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Paper 2B - Anglo-Saxon and Norman Independent study booklet

Year 11 GCSE History Paper 2B –

Information booklet

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Paper 2B - Anglo-Saxon and Norman England Independent study booklet

Key Topic 1 - 1 INFO: Anglo-Saxon Society.

1. Importance of land. Society was based on land. The more land you had the more powerful you were. If you owned land you could rent it to who would pay you (rent and tax) for growing crops on your land and help you grow your own crops for free.

People Number Power and responsibilities

King 1 Protect the from war and attack. To give land to his allies to help him rule and take away land from those who challenge. To create laws. He decided how much to tax people and controlled the production of silver coins.

Earls 6 Received large amounts of land from the king. Provided him with an army, ruled their

area of the country for the king. Got to keep 1/3 of the taxes they collected. E.g. Lords Godwin of (most powerful), Siward of , of .

Thegns 5,000 Local lords who managed areas of the country for the Anglo-Saxon king. Held less land than . Promised to fight for King when he asked.

Ceorls 200,000 Peasants who could move between and work for different lords. Still had to

fight for and Earls.

Peasants 1.8 Lived on the land given to them by their lord. Had to pay rent, work on their lord’s

million land for free and fight for the king as part of the fryd when told to. Peasants Slaves 200,000 Roughly 10% of population. Owned no land and had no rights. Treated like property.

2. Government The King made the laws and the Earls and thegns made sure it was carried out. The Witan was a group of lords and bishops (leaders of the church). They helped to choose the new King and advise the king on important matters, for example during invasions. However, the King did not have to listen to the Witan and decided who was included and when they met.

3. Local Government Earldoms were divided into . Each had its own law court for trying cases and giving punishments. The shire (or sheriff) would run this court, to make sure the king’s laws were followed. The shire reeve also helped to raise the army if the king needed it.

Each shire also had at least one (fortified ) as its main trading centre, and also for protection – people could go to the burh in case they were attacked. were built no more than 15-20 miles apart, so you were always close to one if you needed protection. Around 10% of England lived in burhs. Any trade over a certain amount had to be in a burh, so the king could collect the tax from it.

Shires were divided into Hundreds, and hundreds into . Tithings were then again divided into hides. Ten hides = a . When the call came from the King, each group of five hides had to provide one man for the fyrd, together with his battle equipment. These were ordinary farmers who occasionally had to fight. They would only fight for 40 days, then had to go back to look after their crops.

Villages in Anglo-Saxon England were not as we think of them today. They tended to be groups of houses, quite spread out over the countryside. A would often live in a big in the

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Paper 2B - Anglo-Saxon and Norman England Independent study booklet countryside, with a Church attached. This would form the centre of a , as people would travel to the thegns’ Churches to worship.

4. The Anglo-Saxon kings needed to rule the whole of England, but half the country, called the Danelaw, had slightly different (Viking) laws. For example, a man could have two wives in the Danelaw. This was because the people there came from Viking invaders. The Danelaw preferred to have a northern who would understand these laws. They paid less tax, as a reward for fighting off the Scottish and other Viking invaders.

5. The power of the king Kings of Anglo-Saxon England held their power ultimately because they led armies. Anglo-Saxon kings had clawed England back from Viking control. was not a king, but his earls and their thegns were a powerful military force and he relied on his early, especially Earl Godwin, to protect England from attack. Kings made sure that the Earls and thegns stayed loyal to them by giving them more land if they did as he said. He would also take their land away if they disobeyed him. The kings also had power because of ‘Divine Right of kings’, meaning that people thought God had chosen the king, and so everyone should listen to him.

6. Law and order In areas where the king was in charge there were set laws. If you killed or hurt someone, you had to pay a special fine known as wergild, to that person’s family. For example 3,600 shillings for an earl, or 1,200 for a thegn. There was also ‘blood feuds’ where the family of someone who had been murdered would kill the murderer's family member. For smaller crimes you could have your hand or eyes removed. There were no so you were responsible for the people in your community. You were placed in a group of 12 people and were responsible for stopping them carrying out crimes. If you saw them doing something bad you would let out a huge shout called a ‘hue and cry’. The whole village would have to go and find the criminal, you would be punished if you refused to help. If you were arrested for something and thought you were innocent you could go to trial, this meant letting other people decide who was guilty. You could either state the case to a - people from your community who would decide who was guilty or trial by ordeal, where you would let god decide who was guilty. You could choose by fire (your hand was burnt and you were guilty if it became infected) or trial by water (where you were guilty if you floated in water).

7. Religion Religion was very important in Anglo-Saxon England. Everyone was Christian and went to church for at least 100 days every year. People were worried about what would happen when they died so they took religion very seriously. Archbishops wee the most important men in the Church. They made sure the Bishops in their area did as they said. There was one Archbishop for the north (the Archbishop of ) and one for the south (the AB of ). Below them, Bishops controlled the churches in a large area. They were powerful men who owned lots of land, told the what to say and advised the King. Ordinary priests were often very poor, could not read and write and were members of the local community. They were usually married, which went against the reforms of the church that required priests to be celibate (single, and not involved in sexual relationships).

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Paper 2B - Anglo-Saxon and Norman England Independent study booklet

8. The Anglo-Saxon Economy England was a rich country that traded wool and cloth. Western England was particularly well-suited to sheep rearing. Eastern England had drier conditions and fertile soils that made it excellent for arable farming (growing crops). Farming was well-organised: for example, there were over 6,000 mills throughout the country used for grinding the local community’s grain into flour. England also traded abroad, for example they got millstones (used to grind flour) from and wine from .

Key Topic 1 – 1 TASKS Anglo-Saxon Society.

1. Create flashcards of Key Topic 1.1 Key Facts (list at the back of revision booklet). Get someone to test you or use look, cover, check until you know them.

2. Create a mind map around the question ‘How was Anglo-Saxon society organised?’. Have a branch for each of the sub-topics above. Key topic 1 – 2 INFO: The Last Years of Edward the Confessor and the Succession Crisis.

1. The . The Godwin family were an important political power in England. The house of Godwin began in 1018 during King Cnut’s reign, when Cnut had made his favourite adviser, Godwin, in 1030. When Godwin died in 1053 his position as Earl of Wessex was taken up by his son . By the mid- the Godwins had control of almost all England, as became in 1055, and Gyrth Godwinson became Earl of in 1057. Their brother Leofwine was also made Earl of .

2. How powerful were the Godwins? By the mid-1060s, the Godwins were the most powerful family in the after Kind Edward the Confessor. This power came partly from the fact that they controlled so many Earldoms (see above). This meant that they had an enormous amount of land which they could raise taxes from, making them very rich. Together, thy earned £8,500 per year, while King Edward only earned £6,500 from his land! They were also lord to many hundreds of thegns, and fyrd, making them powerful war-leaders. The Godwins had also convinced Edward to appoint bishops who were loyal to the Godwin family in the church, for example Archbishop of Canterbury. The Godwin family had also made a series of strategic political marriages, for example Edith Godwinson (Earl Godwin’s daughter and Harold Godwinson’s sister) was married to King Edward. This gave them power as Edith could persuade Edward to do things that would help the Godwinsons.

The family had also had military successes. Throughout the the most significant rival to the Godwins was Aelfgar, . He was exiled twice in the 1050s, teaming up with the Welsh King, Llewelyn, to fight for the return of his earldom. When Aelfgar died, probably in 1062, King Edward and the Godwinsons killed Llywelyn and sent his head to Edward the Confessor!

