Norman Conquest of England - Research Paper Example

Norman Conquest of England Introduction The Normans were the people who lived in Normandy, a province in the northern part of France. Normandy came into existence in when a group of Scandinavian Settlers assimilated with the local Frankish population at the start of the tenth century. The borders of Normandy changed throughout history but the main region that the Norman culture predominantly prevailed was the duchy of Normandy. The Immigrants who formed the Normans mainly included Frankish and a minority of Scandinavian settlers from Denmark and Norway. The Normans were able to assimilate rapidly with the local population and within a short period of time had already lost their language and most of their customs. They however maintained their collective names, legal practices and personal names. The name Norman is taken from “north men” that describes where they came from when they settled in Normandy i.e. men who originated from the north. The first formal relationship between England and Normandy occurred when Duke Richard I and King Aethelred II of England signed a treaty in 991 in which the two parties swore non-aggression and friendship1. The treaty was mainly signed so that the two leaders could focus on the Vikings without having to fear each other’s betrayal. In 1002, the treaty was further strengthened by a marriage alliance between King Aethelred II and Emma, daughter of Duke Richard I. This paper is aimed at tracing the historical journey of the Normans and the events that led to their control of the structure and outlook of the government. The upheavals that led to William, a Norman to become the king of England and the measures that he took in order to maintain control of the country are the focal point of this paper. In the course of discussion, we are going to focus on the many battles that were fought and the way that power shifted from the original English speakers into the hands of the Norman people. Bloodless Succession In 1013, King Aethelred and his family were forced to seek exile and settle in the courts of Normandy when King Svein of Denmark Seized the English throne. Aethelred however died three years later and within one year, his widow Emma remarried and became the wife of Cnut, the son of Aethelred’s successor, King Svein. Cnut had become the King of England in 1016 thereby returning Emma to her previous position. Emma’s Children however remained in Normandy where they awaited their return to England. They made several unsuccessful attempts to enter the nation with one attempt leading to the death of one of them, Alfred, in 1036. The last remaining son of Aethelred was recalled to England by his half brother Harthacnut, son of Cnut and Emma. However, Harthacnut died within a year and Edward took the throne becoming King of all England. Edward took Edith, daughter of the prominent Earl Godwin, as his wife bringing her family into a more dominant position. Earl Godwin had risen to power during King Cnut’s reign mainly due to his extensive wealth and his marriage to the King’s sister in law. The Earl had so much wealth that he became the most powerful earl of England. King Edward took several Norman advisers into his court and eventually named one of them, Bishop Robert, the Archbishop of Canterbury against the wishes of his citizens who wanted one of Godwin’s kinsmen to take the position. Due to this act, Earl Godwin and his sons, Tostig and Harold, went into exile due to their fierce opposition of the King’s choices. The King faced a strong Godwinian alliance and due to this, he banished his wife from the court into a nunnery. Earl Godwin eventually returned to England and together with Flemish support, he was able to convince the King to get rid of the Norman influence and to take back his wife. King Edward and his wife were unable to bear children and thus he had no heir. He was thus required to find a successor in which the King made promises to several candidates including Edward, grandson of King Aethelred. The grandson however died and his son Edgar was the only surviving descendant of the royal bloodline. Edgar was a young boy aged 12 years old and a stronger heir was needed. The only powerful successors were the King’s brothers-in-law from the Godwin family, Harold and Tostig. Before King Edward died in 1066, it is said that he had promised Harold the throne. Succession Dispute King Edward died in 5th January 1066 and on the next day, Harold Ascended to the throne. There was some criticism about this hurried succession both from the English and Norman sides. One of the people who disputed the accession was Harald II of Norway. He argued that he had been promised the throne due to an agreement between the earlier King of England Harthacnut and his Harald’s predecessor Magnus I of Norway. The agreement was that if either of these two monarchs died without an heir, Harald was to inherit both the English and Norwegian thrones. However, it was the Normans that felt particularly betrayed and offended by this succession. According to the Normans, before archbishop Robert was banished from the King’s court, he had been sent to Normandy to tell Duke William that King Edward had chosen him as his heir and successor2. It is also suspected that the Duke made a visit during this time to England where the king confirmed what the duke had told him. When the King died and Harold took the