AngloSaxons/Normans

• Key Events in 1066


  5th January - Edward the Confessor dies

  6th January - Harold Godwinson Crowned King

  20th September - Hardrada and Tostig defeat Edwin and Morcar at Gate Fulford

  25th September - Harold defeats Hardrada and Tostig at Stamford Bridge

  14th October - Harold is defeated by Norman's at the Battle of Hastings
• William rewarded his own followers after invading by:

  Sending rich gifts to the Pope and Church supporters in Normandy

  Introducing a heavy geld tax to pay mercenaries

  Giving land to family members and advisers, such as his half brother Odo and Gaspatric
• Why did William Commission the Domesday Book?


  -To help William come with tax for an impending Viking invasion

  -Acts as a formal written record of England to help with introducing the Norman Feudal System

  -To record arguments over ownerships of land

  -To recruit soldiers
• Info the Domesday Book Found Out

  -All the land in England was controlled by 250 people

  -Showed how much wealth the population had

  -Helped William ensure there were loyal Normans throughout the kingdom - 10,000 Norman settlers found through the survey
• Law and Order Continuity from AS Times

  -Hundred courts dealt with local issues

  -Shire courts met 2x a year to discuss cases about land, crime, taxes and rebellions which were heard by the Sheriff

  -Ordeal by fire

  -Ordeal by water
• Law and Order Changes

  Primogeniture was introduced - oldest son in a family would inherit land

  Trial by combat was introduced

  Murdrum Fine - AS villagers had to pay a heavy fine if a Norman was killed near their village and find the culprit

  Laws were written in Latin
• The Forest Laws

  William took land away from earls to increase his owner ship of land

  The land was known as the Forest

  Anyone found 'poaching' on Williams land was harshly punished, with Anglo-Saxons being blinded for these crimes

  William seized land from people and punished anyone doing anything on his lands
• Norman Villages - Jobs

  Bailiff - collected taxes, ensured crops were gathered, debts were repaid

  Reeve - peasant who was chose to be a senior official by the lord, they managed the peasants and the manor

  Miller - produced grain for bread, which had to be baked in lord's ovens and the lord how much the miller paid for this

  Priest - ran the local church , ensured marriages and wills were legal
• Norman Villages - Farming

  Peasants farmed and grew food to eat as well as to give as rent

  Mainly crops like rye, oats and barley with cattle free to graze in fields.

  Summer - Harvesting crops

  Spring - planting seeds

  Autumn - ploughing fields

  Winter - surviving
• Norman Villages - Peasants Home

  The poorest peasants (serfs or villeins) lived in houses around the manor

  They were not aloud to leave the manor without the lord's permission

  Were farmers, servants, craftspeople

  Quality and layout of a house depended on societal position

  Peasants home was quiet, dark, damp, had mud floors and small windows to keep them warm, prevent break-ins, one room and thatched roofs that can easily be burnt down
• Norman Villages - Manors

  The manor house and houses of the peasants who worked for the lord were found in the demesne

  Made from stone, not wattle and daub, were warmer and more secure
• Norman Villages - Church

  At the centre was the church, made of stone and the most important building

  Church tower had a bell that rang to tell the villagers when to start and finish work

  Peasants spent most of their free time in the church as there were services on Sundays, feast days and holy days (now 'holidays' because people didn't work)

  Had to be sturdy as it stored goods, was a prison and fortress
• Norman Villages - Diet

  Peasants ate any vegetables they could grow as well as bread and ale due to the water being unsafe to drink

  Meat was rare and expensive due to new forest laws

  Lords and thegns ate meat and sugary foods

  Used spices to disguise the lack of freshness of meat
• Sheriff


  Responsible for defence and making sure people obeyed the law

  Also guarded Norman Castles
• How did Normans influence religion in England? - Bishops

  William wanted to reform the Church but not at the expense of his power

  Anglo-Saxon bishops and archbishops were replaced with Normans e.g. Archbishop Stigand was replaced by Lanfrac

  By 1080 there was only 1 AS bishop left

  Placed Normans in power, removed Anglo-Saxons, exerted his power, made sure those in power obeyed him
• How did Normans Influence Religion in England? - Organisation

