THE NORMANS
BY ROSS LYDON
Who they were:
The Vikings or Norsemen loved going on adventures in their longships. Some Vikings left their homelands
and moved to different countries. Some of them moved to the North of France. After many years the place
where they lived was called Normandy and the people were called Normans. The Normans learned how
to speak French and they became Christian. In 1035 William became the Duke of Normandy. He was
seven years old!
The Normans come to England (The Battle of Hastings):
The King of England, Edward the Confessor, died in January 1066. He had no heir so there was an
argument about who would be the next king. Before Edward died, he had chosen his brother-in-law,
Harold, to be the next king. But William, Duke of Normandy, claimed that Edward promised him that he
could be next king. William and his army decided to invade England. It took several months for William to
prepare his army. He had over 7,000 soldiers. Most of them were knights..
A picture of the Ships heading into the Battle of Hastings
Over 700 ships were needed to take all his soldiers from France to England. The two armies met
at Hastings. The battle took place on October 14th. Harold and his army were defeated. Harold
was killed and on Christmas Day 1066 William was crowned King of England. After the Battle of
Hastings, William was called William the Conqueror
A picture of a Norman Boat
A Norman Knight
The Norman knight was the best-trained and best-equipped soldier in Europe about eight hundred
years ago. Usually only the son of a lord or a knight could train to become one. Their training
began when boys were about seven years old. Every boy who wanted to become a knight had to
go to live in another lord's house where he would become a page. He would wait on the lord and
his lady, serve them at meal-times and learn knightly behaviour and good manners. He would also
learn how to ride like a knight and fight like a knight. He would learn how to use a bow and arrow
and practise swordplay with a wooden sword. Knightly good behaviour was called chivalry and
that meant treating people courteously, particularly women. When he was about fourteen years
old, he would be apprenticed to a knight. He was called a squire and he would ride into the
battlefield with his master. If all went well he would become a knight at the age of twenty one. This
happened at a special dubbing ceremony during which the king or lord tapped him on the shoulder
with a sword.
Where the Normans Lived
Motte and Bailey Castles:
When the Normans captured an area they built a fort or castle where they would be safe. The first
forts were made from wood. They could be built in a few months. They were called motte and
bailey forts and they were often built on a river bend or near a large town. They were usually built
on high ground where they had a good view of the surrounding countryside. They were located
near one another so that the Normans in one fort could send signals to their neighbours nearby.
First a large amount of earth was dug up and raised into a great mound. This mound was called
the motte. It had a flat top. A simple wooden house with two or three rooms was built on the flat
top. This was called a tower-house or keep. The lord and his family lived here. It was surrounded
by a wooden fence.
The bailey was at the base of the motte. It had many buildings. The lord's workers, soldiers and
craftspeople lived here. It also contained workshops and stables. The bailey was also surrounded
by a strong wooden fence. The motte and bailey was surrounded by a wide ditch full of water. This
was called a moat. It had a drawbridge.
Food and Banquets in the castles
Most of the food was cooked over a huge blazing fire so cooking was hot sweaty work. ( The fires
in King John's kitchens were big enough to roast two whole oxen at the same time. Kitchens were
a serious fire hazard so they were in separate buildings away from the main hall.) Everything from
stews to puddings was boiled in huge metal cauldrons. Sometimes meat was roasted over the fire
on a hand-turned spit. The servant boy who had to turn this spit used an old, wet archery target as
a fire screen. Bread and pies were baked in an oven, which was often built into the wall near the
main fireplace.
Banquets:
Banquets were held in The Great Hall and started in the evening. The Lord and his family and
important guests sat at the high table. The very wealthy had metal or wooden plates but most
people used a flat piece of stale bread called a trencher. Most people carried knives with them.
They also used spoons but they did not use forks. The important people were given napkins and
spoons. Others just brought their own. The really important guests had a taster to taste their food.
Most of the people ate with their hands and washed them between courses. Meat was the main
food. Guests drank wine from goblets and ale from large jugs. A platter of food was shared
between two people and often a drinking vessel was shared too. Sometimes the cook cooked a
peacock or a swan. Then he sewed its feathers and skin on before it was served. Sometimes a
cook made enormous pies. Then he put a hole in the pie and put live birds inside so that when the
person would cut it and the birds would fly out and surprise the guests.
Pastimes
Jousting
War Games:
When knights weren't fighting real battles they liked to play war games. Tournaments gave them a chance
to show off their battle skills. Tournaments had several types of event. Sometimes they had mock battles.
The knights split into two teams to fight each other. The knight who lost had to give his horse and armour
to the winner, or pay a ransom for their return. One to one fights, called jousts, were introduced during the
13th century. In a joust the knights carried lances. A barrier called a tilt separated the knights and their
horses. The knights would charge towards each other and each knight would try to knock his opponent off
his horse. Sometimes they used real weapons and war games often ended in death! Squires practised
jousting by charging at a swivelling target called a quintain. If a squire's reactions weren't quick enough a
heavy weight swung towards him and knocked him off his horse.
Hunting:
When knights weren't fighting war games their favourite sport was hunting. They used hounds
and hawks to hunt in the woods and fields. Ladies took part in the hunt too, often using falcons. Foxes,
deer, hares, otters, badgers and rabbits were hunted and killed. Wolves were lured into traps and beaten
to death. Knights loved to hunt boar with long, broad, sharp spears. After the hunt, they often had great
feasts of wild boar, venison and smaller game, like birds, hares and rabbits.The hounds used for hunting
had better living conditions than most ordinary people. They were kept in large paved kennels, which
were heated by fires. They were given fresh straw every day. The peasants did not enjoy this sport. Their
fields and crops could be ruined by the hunt.
Other Games:
Knights played card games, board games and games with dice. Chess was a popular game and they
often had chess competitions. Another game they played was 'Merrelles' or Nine Men's Morris. It is really
a complicated version of noughts and crosses.