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{{Short description|11th-century invasion and conquest of England by Normans}}
{{About|the Norman invasion of England in 1066|other uses|Norman conquest (disambiguation)}}
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[[File:Norman-conquest-1066.svg|thumb|upright=1.6|Location of major events during the Norman Conquest in 1066]]
{{Campaignbox Norman Conquest}}

The '''Norman Conquest''' (or '''the Conquest''') was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of [[England]] by an army made up of thousands of [[Normans|Norman]], [[French people|French]], [[Flemish people|Flemish]], and [[Bretons|Breton]] troops, all led by the [[Duke of Normandy]], later styled [[William the Conqueror]].

William's claim to the [[English throne]] derived from his familial relationship with the childless [[Anglo-Saxon]] king [[Edward the Confessor]], who may have encouraged William's hopes for the throne. Edward died in January 1066 and was succeeded by his brother-in-law [[Harold Godwinson]]. The Norwegian king [[Harald Hardrada]] invaded northern England in September 1066 and was victorious at the [[Battle of Fulford]] on 20 September, but Godwinson's army defeated and killed Hardrada at the [[Battle of Stamford Bridge]] on 25 September. Three days later on 28 September, William's invasion force of thousands of men and hundreds of ships landed at [[Pevensey]] in [[Sussex]] in southern England. Harold marched south to oppose him, leaving a significant portion of his army in the north. Harold's army confronted William's invaders on 14 October at the [[Battle of Hastings]]. William's force defeated Harold, who was killed in the engagement, and William became king.

Although William's main rivals were gone, he still faced rebellions over the following years and was not secure on the English throne until after 1072. The lands of the resisting [[History of the British peerage#Feudal origins|English elite]] were confiscated; some of the elite fled into exile. To control his new kingdom, William granted lands to his followers and built castles commanding military strong points throughout the land. The [[Domesday Book]], a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales, was completed by 1086. Other effects of the conquest included the [[Noble court|court]] and government, the introduction of a dialect of French as the language of the elites, and changes in the composition of the upper classes, as William [[Feoffment|enfeoffed]] lands to be held directly from the king. More gradual changes affected the agricultural classes and village life: the main change appears to have been the formal elimination of [[Slavery in the British Isles#Before 1066|slavery]], which may or may not have been linked to the invasion. There was little alteration in the structure of government, as the new Norman administrators took over many of the forms of Anglo-Saxon government.

==Origins==
[[File:Rollo spol.jpg|thumb|13th-century depiction of [[Rollo]] (top) and his descendants [[William I Longsword]] and [[Richard I of Normandy]]|upright|right]]

In 911, the [[Carolingian dynasty|Carolingian French]] ruler [[Charles the Simple]] allowed a group of [[Vikings]] under their leader [[Rollo]] to settle in [[Duchy of Normandy|Normandy]] as part of the [[Treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte]]. In exchange for the land, the Norsemen under Rollo were expected to provide protection along the coast against further Viking invaders.<ref name=Bates8>Bates ''Normandy Before 1066'' pp. 8–10</ref> Their settlement proved successful, and the Vikings in the region became known as the "Northmen" from which "Normandy" and "Normans" are derived.<ref name=Normans15>Crouch ''Normans'' pp. 15–16</ref> The Normans quickly adopted the indigenous culture as they became assimilated by the French, renouncing [[paganism]] and converting to [[Christianity]].<ref name=Bates12>Bates ''Normandy Before 1066'' p. 12</ref> They adopted the [[Old French]] language of their new home and added features from their own [[Old Norse]] language, transforming it into the [[Norman language]]. They intermarried with the local population<ref name=Bates20>Bates ''Normandy Before 1066'' pp. 20–21</ref> and used the territory granted to them as a base to extend the frontiers of the duchy westward, annexing territory including the [[Bessin]], the [[Cotentin Peninsula]] and [[Avranches]].<ref name=Capet53>Hallam and Everard ''Capetian France'' p. 53</ref>

In 1002, English king [[Æthelred the Unready]] married [[Emma of Normandy]], the sister of [[Richard II, Duke of Normandy]].<ref name=Unready54>Williams ''Æthelred the Unready'' p. 54</ref> Their son [[Edward the Confessor]], who spent many years in exile in Normandy, succeeded to the English throne in 1042.<ref name=Ruling3>Huscroft ''Ruling England'' p. 3</ref> This led to the establishment of a powerful Norman interest in English politics, as Edward drew heavily on his former hosts for support, bringing in Norman courtiers, soldiers, and clerics and appointing them to positions of power, particularly in the Church. Childless and embroiled in conflict with the formidable [[Godwin, Earl of Wessex]], and his sons, Edward may also have encouraged [[William the Conqueror|William of Normandy]]'s ambitions for the English throne.<ref name=Unification86>Stafford ''Unification and Conquest'' pp. 86–99</ref>

