Normandy

• William gained control


  William did this by:

  1. the submission of the Earls
  2. crowning himself king
  3. rewarding followers
  4. marcher earldoms
  5. built castles
• submission of the earls


  william returned to hastings after the battle to see if the AS nobles would surrender to himwilliam returned to hastings after the battle to see if the AS nobles would surrender to him

  they didn't

  the nobles fled back to London-the witan elected Edgar Aethling king

  they sent HG's sister to chester-suggest London was prepaing for a fight
• submission of the earls

  William set for Dover-meant he had reinforcements from Normandy--his troops got ill--then he went to London, along the way he destroyed houses+farms to force the submission

  William didn't go straight through London as its walls were fortified so he went to Berkhamshire where he met Edgar Aethling, Edwin and Morcar--they wanted to submit to william---william promised to be a gracious lord to them

  sent troops to Winchester-where England's royal treasure was kept
• submission


  a formal acceptance of and surrender to authority
• how strong were the earls (submission of the earls)


  very:

  • london was fortified-william would lose a lot of men if he attacked directly
  • WTC was deep in enemy territory-had no secure place to retreat
  • earls, nobles and churchmen like edgar
  • william had control of of weesex but morcar and edwin had control of half the county-northumbria and mercia
  • william had reinforcements in normandy but the numbers were tiny compared to the fyrd
• how strong was william (submission of the earls)


  very:

  • william was threatening to cut london off from its reinforcements from the north
  • he had control over the royal treasury-reward followers
  • edgar aethling was young, inexperienced and couldn't reward followers
  • his followers continued to obey him, despite being ill
  • God had decided william should be king as he won at hastings
  • destroyed everything in his path with fire-houses
• crowned himself king of england

  25th december 1066

  crowned by Archbishop Ealdred in westmisinster cathedral

  he swore an oath to rule england like the best AS kings before him, if the people were loyal
• rewarded his followers

  • Earl Morcar-kept earldom
  • Earl Edwin-kept earldom and could marry his daughter
  • Archbishops stingand and Ealdred-kept positions
  • Lord Gospatric-made earl of northumbia after paying william
  • the pope-rich gifts
  • mercenaries-money(from geld tax)
  • church supporters in normandy-rich gifts
  • anyone who served him well-land across england--as he's king, he owns it all
  • half-brother Bishop Odo-all of kent
  • william fitzober-ilse of white+large areas of the west
  • robert of montgomery-land in essex+sussex--made earl of shrewbury
• marcher earldoms


  key features:

  • shire-sized centre of shire town-smaller and compact-easier to control also made sure marcher earls wern't as powerful as the king
  • special privileges-earls could make burgh and markets; could establish churches (replacing AS churches-helped attract normans)
  • full power of the law-sheriffs controlled the marcher court working for the earls-gave earls complete power over the legal system
• marcher earldoms


  key features:

  • exempted from tax- earls didn't have to pay tax to the king on their lands-reward loyalty and encourage to spend on new settlements and defences
  • right to build castles-free to build castles where they were needed-castles used to control area+launch attacks
• marcher earldoms


  along the welsh border: 3 of them

  • earldom of chester
  • earldom of hereford
  • earldom of shrewsbury
• WTC built castles


  he built over 500 castles

  common in normandy but almost unheard of in AS

  mainly built in the south-more people so more people saw that WTC was in control and along the borders for protection
• motte and bailey castles


  key features:

  • strong fence surrounding it made out of wood-some double fenced with earth in-between
  • access to the keep-steep steps cut into the motte or a bridge
  • strong wooded tower called the keep-lookout point, elevated attack position for archers
  • gatehouse-access into the castle, sometimes had a drawbridge
  • bailey-enclosed bit bellow motte, if under attack people would stay here, troops would live here
  • ditch-surrounded the motte and bailey can be filled with water
  • motte-large mound of earth(5-7 metre high), fireproof
• why were castles important

