Norman legacy

In December 1154, the young and vigorous Henry II became king of England following the anarchy and civil
war of Stephen's reign. Stephen had acknowledged Henry, grandson of Henry I of England, as his heir-
designate. His eldest son, Eustace, had died in 1153, but his younger son, who might have succeeded, lived on
as count of Mortain. Primogeniture was not then established in England. The Britain of Henry II, and of his sons
Richard I and John, was experiencing rapid population growth, clearance of forest for fields, establishment of
new towns and outward-looking crusading zeal. The families of Balliol, Bruce and Wallace, dominant in Scottish
medieval history, all derived from French origins. The country also witnessed the cultural feast of the '12th-
century renaissance' in the arts, exemplified by the Winchester Bible of c. 1160, created from the skins of over
300 calves and lavishly decorated with lapis lazuli and gold applied by a team of manuscript illuminators from
continental Europe.Legacies of the Norman invasion of 1066 remained. The aristocracy spoke French until after
1350, so saxon 'ox' and 'swine', for example, came to the table as French boeuf and porc. North of 'sassenach'
(Saxon) England, Normanised lowland Scotland (which shared a common vernacular dialect with England North
of the Humber) remained distinct from the Highlands where Gaelic flourished. The families of Balliol, Bruce and
Wallace, dominant in Scottish medieval history, all derived from French origins - a minority overlaying the
population of Scots. Ireland was less dominated by Normans. However, much of the regional indigenous culture
survived despite Norman monarchy and aristocracy.

English nationalism
A combination of external factors made England more inward-looking and more dissonant after 1200.
Internationally the crusading ideal was weakening. The Battle of Hattin and the recapture of Jerusalem by
Muslims in 1187 were considerable blows to western hopes. Richard I's subsequent failure to recapture the city
in his campaign against Saladin was discouraging. Worse still, the crusading ideal was fractured in 1204 with
the siege and capture of Christian Constantinople by a crusading force destined for infidel Egypt, and led by
Venetians. Crusading never recovered. English barons became increasingly conscious of their Englishness,
which they declared in anti-foreign attitudes John's loss of French lands soon after 1200 also made England
more inward-looking and frustrated. Population continued to rise in the 1200s, primogeniture became more
established and there were many younger warrior sons looking for lands and glory. Henry III (1216 - 1272)
was not a soldierly king. His half-hearted campaigns in France were unsuccessful in regaining lands lost by his
father, John. By the Treaty of Paris (1259) he admitted failure and secured remote Gascony by giving up claims
to lands in northern France, including iconic Normandy. Henry III's reign witnessed many closer links with
France, where Louis IX (St Louis) was his brother-in-law. French culture was echoed in Britain, especially in
Gothic architecture. But despite Frenchness of manners and names, English barons became increasingly
conscious of their Englishness, which they declared in anti-foreign attitudes which focused on immigrant
courtiers. It is no accident that scholars have dubbed the spare, simple Gothic architecture of the 13th
century 'Early English', epitomised by Salisbury Cathedral, largely built between 1220 and 1258.

England dominant
Crusading continued during the 13th century, indeed Edward I (1272 - 1307) was away crusading when his
father died in 1272 and did not return for two years. Such a smooth transition was a tribute to effective
government administration in England. Incredibly, centralised financial record-keeping on the great roll of the
exchequer survives unbroken from early in Henry II's reign. Tributes to growing institutions of English
government - and hints of a less dominant monarchy - are prevalent in this period:Expansionism wasn't the
sole preserve of England - Scotland regained the Western Isles.Richard I's realm was governed successfully in
his absence for almost his entire reign; Henry III inherited from his unpopular father as a child of nine, with a
regency lasting almost a decade; and the transition of power from Henry III to Edward I, when the latter was
absent for two years. There was a downside to effective financial organisation. The prosperity arising from
peasant agriculture, growing urbanism and burgeoning population growth meant England could focus more
directly on its near neighbours Wales, Scotland and to a lesser extent Ireland, in the 13th and early 14th
centuries. Wales was partly subdued by Edward I, who put his government's wealth into building the great
castles through which he gained control of north Wales. But expansionism wasn't the sole preserve of England.
Scotland regained the Western Isles from Scandinavian colonists following the Battle of Largs in 1263. An
opportunity arose for England to become involved at the centre of Scottish politics with the untimely death of
Alexander III, who died in a riding accident in 1289. Edward I was called upon to judge different claimants to
the Scottish throne, which he did, and his pre-eminence is displayed in a contemporary manuscript illumination
which shows him with Llywelyn, Prince of Wales, and Alexander, King of Scotland, on his right and left
respectively.

