Topic 2

• The Feudal System

  William used a system of land holding to reward his followers and keep them loyal

  This meant no one had enough power to threaten the King
• The Feudal System

  25 percent of land was owned by the Church

  Barons and Bishops were granted large pieces of land in return for loyalty to the King, they gave him military service and money when needed.

  Knights who were lords of the manor and where loyal to barons also gave 40 days of military service

  Villeins worked for local land owners - this group grew and became the largest group as recorded by the Domesday book
• Law and Order - Shire Courts - Continuity

  Continuity: England was divided into shires under the Anglo-Saxons

  Shire Court met twice a year when cases involving land disputes, crime, taxes and rebellions were heard by the Sheriff
• Law and Order - Shire Courts - Change

  Large Anglo-Saxon earldoms had been replaced with smaller Norman earldoms which were often based around shire towns such as Chester and Shrewsbury.

  Castles were built in shire towns and the administration and law and order were based there, including the sheriff and the court.

  Importance of shire courts declined due to the increasing role of honorial courts

  Honorial courts - where tenants could appeal cases with their lord

  Sometimes royal household officials were sent to shire courts to oversee proceedings and juries were introduced in some cases
• Law and Order - Hundred Courts - Continuity

  Continuity:

  Anglo-Saxon times - shires were divided into hundreds which were 100 hides

  Hundreds could vary size as shires themselves varied in size

  Hundred courts continued under the Normans, they looked at local issues in each hundred, normally land issues.
• Law and Order - Hundred Courts - Change

  Change:

  The Hundred Courts met more frequently than shire courts and were run by the Sheriff's deputy
• Law and Order - Inheritance - Continuity

  Continuity:

  Under the Anglo-Saxons it was common to divide up landholding among families
• Law and Order - Inheritance - Change

  Change:

  When the Normans introduced the feudal system it was vital that the new earldoms remained intact and were not split between earl's sons after their father's death

  Introduction of Primogeniture - eldest son inherits land and titles from his father. This meant that daughters and younger sons would be left with nothing.
• Law and Order - Oath System - Continuity

  Continuity:

  People persuaded to make an oath of allegiance known as the common oath which meant that they promised not to be involved in any major crime and if they did their entire family was punished.

  Cases such as theft were heard in hundred courts and the punishments were decided there.

  Punishments could include exile for the criminal and their family
• Law and Order - Oath System - Change

  Change:

  Normans introduced murdrum fine - if any Norman earl was murdered then the entire area where the criminal lived was heavily fined.

  Law extended to include any Norman who was attacked or injured by Anglo-Saxons

  Law was introduced because of the large number of Norman earls who were vulnerable to attack by the local Anglo-Saxons
• Law and Order - Changes to Language

  Latin was spoken and written by some people in England after the Norman Conquest

  Latin was used by literate people such as monks and churchmen who were responsible for copying books and texts

  People of Norman descent spoke more English and English people spoke more French words
• Law and Order - Changes to Language

  Change:

  Written English declined after 1066 as all writs and charters were written in Latin

  Ecclesiastical writs (church laws), laws, letters, church sermons, science, law and theology were all written in Latin

  Latin became the language of the Government

  Therefore it was essential for important people in society to learn it, and parish schools and universities all taught in Latin
• Law and Order - Punishment Changes

  Change:

  Normans changed the ways in which people were punished in order to maintain control over the population.

  Normans introduced Ordeal by Combat - if a nobleman was accused of crime he would fight his accuser and whoever won the fight was thought to be right. The loser was wrong and was also usually dead by the end of the fight.
• Law and Order - Punishment Continuity

  Continuity:

  Anglo-Saxons used capital punishment, mutilation and the ordeal system.

  Trial by Ordeal was based on the belief of Judicium Dei or the Judgement of God to prove a person's guilt or innocence.

  People believed if a person was innocent of a crime then they would have been saved by God.
• Law and Order - Punishment Continuity

  Continuity:

  Ordeal by Fire - person putting their arm into a cauldron of boiling water or holding a red hot iron bar and walking three paces. The wound would be bandaged and if it started healing in the next three days the person was innocent.

  Ordeal by Water - suspected person gets strapped to a chair and thrown into a lake. If they sank they were innocent and if they floated they were guilty and then they were executed. The accused died in any case either by drowning or execution.
• The Forest Laws

  William took land away from earls, increasing his ownership of land in England

  The land was known as the forest and it was a private land for his use

  Local people were often associated and their homes were removed in order for William to hunt in his forest undisturbed
• The Forest Laws

  Some people hunted on William's forest land

  Anyone who was found 'poaching' William's lands or found guilty of damaging his plants was harshly punished with some Anglo-Saxons being blinded for these crimes

  William seized land from people and punished anyone doing anything on these lands that he had taken
• Overview of Villages

  Peasants lived in cottages, grew crops on strips of land and grazed their animals on common land

  Land was farmed in strips because it was easier for the oxen to pull the plough in a straight line

  Main crops were oat, barley, wheat and rye

  Villages had new Norman Landlords
• Important Buildings in Villages

  Church was in the centre of the village and was made of stone and was the most important building in the village

  Church tower had a bell in that was rung to tell villagers when to start and finish work

  Peasants spent most of their free time in the church

  Church held services on sundays, feast days and holy days

  Church was sturdy because it stored goods, served as a prison and acted as a fortress in times of danger
• Open Field System

