan could suggest heir; claimants could use force to challenge each other for throne
What was post obitum?
A designation or bequest of a throne
What is novissima verba?
To be promised the throne from a death bed
What was the Witan?
A group of leading earls and churchmen
When was Edgar the Aetheling born and when did he die?
Born c1051 and died c1126
Where was Edgar the Aetheling born?
Hungary
What does Aetheling mean?
Of noble birth
When was Harald Hardrada born and when did he die?
Born 1015 and died 1066
What did Harald Hardrada rule?
King of Norway
When was Harold Godwinson born and when did he die?
Born 1022 and died 1066
What was a sub-regulus?
deputy king
From when did Harold Godwinson represent King Edward the Confessor in battle?
From 1060 onwards
When did Edith Godwin marry King Edward the Confessor?
1045
When was William, Duke of Normandy, born and when did he die?
Born 1028 and died 1087
When did William, Duke of Normandy, and his army win the battle of Val-es-Dunes?
1047
When did William claim Harold Godwinson swore to support his claim to the throne?
1064
When was Harold Godwinson crowned King of England?
6th January 1066
When did King Harold disband his fleet and southern army?
8th September 1066
When was the Battle of Fulford Gate?
20th September 1066
When did the Battle of Stamford Bridge occur?
25th September 1066
When did William, Duke of Normandy, land at Pevensey?
28th September 1066
When did King Harold Godwinson arrive back in London?
6th October 1066
When did King Harold Godwinson leave London after arriving back in it?
11th October 1066
When did the Battle of Hastings occur?
14th October 1066
How did William, Duke of Normandy, prepare to invade England?
French support, support from God with Papal Banner, fleet built, army built with men required from Aquitaine, Flanders, Central France, Maine, Brittany and Sicily, moved to mouth of River Somme and waited to cross channel
Who were the fyrd?
A Medieval army made up of peasants
Who were the combatants and their leaders in the Battle of Fulford Gate?
Around 7,000 Viking soldiers with King Hardrada of Norway and Tostig vs around 3,500 members of the English northern army with Anglo-Saxon earls Edwin and Morcar
When did King Harold Godwinson reach Tadcaster, a town on the outskirts of York?
24th September 1066
The Battle of Stamford Bridge occurred at which bridge and river?
Stamford Bridge over the River Derwent
When was William ready to launch an invasion from Normandy?
11th August 1066
When did King Harold Godwinson reach the South Downs?
13th October 1066
Which forces confronted each other at the Battle of Hastings?
Around 7,000 fyrd with housecarls and thegns lend by King Harold vs around 7,000 trained mercenary forces with knights
What weapons and armour did the Anglo-Saxons at the Battle of Hastings use?
double-handed axes, pikes, large circular shields; housecarls had armour; peasants used pitchforks, farming equipment, weapons and armour taken from fallen soldiers
What weapons and armour did the Normans at the Battle of Hastings use?
Bows, large tear-shaped shields that covered from chin to knee, pikes, armour
When did Harold Godwinson fight alongside the Normans?
1064
When was Bishop Odo of Bayeux born and when did he die?
Born 1036 and died 1097
Between 1066 and 1086, how many motte and bailey castles did the Normans build?
Around 500
What were motte and bailey castles?
Castles with a motte, (mound or hill) where the keep was built upon and a bailey that surrounded the motte
Castles at which locations were personally ordered by William the Conqueror?
Colchester, the Tower of London, Hastings, Windsor and Warwick
When did William the Conqueror order the construction of a castle in Cardiff after leading his troops into South Wales?
1081
When was a Roman fort built at Pevensey?
286 (between 280 - 300AD)
When was the Roman fort at Pevensey sacked during the Saxon invasion? (think so)
450
When did WIlliam Rufus invade and besiege Pevensey castle, with Robert of Mortain inside?
1088
When was a large stone keep built at Pevensey castle?
1100
When was William crowned King of England?
25th December 1066
What did William do after the Battle of Hastings before becoming King of England?
Moved east to Kent, stopping Anglo-Saxon trade and allowing entry of supplies from Normandy; took Canterbury; attacked London but fought off; burnt area of Southwark; gained control of Winchester, centre of treasury; received oaths of fealty at Berkhamsted; burned land between London and Berkhamstedd
When did William the Conqueror return to Normany?
March 1067
When did King William return to England after leaving it and distribute land in areas of potential rebellion to loyal barons?
December 1067
What occurred in 1068?
Rebellions in south west, siege of Exeter by William, earls Edwin, Morcar and Edgar the Aetheling flee north
What occurred in 1069?
Rebels burned to death Norman earl Robert of Commines in Durham; rebellion spread to York; vikings invaded; revolts in Dorset, Somerset, Staffordshire and Cheshire; King Malcolm of Scotland marries Margaret, Edgar’s sister
When did the Harrying of the North occur?
1070
When was there unrest in East Anglia?
1070
When did Scotland invade northern England?
1072
When did the revolt of the Norman earls occur?
1075
When was the last English earl, Waltheof, killed by beheading?
1076
When did Archbishop Stigand die?
1072
Since when had Stigand been a bishop?
1043
What positions did Archbishop Stigand have?
Made Archbishop of Canterbury and Archbishop of Winchester
When did William remove Stigand from his position?
1070
When did a rebellion occur at the Welsh border and what happened?
In 1067, a Herefordshire thegn, Edric the Wild, started a revolt with a large number of English followers, launched another attack in 1069 and reached Cheshire and Staffordshire, stopped at Norman castle at Shrewsbury and William personally led forces to defeat them
What happened in the revolt of Eustace?
Kind Edward’s brother in law, Eustace, Count of Boulogne, attacked Dover Castle in Kent
When did the city of Exeter rebel against William the Conqueror’s rule and for how long did it hold out under siege?
1068, held out for 18 days
Who supported the rebellion of the Norman earls, or was a part of it?
Ralph de Gael, Earl of Hereford Roger de Bretuil, English Earl of Northamptonshire and Huntingdonshire Waltheof, supported by King Philip I of France
What is a regent?
Someone who rules the country in the absence of the monarch
Which regents dealt with the rebellion of the Norman earls?
Lanfranc and Odo
What was the Danelaw?
An area of land extending from the North East of England to East Anglia where most of the population were of Danish descent
Danish vikings in 240 ships invaded when?
Summer of 1069
What was the Harrying of the North?
The devastation of the north of England in 1070
When was King Malcolm III of Scotland born and when did he die?
Malcolm III born in 1031 and died 1093
When was Malcolm III king of Scotland?
King of Scotland between 1058 and 1093
Who did King Malcolm III of Scotland marry after his first wife died?
Margaret Aetheling, Edgar’s sister
When was the Treaty of Abernethy signed by Malcolm III of Scotland?
1072
When was King Malcolm III of Scotland killed and how?
Killed at the Battle of Alnwick in 1093
When was Hereward the Wake born and when did he die?
Born 1035 and died 1072
Who was Hereward the Wake and what was his life like?
Believed to be son of Leofric, English Earl of Mercia; made outlaw by King Edward the Confessor; held land in Warwickshire and Lincolnshire during King Edward’s time; was an English thegn; rebelled against Normans in East Anglia
Where did the rebels of Hereward the Wake set up a base at?
In an abbey on the Isle of Ely
