Karolína Chmelařová

Who were the Normans?  originally Vikings from Scandinavia  10th century – were given some land in the North of France by the land in the North of France by the king Charles the Simple so that they would stop attacking France king Charles the Simple so that they would stop attacking France  the land became known as Northmannia, later shortened to Normandy –> name of the tribe  soon they were no longer Viking pagans as they adopted Christianity and the Gallo-Romance language  played major political, military and cultural role in Medieval Europe

Conquerors…  conquered Southern Italy  under the leadership of Duke William II of Normandy, they conquered England and replaced Anglo- Saxons as the ruling class

Normans buildings  1. Ely Cathedral Ely CathedralEly Cathedral  2. Pevensey Castle Pevensey CastlePevensey Castle  3. Remains of Battle Abbey Remains of Battle AbbeyRemains of Battle Abbey  4. Falaise Castle Falaise CastleFalaise Castle Normans expressively remarked British countryside – there are many monuments preserved till today…

William the Conqueror 1066 – 1087 AD

Early life  born in 1027 or 1028 in Falaise, Normandy  illegimate and only son of Robert I, the sixth Duke of Normandy and Herleva, a tanner´s daughter  1035 – his fater died – William was recognised as the heir  because of his extramarital origin, he was called “Bastard“ and had to face many plots towards him  at he age of 15 – knighted by French king Henry I, who also become his protektor  from 1047 succesfully deals with rebellions inside Normandy

Early life  1053 married Mathilda, daughter of the Earl of Flanders  They had 4 sons and 6 daughters  became very experienced and ruthless military commander, ruler and administrator  described as remarkably tall, muscular, but later little fat and bald in front  had two half brothers and a sister

British conquest  1051 his distant cousin Edward the Confessor promised him the British throne X 1066 Harold Godwinson was crowned King of England X 1066 Harold Godwinson was crowned King of England  William prepares the invasion for 7 months: 600 ships, 7,000 men  King of Norway attacks England  Sept 25 Harold´s army defeated him at the Battle of Stamford Bridge  Sept 28 – William landed in Pevensey Bay  moved to Hastings, built a fortification

British Conquest  Oct 13 Battle of Hastings – defeat of the English army exhausted after previous fights  Harold died – arrow shot into his eye  William marched to London – make it surrender  Dec 25 – William crowned King of England in Westminster Abbey

William´s rule  stern, commanded great respect  introduced continental European feudalism  built a strong centralized administration staffed with his Norman supporters  distributed land to his trusted Norman barons  introduced taxation – people pay for the upkeep of the church  introduced the act of beheading

End of William´s life  Sept 9, 1087 died at the age of 59 in France  celebrated the victory over invading French garrison  fell off a horse – severe wounds  buried in the church of St. Stephen in Caen, Normandy  his funeral was disturbed by a fire spread in the town  during forcing him into coffin, his swollen body bursted…

Sources Sources  html html html  m m m    ml ml ml   John Cannon: The Oxford Companion to British History  Winston S. Churchill: Dějiny anglicky mluvících národů

That´s all… Thank you for your attention. Have a nice day!