The Normans - Unit 2 : Life Under The Normans Flashcards
Feudal system order
- Kings
- Barons, Earls, Bishops, Lords, Abbots
- Knights
- Peasants (freemen and villeins)
- Slaves
Feudal system : KING
William owned 20%, 25% was owned by the Church and the rest was shared among his supporters
Feudal system: BARONS, EARLS, BISHOPS etc.
- Granted land but didn’t own it and in return swore fealty and paid homage to William I as well as money and military service
- Granted land to followers (knights)
Feudal system : KNIGHTS
- Promised loyalty to the baron, bishop etc. in return for land
- Served in the army and could be called Lord of the Manor
- Granted some land to peasants who lived on their manor (in return for work(?))
- Controlled day-day life in the manor / village
Feudal system : PEASANTS
- Had to obey the Lord of the manor in return for land
- Gave Lord crops and worked set days without pay
- Most couldn’t leave without without permission
Feudal system : SLAVES
Expensive to keep = declined rapidly
How the Feudal System helped William keep control
- giving people what they want, get something in return for their service
- King isn’t in charge of everything ; people control the people directly beneath them in the hierarchy
- Religious element : swearing fealty
- People were valued and necessary
- King gets money from tax = get money to build army and construct more castles
SIMILARITIES to Anglo Saxon feudal system
Had in general the same structure
DIFFERENCES to Anglo Saxon feudal system
- King owned most of the land and earls only controlled it (A-S)
- Had thegns not knights : the thegns paid the Earls, looked after their land and provided military service (A-S)
- Religious figures in power (Normans) as they had support from the pope
- Norman King = more power over patronage
Domesday Book
Started in 1085 by William I and finished by William II
Why was the Domesday Book made?
Threat of invasion and needed to fund soldiers and resources form Normandy (through taxes)
How was the Domesday Book made ?
- sent officials and commissioners all over England to visit 13,418 towns and villages
- Land in England compared to 1066
HOWEVER:
- Didn’t cover every town such as Durham ( had a bishop with the right to raise taxes (Norman’s didn’t have full control))
- Didn’t cover other areas in the north and east for the same reason as Durham
- London and Winchester = too complex
Afterwards the records were sent to be copied in Latin by one man
How the Domesday Book helped William keep control
- If people rebelled they could just seize their lands or raise taxes for an area
- opposite of the above if they showed loyalty to him
- Knew who to tax and his much according to what they had
- Knew how many soldiers he needed to stop invasion
- Records of properties = could raise supplies and money in times of war and hardship
HOWEVER:
lessened support from the Saxons
What were MARCHER LORDS?
- They were barons or earls placed on the borders of England to prevent invasion
- Almost independent rulers of their area
- Prevented raids from the Welsh, Scottish and overseas
EXTRA POWERS
- Made laws for their are
- Built castles without permission from the king
- kept their own armies
- used their castles as bases for Norman attacks on Wales
How did Marcher Lords help William keep control ?
- Established Norman rule to neighbours
- Pleased the barons = kept their support
- Created fear
- William I had access to approximately 5000 knights who were obliged to military service
HOWEVER
- Unable to take control of Scotland
LEGAL SYSTEM changes
- Changes to Courts
- Legislation
- Law enforcement
Change to Courts
Normans had a court hierarchy system : who you were and the crime you committed influenced what court you went to.
a. KING’S Court : most powerful. King was head of the legal system
b. LORD’S Court : dealt with property disputes
c. MANOR Courts : dealt with minute crimes e.g. bad ploughing or poor labour
d. CHURCH Courts : dealt with church related crimes e.g. blasphemy
LEGISLATION (2 pieces passed)
- The Forest Laws : compulsory for some local areas to give up land for the King’s hunting pleasure
- Inheritance Laws : property passed to the eldest son (rather than all sons like the Anglo Saxons did) = fewer land owners in the Norman Fuedal System
- If land owner died without heirs all land would go to a baron or straight to the king to redistribute to others
LAW ENFORCEMENT - Who enforced the law
Normans and no police force = law was enforced by a range of different people e.g. watchmen, constables, tithings etc.
Constables : power to arrest people, break up fights and prevent fires, paid very little
Watchmen : tried to make sure that people kept to the curfew so prevented crime and caught criminals
They were volunteers or given the job as a duty
Hue and Cry : system for catching criminals - everyone had a duty to raise the alarm if they saw a crime taking place and everyone who heard the alarm had to catch the suspect
Tithing : 10-12 freemen all promised to prevent each other from committing a crime
- If one did commit a crime they had to revela who was guilty or risk all of them being punished usually by a fine. Many guilty men escaped or sought sanctuary in the Church
LAW ENFORCEMENT : How they enforced the law
Oaths : People who knew the accused were called to give an account - not necessarily giving evidence but to give a comment on the accused’s character
- to ensure they told the truth they had to swear an oath to a holy book or relic
Trial by cold water : water was blessed by a priest, people believed that holy water would repel a sinner so guilt float and innocent sink. If a Norman was killed and their murderer hadn’t been found within 5 days, the hundred (local community) would be fined
Trial by hot iron : accused carries a hot iron in hand for 3 paces then bandages the hand and it’s inspected 3 days later. If the wound is infected they’re guilty and if not here innocent
Trial by battle : takes place between accused and accuser or use champions to fight in their behalf. The theory was that God would favour whoever was right
Murdrum Fine : system designed to protect Norman’s for Anglo Saxon hostility
How well the Norman legal system worked
The A-S legal system worked well so the Norman’s didn’t change it very much just added more violent methods like trial by hot iron.
- the Normans barely changing the legal system made them seem more legitimate as leaders to the English
The NATIONAL Norman government
- King = only one who could make laws for the entire kingdom e.g. raised tax on a national level
- Norman kings had the support of the Great Council (Curia Regis) = decision making and advice for the king (replaced Witan which was A-S)
- Give land and titles to people to encourage loyalty - patronage
- Writ : laws were written down
The LOCAL Norman government
- Used shires and put a sheriff in charge of each shire England = 134 shires
- Each shire and taxes, raised their own armies and made an annual payment to the King
- Normans slowly replaced A-S sheriffs with Norman ones and assigned new roles such as castellans who were in charge of castles
Similarities between Norman and Anglo Saxon governments
- A-S also had a writ but only on a local level
- Norman shire system was the same as the A-S shire system
Differences between Norman and Anglo Saxon governments
- Normans advised by the Great Council, A-S advised by the Witan
- Norman sheriffs not Anglo Saxon ones
- Norman government by writ was national
- New roles within shires e.g. castellans
Rich villager
- no physical labour
- income comes from produce farmed by their peasants
- Stone heated houses
- Ate meat e.g. Pheasants and partridge
- Didn’t eat lots of veg
Poor villager
- Worked long hours in the field
- Struggled to grow enough food to survive
- Houses dark, damp and smoky
- Ate porridge, stew and bread
Life in Norman TOWNS
- Residential and commercial buildings
- Churches and religious houses
- Market place
- Castles (in some cases)
- Houses were closer together and larger top floor
- High street
- Crowded = poor health and safety
Economic consequences of the Norman conquest
- Taxes and rent increased and money collected was spent on Normandy
- Land taken from almost all English land owners
- Increased trade with Europe e.g. wool and cloth
- William I bought wealthy Jews with him to help manage royal finances = borrowing money helped traders and merchants = boosted the economy
How towns developed under the Norman rule
Number and size of towns increased due to
- Better QOL
- Increased number of castles = increased towns built around them
- Increased rights and freedom
- Marcher Lords built armies = towns established
