How did William gain control?

How did William take control of England following the Battle of

Hastings?Fear and Violence

CastlesThe Feudal System

The Domesday Book

Even though William was crowned King on Christmas Day

1066, he did not fully conquer England until 1071. So what

happened after the battle?

Firstly, he returned to Hastings and waited for the English to

surrender to him.

When they did not come William asked for more soldiers to be sent from Normandy

After more soldiers arrived William gained control of the

coast as far as Dover.This was important for two reasons:Firstly, Dover castle would have held English troops.Secondly, it was important to keep the route between Normandy and England in William’s control.

He then marched toward London. Although not the capital in those days, it was the centre of trade and communications.

William knew that if he could gain control of London, he would control the land as far as the Humber.

River Humber

Hastings

When the nobles in London did not surrender immediately,

William destroyed property and murdered many people in the counties surrounding London.

• First came the FEAR & VIOLENCE

This tactic worked….

Winchester (which was then the capital) surrendered.William was crowned king.William began building castles to protect his barons and help them keep control of the surrounding area.In 1067 William returned home to Normandy for a short time.

Did this mean England was now peacefully under Norman

control?

When the north rose in rebellion between 1069-70 William and his men destroyed, burnt and murdered in a sweep across the country between York and Durham.Also in East Anglia an English rebel, Hereward the Wake, stirred up trouble against the Norman conquerors until he was subdued (or bought off).

How did William keep control?

The harrying of the north. Two years after William the Conqueror defeated King Harold at Hastings, the north of England rose up against him. In a savage episode, William relentlessly devastated the countryside and slaughtered its inhabitants.

Why do you think William acted in such a brutal manner?

Persistently carry out attacks on (an enemy or an enemy's territory).

YorkDurham

Questions1. When William had London in his control, could

he now say he controlled England? 2. What areas of the country rebelled against

William between 1068-71?3. Who was the rebel William ‘subdued’ in East

Anglia?4. What did William do to try and stop the

rebellions?5. How far north did William control in England by

1071?

Questions1. When William had London in his control, could

he now say he controlled England? 2. What areas of the country rebelled against

William between 1068-71?3. Who was the rebel William ‘subdued’ in East

Anglia?4. What did William do to try and stop the

rebellions?5. How far north did William control in England by

1071?

2. Motte and Bailey Castles

One of the ways William kept control of England was to build castles everywhere near major routes. The reason for this was:

To protect the Normans from attack.Protect routes so that troops could be moved around quickly and easily.To be a visual reminder to the English who was in control.

Why build Motte and Bailey Castles?

They were made of wood – so there were plenty of materials around to make them.They were fast to put up and only took two weeks to build.They were enclosed and built on a mound of earth about 12 metres high, were well guarded and difficult to attack.

Motte

Keep

Bailey

Moat

Drawbridge

Why might motte and bailey castles be a bad idea?

Because they are made from wood and can be burned down.Also being made from wood they can rot.Starting with the ‘keep’ they began to make castles from stone within a few years.

3. The Domesday Book

Think…

• How does the Luxembourg government control how we live our lives today?

After making a survey of England (the Domesday Book) – William knew the real

value of England Many of the English Earls died in the battle of 1066

or the rebellions afterward (or fled abroad). William took their lands along with most of those who remained. He needed landowners he could depend upon. He therefore granted much of this land, as a reward, to those Normans that had fought with him. However, in order to know how wealthy his kingdom was he ordered a survey and sent his officials all over the country to gather information in 1085, it took about a year.

What did they want to know & why? The king’s officials wanted to know who owned what land &

who rented what land How many buildings were on the land, woods & fish ponds How many people, their names and status (E.g. freemen,

knights, barons, villeins) How many ploughs were owned and by whom How many of each type of animal was owned and by whom How much their property was valued at before 1066 and

afterwardIf William knew all of this he could tax his people effectively. He

needed plenty of money to pay the ‘danegeld’ this was money used to pay off people who threatened to invade England – like the Vikings!

William continued the collection of danegeld, a land tax. This was an advantage for William, as it was the only universal tax collected by western European rulers during this period. It was an annual tax based on the value of landholdings, and it could be collected at differing rates. Most years saw the rate of two shillings per hide, but in crises, it could be increased to as much as six shillings per hide.

Now watch the short clip about the Domesday survey; From the English perspective what had changed under Norman rule?

What would happen if you lied about how much you owned?

If you lied about how much was owned by a person – the punishments were severe. At the very least, the Reeve (a kind of lord of the manor’s supervisor) and a minimum of six peasants were questioned per manor.People called it the ‘domesday book’ because it reminded them of the final day of judgement as told in the bible, when people are held accountable for their sins. All this accounting for their property made them feel this way and that life would never be the same again.

Domesday Book – copy in the National Archives in London

What language do you think it

is written in?

Do you think England’s rulers

spoke in this language?

Overview

• William needed to know who owned what in England so that he could t___ people effectively. So, in 10__he sent out his officials to collect a record of the land and its people – it became known as the D_______ B_______.

• What did they want to find out?

William structured society in an orderly way – everyone knew where they

stood!

They called it ‘The Feudal System’

The feudal system was an old Norman way of organizing and controlling society through land ownership. It wasn’t anything new – William simply imported it to England.

William took English land away from the Saxon earls and shared it out among the Norman noblemen who had supported him. In return, they paid homage to William. This means that they promised to be loyal to him and to provide soldiers – knights – in time of war.

The Norman noblemen, or barons, were each given too much land to look after on their own. So they parcelled it out to their followers – the knights. The knights in turn divided their estates up amongst their peasants, who had the job of farming the land.

The Feudal System

Gave grants of land to

Gave grants of land to

Promise services, food and taxes to the

knights

How does the feudal system work?

William

Barons

Knights

Peasants/Villeins

Gave grants of land to

Promise to provide knights for the army 40 days per year &

pay tax

Promise to serve in the army 40 days per

year & pay tax & protect peasants

Why did it work?

Because William made sure the barons remained loyal by giving them grants of land. The knights remained loyal because the barons granted them land.The peasants didn’t have much choice, but did have grants of land and protection.

Tasks 1. Copy and complete the feudal system diagram with the

relevant categories of people in each level.

2. How did the feudal system work? Use the information on the board to help write a detailed paragraph.

3. Match up the person to the definition

Villein A person that gets grants of land from the kingManor The lowest type of person who owned nothingTax A person who could be mistaken for a villein or a serfSerf A sacred promiseOath A person that could also be called a villein or peasantBaron Monies or goods paid to a knight or baron or kingKnight A segment of land given by the king to his BaronsPeasant A person who will promise to protect the Baron & his family as

well as the villeins.

So, lastly - watch this short clip on feudalism. You will be now be familiar

with most of the terms• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCPp7XWZfH

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