Flashcards
LIFE UNDER THE NORMANS
Cards in this deck (19)
- 1What happened to English Landowners?William wanted to reward mercenaries loyal service with land as
well as money.
• By 1076 the last English Earl Waltheof had been beheaded.
• There were only 2 Englishmen who held land directly from the King:
Thurkill of Arden and Colswein of Lincoln.
• By 1096 all of the Senoir positions in the Church were held by
Normans.
• Anglo-Saxons lack of loyalty meat that they were replaced by
Normans.
• William instead used the Feudal system to favour those who had
helped him conquer his new Kingdom. - 2Oath of Fealty:The Oath of Fealty was
an oath of loyalty. IT
was a promise to serve
the Lord and be
faithful. IT was a
religious act - 3King:• William directly owned 20% of the land.
• 25% was owned by the Church.
• The rest was shared out amoangst William’s supported.
• 200 Bishops and Barons. - 4Barons and Bishops:• They were granted land (they did not own it- they held it in
tenure)
• In return they swore fealty and paid homage to William.
• They also promised money and service. - 5Knights:• Under-tenants
• They promised to be loyal to their baron or bishop.
• A knight also be called a LORD OF THE MANOR.
• They served as knights in the army.
• They granted some of their land to the peasant. - 6Peasants• They had to obey the Lord their manor in return for their land.
• They also gave the lord some of their crops and worked a set
number of days on his lands without pay.
• Most could not leave the Lord’s land without permission-
therefore most were not freemen. - 7Slaves• They made up 10% of the population in 1086
• Rapidly declined as they were expensive to keep and the Church
disapproved. - 8Kings Court• The King was the most important person in the justice system this was the same
as under the Anglo-Saxons.
• His decisions were binding.
• The King’s court dealt with royal pleas.
• Crimes: The most serious offences, robbery, rape, arson, treason, murder.
• The King could also hear appeals from lower courts. - 9Shire Courts• Anglo Saxon.
• Not much change
• They now met regularly and were supervised by a sheriff.
• The judges were landowners or sheriffs.
• Crimes: They heard disputes over land or theft or violence. - 10Hundred Courts• NEW NORMAN IDEA.
• Also known as the HONOURIAL COURTS.
• They were for the Lord to deal with his tenants.
• They supervised property transactions or announced new laws from the King.
• The tenants gave the Lord advice. - 11Manor Courts:• Manor Court was the area of land controlled by the Lord of the Manor.
• Minor court
• Dealt with day to life e.g. bad ploughing or labour not being supplied. - 12Burgesses: A Burgess was a town
dweller from the
upper ranks of
townspeople. They
owed services and
taxes to the Lord and
could buy and sell
property.
Lincoln had 970
burgesses.
Burgesses had legal
and administrative
responsibilities but
the amount of power
they had did vary
from town to town. - 13By how much did life really change?• The Normans did change life in England.
• The change was different according to social status.
• For those as the very top of the hierarchy when the
Normans arrives, THE Norman impact was very
significant.
• For the peasants life changed very little. - 14How did trade affect the growth of towns?Trade played an important role in the growth of
towns during the Norman period. Trade links with
France were strengthened at the expense of
Scandinavians links, however the Normans brought
stability in trade and this led to the development of
many towns. - 15The Domesday Survey!• In 1085 William asked officials to conduct a survey of all property and resources in England.
• It was a massive undertaking which was completed in less than a year.
• The resulting document is one of the best sources we have about Norman England.
• The Norman Conquest had completely changed the ownership of land in England. Since 1066 people had died or land
had been sold and land disputes were common.
• They took up court time and caused unrest. A thorough survey would reveal exactly who owned what and how that
had changed since 1066.
• Even more importantly it would allow William to change rents and tax people more efficiently.
• When it was presented to the King at Salisbury on 1st August 1086, the most important tenants were made to swear
loyalty to the King. The final survey as we have it today was completed by William’s son, William Rufus. - 16What does the survey tell us about William?William and his family owned 20% of the
land in England.
The Church owned 25% and about 10
members of the Norman aristocracy held a
further 25% of land.
The remaining 30 % was heled by 170
people. - 17The role of the King!The king had the power to:
• The king was the only
one who could make
laws for the whole
kingdom.
• He alone could raise
taxes on a national
level.
• Certain more serious
legal cases ‘royal
pleas.’ were only
heard by the King or
the King’s court. - 18Patronage!To encourage loyalty,
the king would offer
land but could also
grant offices such as
sheriffdoms.
Those who were not
loyal officer could
expect to have their
land taken off them.
Lords who wanted to
have power or land
needed to remain
loyal. - 19Government by writ!In Anglo-saxon times the main instrument of government was to
issue an order in writing (called a WRIT!) This was a short
document which gave orders to be sent around the country.
The Normans continued this system but offered far more Writs.
William wanted a more centralised government.
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- GCSE History Flashcards on LIFE UNDER THE NORMANS, created by Liberty Winters on 29/11/2021.
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