Rebellion
In the last quarter of the 13th century, English dominance over Ireland, Scotland and Wales was
apparently being achieved. But that famous image of Edward I with Scots and Welsh rulers illustrates a high
point of English predominance.From the last quarter of the 13th century, fundamentals underlying the
dynamics of development in Britain and Ireland changed. Population growth slowed down, inflation began to
affect wealth and bloody civil war as a way of managing royal power became tempered by embryonic
parliamentary developments. Rebellions in Wales are testament to some Welshmen's continuing struggle for
independence.Henry III's struggle with Simon de Montfort, who the king defeated and killed at Evesham in
1265, exemplifies this. De Montfort's unofficial 'model parliament' of 1263 and Edward I's official model of 1295
were designed by magnates to curb royal power by increasing representation of counties and boroughs.
Problems with the feudal army also emerged at the 1295 parliament when the earl marshal refused to serve
abroad unless the king was present. He was threatened with hanging, but neither served nor was he
hanged.The remainder of the period from 1300 to 1485 is traditionally seen as a disastrous period in English
history, which in many ways it was. However, Scotland and Ireland achieved growing independence during this
period. A Scottish highlight in the 'wars of independence' was the victory of Robert the Bruce over Edward II at
Bannockburn near Stirling in 1316. The Avignon papacy recognised an independent anointed Scottish monarchy
before Bruce's untimely death in 1329, and the long-term 'auld alliance' with France from 1296 secured
Scotland's independence. Rebellions in Wales, especially that of Owen Glyn Dwr between 1400 and 1409, are
testament to some Welshmen's continuing struggle for independence, although their own princes were replaced
by English princes of Wales from the time of Edward I.

Famine and plague

The long view of the period from 1300 to 1485 suggests climate and demographic change were probably key
determinants of developments in Britain and Ireland.Climatic deterioration began from about 1300, with colder
winters and wetter summers. These conditions contributed to the Great European Famine of 1315 - 1322, in
which millions perished. The Black Death was the worst disease in recorded history, killing 50% of the
population in a year. Chronic malnourishment weakened the population, perhaps making people more
susceptible to the Black Death, the worst disease in recorded history, which arrived in Europe in 1347 and in
England the following year. The disease killed 50% of the population within a year, but the main effect was that
it returned with alarming regularity in 1361, 1374 and regularly thereafter until it disappeared from Britain in
about 1670.The population of Britain and Ireland before the Black Death may have been eight million, of which
three-quarters lived in England. Decline continued until about 1450, when the population was perhaps two or
three million, the lowest count during the last millennium. By 1485 the population was beginning to rise again.

Succession struggle
change and plague were not the only external factors to affect Britain and Ireland. The Capetian royal
dynasty in France, which had produced male heirs since 987 AD, died out in 1328, provoking a succession
struggle in which Edward II and his son Edward (III to be) were prime claimants. These claims lay dormant for
several years, as Edward II's French wife Isabella and her lover Roger Mortimer invaded England in 1326,
imprisoned and murdered Edward II and brought Isabella's son Edward III to the throne in January 1327.
Isabella and Mortimer were effectively in power, but in 1330 Edward III asserted himself, had Mortimer
executed, and staked a claim to the throne of France. Scotland, like England, could function effectively without
a king for long periods.This led to the Hundred Years' War, which lasted from 1337 until the English were
defeated and driven from France, except Calais, in 1453. The war was not without English successes both over
France (Crécy in 1346, Poitiers in 1356, Agincourt in 1415) and over the Scots (Neville's Cross in 1346).Kings
of Scotland spent considerable periods in English captivity, such as David II who was in captivity from 1346 -
1357, and James I who spent 18 of his 31 years as king in prison between 1406 and 1424. But by this period
Scotland, like England, could function effectively without a king for long periods.The church and its leading
institution, the papacy, like the monarchy so strong in the 12th and early 13th centuries, also became weak
and disorganised in the later Middle Ages. The conflict between Henry II and Archbishop Thomas Becket, who
was killed in his cathedral church at Canterbury in 1170 by royal knights, was an early manifestation of church-
state struggle in this period. A more legalistic approach was followed by Edward I, whose Statute of Mortmain
in 1279 was designed to prevent the 'dead hand' of the church gaining further gifts of land to add to its already
large land-base, thereby enabling land to circulate within lay society, and making land more easily taxable by
the crown.