Tensions between Godwin and Edward had come to a head in 1050. The King had ordered Godwin to punish the people of after they attacked some of Edward’s visitors. Godwin had refused. As a result, Edward, with the help of two other important earls, Siward of Northumbria and Loofric of Mercia, forced Godwin into exile. But, in 1051, Godwin returned with a fleet and an army. He asked Edward if his earldom could be restored to him. To prevent war, Edward agreed.

3. Harold Godwinson’s embassy to Normandy.

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Paper 2B - Anglo-Saxon and Norman England Independent study booklet

Harold Godwinson went to Normandy in the early summer of 1064 on an embassy (mission) for King Edward, in order to give an unknown message to William of Normandy. Harold travelled to , but was shipwrecked and landed on the coast of Normandy. Harold was taken prisoner by a French lord, but William of Normandy rescued him. Harold then spent time with William in Normandy, and helped him in two military campaigns, which resulted in William giving Harold gifts of weapons and armour. After giving King Edward’s message to William, Harold made an oath (promise) to William, swearing on two holy relics. William claimed that this was an oath of allegiance that Harold had promised to help him become the next king of England (Harold would later deny this).

Harold’s Embassy to Normandy is important in three main ways: it showed that Harold was King Edward’s most trusted adviser; the Normans used it to boost William’s claim to the throne; and it was used by the Normans to portray Harold as an oath-breaker after Harold became king instead of helping William to the throne of England.

A scene from the , showing Harold swearing an oath in William’s presence.

4. The Rising against Tostig and his exile. Tostig Godwinson became Earl of Northumbria in 1055 after the death of Earl Siward. This caused some anger because some people wanted Siward’s son called Waltheof to become the next Earl. (Waltheof was a northerner and therefore more acceptable to the people of Northumbria). Northumbria was an important earldom because it was very large, it guarded the border with and had a long history of Viking attacks and settlement. It was an obvious entry point for further Viking invasions.

When Tostig became Earl, he upset the Northumbrians in several ways:

• Tostig taxed Northumbria too heavily. Danelaw areas were not used to heavy taxation (as reward for defending the area), so the Northumbrians resented this greatly. • Tostig’s friendship with Malcolm III, King of Scotland, meant he didn’t defend Northumbria from Scottish attacks. While Tostig was away in 1061, Malcolm invaded and caused much destruction. Tostig did not retaliate, instead he agreed peace terms. • Tostig had been unjust – imposing new laws (from the South) and abusing his power to get rid of rivals. Tostig’s enemies complained that he falsely accused people of crimes in order to take money and land from them. • In 1064, Tostig murdered two followers of a leading Northumbrian thegn called Gospatric. Then Gospatric was killed on the way to visit Edward to complain about it. This meant that the people of Northumbria rebelled in 1065. The rising of 1065 began with rebels marching on York, the from which Northumbria was governed. There, the rebels killed as many

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Paper 2B - Anglo-Saxon and Norman England Independent study booklet of Tostig’s housecarls and servants as they could find, and declared Tostig an outlaw. They invited , the brother of the Earl of Mercia, to be their earl instead of Tostig.

King Edward held a conference to decide what to do about the rising. At first, he demanded that the Earls raise an army and go and fight the rebels, however, the Earls refused! Edward then decided to send Harold Godwinson north, to agree to the rebels’ demands. Tostig was exiled, Morcar became the new Earl, and Harold Godwinson married Morcar’s sister to seal the agreement. This seems surprising as Harold was Tostig’s brother. However, some historians think that Harold did this as he knew that Edward was old, sickly, and childless, and wanted to be the next king. Solving the problem peacefully would make him look strong and unite the kingdom. Also, getting rid of Tostig got rid of a potential rival for the throne.

5. The death of Edward the Confessor. Edward the confessor had no children with his wife, , daughter of Earl Godwin. This meant that, when he died on 5 January 1066, there was a succession crisis. Succession (to the throne) = the process that decided who should be the next king or queen and ‘succeed’ to the throne.

Several people tried to claim the throne on Edward’s death, as we will see in the next key topic. However, the Witan agreed that Harold Godwinson was the best choice, and he was crowned on 6th January 1066 (the day after Edward had died!)

Key Topic 1 – 2 TASKS The Last Years of Edward the Confessor and the Succession Crisis.

1. Create flashcards of Key Topic 1.2 Key Facts (at the back of the booklet). Get someone to test you or use look, cover, check until you know them.

2. Create a mind map on the topic ‘The House of Godwin and Edward the Confessor’s death’. Have a branch for each sub-topic included above. Key Topic 1 – 3 INFO. The Rival Claimants for the Throne.

1. Harold Godwinson, - a powerful Saxon who deserved it.

Harold was chosen by the Witan (the King's council) to succeed Edward the Confessor. One of the reasons the Witan and many ordinary people supported him was because they wanted a Saxon man to be King of England not someone from another country. Also, Harold was a proven leader. Harold’s sister, Edith, was also married to the King, making them brothers-in-law. Just before King Edward died Harold and his sister Edith, spoke to the King. Harold claimed that Edward had told him just before he died that he wanted him to be King. Edith agreed. A promise on your deathbed was seen as being more important than any other promise. Harold’s on 6th January made him the official king. It was probably done so quickly as Harold and the Witan knew that William may try to invade and claim the throne. 2. William, , a powerful and ambitious man promised the throne even though he was from another country.

William was a distant cousin of Edward the Confessor and wanted to be the next king. William and Edward had grown up together and were friends. He claimed that Edward had promised him the throne in 1051. He also claimed that Harold had promised to help him become king in 1064, after he was shipwrecked (see key topic 6

Paper 2B - Anglo-Saxon and Norman England Independent study booklet

1.2). William had been a very successful ruler of Normandy and he thought he could do an equally good job for England. He had a strong Norman army to support him, but he was not English and the Witan were unlikely to accept him.

3. , a powerful soldier who wanted to take England by force.

Hardrada was the Viking king of and a powerful soldier and warrior. He commanded a large army and was supported in his attempts to invade and conquer England by Tostig, Harold Godwinson’s brother (Tostig had fled to Hardrada after he was exiled in 1064). Harold had no direct claim to the English throne by blood. However his claim came from Magnus, the old joint king of Norway, who had been promised England by (Cnut's son).

4. Edgar Aetheling, a young prince Edgar was the nephew of Edward the Confessor, brought over from Hungary by Edward. This meant he was the last male member of the English Royal family. Edgar had the strongest claim to the throne by blood. However, he was only 14 when Edward died and had little political, economic or military power. Although people younger than Edgar had been crowned King of England before, the threat of invasion from William and Harald Hardrada made the Witan unlikely to choose the youngster to lead them against these attacks.

5. What did king Harold do next? Straight after his coronation, Harold went to York, the main city of Northumbria. This was to meet with the Witan members who had not been present in and to ensure he had their support. He then gathered the largest army England had ever seen. This army was positioned along the south coast of England to defend against invasion. He also stationed a large fleet of ships on the south coast. Both the army and the fleet were levied (raised) from the fyrd. He clearly expected an invasion from William of Normandy. Harold’s army and fleet guarded the southern coast all summer. Harold had to keep his army and fleet with food: an expensive and complicated business. But the expected Norman invasion did not come. On the 8th September Harold Godwinson disbanded (sent home) the army he had prepared to defend against the invasion.

