LECTURE NOTES IV

ENGLAND UNDER THE NORMAN RULE

Sources
Primary sources
- William of Malmesbury, The Battle of Hastings:
http://www.britannica.com/history/docs/battle1066.html;
- William of Malmesbury, Chronicle of the Kings of England, Ed. J.A.Gilles (London)
Secondary sources
- Gillingham, J., The Early Middle Ages in Morgan, K.O, ed., The Oxford History of Britain.
(Oxford: OUP, 1988), pp., 120-191
- Maurois, A., A History of England, trans.H.Miles (London:Cape, 1937), pp.62-95
- McDowall, David. An Illustrated History of Britain (London: Longman, 1989), pp. 23-41
- Trevelyan, G.M., An Illustrated History of England [1926], Romanian version: F.E
Condurachi, and D. Hurmuzescu (Bucuresti: Ed. Stiintifica, 1975) pp.133-166
I. The Normans in England
A. The Norman invasion
Origin: Norman comes from Northman
Scandinavian people who had migrated from Scandinavia and settled in Northern France
(Normandy) where they adopted the French language and culture
Migrations: from Northern France they migrated to other areas of Europe: to Italy and to Britain
The Invasion:
Causes of the invasion:
- When Edward the Confessor died without leaving an heir, the throne was claimed by both
Harold Godwin and William Duke of Normandy
- Harolds claim was based on his de facto election by the Anglo-Saxon nobles according to the
Anglo-Saxon law
- Williams claim relied on
- his alleged appointment as successor to the English throne by Edward the Confessor
according to a promise made by Edward in 1051, when the Saxon family was forced by
Danish King Canut to seek exile in France
- on oath that Harold Godwin had made William while he was Williams prisoner in France
The battle
- William sailed to England but did not land for 6 weeks
- at the time Harold was involved in a fight against the Vikings led by Hardrada king of Norway
in the North of England
- after defeating the Vikings, Harold hurried southwards and met William with an exhausted army
- Harolds army camped on a high hill difficult to take; yet, using a ruse, the Normans
pretended to flee, and determined the Saxons to abandon their advantageous position and
attack them; then Normans turned round and massacred the Anglo-Saxons. Harold himself
was killed in battle. The battle was depicted in the Bayeux tapestry commissioned by Bishop
Odo, Williams brother.
Military technique:
- The battle shows the superiority of Norman military technology:

- The Normans: fought on horses (cavalry) and were supported by archers (who mastered
the old Scandinavian art of the bow); they used swords and spears;
- The Anglo-Saxons/Danes fought on foot (pedestrians) and used the battle-axe
- the fight lasted a whole day and ended with Norman victory and with the death of Harold
The effects:
- Harold William was crowned in Westminster Abbey on Christmas Day 1066
- William continued the consolidation of the Norman rule in England until 1086, destroying all
Anglo-Saxon resistance
- Beginning with William for several centuries, the English monarchs and their barons will have
possessions both in England and on the continent
B. England under Norman rule:
General characteristics
(i) England and medieval European society:
- After 1066 England becomes part of continental European medieval society and shares its
general features:
- Medieval society in the 11th c. is characterized by considerable accumulation of wealth achieved
by the great barons and the clergy; this stimulated the desire for luxury objects and contributed to
the development of trade, arts, and crafts
- European feudalism of this period was characterized by a fragmentation of military, political,
and legislating powers which were held together by religious homogeneity
- the centrifugal tendencies displayed by the plurality of lay (secular) barons and knights, each
limited to his own manor, were balanced and held in check by the centripetal unity of a highly
centralized and organized church
- Medieval Christianity brought a significant contribution to politics, legislation, and education:
- it constituted a background and paved the way for the development of society from feudal to
the modern times:
- it held in check the variety of feudal cosmopolitanism and national monarchies;
- it simplified the transition from the hegemony of the clergy to that of the secular class and
later, from the rule of the knight to the world of the craftsman and capitalist and independent
farmer
(ii) Characteristics of the Norman rule:
- Norman rule began with William and his followers, and continued under the Plantagenet
dynasty
The contributions of the Norman monarchies:
- The administration system was organized in a centralized but flexible structure
- A legislative system was elaborated that helped even the defeated Anglo-Saxon/Danish
population to express themselves in courts, in towns, and in Parliament
- Common law and Parliament came to be expressions of a specific political life
- A variety of corporate systems emerged that were instrumental in the development of justice
(inns-of-court), education (university), the crafts (guild)
- Under the last Plantagenets England left unfinished its tentative to include Scotland and Ireland,
but turned to the revival of the Norman-Anjou Empire on the continent;
- England's preoccupation with The Hundred Years War left Scotland free and Ireland half
conquered and as such constant sources of tension that hastened the ruin of medieval society in
England (and France) but at the same time contributed to the rise of the English nation

