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Brandon Uzdzienski
Mrs. Hargraves
English II
February 25, 2013
The Norman Conquest
After Edward the Confessor died, it was discovered that he never had any children
(Invasion of England 1066). Therefore, there was no heir to the throne of England for a king.
Before his passing on, he had told Harold Godwinson that the throne was his (The Norman
Conquest). Unfortunately, Edward also told William the Duke of Normandy that the throne was
his (Invasion of England 1066). This caused great tension between the two men. What caused
even more anger for William was the fact that Harold swore he would help William to the throne
when it came time (Invasion of England 1066). There was even a third heir, Harold
Hardrada. He was the great grandson of Edward the Confessor, but died before he could fight the
battles William and Harold Godwinson. The Norman Conquest in 1066 affected England by
replacing the unorganized Anglo-Saxon government with the feudal system based on land
ownership with a stronger and more central authority after the Battle of Hastings (What
Happened After Hastings).
An invasion on September 28, 1066, which was led by William, Duke of Normandy,
landed at Pevensey unopposed. Pevensey was a Roman fort on the western side of a lagoon
facing the English Channel. Although this invasion had been feared for some time, the
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townspeople were unprepared when seven-hundred ships sailed into view at dawn. William's
ship, the Mora, entered the tiny harbor, but the Norman fleet was too big and most of the
ships anchored in the lagoon or to the east of the town (Cawthorne, Norman Invasion Force
Lands). Then between 5,000 and 10,000 men, along with thousands more on horses
swarmed the shore. William of Normandy has been threatening to invade since Harold
Godwinsson was crowned King of England on January 6, 1066 following the death
of Edward the Confessor. William argues that Edward had already promised him the throne
for his service and protection during Edward's twenty-five year exile in Williams homeland,
Normandy (Cawthorne, Norman Invasion Force Lands). Harold even swore an oath,
supporting Williams claim to the throne that it would happen as Edward wanted it (The
Norman Conquest). However, on Edwards deathbed, Edward names Harold successor and
king. Pope Alexander II excommunicated Harold from the Vatican, and named William as the
true successor. The Pope blessed William and sent him a blessed banner and a ring possessing
a hair of St. Peters head within a diamond.
A special detachment of the fyrd under Ulf, thane of Horstede, had been stationed in
Pevensey all summer," he said. "But it left just three weeks ago. So when we saw the
Normans coming, there was nothing we could do - except hide. I watched helpless as the
Normans slaughtered my cattle. They lit fires and strung up cauldrons to cook them and I was
lucky enough to get away while they were eating ( Cawthorne, The Invasions- Eyewitness
Reports).
While the Normans camp on English soil, they pillage at their own will. Anything the
pillagers cannot carry, they vandalize. Houses were burned down and livestock were
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slaughtered. Those who remained behind faced starvation in the coming winter. The Norman
strategy was to provoke Harold into a fight because William has everything to gain from this
(Cawthorne, Norman Atrocities Reported). King Harold goes through several struggles on
his way to meeting the Normans. One day, King Harold's younger brother, Gyrth, stepped
into the invasion crisis with a game-changing suggestion. He agreed with the Harold that they
must move quickly against the Normans, but Gyrth said Harold should stay out of the battle.
And he volunteered to fight in his place. Gyrth had some reasons for offering to take his
brother's place on the battlefield. First, Harold was too tired to go into battle again. In just a
couple of weeks, Harold led two 200-mile marches and fought a fierce battle against
King Harald Hardrada of Norway and his other brother, Tostig (Cawthorne, An Alternative
Strategy).
Harold was going to fight William to hold on to the crown, but Gyrth is just an
Englishman fighting to crush the invaders from his Englands shores. Also, if Harold
would have lost the battle against William and is killed, the kingdom would be gone. If
Gyrth fights and loses, Harold could raise another army and take on William again. And if
he wins, all will be well (Cawthorne, An Alternative Strategy).
It was October 14, 1066, and the English 'have finally been defeated at Senlac Hill, which
is near what is known as Hastings today (The Norman Conquest: The Battle). King
Harold was dead and William of Normandy was victorious. Nothing prevented him from
marching on London and having himself crowned King of England. King Harold began the
day with a unique advantage. When William came out from his stronghold in the morning at
6am, he found Harold's army battle ready and formed up in several ranks deep along a high
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ridge blocking the path. The English flanks were protected by several streams and hollows
and the rear was cut off by a steep slope. At the bottom of the ridge, the ground was marshy.
There was a narrow strip in the center that was just hard enough for William's army to go up
to the enemy to negotiate. William sent his troops through this narrow gap, forming them up
just at the bottom of the ridge - the French soldiers stood to the right, the Bretons to the left
and the Normans dead center. At around nine in the morning, Norman archers advanced
forward and fired at the English. Unfortunately, the arrows were stopped abruptly by a wall of
English shields but the archers, in their completely exposed position, endured some losses.
