Normans And Their Reforms
                     NORMANS AND 
THEIR REFORMS
INTRODUCTION
Norman Conquest, the military 
conquest of England by William, duke 
of Normandy, primarily effected by his 
decisive victory at the Battle of 
Hastings (October 14, 1066) and 
resulting ultimately in profound 
political, administrative, and social 
changes in the British Isles.
Source: www.britannica.com
Norman 
invasion 
The conquest saw the Norman elite 
replace that of the Anglo-Saxons and 
take over the country's lands, the 
Church was restructured, a new 
architecture was introduced in the 
form of motte and bailey castles and 
Romanesque cathedrals, feudalism 
became much more widespread, and 
the English language absorbed 
thousands of new French words, 
amongst a host of many other lasting 
changes which all combine to make 
the Norman invasion a momentous 
watershed in English history.
Source: www.worldhistory.org
Conquest: 
Hastings to Ely
The conquest of England by the 
Normans started with the 1066 CE 
Battle of Hastings when King Harold 
Godwinson was killed and ended with 
William the Conqueror's defeat of 
Anglo-Saxon rebels at Ely Abbey in 
East Anglia in 1071 CE. 
Source: www.worldhistory.org
Conquest: 
Hastings to Ely 
cont.
In between, William had to more or 
less constantly defend his borders 
with Wales and Scotland, repel two 
invasions from Ireland by Harold's 
sons, and put down three rebellions at 
York.
Source: www.worldhistory.org
Consequences 
of the Norman 
conquest 
The consequences of the Norman 
conquest were many and varied. 
It is also true that society in England 
was already developing along its own 
path of history before William the 
Conqueror arrived and so it is not 
always so clear-cut which of the 
sometimes momentous political, 
social, and economic changes of the 
Middle Ages had their roots in the 
Norman invasion and which may well 
have developed under a continued 
Anglo-Saxon regime. 
Source: www.worldhistory.org
The Ruling Elite
The Norman conquest of England was 
not a case of one population invading 
the lands of another but rather the 
wresting of power from one ruling 
elite by another. 
There was no significant population 
movement of Norman peasants 
crossing the channel to resettle in 
England, then a country with a 
population of 1.5-2 million people.
Source: www.worldhistory.org
Motte & Bailey 
Castles
The Normans were hugely successful 
warriors and the importance they 
gave to cavalry and archers would 
affect English armies thereafter. 
Perhaps even more significant was the 
construction of garrisoned forts and 
castles across England. 
Source: www.worldhistory.org
Domesday, 
Feudalism & the 
Peasantry
There was no particular feeling of 
outraged nationalism following the 
conquest - the concept is a much 
more modern construct - and so 
peasants would not have felt their 
country had somehow been lost.
Source: www.worldhistory.org
Trade & 
International 
Relations
The histories and even the cultures to 
some extent of France and England 
became much more intertwined in the 
decades after the conquest. Even as 
the King of England, William remained 
the Duke of Normandy (and so he had 
to pay homage to the King of France).
Source: www.worldhistory.org
Conclusion
The Norman conquest of England, 
then, resulted in long-lasting and 
significant changes for both the 
conquered and the conquerors. 
The fate of the two countries of 
England and France would become 
inexorably linked over the following 
centuries as England became a much 
stronger and united kingdom within 
the British Isles and an influential 
participant in European politics and 
warfare thereafter.
Source: www.worldhistory.org