C. The Norman in England

1. Social structure:
- The Normans had a definite feudal structure
- They were organized around a military leader or king (dux) to whom they acted as vassals
- The military aristocracy, made up of Norman French barons, replaced the Anglo-Saxon/Danish
thanes and earls
- The French clergy replaced the natives; they brought along a superior education and contributed
to the consolidation of ecclesiastical culture and Latin language
- An urban population, involved in crafts and trade, gradually emerges in the towns
- The lower classes were made up of free men and serfs, were involved in farming and agriculture
2. Economy
- Economy was based on agriculture; economic and social life centered around the shires
(counties)
- Trade and crafts began to flourish, stimulated by aristocratic and ecclesiastical patronage
3. Political aspects
- Domestic politics was oriented primarily towards the consolidation of Norman rule but used
English resources for French territories
- after Williams death, England was shaken by the fights for power of some of his successors
[Stephen, Matilda]
- Foreign politics was oriented primarily towards the continent and to the French possessions
4. Legislation
- Reform: The separation between the ecclesiastical and secular courts of law [based on Roman
law] favoured the emergence of the common law
- William instituted The Domesday Book, which was based on the old Anglo-Saxon Geld Book,
- it was a collection of data for taxation purposes, as William wanted to know the exact amount of
property detained by his barons as well as the exact resources of his subjects
5. Religion: the relations with the Holy See
- The major difficulty lay in the problem of bishop investment, a task for which both the local
kings and Pope competed
- William's successor, William Rufus (1087-1100) refused to invest a successor for the bishopric
of Canterbury and retained the income; when he became gravely ill he appointed Anselm.
- Henry I (1100-1135) insisted on the right of the Crown, while Anselm supported the authority
of the Pope.
- A compromise was finally reached: the Pope appointed and invested the prelates but the King
could exact taxes from the prelates as if they were barons.
6. Culture
(a)Language and linguistic dissociation:
- The Normans introduced the French language in administration, in the system of justice, as
well as at court - this brought about significant changes;

The population became divided along linguistic lines:

- the lower strata and former aristocracy continued to speak Anglo-Saxon
- the higher strata consisting of Norman French aristocracy spoke Norman French
- the clergy used Norman French as well as ecclesiastical Latin
(b)Literature:
- The accession to the throne of the Plantagenet dynasty with Henry II who was married to
Eleanor of Aquitaine, brought along a refined Norman French courtly literature which developed
along older, Anglo-Saxon literature and which brought about a new, Norman English literature
an impressive Anglo-Norman literature emerged:
- prose: moral treatises, sermons
- poetry: romances: the Arthurian cycle; the great authors [Geoffrey Chaucer, William
Langland, the Pearl poet, John Wycliffe],
- medieval dram: mysteries, miracles, moralities, interludes
- the first English universities are created under the successors of the Norman kings
(c) Architecture
Architecture developed along two main lines:
- secular defence constructions represented by fortified castles with moat, keep and bailey
- religious constructions (cathedrals) influenced by French craft [gothic style]
III. Great Personalities: William the Conqueror
[p.255] Bk III. Of William the First [ a.d. 10661087.]
Robert, second son of Richard the Second, after he had, with great glory, held
the duchy of Normandy for seven years, resolved on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. He had, at that
time, a son seven years of age, born of a concubine, whose beauty he had accidentally beheld, as
she was dancing, and had become so smitten with it, as to form a connexion with her: after which,
he loved her exclusively, and, for some time, regarded her as his wife. He had by her this boy,
named, after his great-great-grandfather, William, whose future glory was portended to his mother
by a dream; wherein she imagined her intestines were stretched out, and extended over the whole
of Normandy and England: and, at the very moment, also, when the infant burst into life and
touched the ground, he filled both hands with the rushes strewed upon the floor, firmly grasping
what he had taken up. This prodigy was joyfully witnessed by the women, gossipping on the
occasion; and the midwife hailed the propitious omen, declaring that the boy would be a king.
Source: William of Malmesbury, Chronicle of the Kings of England, Ed. J.A.Gilles (London)
IV. TEXTS.
The Batle of Hastings
[p.269][] A joyful clamour then arising, summoned every one to the ships. The earl himself
first launching from the continent into the deep, awaited the rest, at anchor, nearly in mid-channel.
All then assembled round the crimson sail of the admiral's ship; and, having first dined, they
arrived, after a favourable passage, at Hastings. As he disembarked he slipped down, but turned
the accident to his advantage; a soldier who stood near calling out to him, " you hold England,*
my lord, its future king." He then restrained his whole army from plundering; warning them, thai
they should now abstain from what must hereafter be their own [][note:Hardy: This was said in
allusion to the feudal investiture, or formal act of taking possession of an estate by the delivery of

