Migration c800-1500

• Vikings reasons

  • The first Viking raid on England took place 789. More raids followed as Vikings searched for valuable items such as gold silver and jewels in monasteries and abbeys.
  • By the 9th century, the Vikings wanted to invade England to settle and farm the rich fertile land and become rich from the established trade.
  • the Vikings captured York in 866, from then they went onto conquer most of eastern England
  • this became the Danelaw
• Vikings Experience

  • Evidence suggests the Danes ( Viking migrants) and Saxons adapted to each other and lived peacefully. Many Danes became Christians. Others continued to worship their own gods.
  • The Saxon rulers continued to fight Danes in the SoUtah however in 1016, the Saxons surrendered and Cnut became King of England.
  • king cnut:
  • allowed Saxons to hold power
  • used Danegeld to prevent any further Viking raids
  • supported Christian church
• Vikings impact

  • the basis of Viking law- making was ‘do not kill’ and ‘do not steal’ both of which continue today
  • the Vikings spoke Old Norse- modern day Old Norse words include ‘knife‘ and ‘smile’
• Normans reasons

  • Led by William, Duke of Normandy, the Normans invaded England in 1066
  • william believes he was promised the crown by the late king, Edward the Confessor.
  • william extended power and the NormaMz that followed him became rich from owning the land
  • William appointed Lanfranc as Archbishop of Canterbury in 1070.
• Norman Experience

  • After the Battle of Hastings, Norman migrants faced a series of rebellions
  • they gaines control by buildings castles and cathedrals, creating fear the Harrying of the North and introducing the feudal system
• Norman Impact

  • the Norman’s changed the church when William replaced all but one of the Saxon bishops with Norman ones
  • Links with Christendom grew as members of religious orders migrated founding monasteries and abbeys.
  • Changes landscape building castles and Cathedrals
  • Tower of London
• Jews reasons

  • in the 1070s King William I invited a group of Jewish merchants for their money lending skills
  • they went on to share in his increased wealth
  • settled in places like London, York and Canterbury
  • After 1135, more Jewish families migrated as twins and trade grew
  • by the mid-thirteenth century there were Jewish communities in many English towns