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Conquest, Part IV: After the Storm

by Melissa Snell

After his hard-won victory at Hastings, William proceeded to the key to the kingdom: London. He left a trail of devastation in his path and bypassed London Bridge, which was too well-defended, in order to cross the Thames at Wallingford. Before he could reach the city he was met by a group of notable citizens, including Archbishop Stigand and the earls Edwin and Morcar, who may have considered resistance but instead surrendered the city. William marched into London and, on Christmas day, was crowned King of England in Westminster Abbey.

William promised his new subjects that he would rule in the tradition of the Wessex kings, and all present at his coronation pledged their allegiance to him. Yet there was a strong feeling of resentment among the remaining Saxon nobility. In spite of their promises some Saxons rebelled, and the Conqueror often used severe measures to put down the revolts.

Another Storm

Resistance sprang up early and in many parts of the kingdom. Even before William reached London, Edgar the Aetheling, the grandson of King Edmund II ("Ironside"), was proposed as the next king. The brothers Morcar and Edwin, unable to assist Harold at Hastings and unable, or unwilling, to stop William's coronation, eventually took up arms against the new king, and perished. Factions in Wales and Scotland saw the disorder in William's newly-won kingdom as an opportunity to plunder England and even allied themselves with English rebels. Notable upstarts like Hereward the Wake made names for themselves and went down in history as martyrs and romantic heroes.

And, though they were never again successful, Scandinavian raiders continued to attempt invasion of the British Isles.

But as widespread as resistance was, it lacked strong, centralized leadership, and never amounted to more than a series of setbacks for the new king. Perhaps a different man might have been overcome by such persistent trouble; but William had exceptional energy and an infallible sense of when to deal cruelly and when to show mercy. By 1071 the rebellions were effectively over.

Whether or not the Saxons settled into their new roles in England's political structure is another matter.

If William had had any intention of allowing the Saxon nobility to retain a measure of wealth and influence in the governance of England, by the end of five years of resistance his policy was undeniably different. Most of the old English aristocracy was displaced, and the posts left open by the Saxons who had died at Hastings went to Normans who had supported William's invasion. The leadership of England was now unmistakably "Norman."

The Face of Norman England

While "feudalism" was not unknown in Anglo-Saxon society¹, under the Normans it became more extreme.² When William granted land to his Norman lords, it was understood that they would serve the king by providing trained knights. Lords subinfeudated their holdings, offering land to lesser knights under similar arrangements. The result was a relatively well-structured ruling class composed of keen, ambitious warriors who spoke a foreign language: French.

At the same time, Saxons underwent an evolution in the lower strata of society. Some freemen became villeins -- tied to the land -- as did some slaves. Most found themselves further down the social scale than they had been under Saxon rule. The growth in towns and cities that had begun before the invasion continued at a relatively unaltered pace, but the notable schism between the English population and the Norman aristocracy would color the character of British life for years to come.

The most visible sign of this gulf was the plethora of Norman castles that sprang up throughout Brtitain. While most of these began as nothing more than motte-and-bailey structures, many were developed over the years into the huge stone bastions that became characteristic of medieval England. They protected their Norman lords from rebellious subjects, and served to isolate them, as well.

In addition to military defenses, William and the Normans built churches, abbeys, and cathedrals, and rennovated many existing structures in the Norman style. William had begun his conquest with papal support, and the Church under the Normans was to see an influx of continental prelates. In keeping with the reforms of Pope Gregory VII, Stigand, who had been bestowed his office by Earl Godwin, was replaced in the Archbishopric of Canterbury by the more well-respected Lanfranc. The Investiture Controversy that occupied the pope during these years would flare up in England after the Conqueror's death, but during his lifetime he remained a respected ally of the papacy.

Although William had to spend a great deal of time overseeing matters in Normandy, he still managed to institute new laws and, displaying a keen interest in the land he had won, commission the Domesday survey. No other monarch of his day obtained such a comprehensive understanding of his kingdom. Without a doubt, the Conqueror's energy and powerful personality were to leave their stamp on the new England.

The New England

The Norman Conquest marked a turning point in English history. Some of the oncoming changes were already underway, but a few were either initiated or sped along by the presence of the new Norman aristocracy and the indomitable William himself.

The end of Saxon rule meant a break with Scandinavia; at the same time, the Conqueror and his sons were to bring England politically closer to France. It is this association that would make the British Isles a potent force in European politics, a standing that generations of monarchs would maintain for centuries.

 

For earlier installments of our series, visit the Table of Contents, and be sure to test your knowledge at our Quest for Conquest Quiz.

Notes

¹ An argument for the existence of feudalism in England prior to the Norman Conquest can be found in Domesday Book and Beyond: Three Essays in the Early History of England by F.W. Maitland.

²The very concept of "feudalism," known in some academic circles as "the F-word," has been called into question. For more information, see Fiefs and Vassals: The Medieval Evidence Reinterpreted by Susan Reynolds.

 

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