1. DID THE CONQUEST MATTER?

2. Did one warrior aristocracy simply replace another without broader influence on England’s government, economy, church and society?

3. All change in England after the conquest not simply a consequence of Conquest Late 11 th century was a time of great religious, economic, political and social change throughout Western Europe England would not have stood still

4. The best place to look for change is in those areas that would have concerned William most!

5. Respect for tradition English government relatively sophisticated Simply took over the existing system of shires and hundreds Used hidage system to collect tax Coinage system remained intact England and Normandy retained separate governments England NOT remade in Normandy’s image

6. The most obvious changes were personnel changes Normans dominated royal administration at its highest ranks Form and nature of royal documents remained intact BUT language changed. After 1070 only Latin used

7. Large regions set aside as royal forests. Areas included cultivated regions Royal forests as much to do with revenue raising as hunting FINES for privileges and offenses Remember Robin Hood as indication of unpopularity of forest laws

8. Normans built on existing structure Did not radically alter government Increasing bureaucracy, literacy and numeracy were features of the period EXCHEQUER: new accounting system based on abacus appeared under Henry I (owed more to the importation of Arabic and Chinese knowledge than Norman Conquest) THE IMPACT OF THE NORMAN CONQUEST ON GOVERNMENT WAS SURPRISINGLY LIMITED

9. THE NORMANS BROUGHT FAR GREATER CHANGES IN GEOPOLITICS THAN TO THE MECHANICS OF GOVERNMENT Geowhat???

10. Northern separatism removed and north more firmly incorporated into the realm Crushing of rebellions, construction of castles, lordships (Carlisle!) Borders with Scotland become relatively fixed through warfare and deals. Henry I marries Edith (Matilda), daughter of King Malcolm ‘True’ slow conquest of Wales begins Scandinavian relationships become far less important Relations with France become more close. The King of England ends up with more of France than the King of France! THE NORMAN CONQUEST PROFOUNDLY EFFECTED ENGLAND’S RELATIONS WITH ITS NEIGHBOURS

11. The Normans brought important military innovations to England such as dragon slaying THE CASTLE – even here there is continuity; Simple Motte and Bailey not altogether a revolutionary break from the lightly fortified Anglo -Saxon noble residence Castles had important non-military role similar to Anglo-Saxon lordly hall –places of residence, administration and lordship Some castles were built on places of lordship

12. HOWEVER… Castles brought a new revolutionary dynamic England fortified in far greater depth Towns controlled by castles Balance of warfare shifted from battles to sieges Building in stone English resources went into castle building at the expense of the fleet. Naval strength went into decline

13. Main change was heavily armoured cavalry Did not adopt battle axe because it was not a cavalry weapon Bayeux Tapestry reveals both sides used similar armour and some of the same weapons – swords, spears and bows ( though Normans introduced crossbows but not the revolutionary weapon the longbow would become) THE SUPERIORITY OF THE MOUNTED NORMAN KNIGHT TO THE ANGLO-SAXON WARRIOR HAS SOMETIMES BEEN EXAGGERATED BUT CHANGE IN THE MILITARY FIELD WAS NONETHELESS EXTENSIVE

14. Norman lust for land and determination to break the English aristocracy after 1070 produced a revolution in landholding. The change was more than the replacement of English landholders by Norman ones! However, the impact was far less than its potential for change…

15. Domesday reveals the BALANCE of landholding within the elite changed Edward had been the greatest individual landholder but the collective wealth of the Godwines outstripped his Other earls had vast landholdings William doubled the king’s share of lands in England collecting roughly 17% of revenues recorded in Domesday Though William rewarded his followers richly none approached what the Godwine family had owned THE BALANCE OF LANDED WEALTH THEREFORE SHIFTED GREATLY BETWEEN THE KING AND THE LEADING NOBLES GREATLY ENHANCING THE POWER OF THE CROWN. The 25% of English land owned by the church remained largely unchanged

16. William’s successors gave huge amounts of land By 1300 royal lands accounted for only 2% of landed income By 1086 the great noble had already granted out more than half their estates! Initially knights who obtained this land remained closely attached to their benefactor but over the generations they became like independent landholders and recreated the late Anglo-Saxon phenomenon of a very large lesser aristocracy What did not appear for centuries was a ‘Godwine type’ which could challenge royal power on their own

17. Late Anglo-Saxon Estates tended to be scattered Norman tended to have compact lordships Various mechanisms for the transfer of land including making Normans ‘heirs’ to Saxon landholders Creation of compact lordships in militarily sensitive areas had greatest impact on ‘consolidation’ of land. Lordship in the Welsh Marches and the north gained unusual political weight as a consequence HOWEVER, descendents often gave out grants of land and rebellious noble would have their lands broken up, so… THE REVOLUTION IN LANDHOLDING HAD LESS LONG-TERM THAN MEDIUM-TERM CONSEQUENCES FOR THE STRUCTURE OF ARISTOCRATIC POWER AND PROPERTY OWNERSHIP

18. FEUDALISM

19. It has been said that the Normans introduce Feudalism to England and profoundly changed England as a consequence IT ALL DEPENDS ON WHAT YOU MEAN BY FEUDALISM! Not your typical continental variety…