Revision 3 -The Norman Conquest - 1066

8/8/2019 Revision 3 -The Norman Conquest - 1066

1/25

The Norman Conquest - 1066


2/25

E ngland was united

under the leadershipof Alfred the Great.He managed todefeat most of theViking raiders. Bythe 1000s E nglandwas one unitedcountry with onesingle set of laws.


3/25

Having defeated the vikings Anglo Saxons were soon

given a new challenge. In1066 a duke from Normandyin France invaded and killedHarold Godwinson the SaxonKing. His name was Williamthe Conqueror.


4/25

As with Saxon times, the Tithingswere still used. The Shire reeve wasalso still used but he became knownas the Sheriff.


5/25

The Posse was similar to a tithing.They were a groiup of men that thesheriff would use to help him trackdown an outlaw.

E ach village elected a Constablefor one year. This was a normal

member of the village who had toalso sort out law and order for oneyear. Most of the well respectedmen in a village would do a spell asa constable.


6/25

In was in the later middle ages thatCoroners were first used. Their mainrole was to investigate the cause of deathand organise criminals who were insanctuary. They had no medical trainingand did not dissect bodies but they mayinvestigate by questioning.

It wasnt until the E arly Modern periodthat coroners used medical dissectionto help them.


7/25

By the later Middle Ages, theSheriffs job bacame that of theJu stice of the Peace . E achvillage had one. It was often themost wealthy man in the village.


8/25

After the Norman Conquest William declaredall forests as Royal Forests. These F orestLaws made it a crime to hunt or even chopdown trees in the forest.


9/25

Rebellion was common after theBattle of Hastings as many of theSaxons in Britain refused to acceptthe new Norman rulers.

Hereward the Wake


10/25


11/25


12/25

Because of paying tto much

tax, the peasants of Kentmarched to London in1381. They campaigned tothe king to reduce the tax.There was a scuffle inwhich the kings adviser

was killed. The kingordered the rebels to gohome, which they did.They were later rounded upand the ring leaders wereexecuted.


13/25

In order to reduce crime and prevent rebellion William used public execution asa d eterrant. He also used more public punishments like whipping and stocks.


14/25

There were a number of ways to avoid execution.

Read the Neck Verse

Get pregnant

Join the Army

Become Kings Approver (Snitch)

Buy a pardon


15/25

The Fines system was differentfrom the Wergild. During Saxontimes your fine went to the personthat you had hurt. After theNorman Conquest, your fine wentto king.


16/25

You may have had you eyes gouged out if you killed a stag as thekings considered them to be their property.


17/25

The D u nking Stool was saved for women who were Scol d s


18/25

Being tied to a cart (Carting), whipped, stocks and pillory became much morecommon. They were punishments given out for a variety of crimes. Petty theft,vagrancy, selling mouldy produce, fighting in the street whilts drunk. The point

of it being in public was to h um iliate and so d eter.


19/25

The Normans introduced the custom of Peine F ort et D u re . This wasbeing crushed to death by having weights put on your chest. If yourefused to speak or defend yourself in court it would be an option.

Although you obviously died, you died an innocent man and so youfamily got to keep your belongings.


20/25

K ings were responsible for making the lawthroughout the Middle Ages. They wouldenforce the Kings Peace.

Most of the old Saxon Laws remainedunchanged into the Norman period. TheNormans simply changed and adapted afew to suit their needs. Ju ries became

more commonly used as did evi d ence.


21/25

T rial by O r d eal was replaced byT rial by Co m bat but the

principle was the same. It wasused in cases where guilt couldnot be decided as they believedthat God would not let aninnocent man suffer.


22/25

Norman law was u nfair as it favouredNormans over Saxons. It also sometimesfavoured the rich.


23/25

Prison tended to be used for thoseawaiting trial. If there was a castlenearby it would be the d u ngeon.Other than that it would be a securebuilding that was actually quite easyto escape from. It would be theTithings responsibility to guard thebuilding but it was sometimescheaper to allow the criminal toescape a pay the fine instead of missing days of work.


24/25

R oyal Co u rts held by kings for very important cases stayed asR oyal Co u rts

Shire Co u rts held twice a year byKings officials, dealt with serious

cases became Qu

arter Sessionshel d 4 ti m es a year

Hu n d re d Co u rts held once amonth to sort minor crimes andorganise the tithing. Didnt meetas often

Manor co u rts held by lords tosort out their workers remainedManor Co u rts

The court system remainedvirtually the same. They justchanged the name of some of

the courts.


25/25

Revision 3 -The Norman Conquest - 1066

Documents