6. The Battle of Gate Fulford – 20th September 1066 Tostig had already attempted to raid the East coast of England but had been defeated by the Saxon earls Edwin and Morcar. Tostig joined forces with the King of Norway – Harald Hardrada. In mid- September Harald left Norway with 300 ships full of Viking soldiers ready to support him in his attempt to win the throne of England. We believe he had between 10,000 soldiers with him. However Harold Godwinson was 185 miles away waiting for the invasion of William in southern England.

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Paper 2B - Anglo-Saxon and Norman England Independent study booklet

The Saxon earls of Edwin (Mercia) and Morcar (Northumbria) raised the fyrd and met the near a river called Fulford Gate. Though their army was much smaller with 6,000 men, the had the advantage, as they were protected by a marsh and the river Ouse. Though the Saxons were winning at first Hardrada’s troops managed Surprise Viking to cross the river and defeated the Saxon attack from behind. troops. While many of their men died, Earls Edwin and Morcar escaped to York. However the people of the town decided to surrender to Harald and promised to help him raise an army to defeat Harold Godwinson. Harald Hardrada now rested, awaiting a meeting with the people of York to discuss how many soldiers they would give him.

On hearing this news, Harold Godwinson had to his army 185 miles north to stop Vikings break through Harald Hardrada and Tostig. Harold was the middle. England’s last chance to stop the Viking invasion.

7. The Battle of Stamford Bridge – 25th September 1066 Harold Godwinson reached the north in 5 days. Monday 25th September was a warm day, Hardrada and his army bathed in the sunshine waiting for the people of York to arrive with money and soldiers to help him in his battle against Harold. They had left their armour on their ships, as they didn’t think they would need it. However, because of the speed of Godwinson’s march, they were able to sneak up on the Vikings when they didn’t expect it.

As the Saxons attacked the unready Vikings (who were also tired from gate Fulford), Harold promised Tostig Northumbria and a third of England if he surrendered. He promised Hardrada seven feet of English soil (just enough to bury him!) Both refused and the battle continued.

Finally Hardrada was killed by an arrow in the throat and Tostig also died. With their army destroyed and leaders killed the remaining Vikings returned to Norway. Of the 300 ships who came to England, only 24 returned. Harold Godwinson had destroyed the threat of the Viking invasion. He had also demonstrated what a powerful King he was in the Danelaw, an area that had often disliked the king. However, on the 28th September news reached Harold that William of Normandy had arrived in England, and was beginning to destroy and burn homes and farms on the south coast.

Key Topic 1 – 3 TASKS: The Rival Claimants for the Throne.

1. Create flashcards of Key Topic 1.3 Key Facts (at the back of the booklet). Get someone to test you or use look, cover, check until you know them.

2. Create a mind map on the topic, ‘Rival claimants and the battles against Hardrada’. Make a branch for each of the sub-topics covered above. 8

Paper 2B - Anglo-Saxon and Norman England Independent study booklet

Key Topic 1 – 4 INFO: The Norman Invasion

1. What happened at the Battle of ? Harold had to rush down extremely quickly to meet William, after having just fought a hard battle against the Vikings at Stamford bridge. The sources below are taken from the and show five key events in the , which took place at on the 14th October 1066.

1. As Harold’s army was vastly outnumbered he had decided to fight a defensive battle. Harold used the traditional Saxon tactic of creating a , placing his experienced soldiers close together to form a defensive barrier with their shields. William’s archers proved ineffective against this and although William ordered his foot soldiers and cavalry to attack, they could not break through the Saxon wall and suffered many casualties.

2. The Saxon army began to gain the advantage and after about an hour of fighting part of William’s army began to retreat. Some of Harold’s soldiers left the shield wall to chase after the retreating Normans and during the fighting

William’s horse was killed. The Saxon troops, led by Harold’s brothers Leofwyne and Gyrthe, killed many Norman and French soldiers who were disorganised and feared their leader was dead.

3. However William had only been thrown to the ground when his horse died. He took off his helmet to reveal himself to his retreating soldiers and led a counter-attack against the Saxons. Following their leader the Normans attacked the Saxons again and killed many soldiers who had left the protection of the shield wall to chase after the Normans. Many housecarls were killed.

4. Many housecarls were killed during William’s counter- attack. This meant that the Saxon shield wall was now mostly made up of inexperienced fyrd soldiers. William

ordered his archers to attack again, this time firing behind the shield wall and killing many Saxon soldiers, including Harold’s brother Leofwyne and Gyrthe. The Saxon shield 5. During the second attack of the Norman archers, legend has it that Harold was struck by an arrow in the eye, wall began to break up. however some historians question this. Whether this was true or not William’s soldiers broke through the shield wall and killed the English King, Harold. With their leader dead many Saxons fled but the loyal housecarls continued to fight until they wereKey Topic finally 1.4 killed. TASKS: The Norman Invasion.

1. Create flashcards of Key Topic 1.4 Key Facts (at the back of the booklet). Get someone to test you or use look, cover, check until you know them.

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Paper 2B - Anglo-Saxon and Norman England Independent study booklet

2. Create a mind map on the question ‘Why did William win the Battle of Hastings?’. Include a branch for William’s leadership, a branch for Harold’s army being tired, and a branch for the mistakes of Harold’s army. Key Topic 2 – 1 INFO: Establishing control

1. The Submission of the Earls, 1066

When William took over the throne, the Witan met and decided that Edgar Aetheling would be king. Edgar had other important supporters such as Stigand, , Ealdred () and the two Anglo-Saxon Earls Edwin and Morcar. William needed to get all of those people on his side. Below is a summary table of reasons why the Earls could have continued to fight, and then reasons why they eventually submitted (accepted William’s control)

continuedto fight Reasonswhy the Earls could have

continued to fight to continued Reasons why the Earls could have could Earls the why Reasons

William Reasonswhy the Earls submittedto

Reasons why the Earls submitted to to submitted Earls the why Reasons William

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Paper 2B - Anglo-Saxon and Norman England Independent study booklet

How did William defeat the Earls? 1. William marches to Dover. This is the closest crossing between

England and France and means he can get more soldiers and 3. Submission supplies across from Normandy. He also sent men to to capture the royal treasury. 2. William starts to burn and destroy homes so that 2. Destroys home and surrender to him out of fear. If they surrender he leaves them untouched. 3. The leaders of London, Edgar the Aethling, Earls Edwin and Morcar submit to William as Berkhamstead. William promises to be a ‘gracious lord’.

Having successfully dealt with the challenge of the Earls, William was crowned by Archbishop Ealdred of York.

2. How William rewarded followers and controlled William used land to reward his followers, punish Saxons and Normans who disobeyed and used it as a tool to keep people loyal to him. When William became King he passed a law saying all land belonged to him. This meant he could give it to his followers and make people pay to keep it. In particular, he seized all of the Godwinsons’ old land for himself. He also raised a heavy geld tax (main tax) from the people of England, and used it to pay and reward soldiers who had fought with him at Hastings.

When William gave you a large piece of land to look after you became his tenant-in-chief. It was your job to rule this land for William. They had the power to kick thegns off their land if they did not follow theirs or William’s orders. They also chose their Norman friends to become the heirs to thegns’ land rather than the thegns’ own son to help to transfer more land to the Normans

To try and win their loyalty, Anglo-Saxon Earls like Edwin and Morcar kept their earldoms and the archbishops like Stigand (Canterbury) and Ealdred (York) kept their positions. A Northumbrian Lord, Gospatric (not the one who died!), was made Earl of northern Northumbria after paying William a large amount of money. William also offered rewards for Anglo-Saxon loyalty. He promised that Edwin could marry his daughter, which would have made Edwin very powerful in the new kingdom if it happened.