  Farmland and pasture around a village was divided into fields by surrounding hedges

  Some fields were used for grazing cattle

  Others were used for growing crops

  Fields for crops were divided into strips but not separated by fences or hedges

  About 25 to 35 percent of the land was kept for the use of the lord and the rest was divided amongst the peasants

  Each peasant was responsible for farming and paid rent to the lord in the form of money or a share of crops
• Open Field System

  Examples of crops grown - grain, vegetables and herbs

  Peasants also made beer for the lord of the manor

  Some fields were left fallow - meant that they were left empty for a year or two - gave the soil time to recover so that it would produce better crops when planted again
• Peasants Home

  Also known as a cruck house

  Poorest peasants called serfs or villeins lived in houses around the lord's manor and were not allowed to leave without permission

  Most serfs were farmers but others were servants or craftspeople

  Peasants' homes were cold, damp and a dark with a floor made of packed mud which was hot in the summer and cold in the winter

  They had very small windows to help keep it warm and prevent people from breaking in
• Peasants Home

  Straw was used if peasants could afford it as it was easy to replace and was sweet-smelling

  Walls made from wattle and daub. Once dry, the mixture was hard and waterproof

  Animals were brought into the home at night to keep them safe from predators - led to poor hygiene and caused health problems for vulnerable members of the peasant family

  There was no bathroom and peasants bathed around twice a year
• Manors

  A group of peasants called freemen lived in the manor

  They had to pay rent and work for the lord of the manor during sowing and harvest time

  demesne - land all owned by a lord

  Manor houses were made from stone rather than wattle and daub and were warmer and more secure

  Peasants could not leave the manor unless they had permission
• Reeve

  Reeve is a senior official who worked on behalf of the Crown in local areas.

  After Norman conquest their job was reduced to the day-to-day management of the manor and its peasants to ensure they did their jobs.

  The reeve was a peasant chosen by a lord or voted by other peasants
• Bailiff

  Bailiff was in charge of collecting taxes for the crown and ensuring that crops were gathered and debts were repaid
• Priest

  Priest ran the local church and was responsible for ensuring marriages and wills were legal
• Miller

  Millers produced grain to make bread for the area. Bread had to be baked in the ovens of the lord of the manor and the lord decided how much the miller paid for it
• Seasons

  Peasants' lives were dictated by the farming year.

  Peoples' lives were dependent upon the seasons.

  Spring - Sowing seeds

  Summer - Harvesting crops

  Autumn - Ploughing fields

  Winter - Surviving
• Village Life - Farming

  Peasants ploughed the land and then sowed crops, carried out reaping and haymaking.

  Carried out binding and thatching or threshing.
• Village Life - Brewers and Millers

  Brewers made beer from crops but could not sell it until their lord decided upon a price.

  Millers ground corn into flour and if they used hand mills they were fined by the lord. They were not aloud to bake bread in their own home and had to use the lord's ovens which was expensive.
• Village Life - Diet

  Peasants would have rye bread during the day.

  They also had an evening meal of vegetables that they grew themselves

  Drink was homemade beer or cider

  Meat, fruit and sugar was expensive

  Peasants ate honey if they wanted sugar

  The lord and thegns ate fish and meat on a daily basis as well as cakes and pastries

  Meats were bacon, beef, mutton.

  River fish were eaten by everyone who could catch them

  Women only finished work after their husband and kids had finished eating
• Village Life - Holy days

  Holy days started off with a church service and would be followed by entertainment such as wrestling, shin-kicking, cock fighting and sometimes a musician or someone with a bear.
• How much did towns grow under the Normans?

  90 percent of the population lived in villages

  There were established towns like Winchester, Chester and York before the Normans arrived

  Normans encouraged town growth as they saw the potential for improving trade
• Growing Settlements and Villages

  London became increasingly important as did Norwich

  Winchester started to decline in importance before William built and new cathedral

  Smaller towns like Bury St Edmunds grey due to markets

  Norman nobles encouraged development as it increased trade especially in the south that had links with Normandy and France.

  Between 1066 and 1100 21 new towns were created
• Evidence of Growth in Towns

  Many towns developed around new cathedrals. later becoming important religious centres such as Durham

  Norman castles became trade centres

  A good indicator of size and development was the number of burgesses (town dwellers from upper ranks of towns people who owed services and taxes to a lord and could buy/sell property) e.g. Lincoln had 970 burgesses

  They also had legal and administrative powers
• Evidence of Town Growth

  1086 - Domesday book recorded:

  London - 10,000 inhabitants

  Winchester - 6000 inhabitants
• Salt Trade

  Very important, used for cooking and preserving food

  Droitwich grew rapidly due to salt production and sales

  Domesday book shows there were 13 salt houses there and salt workers could pay tax to the king in salt
• Metalwork Trade

  Iron and lead production was very important in Norman England for building houses and making weapons

  Towns specialised in metal working like Gloucester were often near woodland as wood was often used in furnaces needed to shape and melt metal
• Wool Trade

  Wool was in great demand in England and neighbouring countries for making clothes.

  Produced in the countryside and brought along major rivers to markets in towns such as York and Lincoln

  Often exported abroad e.g. Belgium

  Some coastal towns like London grew in international trade which created links for fine cloth and wine too.