certain symbols. " This story, however, is rendered a little suspicious by these words being in
exact conformity with those of Caesar, when he stumbled and fell at his landing in Africa, Teneo
te, Africa. The silence of William of Poitou, who was the duke's chaplain, and with him at his
landing, makes the truth of it still more doubtful," Hardy]
[pp.271-273] The courageous leaders mutually prepared for battle, each according to his
national custom. The English, as we have heard, passed the night without sleep, in drinking and
singing, and in the morning proceeded without delay against the enemy. All on foot, armed with
battle-axes, and covering themselves in front by the juncture of their shields, they formed an
impenetrable body which would assuredly have secured their safety that day had not the
Normans, by a feigned flight, induced them to open their ranks, which till that time, according to
their custom, had been closely compacted. King Harold himself, on foot, stood with his brothers
near the standard in order that, so long as all shared equal danger, none could think of retreating.
This same standard William sent, after his victory, to the pope; it was sumptuously embroidered
with gold and precious stones, and represented the figure of a man fighting.
On the other hand, the Normans passed the whole night in confessing their sins, and
received the communion of the Lord's body in the morning. Their infantry, with bows and arrows,
formed the vanguard, while their cavalry, divided into wings, was placed in the rear. The duke,
with serene countenance, declaring aloud that God would favor his as being the righteous side,
called for his arms; and when, through the haste of his attendants, he had put on his hauberk the
hind part before, he corrected the mistake with a laugh, saying "The power of my dukedom shall
be turned into a kingdom." Then starting the Song of Roland, in order that the warlike example of
that hero might stimulate the soldiers, and calling on God for assistance, the battle commenced on
both sides, and was fought with great ardor, neither side giving ground during the greater part of
the day.
Observing this, William gave a signal to his troops, that, feigning flight, they should
withdraw from the field. By means of this device the solid phalanx of the English opened for the
purpose of cutting down the fleeing enemy and thus brought upon itself swift destruction; for the
Normans, facing about, attacked them, thus disordered, and compelled them to fly. In this manner,
deceived by a stratagem, they met an honorable death in avenging their enemy; nor indeed were
they at all without their own revenge, for, by frequently making a stand, they slaughtered their
pursuers in heaps. Getting possession of an eminence, they drove back the Normans, who in the
heat of pursuit were struggling up the slope, into the valley beneath, where, by hurling their
javelins and rolling down stones on them as they stood below, the English easily destroyed them
to a man. Besides, by a short passage with which they were acquainted, they avoided a deep ditch
and trod underfoot such a multitude of their enemies in that place that the heaps of bodies made
the hollow level with the plain. This alternating victory, first of one side and then of the other,
continued so long as Harold lived to check the retreat; but when he fell, his brain pierced by an
arrow, the flight of the English ceased not until night.
In the battle both leaders distinguished themselves by their bravery. Harold, not content
with the functions of a general and with exhorting others, eagerly assumed himself the duties of a
common soldier. He was constantly striking down the enemy at close quarters, so that no one
could approach him with impunity, for straightway both horse and rider would be felled by a
single blow. So it was at long range, as I have said, that the enemy's deadly arrow brought him to
his death. One of the Norman soldiers gashed his thigh with a sword, as he lay prostrate; for
which shameful and cowardly action he was branded with ignominy by William and expelled
from the army.
William, too, was equally ready to encourage his soldiers by his voice and by his
presence, and to be the first to rush forward to attack the thickest of the foe. He was everywhere
fierce and furious; he lost three choice horses, which were that day killed under him. The
dauntless spirit and vigor of the intrepid general, however, still held out. Though often called back

by the kind remonstrance of his bodyguard, he still persisted until approaching night crowned him
with complete victory. And no doubt the hand of God so protected him that the enemy should
draw no blood from his person, though they aimed so many javelins at him.
This was a fatal day to England, and melancholy havoc was wrought in our dear country
during the change of its lords. For it had long adopted the manners of the Angles, which had
indeed altered with the times; for in the first years of their arrival they were barbarians in their
look and manner, warlike in their usages, heathens in their rights. After embracing the faith of
Christ, by degrees and, in process of time, in consequence of the peace which they enjoyed, they
relegated arms to a secondary place and gave their whole attention to religion. I am not speaking
of the poor, the meanness of whose fortune often restrains them from overstepping the bound of
justice; I omit, too, men of ecclesiastical rank, whom sometimes respect for their profession and
sometimes the fear of shame suffers not to deviate from the true path; I speak of princes, who
from the greatness of their power might have full liberty to indulge in pleasure. Some of these in
their own country, and others at Rome, changing their habit, obtained a heavenly kingdom and a
saintly intercourse. Many others during their whole lives devoted themselves in outward
appearance to worldly affairs, but in order that they might exhaust their treasures on the poor or
divide them amongst monasteries.
Source:
William of Malmesbury, The Battle of Hastings
http://www.britannica.com/history/docs/battle1066.html;