Finally, to win the ’s support, William also sent him rich gifts (and to the church supporters in Normandy), probably from the royal treasury at Winchester.

Marcher Earls Wales had been a threat to Edward the Confessor’s rule and William wanted the border between England and Wales to be made secure. To do this, William established three new earldoms, called the Marcher Earldoms, centred on , and . They were smaller than regular Earldoms, so that the Earls could concentrate on just one part of the border and it would be easier to defend.

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Paper 2B - Anglo-Saxon and Norman England Independent study booklet

The March Earldoms were given to William’s most loyal followers. The Earldom of Chester was given to Hugh d’Avranche,s who had contributed 60 ships to William’s invasion fleet; The Earldom of Shrewsbury was given to Roger de Montgomery, who had governed Normandy while William was leading the invasion of England; and the earldom of Hereford was given to William FitzOsbern, who was William’s right-hand man in the invasion.

The Marcher earldoms did not have to pay any tax to William. This was a reward for governing a difficult area, designed to keep them loyal. They also had the power to build castles, build new burhs, markets and churches. This would help them to defend the area (as soldiers could be in the castles), and to attract Normans to go and settle in that difficult area, helping William to control it. Within the Earldom they controlled the sheriffs and the courts, who normally had more independence from their Earls. By giving the Marcher Earls more power than other earls this allowed them to deal with the troubles on the borders quickly. These earls were not however the King’s equals. They had to give their allegiance to the king and provide him with military service whenever requested.

3. Castles 4. William built over 1,000 castles under his rule as King of England (for example the , built in 1078). William built castles called Motte and Bailey castles. They were made of wood so were quick to build and he placed them in important/strategic places such as bridges, river crossings and passes through hills or near . It kept soldiers safe so they could police the local area and stop any rebellions happening. William always built castles after he had defeated a rebellion so he could leave troops behind to stop another rebellion from happening. They were also an important symbol of power. For example the Tower of London was the tallest stone castle in Europe, it showed the Saxons how powerful the Normans were. William also held all law courts in castles to show Norman strength.

Key Topic 2 – 1 TASKS: Establishing Control. 1. Create flashcards of Key Topic 2.1 Key Facts (at the back of the booklet). Get someone to test you or use look, cover, check until you know them.

2. Create a mind map on the question ‘How did William establish control after the Battle of Hastings?’ For each sub-topic above, create a branch and explain how it gave William more control.

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Paper 2B - Anglo-Saxon and Norman England Independent study booklet

Key Topic 2 – 2 INFO: The Causes and Outcomes of Anglo-Saxon resistance, 1068-71

1. Revolt of Edwin and Morcar – 1068 Edwin (Earl of Mercia) and Morcar (Earl of Northumbria) were brothers who had been powerful Saxon earls. However they had lost lots of land when William took over, even though they were allowed to carry on as Earls. William had promised Edwin he could marry William’s daughter but Edwin had been waiting for almost two years for this to actually happen. During this time William had increased the geld tax, using this money to improve Normandy and not England. William had upset Morcar by making his earldom smaller. To make matters worse Normans (particularly and William FitzOsbern) were stealing Saxon land. There had also been reports of Normans raping Saxon women without being punished by the Norman lords. Edwin and Morcar escaped from William’s court where they were being held. They headed north to Northumbria and tried to raise an army to attack William and Edgar Aethling joined their rebellion. William headed north to meet the rebels – building castles as he went along at Warwick. When he found Edwin and Morcar they surrendered. Edgar escaped to Scotland to stay with Malcolm III and the rebellion ended quickly.

At the end of the rebellion Edwin and Morcar were forgiven but not allowed to leave William again. Edgar would become the new centre of rebellion in the north and William had proved to the Saxons how quickly he would deal with any rebellion. His use of castles prevented the Saxons from building any rebellion.

2. Edgar the Aethling and the Rebellions of the North, 1069. This can be a bit tricky so let’s make sure we know it. The north was used to disobeying the King and its links to the Vikings gave it the name Danelaw.

Revolt 1 (Jan 1069) – Robert Cumin is sent up by William to be Earl of Northumbria after the last earl (Gospatric) had rebelled against William. Cumin wanted to punish the people of Durham who had supported Morcar so he allowed his men to loot local towns violently. His men also burnt homes and stole their goods. People got angry, attacked Cumin and his men and burnt him alive.

Revolt 2 (Feb 1069) – There was another revolt against the Norman rulers of York. Edgar and his Scottish ally Malcolm III joined this rebellion. William was able to get to York in time to destroy Edgar’s army. William built a castle there after destroying the town of York, and put William FitzOsbern in charge. William had to return to the southern city of Winchester as he had duties to perform as King as part of the Christian festival of Easter.

Revolt 3 (Sep 1069) – King Sweyn of Denmark gathered a fleet of 300 ships to attack England. He was joined by Edgar the Aethling and Malcolm King of Scotland (who had just married Edgar’s sister). They attacked York on 21st September 1069 and killed the 3,000 Normans guarding the city. They destroyed both Norman castles and the sailed off with all the treasure of the city. The Danes sailed back to Denmark and William gave them money so they promised not to return. He chased after the remaining

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Paper 2B - Anglo-Saxon and Norman England Independent study booklet rebels but they split up so William couldn’t catch them. He launched the to get rid of the rebel threat and punish the rebels in the North. .

3. and the rebellion at Ely, 1070-71 Hereward was a Saxon thegn whose land had been taken by the Normans. The local Anglo-Saxon archbishop of (based at the cathedral in Ely) was replaced by a Norman called Turold. As a result, Hereward decided to launch attacks against the Normans. He would in the swamps of East Anglia and attack the Normans in small attacks and ambushes, escaping before the Normans could send for reinforcements. Hereward joined forces with the forces of king Sweyn of Denmark and together they launched an attack against the Norman controlled cathedral in Ely. Hereward wanted to take the valuables of the Church to protect them from the Normans. At a late stage of the rebellion Morcar joined the rebellion as well. However once the Normans had been defeated the Vikings took all the cathedral’s valuables and sailed them back to Denmark.

The end of the rebellion came when William led his troops in an attack and captured Ely. William finally tracked down Hereward and his army and killed the rebels. Hereward managed to escape. He was never heard of again and was the last of the major Anglo-Saxon rebellions against William. Morcar was captured and imprisoned for life.

Key Topic 2 – 2 TASKS: The Causes and Outcomes of Anglo-Saxon resistance, 1068-71

1. Create flashcards of Key Topic 2 - 2 Key Facts (at the back of the booklet). Get someone to test you or use look, cover, check until you know them.

2. Create a mind map on the question ‘How successful was Anglo-Saxon resistance to William from 1066-1071?’ For each rebellion, summarise the facts, and explain how close it came to overthrowing William. Make sure you write about William’s response.

Key Topic 2 – 3 INFO: The Legacy of Resistance.

1. Harrying of the North: Late 1069 William took his army north to . Destroyed houses, burnt land, slaughtered inhabitants Marched into and did the same. Over 100,000 died. No inhabitants between York and Durham (approx. 60 mile radius) The land was so badly destroyed that people couldn’t farm it. For example, Garforth had a value of 60 shillings in 1066, following the Harrying it was 30 shillings.

2. Reasons for the Harrying of the North

• Earl Robert Cumin and his men had been slaughtered and thousands more Normans were killed at York, for which William wanted revenge.

