Arguably,
the Norman conquest of England summoned one of the greatest social, cultural and political
changes the country ever experienced in such a short space of time.
William
of Normandy invaded England in October 1066 and was crowned King William of England the
following December. The first thing to remember here is that William was a conqueror. He was not
welcomed by the majority of the Saxon population of England.
Therefore, one
of William's first major issues was to crush any rebellion from within his new country. This had
a profound effect on Saxon society, particularly in the North. From 1069, William ordered a
series of campaigns, collectively known as Harrying the North, whereby he rounded up Saxon
rebels, executed them and their families, and burned their farms. This action causes widespread
famine in the North as farmlands and crops were destroyed. This, of course, had a major social
impact on the Northern population of England.
Furthermore, to suppress
further rebellion, William created a feudal system where he abolished most of the Saxon lords,
took their land, and replaced them with Norman nobles and barons. During this time, land was
divided between these Norman nobles, and over 100 castles were built in order to maintain
control and dominance over the Saxon population. The barons were responsible for collecting
taxes from the peasants and paying King William. They also had their own armies consisting of
Knights and other professional soldiers, which were forced to serve the king for a number of
days per year. This greatly increased the military strength of William.
King
William's Norman origins meant that England was no closely linked to a large part of France.
This had major cultural significance as more French practices became assimilated into English
culture. In fact, many nobles did not speak English, and in many places, French was widely
spoken. This continued throughout the Norman and Plantagenet periods of English history, and
many of the symbols of England (coats of arms, banners, and flags) originated from this
period.
Finally, William's attention to bureaucracy saw the creation of the
Domesday Book. This was a record of almost every piece of property in existence in England. It
meant that taxation levels were easier to calculate and peasants could be financially controlled
much more easily.
To summarize, the Norman invasion of England had a profound
impact upon the country. In essence, it ceased to be a Saxon country. Within a few generations,
Saxon cultural practices had more or less disappeared. Furthermore, the country saw major
changes in its political structure, which meant that only certain types of people could hope to
gain land. It elevated the Normans above the Saxons in most areas of daily
life.
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