throne, Duke William felt slighted as he had assumed that Harold was a friend and would not impede his succession to the throne. Duke William felt that Harold had gone against his promise and thus the Normans branded Harold a perjurer3. The Normans appealed to Pope Alexander II for his moral support. The Pope agreed with the Normans and sent a banner to Duke William as a sign of approval. The Normans took the gesture as a sign of divine approval to remove King Harold from the throne through the use of force. Tostig’s Raids According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, version C, Harold’s brother Tostig was exiled from England in 1065, when he was unable to control the Northumbrian aristocracy. Tostig went with his family to Count Baldwin’s country, Flanders, and took residence in Saint Omer4. When Harold was made King, he encountered a lot of opposition from the Normans, Norwegians and some of his own people. According to the chronicles, Earl Tostig attacked the Isle of Wight with a large fleet of ship he had acquired from Flanders just after the Great Litany that took place after the King’s coronation. He left the isle and attacked all the areas around the coast until he arrived at Sandwich. When King Harold was informed, he assembled a very large naval fleet as he had been informed of Duke Williams’s intention to attack his country and also of his brother’s misdeeds. According to the chronicles, when Tostig found out that his brother was coming to Sandwich in order to confront him, he took off from this place and headed to Lindsey where he attacked and killed a lot of people. It was at this place that Earl Edwin of Mercia and Earl Morcal of Northumbria caught up with him and drove him back to his ships. After losing his battle, Tostig ran away to Scotland where he was given asylum and protection by the King of the Scots. Harold on the other hand took his naval fleet and stayed at Sandwich awaiting the attack by Duke Williams. When he had assembled a large enough army, he left for the Isle of Wight where he lay waiting all summer and autumn. Williams did not attack and because his supplies were dwindling, Harold was forced to disband his army and sent them home during the feast of Nativity. When he reached home, he learnt that Harald of Norway had teamed up with Tostig and were attacking Tyne. He rushed North-collecting armies and met up with both Earl Edwin of Mercia and Earl Morcal of Northumbria. During the ensuing fight at York, it was the King of Norway who was victorious after inflicting heavy casualties to the Englishmen. When Harold learnt this, he collected a very large army and met the King of Norway and his brother at Stanford Bridge. It is said that he had planned his attack so well that he landed upon the invaders while they were not fully prepared and were celebrating their victories. Harold inflicted heavy casualties to the Norwegians killing both the King of Norway and his brother, Tostig. The battle took place at 25 September on Stanford Bridge. The King however also had a lot of casualties and his army was weakened. Due to this attack, Harold and his army were very far from Duke William’s invasion that was advancing on England. Battle of Hasting While Harold was facing his brother and the King of Norway, Duke William had assembled a large invasion army from all over France and other regions including Flanders and Brittany. Harold learnt of the Norman attack when he was informed that the Duke had landed at Pevensey with a very large army and was attacking the neighboring areas. The Duke was well armed and had a very strong and coordinated army that included Archers, Soldiers (equites), foot soldiers and slingers. He also had strong auxiliary brought from Gaul. The Duke had erected a castle at Hastings that allowed them to attack neighboring villages with ease5 Although Harold had experienced heavy casualties and although his forces were weak and tired from the previous battles, he went to meet Duke William’s. Harold stopped at Sussex where he had previously erected a fortress. According to the Chronicles, It was at this place that he drew a third of his army further strengthening himself. However, most of his army consisted of militia and a large percentage of them slipped away from him and only a few courageous men remained. On October 14th, King Harold joined battle with the Normans at Hastings. He was able to withstand several attacks from the Normans, and according to the chronicles, he fought so valiantly that he was able to inflict some damage to the Normans. However, the Normans were well organized and stronger and after a few hours, Harold lost a lot of his men and ultimately fell in battle. Harold had ruled England for nine months before he was killed in battle. William becomes king When Earls Edwin and Morcar learned of his death, they went to London and retrieved their sister Edith and sent her to Chester. They then returned to York where together with Ealdred, archbishop of York, Sought to raise Edgar, grandson of King Edmund, to the throne. They wanted Edgar to lead an army against the Duke and ensure that the throne of England was safe. While they prepared to enter into battle, Earl Edwin and Morcar withdrew their support and went back to their homes. Duke Williams ravaged the country destroying many cities that included Sussex, Hampshire, Middlesex, Kent, Hampshire and Hertfordshire. Many men were killed