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• The northern rebels were refusing to meet him in open battle, scattering as he advanced, then launching attacks on his men as soon as he went away to deal with rebellions elsewhere. William’s response was to make it impossible for anyone, rebels included, to be able to stay in the area. • William had perhaps not previously realised how different the North was from southern England; how much they resented rule from the South, and how closely many identified with their Danish heritage. The North needed different tactics to the South. • The Rebellions in the North were triggering rebellions elsewhere in the country; it was not possible for William to continue dragging troops from one hotspot to another. • The threat of Danish invasion was very serious and threatened everything William had achieved in England. At the same time, Normandy faced a serious rebellion in neighbouring . William prioritised England, despite the threat to Normandy.

3. Long-term impact of the Harrying. One fact that suggests the Harrying of the North was successful in strengthening William’s control is that there were no further uprising in Northumbria. Also, the in 1086 showed that Yorkshire, the centre of the Harrying, had not recovered nearly 20 years later: there were still around 100,000 fewer people than in January 1066. Other long-term impacts included:

• Removing large numbers of Anglo-Danes from Northumbria had a lasting impact on the chances of Danish invasion. Sweyn’s choice of Ely for the attack of 1070-1 suggests Northumbria was no longer suitable. • For William and Norman control of England, the Harrying of the North was a turning point. Instead of working with Anglo-Saxon rulers he would replace them instead. • The Harrying of the North was widely criticised, including by the pope. William devoted much time and money to the Church for the rest of his reign in order to make amends for what he had done. • William also reduced the size of the earldoms in the North. One example of this was Richmond which was created after the Harrying of the North.

4. Changes in land ownership from the Anglo-Saxon to Norman 1066-87: Between the years 1066 and 1087 the Normans replaced the Anglo – Saxons as key landholders in the country. By 1087, over half of the land in England was held by 190 Tenants–in-chief. A quarter of the land was held by the Church, the Normans were in the most senior positions in the Church (such as as Archbishop of Canterbury – see key topic 3). A fifth of the land was held by the King’s royal estates and less than 5% was held by Anglo – Saxons. William had learnt from the rebellions in the late 1060’s. When William took land from those who rebelled he gave it to his loyal followers such as Odo of Bayeux, however he made sure not to give too much land to anyone. The Anglo – Saxons lost their land in three ways:

Forfeit: The King owned all of the land in his Kingdom. If anyone acted against the King the lands could be forfeited. William made all of his followers the ‘heirs’ of Anglo Saxons who forfeited their land. They weren’t their natural heirs. This happened to the Godwinsons in 1066 and Morcar and Edwin in 1070, and 1071.

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New Earldoms: William created new earldoms and other blocks of . He granted these to his followers. They were created to give William support in trouble spots. The Marcher earldoms were an example of this.

Land Grabs: There were thefts and seizures of land from the Anglo – Saxons. These left the Anglo – Saxons with less land than before. Norman Sheriffs were notorious for this.

5. How did William maintain Royal power?

The main way William maintained his power as king was through military strength. He ruthlessly crushed rebellions. His skill on the battlefield gained the respect of the Anglo-Saxons.

Even following the Battle of Hastings William still had challengers to the throne such as Edgar Aethling. As a result, he continually stressed that he was the legitimate successor and that Edward the Confessor had promised the throne to him. He explained he was a relation of Edward (his cousin) and that Harold had broken holy oaths to William. As a result God had made William defeat Harold at Hastings.

William also instituted a new custom of being seen wearing his crown three times a year, at which point he also discussed the business of the kingdom with the important men of his kingdom (which was referred to as his witan). He wore his crown in public to reinforce to the people that he was the rightful king. The three times were at the most important times of the Christian calendar (over Easter and Christmas) and also took place in different important places in the kingdom (Winchester, , Gloucester). He made a point to travel around the kingdom a lot, so that many people could see him as king. He also wore his crown in a ceremony in the ruins of York on Christmas day 1069 following the crushing of Edgar the Aethling’s rebellion.

William also took control of the minting of coins. The treasury remained at Winchester. The coins had an image of William on them (like they did in the days of Edward the Confessor), as

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did his royal seal. The seal was attached to the king’s writs (official documents and proclamations). It showed William on his throne on one side and as a , mounted on a horse, on the other.

Finally, oaths were taken very seriously and William made men swear to serve him loyally. The biggest was in 1086 held at Salisbury, when a Viking invasion seemed imminent. Every landholder of any kind of importance had to come and wear their loyalty to the king.

Key Topic 2 – 3 TASKS: The Legacy of Resistance.

1. Create flashcards of Key Topic 2 - 3 Key Facts (at the back of the booklet). Get someone to test you or use look, cover, check until you know them.

2. Create a mind map on the question, ‘How did William keep control, 1066-1087?’ Include a branch for each sub-topic or point listed above, and for each, explain how it increased control.

Key Topic 2 – 4 INFO. The Revolt of the Earls (1075)

1. Causes of the Revolt Roger de Breteuil’s dad had been a man called William FitzOsbern. His dad had been William’s close friend and loyal supporter. William had rewarded him with lots of land and made him a Marcher Earl so he had significant power. When Roger’s dad died in 1071 William chose him to succeed his father as Marcher Earl of Hereford. However William gave Roger less land than his father had. He also took away Roger’s power to choose his own sheriffs and William began choosing the sheriffs who would carry out law and order in Roger’s earldom.

Ralph de Gael was a Norman whose father ruled East Anglia for Wiliam. When Ralph’s father died in 1069 he replaced him as Earl of East Anglia. However he did not receive the same amount of land as his father had, William keeping some for himself and sharing the rest out so that no one Earl held too much land. Waltheof was a Saxon. His father had been Siward, Earl of Northumbria, but when he died in 1065 Edward the Confessor decided to choose Tostig to be the next Earl as Waltheof was only a teenager. He held the much smaller land of as Earl there and submitted to William in 1066 when he realised no Saxon could stop the new Norman King. He rebelled against William as part of the northern rebellions of 1069 but once again, he surrendered to William when the rebellion failed and William pardoned Waltheof. Hoping to win this important Saxon’s loyalty he made him Earl of Northumbria. However Waltheof was the last powerful Saxon Earl and he had close links with the Viking King Sweyn.

2. The events of the Revolt Waltheof was invited to the wedding of with Roger’s sister (even though William had forbidden them to marry). Their plan was to overthrow William and split the country three ways between them. They hoped that Waltheof would be able to convince the Vikings to join them. At this time William did not know about the rebellion and had returned to Normandy for a number of months, leaving

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Archbishop Lanfranc in charge. The rebels waited for William to leave before launching their plans. This was a significant threat to William – a rebellion by three of his most important Earls and the Vikings!

However the rebellion was a bit of a disaster. Waltheof (either because he lost faith in the rebellion working or because he had planned to betray them all along to win the trust of William) told Lanfranc of the two Earls’ plans. Lanfranc wrote to Roger urging him to change his mind and stay loyal to William, finally excommunicating (banning him from Church so that he won’t get to heaven) him until he gave up his rebellion. Norman castles proved important in helping Norman troops gather against the rebels. Finally Saxons and Normans loyal to William raised an army to stop the rebellion. Led by the Saxon Bishop they prevented the rebels from leaving their castles to join their armies together.

By the time the Vikings led by Cnut, King Sweyn of Denmark’s son had arrived it was too late. The rebellion had been stopped and William arrived in time to face them. The 200 boats full of Viking refused to meet William in battle and instead sailed along the English coast raiding, stealing from York Cathedral then returning home.

