Norman England

• When did the Norman's invade England?

  1066
• Who led the Norman Invasion of England?

  William the Conqueror
• Who was King before William the Conqueror?


  King Harold II
• What was the population of Anglo-Saxons to Normans in England in 1066?

  300 to 1
• Were many Anglo-Saxon laws retained or lost after 1066?

  They were retained
• When were there many rebellions against Norman rule in England?

  1068 to 1071
• When was the most serious uprising against the Normans in the North?

  1069
• How did William respond to the rebellion in the North of England?

  He killed hundreds and destroyed their homes and crops, resulting in many deaths from starvation
• What was William's retribution against the Northern Rebellion known as?

  The Harrying of the North
• How much of England became Royal Forest after 1066?

  Thirty percent
• What happened to Anglo-Saxons who lived on the land which became Royal Forest?

  They were evicted
• What was the punishment for poaching on Royal Forest land?

  Capital punishment
• Were you able to hunt on Royal Forest land?

  Yes if you paid
• What was the name for the restriction of hunting in the Royal Forest?

  The forest laws
• What were many forests considered before the forest laws?

  Common land
• Why did people ignore the forest laws?

  Because they depended on the land for their survival and livelihoods
• What was the Murdrum law?


  A law stipulating that if a Norman was killed by an Anglo-Saxon, the people in the area where the body was found would pay a large fine to the king
• When did the Black Death first come to England?

  1348
• How much of England's population died during the first Black Death epidemic?

  Thirty percent
• What happened as a result of the Black Death?

  There was a shortage of labourers, therefore they realised their worth and asked for higher wages
• When was the Statute of Labourers introduced?

  1351
• What was entailed within the Statute of Labourers?

  It was illegal to ask for higher pay or move elsewhere to look for higher wages
• When was the Treason Act?

  1351
• What was entailed within the Treason Act?

  It differentiated between high treason and petty treason
• What was an example of high treason?

  Disloyalty to the King
• What was petty treason?

  Murdering a superior, e.g. a servant murdering his master or a wife murdering her husband
• What was the punishment for treason?

  Capital punishment
• What happened after being executed for treason?

  The criminals property would be reverted to the Crown for high treason and to their Lord for petty treason
• What was heresy?

  Challenging the authority of the Church
• Why did the Church want to punish those who questioned them?

  Some in the middle ages criticised the Church for amassing wealth and power rather than spreading the word of God and serving the local community
• When were laws against heresy passed?

  1382, 1401, 1414
• What was the punishment for heresy?

  Capital punishment
• What was a forester?

  Someone who patrolled the Royal Forest, enforcing the Forest Laws
• Which form of Trial by Ordeal was introduced by the Normans?

  Trial by Combat
• What was Trial by Combat?

  • The accused and the accuser would fight, often to the death
  • If the accused surrendered, they would be executed often
• When was Trial by Ordeal abolished?

  1215
• How many castles did the Normans build between 1066-1090?

  500
• What new type of court did the Normans introduce?

  Church Courts
• What were church courts?

  Courts which tried clergymen and moral crimes e.g. adultery
• What was a coroner?

  Someone who investigated and recorded details of suspicious deaths