Normans Flashcards
Who were 4 contenders
Harold Godwinson
Harald Hardrada
William Duke of Normandy
Edgar Aetheling
Edgar Aetheling - strengths to claim to the throne
His father was meant to be named king
Was king’s nearest blood relative
Named successor by Edward in 1056
Edgar Aetheling Weaknesses
Lacked soldiers, experience and support - only 15
Harald Hardrada strengths
Father promised the throne by the king before Edward
King of Norway for 20 years - experienced
Hard ruler and would’ve had support from north English with Scandinavian roots
Had support of Tostig (Harald’s brother) and fought with the Byzantines
Harald Hardrada weaknesses
Wasn’t directly promised the throne
William of Normandy Strengths
Distant cousin of Edward and Edward lived in Normandy for 20+ years and claimed Edward promised him the throne
Had the backing of the Catholic Church.
Allied with Wessex ans had good relationship with kings. Normans claimed Harold Godwinson swore loyalty under oath to William
William of Normandy weaknesses
Wasn’t a Norman, not many supporters
Illegitimate son of Richard so his relationship with Edward was flawed
Harold Godwinson strengths
Very rich, controlled Wessex - dominated the Witan
Edward promised him King on his deathbed and governed England for Edward when he was out doing religious things
Good military defence
Edward’s brother-in-law
Harold Godwinson weaknesses
Tried to overthrow Edward but failed in 1051
Swore loyalty to William but claimed he was forced to say it
Why William won the Battle of Hastings - Norman strengths
They had archers and cavalry
Better army with discipline and experience
William was a brave leader on horseback so could organise men
Fighting under Papal banner, men willing to die
Why William won the Battle of Hastings - Saxon weakness
No archers and cavalry
Not disciplined, lured by tactical retreats
Saxons were tired after walking 250 miles and fighting in Stanford Bridge
Prepared for defence, not attack but they charged
Why William won the Battle of Hastings - luck
Harold died early in to an arrow to the eye - disorganised army
William didn’t die on horseback and was able to command troops
Wind changed early so William could get across channel without resistance while Harold was up north
When was Harold crowned King by Witan?
January 1066 one day after Edward’s death
When was William the Conqueror crowned king?
Christmas Day
Events leading up to William’s conquering of England
Harold’s preparation (Jan - May)
Tostig
William’s preparation (May - Sep)
Harold returns to London after waiting for William (Sep)
Vikings come to England and Fulford Gate (Sep)
Harold marches north and Stanford Bridge (Sep)
Norman landing and Hastings (late-Sep - early-Oct)
Harold’s preparation
Assembled a large naval force.
Recruited the fyrd.
Tostig and the Vikings
After his position as Earl of Northumbria was taken away he was exiled to Flanders.
He convinced the Vikings that Hardrada had a claim to the throne.
He organised a small army and raided some towns on the Sussex coast but Harold’s army scared him so he fled to Scotland.
William’s preparation
Gained support of Pope with Papal Banner and promised soldiers land in England if they won.
Called on his lords to bring themselves and their knights and asked his vassals for provide some ships and built more.
Used pre-fabricated castles.
Assembled and trained his 7,000 soldiers.
Harold returns to London (Sep)
His 6,000 men army had waited for 3 months which exhausted resources.
Soldiers were ordinary men who needed to get back to their village to bring in harvest.
Vikings arrive in England (Sep)
Hardrada joined Tostig and defeated Earls Edwin and Morcar at Fulford Gate.
Harold marches north to meet Hardrada
He regathered his army and marched over 200 miles in week.
They were so quick that they caught Hardrada and Tostig by surprise at Stanford Bridge with their army without armour and split in half by the river.
Suppression of Edwin and Morcar
William’s first rebellion.
The two most powerful remaining Anglo-Saxon earls led a rebellion into London.
William of Poiters claimed that the rebellion was serious but then William of Normandy sent knights to deal with the rebels.
Perhaps this was the rebellion that made London’s citizens submit themselves to William’s rule.
Edwin and Morcar also submitted themselves to William and William then returned all their possessions and titles to them.
Rebellion of the Welsh border
Wales was an area of wild land that was difficult to rule.
Edric the Wild, a Herefordshire thegn, started a revolt in 1067 with a large number of English followers and also gained the support of Welsh princes. He stole property along the border but failed to take control of the area.
In 1069, he started another revolt reaching Cheshire and Staffordshire but were defeated at a Norman castle in Shrewsbury by William.
Revolt of Eustace
1069, King Edward’s brother-in-law, Eustace Count of Boulogne, attacked Dover Castle in Kent.
William of Poitiers suggested that the thegns in Kent offered support to Eustace even though this was not true.
Eustace was defeated by the knights in Dover Castle and made peace with William and Edric the Wild.