  • used as a base for the local lords-marcher earldoms castles provided a safe space for troops to prepare for a counter attack
  • built on a strategic position
  • they were a symbol of norman power-constant reminder that WTC was king
  • used to dominate territory by normans-usually built in AS towns
• causes of the AS revolts

  • edwins resentment-promised he could marry daughter(didn't), promised he could keep earldom(earldom got smaller and less important)
  • bad governemnt-normans seized land unlawfully-soldiers would rape AS women without punishment during vice regancy(when william was in normandy)
  • morcars resentment-earldom reduced in size-loss of land meant loss of money and power
  • loss of lands-when WTC was in normandy his followers grabbed land as much as they could
  • castles-symbol of norman power, centre of norman control in the areas, meant clearance of homes
  • taxes-heavey tax in dec 1066
• revolt of edwin and morcar 


  E,M AND EA had run away from WTC to the north they were joined by northerners who protested against WTC- they hated the high tax, the fact that WTC kept taking their land giving it to normans and the castles

  WTC=angry so he took his night up to the north and built more castles this scared the AS, and made E + M surrender, EA escaped to Scotland
• why did E+M revolt fail- not a dangerous revolt


  E+M surrendered, WTC pardoned them but kept them as guest at his court so he could control them - CANT LEAD ANOTHER REBELLION

  EA escaped to Scotland- NO LEADER TO CARRY OUT REVOLT

  WTC showed his strength- CONVINED MANY THERE WAS NO POINT IN CARRYING ON

  WTC didn't need to compromise with rebels as castles were proved to be a great way of imposing control-WTC PROVED HE COULD DEAL WITH A REBELLION QUICKLY
• revolt against Robert Cumin 1069


  WTC decided he needed a harsh new norman earl for the north after E,M+AE -he chose Robert Cumin to be the new earl of Northumbria

  on his way to Durham, Cumin burnt AS villages to he's harsh.

  the news spread so the AS burnt Cumin's house down when he arrived, killing him and his troops got slaughtered for looting
• revolt in York


  the news of Cumin's death spread across the north

  the city of York was inspired by the events in Durham and so killed their norman governor

  EA heard about this and brought a small army from Scotland and attacked+destroyed the noman castle in york

  This shocked WTC-he knew he needed to go to York and settle things- he came with a big army and defeated the rebels-he ordered a new castle to be built and appointed a new norman govenor

  King Sweyn of Denmark came to help the AS- the danish+AS killed over 3000 normans and destroyed castles
• BIG SHOCK FOR WTC thought he'd won but then danish and AS joined together --revolt in YORK
• king sweyn 


  he only wanted treasure-he thought he could make money out of the chaos in england

  he took lots of treasure from York and then sailed to safety

  WTC acknowledged this and paid the danish to stop helping the AS

  However WTC still found it difficult to catch the rebels as they kept running off- so he destroyed all their homes--REBELLION=OVER
• Hereward the Wake and Morcar


  King Sweyn=not trustworthy and returned in 1070-71 to east england and made an alliance with the AS rebel leader-Hereward the Wake and Morcar

  they attacked Peterborough Abbey and stole Norman treasures-King sweyn travelled back to Denmark--AS had defends against WTC massive army

  WTC captured Morcar who spent the rest of his life in Prison

  Hereward escaped and was never heard of again

  END OF REBELLIONS
• WTC actions to put down the rebellions


  ignore EA stronger claim to throne and carry out more royal ceremonies in Winchester to persuade southern theigns

  keep troops happy by giving them land and money-taken from as, taxes and church

  remove AS aristocracy

  build castles

  harrying of the north

  stop danish invasions by paying them
• Harrying of the North


  burned down all the villages-people had no where to go and froze to death

  burnt food and crops-no food to eat-starvation

  destroyed seeds-cant grow any food for next year

  salt the lands-can't grow food for a long time

  100,000 AS starved to death

  put off any other rebellions+ harder for king sweyn to invade and steal stuff
• harrying of the north-impact


  immediate-starvation, freezing, cannibalism, no food, no animals, no protection from cold, couldn't grow crops. -north was emptied as refugees fled

  long term(20 years later)-60%was classed as wasteland (no economic activity), 80,000-150,000 less people then Jan 1066