3. The effects of the revolt The Revolt of the Earls suggests some significant changes had happened in Norman England:

• William now needed to be careful of his own earls. Ambition and resentment of the power William kept to himself, was at the heart of Roger and Ralph’s revolt. From this point on, rebellion against William and his sons came from the Norman aristocracy. • Roger de Breteuil was imprisoned for life after the Revolt of the Earls. Ralph de Gael managed to escape to . Waltheof was imprisoned and executed the next year. • Anglo-Saxons joined the loyal Normans in stopping the revolts from spreading. The involvement of Anglo-Saxon men like Bishop Wulfstan also suggests that some Anglo-Saxons now supported the Normans. • The execution of Waltheof suggests one effect of the revolt was that William now stamped down harder than ever on any sign of Anglo-Saxon rebellion, especially when it involved links to Denmark. • The failure of the planned Danish invasion in 1075 was, in fact, the end of the Viking threat to England. But William did not know this. When there was another invasion threat from Denmark in 1085, William took extraordinary measures to boost England’s defences. This suggests that William saw the events of 1075 as very threatening, meaning a tight grip had to be maintained. Key Topic 2 – 4 TASKS: The Revolt of the Earls (1075).

1. Create flashcards of Key Topic 2 - 4 Key Facts (back of the booklet). Get someone to test you or use look, cover, check until you know them.

2. Create a mind map on the question ‘What was the Revolt of the Earls?’ For each part summarise what happened, and whether it was a threat to William or not.

Key Topic 3 – 1 INFO: The Feudal System and the Church

1. The Feudal System

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William needed soldiers to maintain control in England but they were very expensive to keep. He also needed to ensure the loyalty of his follows. So he developed something called the Feudal System. This was a system that rewarded his followers with privileges (mainly land) but on the basis that they provide certain services or duties to him. This system continued through each level of society right down to ordinary peasants. It was very similar to the system of land control in Anglo-Saxon England: the main change was that technically, William now owned all land, and if he granted it to you, you were only its ‘tenant-in-chief’ (rather than its owner). This is how the feudal system worked:

40 days a year

2. Tenants-in-Chief Tenants-in-Chief held their fiefs (land held by someone in return for service to a lord) direct from the king. They were some of the most powerful men in the kingdom and could also often be Church leaders such as bishops and . These are some of the powers of tenants-in-chief:

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3. The role and importance of Knight Service. Knight service was the duty to provide a knight and horse to a lord (with weapons and armour) for 40 days a year, in return for land. Some received only a very small amount, but others were very powerful men. Historians think that there were probably around 6,000 in Norman England. Their role was to guard their lord’s property, ride out to combat any threat to their lord and, when required, to provide up to 40 days knight service directly to the King. Rich and powerful knights (and their sons) would fight for their king as part of his royal court or as leaders of other bands of knights. Under the Normans, Knights came to replace thegns as the under-tenants of their tenant-in-chief. Many knights would have been the local .

4. Summary of Landholding Labour Service Forfeiture

The King owned all the This was when Labour service was If a service wasn’t Land in Norman someone swore an oath about working the carried out effectively, England. When a in public to support Lord’s land in return for or not provided, the landholder died, the someone. This the use of the land. tenant-in-chief would heir had to prove their happened when Peasants would farm lose their land (called a loyalty to the King in William granted land to this land. forfeit) have to pay a order to get the land, as a tenant – in – chief. fine. This was a Jobs would involve well as paying. This The baron knelt before punishment. William anything to do with the payment was called a the King, put his hands could therefore reward land. It was common to relief and was decided before the Kings and another person with have to provide an by the King. The most said, “I become your this land. amount of loyal followers paid man” He placed his produce/crops each small reliefs. hands on the Bible and year to the lord a well. promised to remain People living in towns faithful. The tenant in had to do labour service chief’s vassals did the for any land that they same to him. worked outside of town.

5. The Power of the Norman Church: Social and Government roles. The Church played a very important role in Norman England that went beyond praising God. They were closely connected to Norman government.

• Bishops and abbots were often highly valued advisers to the king and in the royal council. • Bishops often had the role of developing laws for the king and advising on legal matters. • The most senior Church leaders, the archbishops, sometimes acted as the king’s representative in negotiations. Archbishop Lanfranc acted as William’s regent (someone who rules the country for the king) while the king was in Normandy.

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This is how the Church was structured under the Normans:

6. Comparing Archbishop Stigand and Archbishop Lanfranc. Initially, to try and gain legitimacy with the Anglo-Saxons, William kept many Anglo-Saxon Church leaders. However following the rebellions of 1068-1070, he replaced many of them with Normans. In 1070 Archbishop Stigand, the Archbishop of Canterbury, was replaced by a reformer named Lanfranc. See the diagram below for reasons why Stigand was replaced.

Stigand (Saxon) – Archbishop of

Canterbury

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Lanfranc had been an Italian monk who had run William’s monastery in Normandy. In his new role of Archbishop his responsibilities included: being Head of the Church in England; Reorganisation and control of the Church; Reinforcement of Norman rule; Religious reform – separate politics from religion; and Church rebuilding.

He wanted to separate the Church from everyday issues in order to make it spiritually purer. He didn’t think the Church should be involved in the activities of making money, gaining power and getting involved in sexual relationships. In this new role, the Archbishop of Canterbury became the overall head of the Church in England (more powerful than the archbishop of York). All other Church members had to take an oath to him (and in turn, Lanfranc took an oath to William).

7. Changes to the Church in Norman England

A. The King now controls B. Archbishop becomes C. Priests get their D. Normans passed the Bishops the leader of the own law courts new laws for English Church priests Whenever a bishop died, Previously bishops had Lanfranc won the Previously Saxon William was in charge of controlled their own area right for priests to priests could marry choosing the new bishop and only answered to the have their own and were like ordinary (previously, Earls often had Pope in . Lanfranc courts. When a people. Lanfranc a say). This meant that he made all bishops swear an did something changed this, he would only choose a bishop oath to him so power was wrong, rather than wanted priests to live who would be loyal to him. centralised. The Archbishop have a trial by jury separate lives so they All bishops and archbishops of Canterbury was now in (ordinary people) could be more had to swear an oath to charge of all the churches in their case was heard spiritual. He banned all William and pay homage. England (more powerful by other priests. priests from marrying William made it clear that than the Archbishop of and they had to remain The Church also took Lanfranc had to obey him York). celibate (not having control of trials by over the Pope by making sex). In 1076 Lanfranc ordeal. This gave the him swear an oath to obey created separate Church even more him. Churches for legal power. Churchmen.

E. Saxon bishops F. Saxon churches G. Norman H. New position of replaced by Norman replaced churches help Archdeacon bishops control land introduced. By 1070, only four years Within 50 years all the As the Church Lanfranc created a new after the Battle of Hastings, churches and cathedrals controlled 25% of all position in the every bishop in the country that had been built by the the land in England, structure of the was a Norman except one Saxons had been destroyed placing Norman Church. Archdeacons (Wulfstan, bishop of and replaced with Norman priests in charge of worked for the bishop, Worcester). style churches. This was a churches meant that helping them to make symbol of Norman power. the lords of these sure the priests in their They helped to convince the

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Saxon people that God was For example Sherborne was lands were Norman. area followed the rules on the Normans’ side. replaced Salisbury, This would mean and orders of the replaced by and they could control bishops. their land on behalf Thetford replaced by of William. Norwich.

