Life Under the Normans Flashcards
All 34 cards in this deck
Who were the tenants-in-chief in Norman England, and what was their main role?
The great landholders (barons and bishops) who held land directly from the king. Their main role was military: to provide the king with knights, and barons led their knights in person.
Under knight service, how much military service did a knight owe each year?
Forty days a year, in return for the land he held from his lord.
True or false? Everyday life in English villages changed completely under Norman rule.
False. Village life continued much the same: the same demanding labour, the same agricultural cycle, and the lord still controlling the poorest peasants.
How did William I change the use of earls after the Conquest?
He appointed far fewer earls and gave them less land and power, so government was centralised in the king's own hands.
What was the role of the sheriff in Norman England?
A royal official in each shire who collected taxes and royal revenues, enforced royal justice and managed the king's land in the shire.
What was the royal demesne?
The land held directly by the king, whose rents were paid straight to the monarchy.
What was the 'forest' introduced by William I?
Large areas of land reserved for the king's hunting, protected by severe forest laws with punishments such as blinding for poaching.
What was the Domesday survey (1085–86)?
A survey recording who held every piece of land in England and what it was worth, so that people could be taxed correctly.
True or false? Under the feudal system, all the land in England belonged to the king.
True. William granted land to his tenants-in-chief in return for homage and service, but kept ultimate ownership.
What was the Witan?
The council of earls, archbishops and other leading men that advised the Anglo-Saxon king.
What duties did the very poorest villagers owe their lord?
Working a set number of days without pay, handing over a share of all crops, and needing the lord's permission to leave the village.
Who were the thegns in Anglo-Saxon England?
The local lords and warrior nobility, roughly 4,000–6,000 men, each holding at least five hides of land and expected to fight for their lord.
Roughly how much of England's land was still held by Anglo-Saxon aristocrats in 1087?
Only about 5%, mostly in small estates. Of the roughly 190 tenants-in-chief who held over half the land, just two were Anglo-Saxons.
What prompted William I to order the Domesday survey at Christmas 1085?
The threat of a new Danish invasion: he needed to know what his tenants-in-chief held, and how many knights and how much tax England could provide.
What was a murdrum fine?
A fine imposed on the local English community if a Norman was murdered and the killer was not found. The Normans introduced it to stop Anglo-Saxons killing Norman knights and lords.
What was primogeniture, and who introduced it to England?
The rule that the eldest son inherited his father's land and titles. The Normans introduced it, replacing the Anglo-Saxon custom of dividing land among the family.
Which trial by ordeal did the Normans introduce to England?
Ordeal by combat: the accused had to prove his innocence by fighting.
True or false? In trial by ordeal by water, a person who floated was judged innocent.
False. Floating meant guilty; sinking meant innocent (the accused was tied to a rope and pulled out).
Who were the burgesses in Norman towns?
The leading townsmen — merchants and craftsmen who made a living from business.
What were guilds in Norman towns, and why were they set up?
Associations of merchants and craftsmen, set up to ensure high standards of work and to protect their livelihood and reputation.
How many new towns were built in England between 1066 and 1100?
21 new towns.
What happened to slavery in England under the Normans?
It decreased. Norman lords freed slaves and gave them small plots of land in return for large amounts of labour.
What was the largest group of people recorded in the Domesday Book?
Villeins — unfree peasants who held land from the lord in return for working on his land.
True or false? Townspeople in Norman England had the same lack of freedom as villeins in the countryside.
False. Town citizens had legal protections and freedom of movement, which villeins did not.
What was a 'relief' in Norman England?
A payment an heir had to make to the lord before he could take over the land he had inherited. If it was not paid, the lord could take the land.
What were hundred courts?
Local courts for each hundred, a division of a shire, which met about once a month to settle lesser cases such as petty theft, small debts and local disputes. A local official presided, answering to the sheriff.
What was the Curia Regis?
The Norman king's court and council of his great barons and churchmen, which gave him advice and judgement, notably at the crown-wearings held at major Church feasts. It took over the advisory role of the Anglo-Saxon Witan.
What was a royal writ, and why did William I use more of them?
A brief sealed letter giving the king's orders to his officials in a shire. William took over this English practice, which Normandy lacked, because it let him send instructions anywhere in the kingdom without being there in person.
What is meant by patronage in Norman England?
Rewarding supporters with land, offices or favour to win and keep their loyalty, for example William granting estates to the men who had fought for him in 1066.
What was a typical peasant's house like in Norman England?
A small hut with a single room, built of timber or wattle and daub with a thatched roof. The family lived, cooked and slept around a central hearth whose smoke had to find its way out through the roof.
What did most peasants eat in Norman England?
Mostly bread and pottage, a thick stew of vegetables, peas or beans, with eggs and cheese from their own animals and ale to drink. Meat was a rare luxury for them.
What was the busiest time of the peasants' farming year?
The harvest in late summer, around August and September, when the whole village, including women and children, worked to gather the crops before the weather turned.
Give one way the Normans changed buildings in English villages.
Timber village churches and lords' manor houses were often replaced with stone ones.
How did the Norman Conquest affect England's trade?
Closer links across the Channel boosted trade with Normandy and France: English wool went abroad and French wine came in, making many town merchants rich.