Study Section 6 – The (Very) Basic Points
NOTE: Use these notes TOGETHER with all your other work. You must not rely
on these solely for revision, unless you want to get no more than a D!
This Study Section focuses on how much England changed under William the
Conqueror, so you obviously need to know the main areas where William changed
things, and the extent of the change!
Feudalism
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Land ownership in England was effectively done away with once William
became king. William, as king, no owned all of the land in England. Earls,
sheriffs, thegns etc. were now land HOLDERS rather than land OWNERS,
acting as 'tenants-in-chief' for William.
The distribution of land itself was focussed on loyalty and money, meaning
that those wishing to hold land would have to swear loyalty to William and pay
him for the privilege of holding the land.
The process of land automatically being handed down from (deceased) father
to son was also changed under William. The heir of a 'tenant-in-chief' had to
pay William to inherit the land, and there was never a guarantee that they
would have first refusal. William could easily decide to give the land to
someone else if he so desired.
William also introduced 'wardship' to England, whereby if a land holder died
and his heir was too young to inherit the land, William would take control of
the land (and the taxes) until the heir was old enough to purchase the holding
rights himself.
Much the same as 'wardship', William controlled the marriages of the widows
of 'tenants-in-chief', and he also controlled the marriages of the heirs when
they were his wards.
William used feudalism to gain financial, social and political power throughout
the country.
Those who gained favour with the king would find it much easier to gain
landholdings than those who William was dissatisfied with, and land was
naturally taken away from those who betrayed William.
Part of the terms of landholding involved tenants-in-chief granting William
knights and military service when he asked for it, much like Edward's system
of 'hides' used in pre-Norman England. However, the number of knights each
landholder had to give William was based on individual agreements when
they took their land, rather than the more systematic 'hides' system used by
Edward.
Fiscal Policies (Money Matters!)
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One of the chief characteristics of William is his avariciousness (greed), and
there is evidence of this throughout his reign.
William had had to reward those who had fought for him at Hastings, with both
land and money. In order to pay for these rewards, William imposed much
harsher taxes on the country than they had experienced under the generally
fair Edward the Confessor.
William also required an abundance of money to fight wars in Europe (and
deal with English rebellions).
William's building of cathedrals (mostly in Normandy) and castles were also
costly, and money from the taxation of the English was largely used to pay for
these.
William's system of land holding (feudalism) centred around money.
One positive consequence of William's rule was the increased trade
experienced by the Southern ports of England with mainland Europe, as the
trans-English Channel ruler of William naturally encouraged trade with
mainland Europe.
However northern England did not experience the same financial benefits.
William also levied the Danegeld as an annual tax to be paid throughout the
country. Towards the end of William's reign, the Danegled was increased in
the amount needed to paid as a result of William's wars on the continent,
which was yet another example of William's harsh taxation, or at the very
least, taxation that the English were not used to.
William continued to use the coinage system introduced by Edward the
Confessor, making subtle changes.
Ecclesiastical Policies
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Even before he became king, William had a good relationship with the Pope
which is highlighted by the fact that he had papalbanner at the Battle of
Hastings which had allowed him to recruit more soldiers from mainland
Europe. Edward the Confessor had not had as strong a relationship with the
Pope due to issues such as Stigand's pluralism and the appointment of
Robert of Jumieges as Archbishop of Canterbury.
There was an abundance of church building in England during William's reign,
in part as a result of William forcing his soldiers to pay penance for their killing
at Hastings.
Initially, William allowed Stigand to keep his position as both Archbishop of
Canterbury and Bishop of Winchester, until the Pope (via papal legates)
forced him to remove Stigand in 1070.
There was only one English bishop left in 1087 - Wulfstan.
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Archbishop Lanfranc served as one of William's regents during his reign,
further highlighting William's belief in the importance of the church and church
figures.
One of Lanfranc's major changes to the church was his introduction of the rule
regarding priests and marriage (priests were no longer allowed to marry). This
move also gave William increased power, as he was able to appoint his own
bishops rather than allowing the sons and heirs of bishops to take their
fathers' positions.
Lanfranc also decreed that women who had fled Norman persecution and
become nuns should be allowed to go back to their pre-nun lives (going
against the tradition of "once a nun, always a nun").
However Lanfranc's appointment did end up causing some tension with the
church, as he sought to gain more power for himself at the expense of other
important clergymen, most notably the Thomas of Bayeux, the Archbishop of
York.
William introduced 'ecclesiastical courts' to England, which gave significant
power to the church at his expense. Ecclesiastical courts were separate to the
regular shire and hundred courts of England, so priests and members of the
clergy would be tried separately (by the clergy!) for any crimes they
committed.
The introduction of ecclesiastical courts underlines just how much William
supported the church and placed so much importance in it.
34 monasteries had been built by the Normans by 1087., and the power
(especially financially) of English monasteries increased throughout William's
reign.
Government and Aristocracy
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After William became king, he set about the establishment of an 'AngloNorman state', bringing his own magnates over from Normandy but also
seeking to work in collaboration with the existing English magnates who were
still in place after the Battle of Hastings.
However by the end of William's reign, most of the important magnates in
England were Norman, and the power and influence of English magnates had
severely dwindled throughout William's 21 year reign.
The government of English land changed under William, whereby William took
official ownership of all English land, leaving it in the hands of 'tenants-inchief', who would care for and control the land in his name. To go along with
the changes to the system, William gradually transformed the seats of power
in England by granting land to Norman magnates at the expense of English
landholders (Carpenter notes that around 15-20,000 English landholders lost
control of their land during William's reign).
Landholders would be required to provide William with knights for military
service if and when he desired them.
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William spent much of his reign away from England.
As a result of his absenteeism, William was reliant on regents to take control
of the country while he was away. These regents included Bishop Odo
(William's half brother), William fitzOsbern (William's cousin) and Lanfranc,
the Archbishop of Canterbury. Edward the Confessor had rarely ventured
outside of London, let alone England, during his reign, so this aspect of
William's reign was a marked change from that of his predecessor (though
England had experienced absenteeism before under the Viking rulers).
William also made use of the existing system of sheriffs, who controlled the
shires of England. With earldoms becoming less significant and virtually
disappearing towards the end of William's reign, the position of sheriff became
much more important, as they effectively inherited some tasks that would
have been entrusted to earls in the reign of Edward.
Sheriffs also sat in on the hundred and shire courts (also present in Edward's
reign), and were therefore significant in controlling England's shires and
ensuring law and order was maintained.
William also made use of writs, which were written orders sent out to sheriffs
for them to enforce in their respective shires. The chancellor (a position also
in existence during Edward's reign) oversaw the writing of writs, but from
1067, this position was filled exclusively by Normans due to the obvious
importance of writs to William.
The royal treasury remained in situ in Winchester.
William also made a point of wearing his crown in public to symbolise his
power, which was a marked departure from the conduct of his predecessor
Edward.
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