9) The extent of change to Anglo-Saxon society and economy.

Slave s s

Warriors

Aristocrats

Continuity:

Some parts of society and the economy showed more continuity than change. Life in the villages would have stayed much the same for most peasants, with their lives dominated by the struggle of harvest. The roles within the Royal Household also remained much the same. Although these positions were now filled by Normans rather than Anglo-Saxons the positions were much the same. Finally, the Normans continued to demand a Geld Tax from the Anglo-Saxon people, just as the previous Anglo-Saxon and Danish kings had.

Change:

One of the most obvious and biggest changes for Anglo-Saxons must have been castle-building and the rebuilding of churches and cathedrals in stone. These powerful symbols of Norman power often required large areas of towns to be cleared. Economically, the Anglo-Saxon trade with Scandinavian was stopped, however, trade with Normandy grew. In addition, the Harrying of the North, had a serious impact on areas of the Danelaw, especially in Yorkshire. Some social roles were changed to reduce the threat of the Anglo-Saxon , for example making Earls tenants-in-chief, making thegns knights, and removing ceorls.

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Key Topic 3 – 1 TASKS: The Feudal System and The Church

1. Create flashcards of Key Topic 3 – 1 Key Facts (back of the booklet). Get someone to test you or use look, cover, check until you know them.

2. Create a mind map on the topic ‘changes to the feudal system and the Church’. Create a branch for each sub-topic above. For each, explain how far it changed life in England.

Key Topic 3 – 2 INFO: Norman Government

When William conquered England in 1066, he kept many features of its government the same, as they were better structured than anything he’d had in Normandy. However, anything that had the power to rival William had to be weakened.

1. Land: Before William:

England had a useful system for working out how much tax each area should pay. A hide was an area of around 120 acres (around 25 Albany Parks), and each hide would have to pay a certain amount of tax. Edward the Confessor had faced problems with certain earls – particularly the Godwin family – controlling too much land. These powerful earls had used their land to challenge him, making the earls a threat to Edward’s power. For example, Edward had to depend on support from the earls (such as Harold Godwinson) when exiling Tostig in 1065.

After William:

• William continued to use Anglo-Saxon measurements such as the Hide, Shire and Hundred to measure the land and calculate how much tax people should pay. • William developed the feudal system (see above). • In addition, William reduced the power of his earls by making the earldoms smaller (like in East Anglia). Some earldoms were phased out altogether (like Wessex and Mercia). This did lead to some anger from the earls, as shown by the Revolt of the Earls of 1075 (Ralph de Gael, involved in this Revolt, had had his Earldom reduced in size). However, it was an important part of William’s centralisation of power (making all aspects of government reliant on him).William also slowly reduced the powers of the Marcher Earls, which he had created straight after the Conquest. This demonstrated that William was becoming more secure on the throne, as he no longer needed such high levels of support from Marcher Earls.

2. Economy: Before William:

The Anglo-Saxon treasury (where royal money was kept) was well-organised at Winchester, and there was a sophisticated system of minting (creating) silver pennies. Sheriffs were the king’s representatives, who helped him to collect taxes (especially the geld tax). The name ‘sheriff’ comes from ‘shire reeve’ – someone in charge of running the shires. Sheriffs were helpful in aiding the king’s organisation. The Sheriffs were also responsible for looking after the king’s own estates which were called his .

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However, when William took over, many of them were hostile to him as a Norman invader (e.g. Anglo- Saxon sheriff Maerleswein took part in the rebellion of 1069 in Yorkshire). The king also relied on these sheriffs to judge accurately what each person in their area owed in terms of tax.

After William

William continued to use Anglo-Saxon silver pennies and kept the royal treasury at Winchester. However, William was even more careful than the Anglo-Saxons had been about granting people licences to mint coins.

William also continued to use the Anglo-Saxon role of the sheriff to help him to collect the geld tax. However, William did make some changes to the role of the sheriff. William centralised control of sheriffs by replacing Anglo-Saxon sheriffs with Normans (at first, some Anglo-Saxon sheriffs remained – like Tofig of – but by 1071 almost all were Norman). He also said that sheriffs could keep some of the money that they collected for the king, encouraging them to collect as much as possible. Here is a summary of how the role of the sheriff changed:

Increasingly, Sheriffs became resented by the Anglo-Saxon people. This is because Sheriffs had the right to a share of the revenues that they collected for the king. This often meant they charged a lot extra from the people so they could get rich. They also had played a significant role in bringing about the land- grabs following the Conquest, increasing the Anglo-Saxons’ hatred towards them. However, because of their power, there was no one to complain to about their behaviour except the king.

3. Decisions: Before William:

As we have seen, the Witan played a central role important decisions (such as deciding to support Harold Godwinson to become king after Edward the Confessor died). They were a helpful group, as they had insight into the problems of the realm.

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After William:

William kept using the Witan (although he may not have called it this) when he needed advice on decision-making from powerful landholders. For example, in 1085, England faced invasion from the Danes, and William called a huge meeting of landholders which was very similar to the Witan.

William also used a new system of regents, to help him to keep control of his two countries (a problem that Edward the Confessor didn’t face). These regents were very highly trusted followers, who would make sure that the government of either England or Normandy stayed as William wished while he was away. For example, Archbishop Lanfranc was William’s regent in England in 1075, and was responsible for stopping the Revolt of the Earls. Matilda, William’s wife, was often left to govern Normandy while he was in Matilda of , William the England. It was very important that these regents ruled as William Conqueror’s wife, was often left wanted: in 1067, William left Bishop Odo of Bayeux and William in change of Normandy FitzOsbern as regents of England, but they were so greedy and violent to the that waves of rebellion broke out in England. This meant that William also used centralised power using regents, by making them keep in constant contact with him and discuss all decisions.

4. Forest This was a new development, which didn’t exist before William took power.

It was not necessarily somewhere that had lots of trees, the word ‘forest’ meant outside. When a law was passed to make an area a forest it meant the land was outside the rest of society and was not for their use. This meant the land would be used specially by the Norman elite to hunt on. By making more land forest William could use this land as well as his own royal demesne.

When William made an area a forest he passed a number of laws

• You were not allowed to carry a weapon or any sharp tools (he wanted to prevent the Saxons from hunting his animals) • You were not allowed dogs in the forest (he didn’t want them to attack the animals) • You were not allowed to build or farm in the forest (he didn’t want to destroy the habitat that the animals he hunted lived in) • If you were caught breaking any of these rules you would be fined • If you were killed a deer in the king’s forest, you would be fined and be blinded by having a hot metal rod pressed against your eyeball. • You weren’t allowed to cut wood or build buildings in the forest. These laws made the Saxons unhappy as it meant Saxons were losing more land to the Normans through having it ‘grabbed’ off them. Many Saxons were removed (evicted) from their land because of these new

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Paper 2B - Anglo-Saxon and Norman England Independent study booklet laws. The fines collected by these forest laws also helped the Normans gain more money and upset the Saxons who were paying these fines. The fact that these animals had more legal protection than the Saxon people upset many.

5. The Domesday Book

At Christmas 1085, William ordered a survey of England. His men were sent to see what the landholdings of each shire: who held what land, what taxes they owed the king and whether they could pay any more. When these were written up by 1086, the document was called the Domesday book. For example, Enfield was said to have 114 households and 2000 pigs. The Domesday Book also made it easy to identify the correct relief payment from each new tenant-in-chief. It ensured he was collecting the right amount of tax from his subjects.

