DID THE CONQUEST MATTER?. Did one warrior aristocracy simply replace another without broader influence on England’s government, economy, church and society?

DID THE CONQUEST MATTER?

WHAT HAVE THE NORMANS EVER DONE FOR US?

Did one warrior aristocracy simply replace another without broader influence on England’s government, economy, church and society?

SO WHAT!?

All change in England after the conquest not simply a consequence of Conquest

Late 11th century was a time of great religious, economic, political and social change throughout Western Europe

England would not have stood still

A BIG ISSUE

The best place to look for change is in those areas that would have concerned William most!

LAND OWNERSHIP, GOVERNMENT, WAR, AND LAW AND…

Respect for traditionEnglish government relatively sophisticatedSimply took over the existing system of shires

and hundredsUsed hidage system to collect taxCoinage system remained intactEngland and Normandy retained separate

governmentsEngland NOT remade in Normandy’s image

Government

The most obvious changes were personnel changes

Normans dominated royal administration at its highest ranks

Form and nature of royal documents remained intact BUT language changed. After 1070 only Latin used

TIME FOR CHANGE

Large regions set aside as royal forests. Areas included cultivated regions

Royal forests as much to do with revenue raising as hunting

FINES for privileges and offensesRemember Robin Hood as indication of

unpopularity of forest laws

FOREST LAWS

Normans built on existing structureDid not radically alter governmentIncreasing bureaucracy, literacy and numeracy

were features of the periodEXCHEQUER: new accounting system based

on abacus appeared under Henry I (owed more to the importation of Arabic and Chinese knowledge than Norman Conquest)

THE IMPACT OF THE NORMAN CONQUEST ON GOVERNMENT WAS SURPRISINGLY LIMITED

KING CONTINUITY

THE NORMANS BROUGHT FAR GREATER CHANGES IN GEOPOLITICS THAN TO THE MECHANICS OF GOVERNMENT

Geowhat???

GEOPOLITICS

Northern separatism removed and north more firmly incorporated into the realm

Crushing of rebellions, construction of castles, lordships (Carlisle!)

Borders with Scotland become relatively fixed through warfare and deals. Henry I marries Edith (Matilda), daughter of King Malcolm

‘True’ slow conquest of Wales beginsScandinavian relationships become far less importantRelations with France become more close. The King of

England ends up with more of France than the King of France!

THE NORMAN CONQUEST PROFOUNDLY EFFECTED ENGLAND’S RELATIONS WITH ITS NEIGHBOURS

GEOPOLITICS

The Normans brought important military innovations to England such as dragon slaying

THE CASTLE – even here there is continuity;Simple Motte and Bailey not altogether a

revolutionary break from the lightly fortified Anglo -Saxon noble residence

Castles had important non-military role similar to Anglo-Saxon lordly hall –places of residence, administration and lordship

Some castles were built on places of lordship

BLOOD AND GUTS - MILITARY

HOWEVER… Castles brought a new revolutionary dynamic

England fortified in far greater depthTowns controlled by castlesBalance of warfare shifted from battles to

siegesBuilding in stoneEnglish resources went into castle building at

the expense of the fleet. Naval strength went into decline

CASTLES

Main change was heavily armoured cavalryDid not adopt battle axe because it was not a cavalry

weaponBayeux Tapestry reveals both sides used similar

armour and some of the same weapons – swords, spears and bows ( though Normans introduced crossbows but not the revolutionary weapon the longbow would become)

THE SUPERIORITY OF THE MOUNTED NORMAN KNIGHT TO THE ANGLO-SAXON WARRIOR HAS SOMETIMES BEEN EXAGGERATED BUT CHANGE IN THE MILITARY FIELD WAS NONETHELESS EXTENSIVE

CAVALRY

Norman lust for land and determination to break the English aristocracy after 1070 produced a revolution in landholding.

The change was more than the replacement of English landholders by Norman ones!

However, the impact was far less than its potential for change…

LANDHOLDING

Domesday reveals the BALANCE of landholding within the elite changed

Edward had been the greatest individual landholder but the collective wealth of the Godwines outstripped his

Other earls had vast landholdingsWilliam doubled the king’s share of lands in England

collecting roughly 17% of revenues recorded in DomesdayThough William rewarded his followers richly none

approached what the Godwine family had ownedTHE BALANCE OF LANDED WEALTH THEREFORE SHIFTED

GREATLY BETWEEN THE KING AND THE LEADING NOBLES GREATLY ENHANCING THE POWER OF THE CROWN.

The 25% of English land owned by the church remained largely unchanged

DOMESDAY AGAIN

William’s successors gave huge amounts of landBy 1300 royal lands accounted for only 2% of landed

incomeBy 1086 the great noble had already granted out

more than half their estates!Initially knights who obtained this land remained

closely attached to their benefactor but over the generations they became like independent landholders and recreated the late Anglo-Saxon phenomenon of a very large lesser aristocracy

What did not appear for centuries was a ‘Godwine type’ which could challenge royal power on their own

CHANGE NOT PERMANENT

Late Anglo-Saxon Estates tended to be scatteredNorman tended to have compact lordshipsVarious mechanisms for the transfer of land including

making Normans ‘heirs’ to Saxon landholdersCreation of compact lordships in militarily sensitive areas

had greatest impact on ‘consolidation’ of land. Lordship in the Welsh Marches and the north gained unusual political weight as a consequence

HOWEVER, descendents often gave out grants of land and rebellious noble would have their lands broken up, so…

THE REVOLUTION IN LANDHOLDING HAD LESS LONG-TERM THAN MEDIUM-TERM CONSEQUENCES FOR THE STRUCTURE OF ARISTOCRATIC POWER AND PROPERTY OWNERSHIP

NATURE OF LANDHOLDING

FEUDALISMTHE 'F' WORD

TIME TO RUN FOR COVERIt has been said that the Normans introduce

Feudalism to England and profoundly changed England as a consequence

IT ALL DEPENDS ON WHAT YOU MEAN BY FEUDALISM!

Not your typical continental variety…