The south west and Exeter
In 1068, the city of Exeter rebelled against William and them he besieged the city with an army of Normans and Englishmen.
The city held out for 18 days but then they were forced to surrender and afterwards, William built a castle on the highest ground, leaving his half-brother, Robert of Mortain, in charge.
On the way back to London, William suppressed Bristol and Gloucester.
Also, three of Godwinson’s sons landed on the Somerset coast in an attempt to defeat William but were unsuccessful.
Harrying of the North events
1068, Edwin, Morcar and Edgar the Aethling went north in search of allies for Edgar because he wanted the throne and King Malcolm of Scotland gave his support because they were related.
In 1069, Norman Earl was murdered by English rebels and the bishop of Durham’s house was set on fire and Edgar attacked York.
240 Viking ships invaded also and joined Edgar and captured a Norman castle in York.
The rebellion of the Norman earls
1075, Ralph de Gael led a rebellion with Roger de Breteuil, Earl of Hereford.
Previously, Ralph’s marriage was forbidden and William’s sheriffs had been hearing legal cases in Roger’s land instead of his own and Roger may have been unhappy that he didn’t get as much power as his father did before William.
They had support from English Earl of Northamptonshire and Huntingdonshire, Waltheof. Also King Phillip I of France encouraged Roger to rebel because he didn’t want Normandy to be more powerful than the rest of France and Ralph and Roger were promised help from overseas so the threat was real for William.
How did William deal with the Harrying of the North?
He paid the Vikings to leave, and then he laid waste to large areas of land around York, burning and salting fields and killing all living creatures.
Herewerd the Wake
William had confiscated lands from his father and so he had a grudge against William.
He, King Swegn, and Morcar launched guerilla style attacks around marshes of East Anglia. E.g. on Peterborough in 1070 where they burned and looted the Abbey.
They set up a base in an Abbey on the Isle of Ely and built up supplies and learnt how to traverse the marshes
How did William deal with Herewerd the Wake?
He besieged the Island of Ely and built a rampart to cross the marshland which broke because of the weight of the Norman soldiers.
He built a siege tower and brought in a local witch to torment the rebels on the tower.
Herewerd was betrayed by monks who gave him info on a secret route to him.
The rebels then surrendered and Herewerd disappeared.
How did William deal with rebellion from the Norman earls?
The rebellion failed as Waltheof never helped and fled to Normandy instead and the forces of Bishops stopped Roger from leaving Herefordshire. The Danes came too late to be involved so they left.
Roger and Ralph lost all their land and Waltheof was beheaded.
What were Saxon castles?
Burhs (fortified towns)
Where did William put castles?
Everywhere but more concentrated in more vulnerable areas (borders of Wales and Scotland and south coast).
Towns and cities and where rebellions had previously taken place.
Motte
Keep
An earthen mound encircled by a ditch and a palisade (fence).
A keep was a tower built on top of the mound. Safest area and used as a lookout and was an imposing structure to remind the English they were under surveillance.
Bailey
Outer area of the castle where troops were stationed and where they lived. They could retreat to bailey if needed.
Why were castles built (strategic reasons)?
The soldiers inside could put down any rebellion without necessarily needing many troops so they could be moved from castle to castle easily.
Why were castles built (symbolic reasons)?
They were a reminder to the English that Normans were now in charge.
Normans often destroyed houses to make space for their castles, got the English to build them and pay for them using taxes, showing their dominance.
What was the Feudal System?
A hierarchical system based on land being given and loyalty/fealty being returned.
Kings - Barons/Earls/Bishops/Lords - Knights - Peasants (freemen and villeins) - Slaves
How did the Feudal System help the King control?
King gains loyalty from the lower social groups and act as allies against potential enemies.
King gets money which could be used to increase his army or build expensive castles.
However, wasn’t perfect as some barons still repelled against the King.
Differences between the Saxon system (Feudal System)
Power of Earls was abandoned and the distribution of land was more controlled to stop anyone from becoming too wealthy.
Knights were introduced.
King had more power and peasants were more exploited.
What was the Domesday Book?
13,000 villages visited and questions about land ownership (i.e. who held the land, how much land they held and how this changed after 1066).
Survey did not cover the whole of the country as Durham and other parts of north-east were excluded because Bishop of Durham had the exclusive right to raise taxes there and not enough power was held in some places.
How did the Domesday Book help William keep control?
William had a complete record of land meaning he could solve land disputes easier and manipulate the feudal system thus wasting less time in courts.
The complete record of property meant that he could raise supplies and money in times of war and hardship.
William knew how many potential soldiers he could use in his army to stop invasion.
He knew who to tax and how much.
He created an element of fear and control, hence the name.