The Domesday Book includes many cases of Anglo-Saxons claiming that land of theirs had been taken from them. The Domesday surveys were made as fairly as possible, with all the key people in each hundred having a chance to say who really owned what. The Domesday Book therefore had a role in sorting out legal disputes over land, very important for William’s claim to be just and fair.

The DB may have also helped in raising armies. Although the DB doesn’t have a section for recording knight service, it could tell how many households each tenant-in-chief controlled, and therefore how many soldiers they should provide.

Key Topic 3 – 2 TASKS: Norman Government

1. Create flashcards of Key Topic 3 – 2 Key Facts (back of the booklet). Get someone to test you or use look, cover, check until you know them.

2. Create a mind map on the two questions ‘How far did William change government’. Create a branch for each sub-topic covered above. Explain how much each changed England.

Key Topic 3 – 3 INFO: The Norman Aristocracy

Culture of the aristocracy (nobles)

The Norman nobles loved to show off their wealth by hunting and building huge buildings (like the Tower of London, 1078). They were also very religious and would go to Church 2 or 3 times a week. For example, William ordered all those who fought at the Battle of Hastings to do 40 days prayer for every Englishman they had killed. If they didn’t know how many they had killed, they should build a church and this would save them from going to hell. The Norman had thrown out many of the old Anglo-

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Saxon saints relics calling these hold men ‘yokels and idiots’. It is widely assumed that the Normans thought their religion better and more truthful than that of the English.

Language of the Aristocracy Most Normans did not bother to learn English and used interpreters to help them speak to the Saxons. William initially tried to learn English to help him govern better but soon gave up. Written English rapidly disappeared and by the mid- it had been replaced by Latin for legal and church documents. Aristocrats spoke in French but English was spoken by ordinary common people.

The Career and significance of Bishop Odo

Odo was William’s half-brother and for most of his reign one of his most important advisors and followers. He was made Bishop of Bayeux in 1049 and supported William’s invasion by giving 100 ships for the fleet. He arrived in England in 1066 fighting at the Battle of Hastings.

This loyalty was rewarded with the earldom of Kent and other land-holdings. He became the second largest landholder in England, after the king. He had land in 22 different .

In 1067, Odo and Earl William FitzOsbern were made co-regents, looking after England whilst William was in Normandy. They built many castles and their regency was seen as very harsh by the Anglo- Saxons. It is also thought that during this time Odo tried to take a lot of land from the Anglo-Saxons. There were many land complaints against Odo for illegally seizing land. In the end, Archbishop Lanfranc held a three-day inquiry in 1076 and made Odo hand back a lot of their land. Then, in 1079, Odo was sent to following attacks from Scotland and the murder of the . Odo laid waste to the and even stole some of the treasures from .

In 1082, Odo fell out of favour with William and was imprisoned. It is not clear what caused this. It may have been his unpopularity and poor behaviour. Another theory is that Odo had tried to take some of William’s knights out of England with him for a journey to Rome (he wanted to try and get himself elected as Pope). This was a direct threat to William, as knights owed their loyalty directly to William not to their tenants-in-chiefs. Odo was finally released by William when William was on his death bed in 1087. In 1088, Odo led many barons in revolt against William II (see key topic 3.4)

Key Topic 3 – 3 TASKS: The Norman Aristocracy

1. Create flashcards of Key Topic 3 – 3 Key Facts (back of the booklet). Get someone to test you or use look, cover, check until you know them.

2. Create a mind map on the topic, ‘the Norman Aristocracy’. Create a branch for each sub-topic above.

Key Topic 3 – 4 INFO: William I and his Sons.

William the conqueror was a tough man. He was born a bastard, meaning his parents were not married. He was an excellent soldier and a brutal leader. He was very religious and gave lots of money to the Church. He also showed how religious he was by promoting Church reform through Lanfranc. He loved and trusted his wife Matilda and he made her his regent in Normandy when he was in England. When she died in 1083, William is said to have cried for days.

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Paper 2B - Anglo-Saxon and Norman England Independent study booklet

William had at least 9 children. The eldest was Robert, nicknamed Curthose by William as he had short legs. was an amazing soldier and ambitious to take more power, just like his father. However, William did not believe Robert had the experience or judgement to replace him yet.

William preferred his other son William Rufus, who was smarter and more cunning. Robert Curthose and William I often argued and Robert grew increasingly frustrated with his dad’s refusal to give him power and his favouritism towards William.

Robert Curthose’s rebellion in Normandy 1077-80 In 1077 Robert’s younger brothers William Rufus and Henry played a prank on him by pouring a full chamber pot (pot for going to the toilet at night) over him (they were aged 26, 22 and 11). Robert completely lost his temper and physically attacked his two brothers. King William had to break the fight up and punished everyone. However this was not enough for Robert who thought his father hadn’t punished William enough. The next day Robert and his friends tried to take control of Rouen Castle to punish his dad. When William arrived to arrest him Robert ran away and hid.

Robert was protected by the King of France (who was worried about William’s power). Robert continued to attack his dad’s land in Normandy forcing his dad to raise an army to stop his son. Their armies fought each other in 1079 and Robert knocked his dad off his horse and forced him and his army to retreat. William was totally humiliated but eventually his wife Matilda convinced him to make peace with Robert and he confirmed that Robert was his heir in Normandy.

The death of William I William died suddenly in on 9th September 1087. At William’s funeral, his body was so bloated from internal bleeding that his corpse burst open and the smell drove everyone out of the cathedral. This led people to say that God was angry at him. Despite their fighting, William had given Robert Curthose the Dukedom of Normandy. He had then given England (the wealthier country) to his second son, William Rufus, by giving Rufus a letter to give to Lanfranc before he died. The letter said that Rufus should be the next king. Without asking the Witan Lanfranc crowned William Rufus, King William II in September 1087 at Westminster Cathedral, the same place his father had been crowned.

However, William Rufus II faced many enemies as King;

• His brother Robert Curthose wanted to be King of England and refused to accept his father’s wish to give it to William Rufus. • Many powerful barons and earls had land in England and Normandy. They worried that having two Kings to give tax and soldiers to would be too costly and wanted one king in both lands. • The barons and earls thought Robert Curthose was weaker than William Rufus. They believed they could manipulate him more than they could William. They therefore wanted to overthrow William II and put Curthose in power. • Some barons and earls thought they would get away with more and have more power if the King was distracted by having to rule both England and Normandy. They wanted to help Robert take control of England so he would be too busy to try to fully control them.

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Paper 2B - Anglo-Saxon and Norman England Independent study booklet

William Rufus and the Defeat of Robert and Odo. In 1088 Bishop Odo, William II’s uncle launched a rebellion against him. He hoped to overthrow William and help Robert become both Duke of Normandy and King of England. Odo was joined by some other Norman earls including the Marcher Earl Roger de Lacey and his brother Robert of Mortain.

Although the six most powerful Norman lords supported this rebellion the majority of smaller Norman lords supported William II. William also had the support of major figures in the church such as Bishopp Wulfstan and Lanfranc. These combined forces trapped Odo and his brother Robert in castle using fryd troops and eventually captured them, ending the rebellion. Odo later escaped and would be exiled.

Key Topic 3 –4 TASKS: William I and his sons.

1. Create flashcards of Key Topic 3 – 4 Key Facts (end of booklet). Get someone to test you or use look, cover, check until you know them.

2. Create a mind map on the questions, ‘Why was there a disputed succession after the death of William?’ Create a branch for each sub-topic described above. For each, explain why it caused a disputed succession.

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