Next, the Norman infantry went in; they didnt stand a chance and were effortlessly cut down
by English two-handed battle axes. Observing his blunder, William sent in the cavalry but
because they were forced to attack uphill, their effectiveness was decreased. However, when
the cavalry retreated, the English were in close pursuit of them. The Norman line began to
rupture.
It didnt take long until the Normans got a system going to fight off the Englishmen. As
the afternoon approached, William knew that he had a choice of winning or surrendering. The
next day, Harold would have had reinforcements. William would have had nothing; he
decided to order an all-out assault. The archers shot high in the sky and the falling arrows
were a surprise for the English as they were unprepared for this. This removed the wall of
shields just enough for the Normans to charge up the hill on the flanks. After about two hours,
the Normans discovered King Harold had been killed by an arrow in the eye. Gyrth was also
dead, leaving the English without leaders (Cawthorne, The Battle of Hastings). William
marched to London where he was crowned King of England, December 25, 1066 at the age of
thirty nine (The Norman Conquest: The Battle).
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The crowning ceremony was held at the Westminster Abbey, which had been built by
Edward the Confessor. During the Coronation, people inside the Abbey shouted their
acceptance of William. However, the Norman troops outside thought a fight had broken out
and fearing that William had been attacked, so they set fire to Saxon houses. Just as the
Norman soldiers could not understand the language of the Saxons, the Saxons could not
understand the language of the Normans, and it was difficult for them to communicate.
William had asked for the help of the barons in the war and in turn he gave them lands taken
from the Saxons. Also, the barons provided William with several knights in case of another
skirmish. This is the very beginning of the Feudal System. The Feudal System was the basis
of society in the early middle ages. At the very top of the food chain, there was the king. In
some instances, the Church was up at the top with the King (What Happened After
Hastings).
Feudalism was based on the exchange of land for military service. William the Conqueror
claimed all the land in England and divided it between himself, the church and the remainder
of English land was given to Norman soldiers and nobles (barons). William took about twenty
percent of all the land in England. He donated twenty-five percent of land to the Church for
the Popes loyalty and support to William. To account for all his subjects, William developed
the Doomsday Book, which took a survey so he could determine what the their tax rate should
be as well as details about the land and people. Vassals were required to swear an Oath of
Fealty to their lords. The lords provided professional trained soldiers to the king if he needs
them his military. The peasants worked the lords land in return for hospitality. The peasants
were also allowed to use the land they worked to grow their own food too, but they had no
ownership of the land (Feudalism in England).
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The castles spread throughout Europe represented the central government for each of
the small regions. In other words, the lords each owned a castle; they had peasants working for
them and meanwhile, the lords are governing the peasants. This relieves a great deal of stress
off of the king. Most governments today are based off of the feudal system in one way or
another. The Norman Conquest in 1066 affected England by replacing the unorganized Anglo-
Saxon government with the feudal system based on land ownership with a stronger and more
central authority after the Battle of Hastings.











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Works Cited
Cawthorne, Nigel. "AN ALTERNATIVE STRATEGY." Essential Norman Conquest.
N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Feb. 2013.
<http://www.essentialnormanconquest.com/timeline/timeline_09_oct.htm>.
Cawthorne, Nigel. "NORMAN ATROCITIES REPORTED." Essential Norman
Conquest. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Feb. 2013.
<http://www.essentialnormanconquest.com/timeline/timeline_01_oct.htm>.
Cawthorne, Nigel. "Norman Invasion Force Lands." Essential Norman Conquest. N.p.,
n.d. Web. 1 Feb. 2013.
<http://www.essentialnormanconquest.com/timeline/timeline_28_sep.htm>.
Cawthorne, Nigel. "THE BATTLE OF HASTINGS." Essential Norman Conquest. N.p.,
n.d. Web. 10 Feb. 2013.
<http://www.essentialnormanconquest.com/timeline/timeline_14_oct.htm>.
Cawthorne, Nigel. "THE INVASION - EYEWITNESS REPORTS." Essential Norman
Conquest. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Feb. 2013.
<http://www.essentialnormanconquest.com/timeline/timeline_02_oct.htm>.
"Feudalism in England." Feudalism in England. Medieval Life and Times, n.d. Web. 3
Feb. 2013. <http://www.medieval-life-and-times.info/medieval-england/feudalism-in-
england.htm>.
"Invasion of England, 1066." Invasion of England, 1066. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Feb. 2013.
<http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/bayeux.htm>.
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"The Norman Conquest: The Battle." N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Feb. 2013.
<http://awylie.tripod.com/conquest3.html>.
"What After Hastings?" Bayeux Tapestry. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Feb. 2013.
<http://www.bayeuxtapestry.org.uk/BayeuxAfter.htm>.