Aristocratic Culture & Language

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Building of Churches and Cathedrals

Building churches was an important way for the Normans to project their power.

Church building

New churches and cathedrals were built exclusively in the Norman style.

Cathedrals

Aristocrats often demonstrated their wealth by building grand churches and cathedrals.
Durham and Ely Cathedrals, for example, are Norman cathedrals.
- They had elaborate, grand structures.

Stone buildings

Anglo-Saxon churches had normally been made of wood.
The Normans had replaced almost every cathedral and abbey with a stone building by the 1100s.
The Normans believed that the Anglo-Saxon building style was old-fashioned.
- They preferred grander, Romanesque buildings.

Purpose

New religious buildings were created to show that God looked favourably on the regime.
Alongside castles, cathedrals were used to display Norman power.

Abbeys and Monasteries

Groups of monks and nuns needed somewhere to live and practice. Lanfranc wanted the senior people in the English Catholic Church to be separate from ordinary peoples' lives.

Funding monasteries

Monasteries were very expensive to construct and the Normans preferred to build elaborate stone monasteries, rather than wooden Anglo-Saxon ones.
Wealthy people in England would donate money to monasteries and the Church to try to go to heaven after death.
The King and his armies would donate money as penance (an expression of sorrow for their wrongdoing) after wars and battles.
Rich people could either give land to build monasteries and abbeys, or the money to build and run them.

Cluniac monasteries

In the year 910, Duke William of Aquitaine had built Cluny Abbey.
Cluny Abbey was a Benedictine religious house, which created its own rules. People who followed these rules or this order were called Cluniacs.
Cluniacs were free of the feudal system and would take orders only from the Pope.
There were lots of Cluniac monasteries and abbeys in Normandy and more were constructed in England after William I became King.
Pope Gregory VII encouraged Cluniacs, as they increased his authority over European kings.

Latin Usage and The Vernacular

There were a number of languages spoken in Norman England. The Normans played a key role in shaping language in England. Vernacular is the language of the native country.

Language use in Norman England

The Norman elite who controlled England (bishops, knights and barons) spoke Norman French.
King William did not speak English despite being the King of England.
- He had enough Englishmen working with him to translate where necessary.
Ordinary people spoke English (the Vernacular).

Latin

Latin was used for official documents, like royal writs (which were decrees given by the king).
- Latin had replaced English in all official documents in England.
Latin was also used across Europe as the universal language of trade.
The Domesday Survey was written in Norman Latin.

Rise of Norman French

Norman French became more and more popular in schools.
As Anglo-Saxon teachers were replaced by Norman teachers, Norman French became more and more popular.

Anglo-Norman

Eventually, a new language developed: Anglo-Norman.
- This was a mix of English and Norman French.
Anglo-Norman was most commonly spoken by the nobility.
The majority of people, including peasants, continued to speak English.

1Anglo-Saxon England & The Norman Conquest, 1060-66

1.1Anglo-Saxon Society

1.1.1The Monarchy & Government

1.1.2Edward the Confessor (1003-1066)

1.1.3The Legal System

1.1.4Local Government

1.1.5The Economy & Social Structure

1.1.6Towns

1.1.7The Church

1.1.8End of Topic Test - Anglo-Saxon England

1.1.9Grade 9 - Anglo-Saxon Society

1.2Edward the Confessor & The Succession Crisis

1.2.1The House of Godwin

1.2.2Harold Godwinson's Succession

1.2.3The Rebellion Against Tostig

1.2.4Edward the Confessor's Death

1.2.5End of Topic Test - Edward the Confessor

1.3The Rival Claimants for the Throne

1.3.1William of Normandy, Harald Hardrada & Edgar

1.3.2The Witan & the Reign of Harold Godwinson

1.3.3The Battles of Gate Fulford & Stamford Bridge

1.3.4Grade 9 - Anglo-Saxon & Norman England

1.4The Norman Invasion

1.4.1The Battle of Hastings

1.4.2Reasons for William's Victory

1.4.3End of Topic Test - Rival Claimants for the Throne

2William I in Power: Securing the Kingdom, 1066-87

2.1Establishing Control

2.1.1The Submission of the Earls

2.1.2Getting Control of England

2.1.3Reasons for Building Castles

2.2Causes & Outcomes of Anglo-Saxon Resistance

2.2.1The Revolts against William

2.2.2End of Topic Test - William I in Power

2.3The Legacy of Resistance to 1087

2.3.1Harrying of the North, 1069-70

2.3.2Changes in Land Ownership 1066-1087

2.3.3William I Maintains Royal Power

2.4Revolt of the Earls, 1075

2.4.1The Revolt - 1075

2.4.2End of Topic Test - Legacy of Resistance

2.4.3Grade 9 - Legacy of Resistance

3Norman England, 1066-88

3.1The Feudal System & the Church

3.1.1The Norman Feudal Hierarchy

3.1.2The Nature of Feudalism & Forfeiture

3.1.3The Role of the Church in England

3.1.4The Extent of Change to Anglo-Saxon Society

3.1.5End of Topic Test - The Feudal System

3.2Norman Government

3.2.1Norman Government - Regents

3.2.2The Sheriff & the Forest

3.2.3The Domesday Book

3.3The Norman Aristocracy

3.3.1Aristocratic Culture & Language

3.3.2Bishop Odo

3.4William I & His Sons

3.4.1William I

3.4.2William's Death & the Succession

3.4.3End of Topic Test - Norman Government

3.4.4Grade 9 - Norman Government

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