England After the Conquest

Political

Cultural

Econom

ic

Military

Some Themes (1066-1327)

• Problem of succession• Development of Common Law• Distribution of power

– King– Nobles– Commoners

Some Themes (1066-1327+)

• King vs. Church; England vs. Rome• England vs. France

Legacy – Pre-Conquest England

• Tax system – Danegeld, heregeld • Shiring• Cities• Law – Charters in the vernacular• Concentration of land ownership• Agricultural advancements

England 1066Sons of Godwine

William the Conqueror

Successor to Edward the Confessor

William the Rightful Successor

• …above all else the one God to be venerated throughout his entire kingdom; the one Christian faith always to be kept inviolate; peace and security to be maintained between Englishmen and Normans

• … I wish and enjoin: that in [cases affecting] lands, as in all other matters, all shall keep and hold the law of King Edward, with the addition of those [amendments] which I have made for the benefit of the English people

Succession

Succession - Different Customs

NormandyA bequest, made formally, in the presence of witnesses, it could not legally be revoked

EnglandVerba novissima An act made on one's death-bed, in extremis, was taken to supersede previous donations of the same property

John S. Beckerman “Succession in Normandy, 1087, and in England, 1066: The Role of Testamentary Custom” Speculum, Vol. 47, No. 2 (Apr., 1972), pp. 258-260

Harold’s Oath

Matilda

Anglo-Norman Empire

Feudalism

When did feudalism start in Great Britain?a. 873 Alfred the Great

b. 1215 John

c. 1066 Conquest

d. 1042 Edward the Confessor

e. 1776 Revolution in the colonies

✔

Feudalism

When did feudalism end in Royal territories?a. 2004

b. 1648 Cromwell

c. 1215 Magna Carta

d. 1560 Henry VIII

e. 2008

f. Not yet

Date set for demise of the feudal system

November 22, 2002 Scotland's ancient feudal system of property ownership will be consigned to history in just over two years.The legislation, one of a series of executive bills to reform Scotland's land and property laws, is based on a report by the Law Commission that followed the passing of the Abolition of Feudal Tenure Act in 2000. both pieces of legislation would come into force on November 28, 2004.

Sark - 2008

Royal Finances - Feudal

• ‘Aids’– knighthood, marriage, ransom

• Relief– Payments on inheritance– Marriage, wardship

• Scutage

Royal Finances – Non-feudal

• Geld– land based tax

• Income from royal demesne– rent– sale of crops and livestock

• Tallage– tax imposed upon residents of King’s land,

townsmen and Jews

Royal Finances – Judicial

• Judicial writs• Fines• Forest

Enforcement• Foresters• Sheriffs

Choices for the Anglo-Saxons

• Capture – gentile confinement– monastery

• Flee– Scotland– Flanders– Scandinavia– Byzantium

Choices for the Anglo-Saxons

• Join and cooperate– work as administrators– switch masters– Adopt Norman ways

• inter-marry• change names

• Rebel

The Norman Occupation

Close associates of William

170 Tenants-in-chief

5,000 -10,000 Knights

vs.

1-1.5 million English

William’s SupportersName Ships Manors (£)

Robert, Count of Mortain 120 2100

Odo, Bishop of Bayeux 100 >3000

William, Count of Evreux 80

Roger of Montgomery 60 2430

William fitz Osbern 60 forfeit

Hugh, Earl of Chester 60 800

Robert, Count of Eu 60 <180

Roger of Beaumont 60 <114

Wasting of the Southeast

Fortifying EnglandCastles

Motte and Bailey

Motte and Bailey Castle

1067

• Temporary fortifications – London – tower– Ludgate? –Montfichet– London - Baynard’s Castle

• England entrusted to William Fitz Osbern and Bishop Odo when William returns to Normandy

Motte and Bailey: Windsor

Arundel, 1067, 1138

Clifford’s Tower York

Colchester

Chepstow Welsh Border

Expanding TerritoryFighting Rebels

• Anglo-Saxon holdouts– Danish allies– Norse allies– Welsh allies– Scottish allies

• Disgruntled Normans