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TEMA 2.- “Early Middle Ages”
THE NORMAN CONQUEST
The Norman Conquest of England began on 28 September 1066 with the invasion of England by William “the Conqueror” (duke of Normandy), who received that name after his victory in the Battle of Hastings against the king Harold II Godwinson.
Harold’s army was badly depleted in the Battle of Stamford Bridge, so by early 1077 , William had secured control of most of England, although rebellions and resistance continued to approximately 1088.
William moved gently at first and tried to disturb the Anglo-Saxons as little as possible. But rebellions against the Normans provoked him into harsher action.
The Norman Conquest was a pivotal event in English history. It removed the native ruling class, replacing it with a foreign French-speaking monarchy, aristocracy and clerical hierarchy. This brought a transformation of the English language and culture in a new era often referred to as Norman England.
Normans quickly adapted to the indigenous culture, renouncing paganism and converting to Christianity. They adopted the langue d’oïl and added features from their Norse language, creating the Norman language. They also blended by intermarrying with the local population.
By bringing England under the control of rulers originating in France, it linked the country more closely with continental Europe and lessened Scandinavian influence, so it started a rivalry with France that continued for many centuries. It also had important consequences for the rest of the British Isles, paving the way for further Norman conquests in Wales and Ireland.
The Norman Conquest was the last successful invasion of England by a foreign claimant. Others have tried, but also failed. The importance of 1066 is seen in the permanence of those changes.
FEUDALISM, KINGSHIP AND MAGNA CARTA; HENRY II,
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After the Norman Conquest and the Anglo-Saxon rebellions, only the ones who accepted William immediately kept their lands. Williams gave the other ones to the Normans and other French allies.
He also gave large pieces of land to each noble in different parts of the country so none of his enemies could easily gather an army against him. The king kept a fifth for himself to make sure he was stronger than any noble, and also gave a quarter to the Church. As a result, England had one powerful family instead of a large number of powerful nobles. He and his successors thought about England as their property. William organized the country according to the feudal system that was already developing when he invaded England.
The central idea was that all land was owned by the king but it was held by others , in return for services or goods. These main nobles gave part of their land to lesser nobles, knights and other freemen.
The two main principles of feudalism were: every man had a lord and every lord had a land. A man had to promise loyalty to his lord. The responsibilities of the lord were to give land and protection.
By 1086 , William wanted to know exactly who owned each piece of land, how much it produced and how much to expect in taxes. He sent someone to investigate and this became known as the Domesday Book because of the paintings of the Day of Judgement (nobody could escape from this).
The only difference to William about his land in England and France was that as Duke of Normandy he had to pay homage to the King as his overlord, while in England he was king himself. The following generations would fight constantly about who should be king of England/Duke of Normandy and the question of keeping all this land united.
After the death of Henry I (William’s grandson), a civil war started that lasted 19 years between his nephew Stephen (who became king) and his daughter Matilda. Eventually, when Stephen’s son died , it was agreed that Matilda’s son, Henry (II) , would be the next monarch of England. He wasn’t only that, but ruler of lands that stretched from the Scottish border to the Pyrenees. He also recognized the king of Frances as his overlord, but he himself controlled a larger area of land. Thomas Becket was appointed Chancellor of England and became Henry II´s good friend. In 1162 , Henry made Thomas the Archbishop of Canterbury to give himself more control over the courts of the church. Becket and Henry had a fight a year later over church law, and Becket was exiled to France. In 1169 , Thomas came back, but he was murdered by Henry a year later.
Despite his great empire and his wish to keep it united, Henry and Eleanor had a good marriage, until it was soured by his promiscuity (he also imprisoned her), so in 1173 , Eleanor encouraged her sons to stage a revolt against their father. Henry’s sons and his wife , Eleanor of Aquitane, rebelled against him and he died in 1189 defeated (blood poisoned) and disappointed.
Henry’s son Richard, or Lionheart , spent most of his reign fighting against muslims. He was popular because of this. Earned him the nickname “The Absent King” because he only spent six months of his 10-year-reing in England. Richard swore allegiance with
