William in power - 2 Flashcards
Marcher earldoms: Shire-sized, centred on shire town
Earldoms were smaller and more compact than shires
small size meant easier to control, also ensured they weren’t as powerful as the king
Marcher earldoms: granted full power of the law
sheriffs worked for the earl. They controlled shire courts and gave earls complete power over legal system in earldom
earls became central figures of law and responded quickly and firmly to any unrest/disobedience.
Marcher earldoms: right to build castles
free to build castles without permission
castles used to control area and attack into wales, essential to control earldoms.
why castles were important: built in strategic locations
at river crossings, hills, mountains. Built along the border with Wales
Why castles were important: used as base for lord of area
when invading, troops could take refuge in base before launching a counter-attack
why castles were important: to dominate the area
castles popular under Norman reign, castles often built in towns to go against unrest in the area
Why castles were built: symbol of Norman power
constant reminder of who ruled the country
cause of the revolt of the earls: Edwin and Morcar’s resentment
Edwin was promised by William he could marry his daughter, broke this promise and his earldom was made much smaller
Morcar’s earldom decreased in size and some was given to Tostig’s old thegn. less land=less money
cause of the revolt of the earls: bad government
Odo and William FitzOsbern allowed soldiers to rape AS women and take land
cause of the revolt of the earls: Taxes
heavy geld tax, earls kidnapped to Normandy realised William wanted to use AS wealth for his own good
cause of the revolt of the earls: Castles
Resented because they represented Norman tradition. Castleries: a place where people had to provide goods to maintain their castle.
Outcomes of the revolt
revolt passed quickly after Edwin and Morcar surrendered, they were pardoned.
Escape of Edgar and other leaders to Scotland created a new centre of resistance to William’s control
Even though Edwin and Morcar gained a lot of support, this put people off from rebelling again
Reasons for the revolt’s failure
Edwin and Morcar surrendered quickly to test whether William would come.
Rebels were not united by a common cause, each had their own resentement.
William didn’t need compromise with them because he had strong castles and was excellent at keeping control
William’s solution to the Anglo-Danish attack on York
He paid the Danes a large amount of money to leave, but the Danes kept coming back.
Total destruction campaign - the Harrying of the North: winter 1069-70
Anglo Saxon resistance: threat - Danish invasion
Approach to threat: pay Danes to leave and Harrying of the North
Outcome: Rebels easier to defeat without Danish support
Anglo Saxon resistance: threat - ‘Guerrilla warfare’ from the rebels, avoiding open battle
Approach to threat: Rapid response to rebellion, used trusted followers to keep followers under control while he led forces to deal with serious unrest. Troops searched out rebel hideouts. Castles re-imposed control. Harrying of the North made areas inhabitable.
Outcome: experience of stamping out rebellions showed AS aristocracy needed to be removed from power to prevent rebellions permanently.
Anglo Saxon resistance: threat - Discontent from troops and followers
Approach to threat: troops complained about too much marching, William promised rewards and promises.
Outcome: More land taken from AS, money from taxes was used to pay soldiers, money taken from the Church.
Anglo Saxon resistance: threat - Edgar as the ‘real’ king, stronger claim
Approach to threat: royal ceremonies to show William’s power
Outcome: English people followed William against the rebels; army levied from shires.
Reasons for the Harrying of the North
Cumin was killed and many Norman men too, William wanted revenge.
Northern rebels refused to meet him in open battle, William wanted to make it impossible to stay there.
North was very different from the South, William didn’t realise this as Northerners required different tactics, Danish heritage
Rebellions in North triggered more rebellions, William couldn’t drag his men everywhere with him.
Immediate impacts of the Harrying
100,000 people died. No food/shelter meant people froze/starved to death.
Seeds were destroyed
Cannibalism and people selling themselves into slavery.
Long term impacts of the Harrying
60% of Yorkshire became a wasteland. No economy activity that could be taxed.
For William and Norman control of England, the Harrying was a turning point. Instead of winning over the AS aristocracy, William now wanted to replace them.
The Harrying was widely criticised, especially by the pope. William spent much time and money to the Church in the years to come because of this.