  Dioceses (Areas of land served by the Church or Cathedral) were divided into archdeaconries, which were further divided into deaneries
• How did Normans Influence Religion in England? - priests

  Peasants didn't experience changes to their religious experience, since most AS priests kept their jobs

  local priests ere poorly educated

  some married and stayed as such even under the reforms
• How did Normans Influence Religion in England? - Legal Issues

  William adhered the Papal Law by reintroducing a tax of 1p which every household had to pay to the Pope

  In 1076, Council of Winchester ordered only Church Courts could try the clergy, not local courts

  New cathedrals were built in more important towns and cities e.g. Lincoln.

  Better order and control to oversee the church
• Things Banned by the Church

  Pluralism - holding more than one job/position in the church

  Simony - selling jobs/positions in the church

  Nepotism - giving a job or office to someone in the church because they were a friend or relative of someone in the church

  Marriage - the clergy weren't allowed to get married (stayed celibate)
• Church Terms

  Monasticism - when monks and nuns devote their lives to God

  Abbey - a church with domestic buildings attached

  Monastery - building occupied by a community of monks and nuns

  Scriptorium - a room set apart for writing, especially in a monastery where manuscripts were copied

  Vow - a solemn promise
• Religious Orders

  An order is a group of religious people who follow the teachings of a particular holy person

  In Norman times the most influential person was St Benedict whose teachings had been followed by the 6th century

  The first order to follow them was Benedictine monks
• Who was St Benedict?


  Born in Italy

  Studied in Rome

  Decided to live away from everyday life to focus n worshipping God
• What did St Benedict find?


  A monastery in Monte Cassino where he wrote a set of rules for monks to live by

  After death, the rule of St B became the basic life guide for all monastic institutions

  His community became known as the Order of St Benedict which included monks and nuns who train for years as novices
• Vows

  Vow of Poverty - Monks and nuns have to give up wealth and personal possessions when they join a monastery

  Vow of Chastity - abstaining from sex and other physical pleasure e.g. sweet food, alcohol

  Vow of obedience - monks and nuns have to obey the teachings of God through the Bible, their abbot / abbess and rules of order

  Vow of Stability - promise to never leave the monastic community, for some this is never leaving the monastery
• 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 Normans arrived

  Normans encouraged town growth as they saw the potential for improving trade
• How much did towns grow under the Normans? Growing settlements

  London became increasingly important, as did Norwich

  Winchester started to decline in significance before William built a new cathedral

  Smaller towns like Bury St Edmunds grew due to markets

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

  Between 1066 - 1100 , 21 new towns were created
• How much did towns grow under the Normans? Evidence

  Many towns developed around new cathedrals, later becoming important religious centres e.g. 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

  They also had legal and administrative powers
• Salt Trades

  Very important, used for cooking and preserving food

  Droitwich increased rapidly due to salt production and sales

  Domesday books 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 metalworking like Gloucester were often near woodland
• Guilds

  Made up of craftspeople - weavers, goldsmiths,

  Made up of conduct traders - bakers, butchers, fishmongers

  Each of these groups joined together to make guilds
• Wool

  In great demand in England and neighbour countries for clothes

  Made in the country, brought along major rivers to markets in towns like York, Lincoln

  Often exported abroad e.g. Belgium

  Some coastal towns like London grew in international trade which created links for fine cloth and wine trade
• Archbishop Lanfrac 1010 - 1089


  Was and italian benedictine monk in the early days of his career

  Was the abbot of Bec Abbey

  1066 - went to Rome to obtain papal banner to help William with conquering england

  Played an important role in Williams reform of the church in Normandy and England

  1070 - became Archbishop of Canterbury
• Archbishop Anslem 1033 - 1109


  1060 - joined the Benedictine monastery in Bec

  1063 - Anslem was made prior of Bec monastery where he was highly respected and wrote books about the existence of God and faith

  1093 - became archbishop of Canterbury

  He was banished from England because he had many arguments with William II because he was abusing the Church

  He remained Archbishop of Canterbury until he died

  He always put the church before his king