Yorkshire after the Norman Conquest c.1066-c.1088

Question 1

Where was William’s power noticeably unable to reach?

Answer 1

Yorkshire, since it is in the North of England.

Question 2

What area had William conquered in England

Answer 2

Due to his overwhelming military supremacy and lack of unity amongst the surviving nobles the following was captured:
-Canterbury -Winchester -London
Also confiscated estates of Harold Godwin sharing them amongst Norman Followers.

Question 3

Why did William return to Normandy in 1067?

Answer 3

As early as 1067, William felt that his power in Normandy was secure enough that he could return leaving Odo of Bayeux in Dover and William FitzOsbern in Winchester in charge.

Question 4

When was the suppression of Edwin and Morcar?

Answer 4

1066

Question 5

When was the rebellion of the Welsh Border (Edric the Wild)

Answer 5

1067

Question 6

When was the Harrying of the North?

Answer 6

1069

Question 7

When was the Revolt of Norman Earls?

Answer 7

1075

Question 8

Why was the North of England a threat?

Answer 8

There were strong local rivalries and alliances, insecure borders, ambitions of the Danish King.

Question 9

Why was Ireland dangerous to William?

Answer 9

In 1068 and 1069, Harold Godwinson’s sons took refuge in Ireland and launched major raids in the south-west.
(Showed how fragile William’s conquest actually was)

Question 10

What early issues did William have with land?

Answer 10

There was no enough land to satisfy both his followers and the surviving Anglo-Saxon aristocracy, while the aggressive attitude of William FitzOsbern, Odo of Bayeux and the new Norman aristocracy provoking further English Resistance.

Question 11

Why was establishing control in the North not a priority for William?

Answer 11

-The North was further to Normandy.
-The North had the minority of the population.
-The Capital was in the south.
-North had many alliances with surrounding countries.

Question 12

In the years after 1066 what did disgruntled survivors of the English aristocracy do?

Answer 12

They made an alliance with the Danes and carried out guerrilla warfare against their Norman masters
-The first major rising occurred in Dover, Kent in the
summer of 1067 to which failed but persuaded William to
return to England.

Question 13

What did William do to deal with potential rises in the North?

Answer 13

As he marched north, he built castles to keep these areas under control.

Question 14

What is an example of a castle William built to keep control in the north after the Harrying of the North

Answer 14

Pickering Castle (1069-70)

Question 15

What areas were a threat to William’s power?

Answer 15

-Scandinavia.
-Scotland (King Malcolm power was growing).

Question 16

Why was King Malcolm and Scotland a threat to William’s reign?

Answer 16

-Border between Scotland and Scotland was disputed.
-Malcolm had already extended his influence southwards into Lothian and as far as Brough.
-He sheltered rebels fleeing England.
-Had married the sister of Edgar Aethling, a rival claimant to English throne

Question 17

What did William do in order to reach an agreement with the Scottish King?

Answer 17

Although William needed to reach an agreement with the Scottish King, he felt it was important that he showed his authority and secured his northern border with a show of military power.
-He ordered his barons to subdue Cumbria, while he himself led the expedition to assert his power over Yorkshire and the north-east of England.

Question 18

What happened in the Summer of 1068 (rebellion)?

Answer 18

His opponents gathered in York and launched a rebellion led by Gospatrick, the new earl of Northumbria. William marched north, took the city and built and garrisoned a castle.
He also expressed his authority by appearing in public at York Minster wearing his crown.

Question 19

What happened in January 1069 after William left for Normandy (rebellion)?

Answer 19

Gospatrick and Edgar the Aethling joined forces and marched a rebel army south. They killed William’s troops in Durham and the Norman Earl of Northumbria, Robert of Commines. They besieged William’s castle at York however William returned, travelled north to relieve York and built a second castle on the opposite bank of the River Ouse.

Question 20

What was the Danish King Swein’s claim to the throne?

Answer 20

He was the son of Cnut’s sister

Question 21

What 2 things happened in Autumn 1069 simultaneously?

Answer 21

-240+ Danish ships led by Swein’s brother and 3 sons crossed North Sea and worked their way up East Coast of England.
-Northumbrian local around York rebelled with help of Scottish king Malcolm.
-Two forces joined each other and attacked York, massacring Norman garrisons and started fire that burnt the city for 2 days.
-Made the mistake of not continuing forward and retreated to plunder Lincolnshire.

Question 22

How did William respond to the rebellions in Autumn 1069?

