Religious Changes under Normans

• Why did William reform the Church?

  • was driven by personal beliefs but also recognition that the Church could be a serious challenge to his control of the country
  • promised the Pope he would reform the English Church
• William and Lanfranc's Criticisms

  • pluralism
  • simony
  • nepotism
  • clerical marriage
• How did Lanfranc use his reforms?

  • replaced Saxons bishops with loyal, committed Norman ones
  • reorganised dioceses to fit land boundaries
  • gave archdeacons power to secure positions and money
  • new buildings and monasteries asserted Norman power and strict adherence, bringing a more disciplined clergy
• Reviving Monasticism

  • 1066-1135, numbers of monks and nuns increased from 1000 to 4/5000
  • in 1066, 4 cathedrals with attached monasteries, in 1135, 10 out of 19 had monasteries
  • Benedictine monks and Cluniacs