  WTC started to feel bad and so he donated to the church-hoped not to go to hell
• changes to land ownership- 1071


  WTC felt he couldn't trust AS with any kind of power

  he took all the land of the remaining AS earls and thegns and gave it to norman followers

  To make sure they didn't get enough power, he split England up into smaller sections-each earldom was now the size of a shire
• changes to land ownership- 1071


  WTC now owned all the land-people rented it off him-made him richer

  if the landholder died without heirs the land would go back to the king

  if you acted against WTC you lost your land-made WTC more secure
• changes to land ownership- 1071


  all the thegns gained a new lord-Tenant-in-chief

  tenant-in-chief could dispossess thegn if they acted against them

  many thegns left england to become mercenaries in europe-THEGNS DISAPPERED AS A CLASS

  new tenant-in-chiefs wanted more money from their lands life got worse

  free peasants became rare-new law made peasants work->less independence-END OF CEORLS CLASS
• Feudal system


  WTC-granted land to T-I-C, taxed people, provided peace, law, protection in return for loyalty

  Tenants-in-chief-granted land to U-T and other privileges--gave knight service according to set quota, tax justice (baronial courts) to WTC

  Under-tenants-provided land to be worked on by P--military service in return for land tax and justice (manorial court) to the T-I-C

  Peasants-land service for U-T + rent
• Tenants-In-Chief


  held their land directly from the king

  military, social, political and economic roles

  expected to fight with the king and lead their own band of knights

  defends their own land and put down any AS rebellions

  use their land as a way of providing knights for the king

  each land had its own court-they judged legal cases

  share of money produced by their land given to the king

  served on the royal council advising the king
• Knights


  knights -someone who follows a more important person

  some were only granted small bits of land

  very powerful men-local lords

  6000

  had to guard the lords property-40 day knight service--fight for their king

  superior because of calvary charges

  needed to fight Vikings-king sweyn

  putting down rebellions
• homages


  kneeling before the king and promising to become a kings man on the Bible -heir had to do to get their fathers land
• archbishop lanfranc


  Head of Church of England, as well as Archbishop of Canterbury-VERY HIGH POWER

  separated religion from politics

  rebuilt lots of churches

  reinforced norman rules - ambassador of the king - advised the king

  believed he was appointed by God

  wanted church to stand above money grabbing

  legal expert - on the witan

  administration of the church
• stigand


  appointed by ETC- recommended by Earl Godwin on political terms

  Archbishop of canterbury but had little control over other archbishops

  pluralist (more then one job) accused of simony-making money off of church

  legal expert

  advised the king

  on the witan

  administration of the church
• Lanfranc's improvement on the church


  banned marriage of priests

  built new norman cathedrals after knocking down AS ones- within 50 years all AS churches had been knocked down and rebuilt

  archdeacon-made sure priests preached that WTC should be king

  introduced religious ceremonies

  1070-only one AS bishop-the rest had been sacked
• normans thought slavery was wrong and ended it
• norman sheriffs


  represented king, collected tax, answered to no one but the king

  answered to no one but the king-leaders of shires

  if they failed to control AS they would forfeit role

  lost some legal responsibilities to the church and the new feudal system (manorial and baronial courts)

  had new laws to enforce

  castellans-looked after castles

  were RESENTED by AS
• Forest laws


  taking forest lands off land holders

  forest land=land used for hunting

  many families were evicted from their homes

  they were used to protect animals and vegetation

  it was an offence to carry hunting weapons into the forest

  hunting dogs were banned and normal dogs had to have their claws removed

  restrictions on cutting wood, construction and building
• demesne


  ruled directly by king, the sheriff administrates it for him
• significance of forest


  extending the demesne increased the amount of land WTC had

  people thought it was unfair as animals were given protection but they went hungry

  another source of income for WTC

  harsh punishment for those who broke the law

  showed power of the king