The Norman Conquest of England

What’s important about 1066?

 Marks the end of the Viking Age
 Led to the development of a centralized, feudal
state in England
 The beginning of a long conflict between the
English and the French
The Normans
 The Normans were
the descendants of a
group of Viking
raiders
 Attacked the Frankish
kingdom and settled
in northwestern
France
 Their chief, Hrolf the
Ganger (or Rollo the
Walker) became first
duke of Normandy
Normans cont’d
 The Normans
(Northmen) began
speaking French and
developed a powerful
feudal state
 Ruled by the dukes
of Normandy
 Officially vassals of
the kings of France; in
reality much more
powerful
Europe around 1000 A.D.
Normandy
Norman Expansion
 Norman knights
attacked not just
England, but Sicily
under Robert
Guiscard
 Many later joined the
crusades
 Perfected the use of
heavy cavalry
Cathedral of Palermo, Sicily
Duke William of Normandy
 Illegitimate son of the
old duke—fought his
way to the top
 After the death of
King Edward of
England, William (a
distant relative)
claimed the throne of
England
King Harold Godwinsson of England
 Harold, an Anglo-
Saxon noble, took the
throne after Edward’s
death
 Faced rebellion from
powerful nobles
 Barely defeated an
invasion by King
Harald Hadrada of
Norway in 1066
The Battle of Hastings—1066
 William and his Norman army invaded
 Recorded on the Bayeux Tapestry
 Norman knights crushed the Anglo-Saxons and
killed King Harold
 Duke William became King William the
Conqueror of England
Organizing England
 The Normans set up a
centralized feudal
system in England
 The king was in
charge—his nobles
owed their position to
him
 Lords had to report
directly to the king
 The Domesday
Book: complete
record of people and
property in England
Development of England (1066-
1215)
 Centralized leadership under William’s
descendants, but lords also kept their traditional
rights
 The Magna Carta (1215)—spelled out rights of
nobles which kings could not violate
 Parliament (represented nobles and merchants)
advised king and had to approve new taxes
 Introduction of French changed the English
language
 Difference between Beowulf and The Canterbury
Tales
Conflict between English and French
 The Norman kings of
England still had control
over Normandy and
other territories in
France
 Gained even more
when King Henry II
married Eleanor of
Aquitaine in 1152
 The English owned
almost half of France—
most of the rest was
controlled by powerful
nobles, not the French
kings