Answer 22

-Marched north for 3rd time and dealt with Danes first who agreed to leave England after being paid as they were running low on resources.
-He rebuilt York’s castles.

Question 23

Why did William carry out the Harrying of the North?

Answer 23

-He wanted to teach the north a decisive lesson after having to march North for the 3rd time in 18 months.

Question 24

What was the aim of Harrying of the North and happened?

Answer 24

-To destroy the economic infrastructure of the north of England.
-Region was systematically plundered, fields were sown with salt stopping crop growth and men women and children were killed.

Question 25

What further trouble occurred in the North between 1070 and 1095?

Answer 25

-Scottish king Malcolm raided Cumberland, but was defeated in southern Scotland at Abernathy by William.
-Malcolm swore oath of Allegiance to William in the treaty of 1072, and he gave his son as a hostage.
-Raids in 1075 (where Danes destroyed York Minster), 1079 and 1095 (by earl of Northumbria).

Question 26

What was the importance of York?

Answer 26

-Capital of Northumbria (important to anyone wanting to control Northumbria).
-Centre of Vale of York (rural transportation corridor between south England and Scotland). Therefore it’s a strategic and accessible location.
-Had fertile low lying agricultural land.
-Religious centre. Normans financed various religious institutions in the city, showing control of all aspects of city life.

Question 27

How did William establish control and political dominance over York?

Answer 27

-Built 2 motte and bailey castles on land seized from rebels.
-1 castle was built between river Ouse and Foss. Resulted in widespread flooding upriver due to damming.
-1 castle was built on west bank of River Ouse.
-Castles were used to intimidate the locals and was also implicative on York’s importance and strength of York’s local resistance.

Question 28

What does the term “waste” refer to and what part of York was considered waste?

Answer 28

-Land with no value.
-Area where the castles were built

Question 29

How did the Normans add to York?

Answer 29

-Royal King’s house + chapel was established on a large defensible site on the bank of the Ouse.
-Local economy restructured to support royal household:
Royal fish pool created on River Foss
New market place in city centre.
-Royal forests were created and crown estates enlarged in rural areas.

Question 30

How did William affect ownership of land in York?

Answer 30

-Pre Norman Conquest, land was owned by the King, Northumbrian earl, Archbishop of York and the Minster.
-William confiscated the land, kept some and distributed the rest amongst middle ranking Norman followers (who often owned royal offices).
-Resulted in ownership of York townhouse being common among those with royal estates and being a sign of wealth

Question 31

What did the Norman reconstruction of York include?

Answer 31

-Parishes and monastic churches.
-Monumental arches eg at Micklegate
-Settlements.

Question 32

How did the Normans try and claim they were legitimate rulers?

Answer 32

-Reused Roman walls and streets during construction.
-Supported religious institutions:
Rebuilt York minster in Norman style
Supported new chapels and churches e.g. St
Helen’s in Stonegate and St Giles in Horsefair.

Question 33

Why did the Archbishop of York keep most of his privileges after the conquest?

Answer 33

-Kings were usually away from York so he was the most powerful person in the North.

Question 34

What’s the significance of describing most of Yorkshire as “waste” in the 1086 Domesday book?

Answer 34

-Can be seen as proof of high death rate caused by Norman’s “scorched earth” policy.

Question 35

What are some reasons people think the effects of the Harrying of the North was exaggerated?

Answer 35

-No archaeological evidence if the 1069 fire in York has been found on the excavated Coppergate site between the castle and ht eminster.
-Term “waste” (vasta in latin) may have been misunderstood as it may simply mean land with no value rather than a area that been physically destroyed.
-It’s hard to believe that such a small number of men could have done so much damage in such a short amount of time.

Question 36

How were people conquered by the Normans controlled?

Answer 36

-Through military, political and cultural means.
-Through distribution of land:
Over next 15 yrs, Saxon noble families had land
confiscated.
Domesday book of 1086 said 90% of land was
held by 25 Norman lords, showing domination.
-Many castles built between 1066 and 1135:
Early motte and bailey castles build at
administrative, population and military centres in
the country.

Question 37

Where were some problems associated with the term waste

Answer 37

-Waste might not have been used to describe physical destruction but simply used as an administrative/accounting device to describe estated that no longer existed or had no value

Question 38

Overall, what does the Domesday Book how for Yorkshire?

Answer 38

-Shows the long lasting damage inflicted by armies prepared to show no mercy in their savage treatment of a local society.