Landholders in Norman England, statistics
over half of the land was owned by 190 tenants in chief, only 2 were AS
How did AS lose their land? By forfeit: lose something as punishment
Leaders lost land they were unloyal to the king - their lands could be forfeited
How did AS lose their land? New earldoms
land that became forfeited was given to loyal followers, these were to defend trouble spots, e.g marcher earldoms.
How did AS lose their land? Land grabs
illegal way in which AS lost land, stealing. Norman sheriffs were particularly notorious for this sort of exploitation.
Before 1071, what AS owned this was passed to Norman ‘heirs’ wherever it was in the country so landowners held land in many different parts of the country.
After 1071, William consolidated blocks of land, these were easier to control as they were on one area and just one person was needed to look after it. William stopped keeping AS tradition now.
Maintaining royal power: Military strength
William was a smart leader, ruthless; he was brutal in the way he crushed rebels. This proved to people that he was favoured by God. This power gave him legitimacy, he had to show that he could be a king not only a conqueror.
Maintaining royal power: The legitimate successor
Edward had apparently promised him the throne and this was emphasised throughout his reign, God had chosen him and is why William won and not Harold at the BOH.
Maintaining royal power: Royal ceremonies
William promised to maintain the same tradition as Edward the Confessor. He made 3 ceremonies a year where he was seen to be wearing his crown, this reminded people that he is the ruler.
Maintaining royal power: Coinage and writs
his face was printed onto coins, writs showed his importance in letters and spread his power across the country in everyday life.
Maintaining royal power: Journeys around England
William travelled around England showing his face otherwise the regions furthest away would lose contact and authority.
Maintaining royal power: Owning the land
New landownership system showed that every persons land was tied to the king in someway, tenants and tenants in chief. E.g taking land from rebels/those who died without an heir. Judging people and giving amount of land to those who were most loyal
Maintaining royal power: Oath-taking
very important at the time, if an oath was broken you could be killed or face serious punishments.
Revolt of the Earls, 1075: Roger de Breteuil, Earl of Hereford
Norman: son of FitzOsbern, inherited the Marcher earldom, Hereford. Roger was the least likely to rebel because his father had been so important to William’s establishing control. Roger was angry that he got less land than his father had. Now that sheriffs held more power in marcher earldoms, instead of earls, he lost great power which frustrated him
Revolt of the Earls, 1075: Ralph de Gael, Earl of East Anglia
Norman: son of an Anglo-Norman who served for Edward. He resented a loss of power and wealth compared to his father’s holdings.
Revolt of the Earls, 1075: Waltheof, Earl of Northumbria
Saxon: son of Earl Siward. when Siward died, Waltheof was too young to inherit his land so it was given to Tostig, Waltheof couldn’t fight for his land.
Reasons for the revolt of the Earls (6: opportunities and resentments )
Resentments: loss of lands, loss of privileges, loss of power
Opportunities: William’s absence, powerful allies, AS rebelliousness
Why didn’t the revolt of the Earls succeed?
Waltheof informed Lanfranc of their plans while William was away. He sent men to Hereford and East Anglia and saw the castles being built stronger and better troops ready for an attack.
Lanfranc wrote letters to Roger to try and convince him to stop because his father had been loyal to William. Lanfrance then used excommunication to cut off Roger from the Church so he would give up his plans.
People in Herefordshire and East Anglia built defences to trap them and prevent them from revolting.
Danes came too late, with 200 ships they could have outnumbered William but decided against it.
What happened to the Earls after the failure of the revolt?
Ralph escaped to Brittany. Emma waited in Norwich castle until she was guaranteed a safe passage for her and her followers.
Waltheof fled abroad, he was tricked and came back because William said he’d forgive him. He was wrong and was imprisoned.
Roger was imprisoned for life (like Morcar)
The effects of the revolt of the earls
William needed to be careful with his own earls.
AS joined Normans in stopping revolts from spreading, they now supported the Normans. But William was still harsh against AS aristocracy, he executed Waltheof (AS)
Failure of the Danes led to it being the last Viking threat to England. William was very stong on defences when there was a threat from Denmark in 1075, suggesting he saw the events of 1075 as very threatening meaning a tight grip had to be maintained.
what is a fief?
land held by a vassal in return for service to a lord, also called a feud.
