How did William I gain control?

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What did William I do to gain control?

LAND!

William rewarded all of his supporters by giving them land. In return for the land they promised to provide William with soldiers if he ever needed them. This meant that William had a vast army whenever he needed it. Many English lords lost their land and had to work for French lords.

CASTLES!

The Normans built castles to protect their soldiers. The early castles were made of wood but soon the Normans were creating stone castles. Between 1066 and 1807 the Normans had built over 100 castles. They forced the English to build them and they destroyed many houses to make room for them.

Hunting laws!

The Normans passed a law that the English could no longer hunt. Hunting was not only a sport to the English, it was a vital way of getting food. If you got caught hunting once you would have two fingers cut off and if you were caught hunting again you would have your eyes gauged out.

Language!

As the King and French nobles spoke French, the ordinary people who continued to speak English were afraid because they could not understand what the Barons were saying.

Churches!

Saxon Churches and Cathedrals were knocked down so that there was space for larger and grander Norman ones. These churches showed off the wealth and power of the Normans as well as being a place that they could go and worship.

Domesday Book!

The Domesday was a large book full of information about who owned what. He sent people out to different parts of England to collect the information and then it was all gathered together to make the Domesday book. He did this so he could charge the right amount of tax for each person. Lots of people were not happy with this.

Feudal System!

The feudal system determined the hierarchy from the ones below it. At the top was the king, then there was the barons, then the knights and finally the villeins. the feudal system helped bring order throughout England as people knew their place.

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