Db edit how did william_gain_control_version_2[1]

1. How did William gain control?

2. How did William take control of
England following the Battle of
Hastings?
Fear and Violence
Castles
The Feudal System
The Domesday Book

3. Even though William was
crowned King on Christmas Day
1066, he did not fully conquer
England until 1071. So what
happened after the battle?

4. Firstly, he returned to Hastings
and waited for the English to
surrender to him.
When they did not come
William asked for more soldiers
to be sent from Normandy

5. After more soldiers arrived
William gained control of the
coast as far as Dover.
This was important for two reasons:
Firstly, Dover castle would have held
English troops.
Secondly, it was important to keep the route
between Normandy and England in
William’s control.

6. He then marched toward London.
Although not the capital in those
days, it was the centre of trade and
communications.
William knew that if he could gain
control of London, he would control
the land as far as the Humber.

7. River
Humber
Hastings

8. When the nobles in London did
not surrender immediately,
William destroyed property and
murdered many people in the
counties surrounding London.
• First came the FEAR & VIOLENCE

9. This tactic worked….
Winchester (which was then the capital)
surrendered.
William was crowned king.
William began building castles to protect
his barons and help them keep control of
the surrounding area.
In 1067 William returned home to
Normandy for a short time.

10. Did this mean England was now
peacefully under Norman
control?
When the north rose in rebellion between 1069-70
William and his men destroyed, burnt and
murdered in a sweep across the country between
York and Durham.
Also in East Anglia an English rebel, Hereward
the Wake, stirred up trouble against the Norman
conquerors until he was subdued (or bought off).

11. How did William keep control?
The harrying of the north. Two years after William the Conqueror
defeated King Harold at Hastings, the north of England rose up
against him. In a savage episode, William relentlessly devastated the
countryside and slaughtered its inhabitants.
Why do you think William acted
in such a brutal manner?
Persistently
carry out
attacks on
(an enemy
or an
enemy's
territory).

12. York
Durham

13. Questions
1. When William had London in his control, could
he now say he controlled England?
2. What areas of the country rebelled against
William between 1068-71?
3. Who was the rebel William ‘subdued’ in East
Anglia?
4. What did William do to try and stop the
rebellions?
5. How far north did William control in England by
1071?

14. Questions
1. When William had London in his control, could
he now say he controlled England?
2. What areas of the country rebelled against
William between 1068-71?
3. Who was the rebel William ‘subdued’ in East
Anglia?
4. What did William do to try and stop the
rebellions?
5. How far north did William control in England by
1071?

15. 2. Motte and Bailey Castles
One of the ways William kept control of England
was to build castles everywhere near major routes.
The reason for this was:
To protect the Normans from attack.
Protect routes so that troops could be moved
around quickly and easily.
To be a visual reminder to the English who was in
control.

16. Why build Motte and Bailey
Castles?
They were made of wood – so there were
plenty of materials around to make them.
They were fast to put up and only took two
weeks to build.
They were enclosed and built on a mound
of earth about 12 metres high, were well
guarded and difficult to attack.

17. Motte
Keep
Bailey
Moat
Drawbridge

18. Why might motte and bailey
castles be a bad idea?
Because they are made from wood and can
be burned down.
Also being made from wood they can rot.
Starting with the ‘keep’ they began to make
castles from stone within a few years.

19. 3. The Domesday Book

20. Think…
• How does the Luxembourg government
control how we live our lives today?

21. After making a survey of England (the
Domesday Book) – William knew the real
value of England
Many of the English Earls died in the battle of 1066
or the rebellions afterward (or fled abroad). William
took their lands along with most of those who
remained. He needed landowners he could depend
upon. He therefore granted much of this land, as a
reward, to those Normans that had fought with him.
However, in order to know how wealthy his
kingdom was he ordered a survey and sent his
officials all over the country to gather information in
1085, it took about a year.

22. What did they want to know & why?
 The king’s officials wanted to know who owned what land
& who rented what land
 How many buildings were on the land, woods & fish ponds
 How many people, their names and status (E.g. freemen,
knights, barons, villeins)
 How many ploughs were owned and by whom
 How many of each type of animal was owned and by whom
 How much their property was valued at before 1066 and
afterward
If William knew all of this he could tax his people effectively. He
needed plenty of money to pay the ‘danegeld’ this was money
used to pay off people who threatened to invade England – like the
Vikings!

23. William continued the collection of danegeld, a land tax. This
was an advantage for William, as it was the only universal tax
collected by western European rulers during this period. It was
an annual tax based on the value of landholdings, and it could
be collected at differing rates. Most years saw the rate of two
shillings per hide, but in crises, it could be increased to as
much as six shillings per hide.
Now watch the short clip about the
Domesday survey; From the English
perspective what had changed under
Norman rule?

24. What would happen if you lied about
how much you owned?
If you lied about how much was owned by a person –
the punishments were severe. At the very least, the
Reeve (a kind of lord of the manor’s supervisor) and a
minimum of six peasants were questioned per manor.
People called it the ‘domesday book’ because it
reminded them of the final day of judgement as told in
the bible, when people are held accountable for their
sins. All this accounting for their property made them
feel this way and that life would never be the same
again.

25. Domesday Book – copy in the National
Archives in London
What
language do
you think it
is written in?
Do you think
England’s rulers
spoke in this
language?

26. Overview
• William needed to know who owned what
in England so that he could t___ people
effectively. So, in 10__he sent out his
officials to collect a record of the land and
its people – it became known as the
D_______ B_______.
• What did they want to find out?

28. William structured society in an orderly
way – everyone knew where they
stood!
They called it
‘The Feudal System’

29. The feudal system was an old Norman way of organizing and
controlling society through land ownership. It wasn’t anything
new – William simply imported it to England.
William took English land away from the Saxon earls and
shared it out among the Norman noblemen who had
supported him. In return, they paid homage to William. This
means that they promised to be loyal to him and to provide
soldiers – knights – in time of war.
The Norman noblemen, or barons, were each given too much
land to look after on their own. So they parcelled it out to their
followers – the knights. The knights in turn divided their
estates up amongst their peasants, who had the job of
farming the land.
The Feudal System

30. Gave grants of
land to
Gave grants of
land to
Promise services,
food and taxes to the
knights
How does the feudal system
work?
William
Barons
Knights
Peasants/Villeins
Gave grants of
land to
Promise to provide
knights for the army
40 days per year &
pay tax
Promise to serve in
the army 40 days per
year & pay tax &
protect peasants

31. Why did it work?
Because William made sure the barons
remained loyal by giving them grants of
land.
The knights remained loyal because the
barons granted them land.
The peasants didn’t have much choice, but
did have grants of land and protection.

32. Tasks
1. Copy and complete the feudal system diagram
with the relevant categories of people in each
level.
2. How did the feudal system work? Use the
information on the board to help write a detailed
paragraph.

33. 3. Match up the person to the
definition
Villein A person that gets grants of land from the king
Manor The lowest type of person who owned nothing
Tax A person who could be mistaken for a villein or a serf
Serf A sacred promise
Oath A person that could also be called a villein or peasant
Baron Monies or goods paid to a knight or baron or king
Knight A segment of land given by the king to his Barons
Peasant A person who will promise to protect the Baron & his family as
well as the villeins.

34. So, lastly - watch this short clip on
feudalism. You will be now be familiar
with most of the terms
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCPp7XWZfHo