Normans

Revision:
Topic 2 of 3
 Topic Summary
Feudalism and Government: What changes did the Normans make to England?
1. The feudal system gave the king more Similarities between Norman and Anglo-Saxon England Differences between Norman and Anglo-Saxon England
power and allowed him to rule the
Land • The King and the Church owned most of the land • After 1066 barons were not allowed to dominate huge
country with very few Normans. • Peasants working on the land still had to pay their lord a tax of their areas of the kingdom. They also swore fealty to the King.
Ownership
produce. • Earls were replaced with a greater number of Bishops and
2. The king’s ownership of land gave Barons.
him huge powers of patronage. • By 1086 only four English Thengs held land
• William only gave large areas of land to his ‘Marcher
3. The use of the Oath of Fealty along Lords’.
with the granting of land helped the
Norman kings establish control. Military • Thengs and Knights both promised to provide military service to the • Knights made an oath to their lord – this did not happen
Service King. in Saxon times as it was seen as a ‘religious duty’.
• Each tenant-in-chief (Knight, Baron) provided soldiers for William’s • Knights always had to carry out military service for at
4. Most land and key positions (such as army. least 40 days of the year.
tenants-in-chief and sheriffs) were • Local areas still provided troops for the army (Fyrd) • Marcher Lords on borders with Wales – became almost
transferred from Anglo-Saxon to independent rulers with the task of defending against
Norman hands. raids from Wales.

5. Many aspects of government and the Consulting • The Norman Kings continued to listen to and take advice from their • The knights of the royal household provided security.
Advisors leading subjects through the Great Council (Curia Regis)
legal system remained the same, or • Only the king could make laws for the whole kingdom
similar to Anglo-Saxon times. • The Chancery provided the administration for the government.

6. The arrangements for military service Inheritance • Feudal Incidents: if a tenant died without an heir the land would be • Property was passed on to the eldest son – Primogeniture.
became more formal. returned to the lord who could sell it off. As the king owned most of This meant Normans could keep large estates of land
the land, he profited from this. therefore maintaining power.
7. The Domesday Survey allowed the Government • Main issue of government was to issue an order in writing (writ). • The Normans issued more writs than the Saxons did.
Normans to raise taxes efficiently. by Writ • The King’s writs centralised the power and took it away
from barons and bishops.
8. Domesday also provided an
authoritative account of who held the Local • England remained split into 134 shires with a sheriff in charge of each • Saxon sheriffs were replaced by Normans because loyal
Government shire. Duties included making annual payments to the king, collecting sheriffs were vital to maintain control over the kingdom.
lands after the Norman Conquest.
taxes and raising armies. • Castellans” – looked after the royal castles and forests.
The Domesday Survey Legal System • Maintained most Saxon features as it worked well and it helped prove • The Normans simplified the system and made it more
that the Normans were legitimate rulers. consistent.
• Survey of all property and resources in • The King’s Court remained the most important Court. • The Lords Court was created by Normans for the Lord to
England. • Shire & Hundred Court’s remained the same deal with his tenants.
• Completed due to threat of Viking
invasion in 1085. Law • Constables, Watchmen attempted to ensure all kept to the curfew. • Murdrum Fine: If a Norman was killed and their
• Completed in 1086 – the most important Enforcement However they were old and poorly paid. murderer was not found within five days the local
tenants were made to swear loyalty to • Hue and Cry: All had a duty to catch a suspect when alarm was raised. community would be fined.
the King.
• Enabled William to know how much he Trials • Oaths – to ensure people told the truth they first had to swear an oath • Trial by Battle: Introduced for serious offences. Two men
could tax people and who would be on a holy book or relic. duel against each other and the belief was God would
legible to fight in his army. • Trial by Cold Water: Holy water, if you float you are guilty as the support the innocent. If the accused was rich they could
water would repel a sinner. pay for a champion to fight in their place.
• Trial by Hot Iron: Hand burnt and wrapped for three days. If the
wound was infected the person was guilty.
 Topic Summary
How did the Norman Conquest affect towns and villages?
1. Peasants had the hardest lives of all No fences, The rest was
The strips of land The main crops
and many lacked any real freedom. Thatched roofs walls or were not separated divided between were wheat, oats,
Serfs: not allowed to which could easily
They farmed to survive and many leave the village
hedges from each other the peasants barley & rye
be destroyed by
made little profit. without permission fire
from their Lord. 25-35% of land Land farmed in strips as
Open field was kept for the it was easier for the
2. Some peasants moved to the towns to system Lord oxen to pull the plough
find better jobs. Others were trying to through
break free from the ties of the Centre of the
Lived in simple homes
countryside. A peasant’s Shows the
which were cold, damp
and dark home
Villages General
Information
village was a
church made
importance
of religion
3. The rich had a far more varied diet of stone
than the poor, although it was less Usually only one Manor house, General Information
healthy. The poor ate healthy food but room with a small barns, churches, • Most peasant’s lives depended upon the seasons and
Manors
were vulnerable to shortages. window villager’s houses, farming – late Spring was the hardest time of year as
grazing land and supplies were running out.
Walls made out of mills • Jobs of peasants – (most) farmers, (some) millers &
4. Many towns grew in size and
wattle & daub brewers.
importance under the Normans. • Food: during the day a light of rye bread (dry hard bread).
Freedmen: lived around Evening meal – mostly vegetables they grew themselves.
the manor but had to pay Houses made • Drink: homemade beer or cider.
Similarities between life in towns and villages: Had to obey the rent and work for the from stone
• Meat was rarely eaten by peasants as it was expensive,
lord’s rules lord during sowing and so too were sugar and fruit.
harvest time • Thengs and Lords ate meat and fish on a daily basis.

Why did Norman towns grow? Medieval Jobs in towns

Towns
• Trading centres in livestock, fish, salt and wool. • Blacksmith: skilled craftsmen and highly valued. Made a variety of
• Towns attracted people who wanted to set up shops and businesses. objects including tools, rivets, nails locks, horseshoes weapons and
• Most towns were protected by high walls, gates or moats. armour. Many made a very good living in towns.
• The gates were guarded and locked at night.
• People moved from the countryside to learn a trade or work as a • Moneylenders: Christians were not allowed to lend money so Jews
servant. came from Europe to do this work. This made them very unpopular.
Features of a Norman Town How did the Normans change
Nottingham? • Barbers: cut hair, extracted teeth and amputated limbs. The sign for a
• Mixture of residential and commercial barber’s shop was a red and white striped pole.
properties. • A new Norman lord to rule over the
Differences between life in towns and villages: town. • Bakers: bread was the main food in medieval times. There were strict
• Churches and religious houses laws on pricing and portion sizes of bread. Peasants were allowed to use
• A Norman church was built in the baker’s ovens to bake their own bread.
• Houses were built close together and Romanesque style in the Norman
often the buildings were larger above the borough – ‘St Peter’s Church’ • Armourers: a very skilled role where people made chainmail armour to
ground because land in the towns was fit each individual who requested it.
expensive. • A wooden castle was built in 1067-68
and controlled by the Norman Lord. • Apothecaries: sold remedies made from herbs and plants.
• A high street was the main road through
the town leading to the gates. This road Hierarchy in Norman Towns
• New markets were created: weekday
would have been wider than the rest. markets in the ’late-Saxon borough’ and • Top: Lawyers, doctors and property owners
Saturday markets in the Norman
• Overcrowding led to overflowing waste borough. • Middle: Craftsmen (only when they became a ‘master’ of their trade)
and an increased risk of disease, house
fires and theft. • New boroughs created from the influx of • Bottom: Unskilled workers and servants
Norman and Saxons to the town.