during his attack and it was only at a township called Berkhamsted that William and his men seized in their attacks. In order to stop further aggression, the aetheling Edgar, archbishop Edgar, the Earls Morcar and Edwin and some noblemen from London met with Duke William at this place and swore allegiance to him and gave him the throne. It is said that the Duke gave them a treaty stopping the attacks however; he still permitted his armies to plunder townships in the country. Duke William and his army started their Journey to London while the Christmas feast was approaching so that he may be crowned King. On December 25th, the Duke was crowned King by the aetheling Edgar and was given the throne of England (148). While William was King, He received a lot of resistance from militant groups and the local population. He fought many rebels defeating them and taking more and more control of the country. Edwin and Morcar tried to raise a resistance in Mercia, but they were unsuccessful and had to retreat. King William was a shrewd tactician and was able to defeat all the resistance that was cropping up in the country. He installed garrisons and built castles while he advanced on his enemies giving them no chance of success. Edgar and Morcar survived and fled from their homes seeking exile in Scotland. After conquering England, The Normans had a very hard time maintaining control. The Normans were fewer in number but used resourceful methods in achieving and maintain control. Unlike previous English rulers who offered financial rewards to their supporters, Williams offered land and titles as rewards. He however claimed dominion over all the lands and used his armies to assert control when needed. He first confiscated all the land belonging to those lords who had died or had fought besides Harold. He then distributed this land to his supporters and used it as bribes in order to gain more control. Due to these confiscations, more revolts emerged in which Williams quelled and continued to confiscate lands belonging to the rebels. This cycle continued for five years after the battle of Hastings eventually discouraging more revolts. Apart from this, William constructed many fortifications and castles that gave him better control of the country and helped him prevent and manage further revolts. Williams used his position and power to further achieve control of England granting land to more and more Normans and forcing English women to marry Normans in order to exercise control over inheritance. Conclusion The Norman Invasion and the Battle of Hastings were very important events in English history. The Norman invasion brought with it many changes that acted as a turning point of English politics and Culture. King William attempts to maintain control on England forced several changes to the country that shaped the way it operated for a very long time. First, the Norman invasion led to the total elimination of English aristocracy. William attained control over the country by systematically confiscating land belonging to English landowners and giving it to his supporters or keeping it to himself. In southern parts of the country, he confiscated all land and used his armies to ensure that all Englishmen were aware that he had complete dominion over all the lands. Williams also forced English women to marry Normans in order to control inheritance of land. The Norman invasion also led to English emigration. Many people fled the country due to the war and oppression and took refuge in neighboring countries such as Scotland and Ireland. This outflow of people led to the spread of English customs to other parts of Europe. The Invasion also led to the mixing of Norman and English cultures in Europe. One of the biggest cultural changes was in language where Norman and French influences were integrated into the English language. Old English was displaced by the introduction of Anglo-Norman, a dialect of French. French words and names began being used in the country and soon were part of the English language. English grammatical structures were also heavily influences by the Norman influences leading to the development of a new dialect that eventually led to Middle English which eventually formed the modern language. The final impact can be seen in the English political structure. Before the Norman invasion, the English political structure was more sophisticated. The whole of the country was divided into small administrative units referred to as shires, with the royal court acting as the administrative center. In order to maintain control, William instituted several changes the first being appointing Normans to the position of sheriffs. Although they did not change the structure of the Government, Williams instituted various laws and personnel changes. Most of the ruling class was composed of Normans and the language used for official documents changed from Old English to Latin. William also instituted the Forest law that required a large section of land to be kept as the royal forest. The Norman invasion was a very important step in English and political history. The battle of Hasting was not only an important turning point, but the techniques used by Williams act as a very good example of strategic planning and application of the various types of armed forces in a battle. Works Cited Van Houts, Elizabeth. The Normans in Europe. Manchester, UK: Manchester University Press, 2000. Read More