Nationalism triumphs
The exile of the papacy from Rome to Avignon from 1305 distanced the English from a papacy seen to
be dominated by an increasingly powerful French monarchy. Almost all the Avignon popes and cardinals were
French. In 1378, a schism developed in the church, with rival popes based in Avignon and Rome. Inevitably
Christendom split and predictably France and Scotland were on the side of Avignon, and England on that of
Rome. When the Conciliar movement of the early 15th century was established, no fewer than three rival
popes had to be deposed by the Council of Constance in 1417, which duly elected a fourth, Martin V. Royal
families were so intermarried that mental instability was passed across the Channel.Division in the papacy
exacerbated growing nationalism in western countries. At the Council of Constance representatives voted by
'nations' as England, France and Germany, and later Spain.Throughout Europe, bloody civil wars resulted as
rival magnates fought for power during this period. In France some magnates, such as the dukes of Burgundy,
sided with the English, prolonging the Hundred Years' War. When the war was over, rival groups of magnates in
England fought among themselves. Lancastrians, who had usurped the throne from Richard II in 1399, against
Yorkists, whose forebears had a better claim in 1399. Kings came and went, for example Charles VII in France,
who was banned from inheritance by his parents in 1420, and Henry VI, deposed in England during the Wars of
the Roses. Royal families were so intermarried that mental instability was passed across the Channel from
Charles VI of France to his grandson Henry VI of England.

Propaganda
Upheavals occurred lower down the social scale following the Black Death and during the wars. The
Peasants' Revolt of 1381 was one manifestation of this, while Jack Cade's rebellion in 1450 another. In France,
the peasant girl Joan of Arc moved centre stage for two years, advising the heir to the French throne and even
leading forces in war from 1429 until 1431, when she was captured and burnt as a heretic and sorcerer by the
English.The topsy-turvy world of late medieval Britain and Ireland did not stabilise abruptly when, as
Shakespeare put it, the Tudor Henry VII rescued the crown of England from a bush on Bosworth Field after the
defeat of the reigning monarch Richard III in August 1485. Henry V's giant ship of 1,600 tons was a unique
achievement and brought peace to the Channel.Much of what the Tudors claimed as 'new government' was
already in place in Yorkist England. War against France and Scotland continued, while Ireland remained semi-
independent. At the end of the Wars of the Roses at Bosworth in 1485, England actually came under a Welsh
dynasty. Much of the bad press of the 1400s derives from Tudor propaganda. There was, in fact, much to
praise in 15th-century Britain. The deafening clash of arms produced as many heroes as villains. The
extraordinary Grace Dieu, Henry V's giant ship of 1,600 tons, not rivalled again until the reign of Charles II and
Victory, was a unique achievement and brought peace to the Channel, discouraging invasion.

Renaissance
The renaissance of Chaucer, Gower, Barbour and Dunbar percolated society. Libraries, such as that of
Humphrey Duke of Gloucester, were established and the art of biography began. Universities increased in
number and scope. Oxford and Cambridge were joined by Scotland's St Andrews in 1410 and two other Scottish
universities by 1500.Ideals of internationalism faltered, including crusading, the universal church, monasticism.
Nationalism triumphed. Royalty in many respects were as disreputable at the beginning of the period as at the
end.War and depopulation allowed women to contribute much more effectively and influentially to
society.Throughout England much that we recognise today was established and survives: the parish churches
with their towers, now fossilised in their late medieval form by the Reformation; oak-framed timber buildings
scattered across the country; universities and schools. Ireland, Scotland and Wales all enjoy similar cultural
characteristics. Maybe it was the wars of the period that led the Scots to place their faith in education with their
several universities and the Welsh and Irish to develop their bardic and oral traditions during a turbulent but
heroic period of British and Irish history. And what of the ordinary people? In 1485 over 95% of the people of
Britain lived in the countryside, towns despite their small share of national populations had an impact far
outweighing their demographic significance. The period between the Black Death of 1348 and 1485 was, among
much else, a golden age for women. War and depopulation allowed them to contribute much more effectively
and influentially to society. But the cold wind of climate change, disease and war was by no means to
everyone's disadvantage.

The Normans were master castle builders. After 1066, England witnessed a massive castle
building programme on the orders of William the Conqueror. First, motte and bailey castles
were built. Once William had firmly established his rule in England, he built huge stone keep
castles. By the time of Edward I, concentric castles were being built.

Castles were a very good way for the Normans to expand their grip on the English people. The
English population greatly outnumbered the Normans and the Normans had to create an
atmosphere in which they were feared by the English, therefore, minimising the possibility of an
uprising by the English.

Castles were a sign of Norman power and might. They could be easily seen and as such acted
as a deterrent. The castles warned the English that Norman soldiers lived in these castles and
that any attempts to rise up against them would be met with force.

The castles also gave the Norman soldiers a safe place to live. They were, after all, invaders.
William had built a temporary castle at Pevensey to house his troops when they landed in
September 1066. This would have been a motte and bailey castle. These types of castles were
quickly put up all over England after the Battle of Hastings to enforce Norman control.

Motte and bailey castles:

made of wood quick to put up easy to repair big enough to house soldiers in safety had
advantage of height as the castle was built on a motte; the Normans could see the English
during the day a motte was a man-made hill you could keep animals in one as a food supply as
they were high up, local peasants could easily see them

But motte and bailey castles had a number of weaknesses :

wood is a weak building material; therefore these castles could not be big wood can rot with the
rain; it generally weakens with age wood can burn the motte can collapse with the weight of the
castle on it they were not big enough to house bigger groups of troops

Once William felt that the English had been tamed throughout England, he moved on to building
more permanent castles - ones that would last for centuries. These are called square keep or
stone keep castles. The most famous of these is the White Tower at the Tower of London.
Rochester Castle in Kent is another fine example of a Norman square keep castle.

