3.13-3.15 Impact of the Norman Conquest

• Why was the King's Book nicknamed the 'Domesday' book?


  means day of judgement
• How did William collect information for the 'Domesday' book?

  • 34 shires were divided into 7 circuits (regions)

  • each circuit had 4 commissioners

  • over 13,400 manors information was collected in 6 months
• What questions were asked?

  • name of manour

  • how much land

  • resources like ploughs, mills and fisheries

  • who lives there, including freeman, villeins and slaves

  • how much was it worth when Edward died

  • how much is it worth now
• What are some reasons that historians believe are the reasons for the making of the 'Domesday' book?

  • taxation - working out how much everyone was paying, and who to charge more

  • land - where he can take more land from

  • power - show that more land was Norman ruled
• How did land ownership change after the Norman Conquest?

  • nobles given spread out land in different shires to prevent them building up power base to challange him

  • when Saxons died land was divided up property and gave to children but Normans gave all to eldest son

  • Norman lords built castles in middle of estates, treated local badly and charge high tax
• How were normal peoples lives affected?

  • due to high tax demand many were no longer free

  • even freeman had restriction:

  -> forced to build castles for lords and knights

  -> weren't allowed to fish in rivers

  -> banned from collected firewood in forest

  -> high fees for using mill to grind corn
• What group did benefit from Norman Conquest and how?

  slaves - died out in Normandy and in 1066 it fell in England
• How did trading with Normandy affect towns?

  • some towns grew in size

  • new towns created
• What happened to rebellious towns?


  • population fell

  • towns attacked, houses and workshops destroyed to make room for castles
• How were markets affected?

  Normans took control in order to make profit, charging traders high rents meaning people couldn't make a living
• How was law affected by the Norman Conquest?

  • Saxons used 'trail by ordeal' using hot iron or boiling water on hands, if wounds healed God says they're innocent

  • Normans changed it to 'trail by combat' between accused and accuser, God would intervene to kill guilty

  • Murdurm - an enormous fine that a whole town had to pay if Norman was killed until murderer was found

  • Forest Law - harsh punishments for hunting in Williams forest, like 2 fingers if you killed rabbit
• How was the churches affected by the Norman Conquest?

  • Stigand was removed as Archbishop of Canterbury

  • rebuilt cathedrals making them larger and grander

  • new monasteries were built and Norman monks bought over