Norman Aristoracy

• Norman culture


  showing off wealth and power
• used fashion to show odd their wealth by shaving the back of their heads to show they had time to spend on their appearance
• used hunting and ceremonial butchery to show off wealth - to make it clear they were not hunting to eat but for fun
• used building to show their power - built huge cathedrals, churches and castles

  50 years the Norman aristocrats had knocked down Anglo Saxon buildings and built better versions - Westminster cathedral
• brought chivalry (doing the right thing) to England - idolised the knights and had a whole set of moral guidelines about how to conduct war - put captured enemies in prison rather then killing them
• changes to Christian culture


  Normans were religious as well as obsessed with warfare - they completed penance (doing something to atone for their sins) - they would donate, pray, build churches
• attitudes to the English


  Normans looked down on the English and destroyed many relics
• changes to landholding


  Normans passed their land to a single heir - kept family lands together - they were attached to the land and family names were reflected in the place name
• changes to language


  witing - Lattin

  speaking - French

  reading - most Norman aristocrats couldn't read - they had litertaure read to them and they memorised it