Square keep castles:

made of stone so they lasted longer. Stone would not rot so the castles were a lot stronger than
wooden ones. because stone is strong, it is possible to build up so that you have a height
advantage and can see for miles. also the walls can be made very thick therefore making them
very strong. The walls at Rochester Castle in places are ten feet thick. these castles were much
larger than motte and bailey castles and could keep more soldiers in them. they were very
difficult to attack because of their size.

But square keep castles also had two major weaknesses:

if the enemy went around you, what could you do? You would be left in your castle unable to do
anything. if the enemy attacked you, it could decide to simply starve out by surrounding you.
What could you do if this happened?

As time moved on and those with power felt more comfortable, they could afford to build bigger
castles. These are known as concentric castles. These were bigger in all respects than square
keep castles and the most famous king associated with them is Edward I who built numerous
concentric castles in north-west Wales. He believed that this was a vulnerable part of his
kingdom and that the Welsh could not be trusted. Hence he built these massive castles - by
their standards - to demonstrate to the Welsh his power. Bigger castles housed more troops so
the threat to the Welsh in that region was very obvious. Edward's most famous castles can be
found at Caernarvon, Beaumaris, Conway and Harlech.

Feudalism is the name given to the system of government William I introduced to England after
he defeated Harold at the Battle of Hastings. Feudalism became a way of life in Medieval
England and remained so for many centuries.

William I is better known as William the Conqueror. He had defeated the English army lead by
Harold but he had to gain control of all of England before he could be truly called king of
England. He was a foreigner who had forced his way to London. He was not popular with the
people of England and he had to use force to maintain his control on England.

William could not rule every part of the country himself - this was physically impossible. Not only
was travel difficult and slow in the eleventh century, he was also still Duke of Normandy and he
had to return to Normandy to maintain his control of this land in France. Therefore, he had to
leave the country for weeks at a time. He needed a way of controlling England so that the
people remained loyal.

William spent much of his time in London. He built his own castle - the Tower of London - so
that it dominated the city. It was also his home while in London. He did not trust the builders of
London - or English stone - so he used Norman craftsmen to do the skilled work while the
English acted as labourers and he brought in from Caen (in France) the stone needed for what
we now call the White Tower. He also built the first castle at Windsor. The motte is still visible.
Castles represented a visible threat to the people of England. Soldiers were kept in them and
they could be used against the English should they cause trouble.

However, he needed a way of actually governing the country. This was the Feudal System.

William divided up England into very large plots of land - similar to our counties today. These
were 'given' to those noblemen who had fought bravely for him in battle. William argued that
those noblemen who were willing to die in battle for him, would also be loyal to him. The land
was not simply given to these nobles. They had to swear an oath of loyalty to William, they had
to collect taxes in their area for him and they had to provide the king with soldiers if they were
told to do so. In the eleventh century, a sworn oath on the Bible was a very important thing and
one which few men would dare to break as it would condemn them to Hell. The men who got
these parcels of land would have been barons, earls and dukes Within their own area, they
were the most important person there. In the terms of the Feudal System, these men, the
barons etc., were known as tenants-in-chief.

Even these pieces of land were large and difficult to govern.

The barons etc. had to further divide up their land and these were 'given' to trusted Norman
knights who had also fought well in battle. Each knight was given a segment of land to govern.
He had to swear an oath to the baron, duke or earl, collect taxes when told to do so and provide
soldiers from his land when they were needed.

It was argued, that because they had sworn an oath to their baron, they had really sworn an
oath to the king. These lords worked to maintain law and order. The people in their land - or
manors - were treated harshly and there was always the constant threat of Norman soldiers
being used against the English people where ever they lived. The lords had to do their job well
as unsuccessful ones could be removed from their position. Their job was simple - keep the
English people in their place......under the control of the Normans. Under the Feudal System,
these men, the knights, were called sub-tenants.

Note that both groups were officially tenants - a word we associate with land that does not
belong to you. Both all but rented out their land in that they had to provide money or services to
the real owner of all land - William the Conqueror.

At the bottom of the ladder were the conquered English who had to do what they were told or
pay the price for their disobedience.

There is no doubt that William's rule was harsh. But he was a man who had conquered the
country. He was not in England through the popular choice of the people and he had to ensure
that he had full control over them at all times. He ensured that there were obvious signs of his
power - the country saw the building of many Norman castles. He also knew what was owed to
him because he ordered a survey of the whole country - the Domesday Book.