Norman England, c1066–c1100
What's covered
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Key facts
Historic environment: Norman England
Castle design developed from rapidly-built wooden motte-and-bailey forts (post-1066) to stone keeps (12th century) to concentric ring-walled castles (13th century).
Castle Functions
Castles also served as administrative centres, courts and prisons, symbols of lordly power, and hubs around which markets and trade grew.
Motte and Bailey Castles
Normans built motte-and-bailey castles in wood because timber and earth could be raised in days using forced English labour, allowing rapid control of newly conquered land.
Life under the Normans
At Christmas 1085 William I ordered the Domesday survey, carried out in 1086, recording manors' value, livestock and tenure so the Crown could maximise tax and confirm Norman tenure of seized lands.
Norman England, c1066–c1100
After 1066 Norman French (Anglo-Norman) was the language of the royal court and the ruling Norman elite, while most people went on speaking English; Latin replaced English in royal writs and other official documents, and Law French entered the law courts only from the 13th century.
Location and function
The White Tower was built to awe, subdue and terrify Londoners and to deter foreign invaders; William, nervous of rebellion, intended it to dominate the skyline and the hearts and minds of the defeated Londoners.
Location and landscape
Harold's ground was a strong defensive position: ravines and forest protected the rear against mounted attack, sharply falling ground guarded the flanks, and short, steep slopes and marshy conditions strengthened the front.
People and events
William founded the Benedictine abbey of Battle in about 1071 as a memorial to the dead of the battle and as atonement for the bloodshed of the Conquest; the impetus probably lay in penances imposed by the bishops of Normandy, and the monks prayed for all who died at the battle, Norman and English alike.
Significance and legacy
The principal sources for the battle are the Bayeux Tapestry and the chronicler William of Poitiers; between them they give more information than for any other medieval battle, although many details remain unclear.
People, events and change
For at least 400 years the White Tower occasionally served as a prison; its earliest recorded inmate, Ranulf Flambard, Bishop of Durham, was also its first escapee, in 1101.
Practice questions with answers
A taste of the 87 questions in this topic, answers marked. Sign up to practise the full set with spaced repetition.
Why did William I build castles straight after 1066?
- •To give English lords homes so they would stay loyal
- ✓To house Norman soldiers and dominate the conquered English
- •To serve as churches for the new Norman bishops
- •To store grain for the people in case of a famine
How did castle design develop from the Norman period to the 13th century?
- •Castle design did not change: motte-and-bailey lasted until the 14th century
- •Development went from stone to wood: later castles were cheaper timber
- ✓From wood motte-and-bailey to stone keeps to concentric rings of walls
- •The main change was size: later castles were simply larger Norman designs
How did the Norman feudal system change English landholding?
- •Land was divided equally between Norman incomers and the surviving Anglo-Saxon nobility
- •Saxon thegns kept their estates so long as they swore loyalty to William at Berkhamsted
- •The Pope was granted ownership of all English land and leased it back to William as tenant
- ✓William seized almost all land and granted it to Norman barons in return for military service
Why did William build his great keep in the south-east corner of the old walled city of London?
- •The Church already owned the land there, so William could build without seizing property from any English landowner in the city.
- •The highest hill in London rose there, so a keep on its summit could watch the country as far as Kent.
- ✓The old Roman wall and the River Thames gave ready-made defences, and the site controlled both the city and the river approach.
- •The old Saxon royal palace already stood there, so William could rule from the very rooms Edward the Confessor had used.
Why did Harold's position on the ridge at Battle give the English army a strong defensive advantage?
- •A wide river in front, a Roman fort on the flanks and the open sea behind meant the Normans could only attack by boat.
- •Dense woodland in front, deep quarries on the flanks and a stone wall behind let the English ambush the Normans marching north from the coast.
- •Flat open fields in front, low hedges on the flanks and a walled town behind let English archers shoot Norman horses from afar.
- ✓Steep slopes and marshy ground in front, falling ground on the flanks and forest behind made every Norman attack an uphill struggle.
Why did William I build motte-and-bailey castles rapidly across England after 1066?
- •English oak was so abundant and stone so scarce that timber was the only practical building material in 1066
- •Motte-and-bailey design was purely ceremonial: they were used as courts and market venues, not as military strongpoints
- •Stone castles were banned by the Pope as wasteful: William was required to use timber construction for all military fortifications until 1080
- ✓They could be constructed in days from earth and timber, allowing small Norman garrisons to dominate the surrounding population before Anglo-Saxon resistance could organise
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