When King Edward died at the beginning of 1066, the lack of a clear heir led to a disputed succession in which several contenders laid claim to the throne of England.<ref name=Death167>Higham ''Death of Anglo-Saxon England'' pp. 167–181</ref> Edward's immediate successor was the [[Earl of Wessex]], [[Harold Godwinson]], the richest and most powerful of the English aristocrats. Harold was elected king by the [[Witenagemot]] of England and crowned by the [[Ealdred (archbishop of York)|Archbishop of York, Ealdred]], although Norman propaganda claimed the ceremony was performed by [[Stigand]], the [[canon law|uncanonically]] elected [[Archbishop of Canterbury]].<ref name=Death167/><ref name=Walker136>Walker ''Harold'' pp. 136–138</ref> Harold was immediately challenged by two powerful neighbouring rulers. William claimed that he had been promised the throne by King Edward and that Harold had sworn agreement to this;<ref name=BatesWilliam73>Bates ''William the Conqueror'' pp. 73–77</ref> King Harald III of Norway, commonly known as [[Harald Hardrada]], also contested the succession. His claim to the throne was based on an agreement between his predecessor, [[Magnus the Good]], and the earlier English king [[Harthacnut]], whereby if either died without an heir, the other would inherit both England and Norway.<ref name=Death188>Higham ''Death of Anglo-Saxon England'' pp. 188–190</ref>{{efn|Harthacnut was the son of King [[Cnut the Great]] and Emma of Normandy, and thus was the half-brother of Edward the Confessor. He reigned from 1040 to 1042 and died without children.<ref name=Harthacnut>Keynes "Harthacnut" ''Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Anglo-Saxon England''</ref> Harthacnut's father Cnut had defeated Æthelred's son [[Edmund Ironside]] in 1016 to claim the English throne and marry Æthelred's widow, Emma.<ref name=Conquest84>Huscroft ''Norman Conquest'' p. 84</ref> After Harthacnut's death in 1042, Magnus began preparations for an invasion of England, which was only stopped by his own death in 1047.<ref name=Stenton423>Stenton ''Anglo-Saxon England'' pp. 423–424</ref>}} William and Harald at once set about assembling troops and ships to invade England.<ref name=Ruling12>Huscroft ''Ruling England'' pp. 12–14</ref>{{efn|Other contenders later came to the fore. The first was [[Edgar Ætheling]], Edward the Confessor's great-nephew who was a patrilineal descendant of King [[Edmund Ironside]]. He was the son of Edward the Exile, son of Edmund Ironside, and was born in Hungary, where his father had fled after the conquest of England by [[Cnut the Great|Cnut]]. After his family's eventual return to England and his father's death in 1057,<ref name=Huscroft96>Huscroft ''Norman Conquest'' pp. 96–97</ref> Edgar had by far the strongest hereditary claim to the throne, but he was only about thirteen or fourteen at the time of Edward the Confessor's death, and with little family to support him, his claim was passed over by the [[Witenagemot]].<ref name=Huscroft132>Huscroft ''Norman Conquest'' pp. 132–133</ref> Another contender was [[Sweyn II of Denmark]], who had a claim to the throne as the grandson of [[Sweyn Forkbeard]] and nephew of [[Cnut the Great|Cnut]],<ref name=Stafford86>Stafford ''Unification and Conquest'' pp. 86–87</ref> but he did not make his bid for the throne until 1069.<ref name=Bates103>Bates ''William the Conqueror'' pp. 103–104</ref> [[Tostig Godwinson]]'s attacks in early 1066 may have been the beginning of a bid for the throne, but after defeat at the hands of [[Edwin, Earl of Mercia|Edwin]] and [[Morcar]] and the desertion of most of his followers he threw his lot in with Harald Hardrada.<ref name=Thomas33>Thomas ''Norman Conquest'' pp. 33–34</ref>}}

==Tostig's raids and the Norwegian invasion==
In early 1066, Harold's exiled brother, [[Tostig Godwinson]], raided southeastern England with a fleet he had recruited in [[Flanders]], later joined by other ships from [[Orkney]].{{efn|Tostig, who had been [[Earl of Northumbria]], was expelled from that office by a [[Northumbrian Revolt of 1065|Northumbrian rebellion]] in late 1065. After King Edward sided with the rebels, Tostig went into exile in Flanders.<ref name=Stenton578>Stenton ''Anglo-Saxon England'' pp. 578–580</ref>}} Threatened by Harold's fleet, Tostig moved north and raided in [[East Anglia]] and [[Lincolnshire]], but he was driven back to his ships by the brothers [[Edwin, Earl of Mercia]], and [[Morcar|Morcar, Earl of Northumbria]]. Deserted by most of his followers, Tostig withdrew to Scotland, where he spent the summer recruiting fresh forces.<ref name=Harold144>Walker ''Harold'' pp. 144–145</ref>{{efn|The King of Scotland, [[Malcolm III of Scotland|Malcolm III]], is said to have been Tostig's sworn brother.<ref name=Stenton578/>}} King Harold spent the summer on the south coast with a large army and fleet waiting for William to invade, but the bulk of his forces were militia who needed to harvest their crops, so on 8 September Harold dismissed them.<ref name=Harold145>Walker ''Harold'' pp. 144–150</ref>

Hardrada invaded northern England in early September, leading a fleet of more than 300 ships carrying perhaps 15,000 men. Harald's army was further augmented by the forces of Tostig, who threw his support behind the Norwegian king's bid for the throne. Advancing on York, the Norwegians defeated a northern English army under Edwin and Morcar on 20 September at the [[Battle of Fulford]].<ref name=Harold154>Walker ''Harold'' pp. 154–158</ref> The two earls had rushed to engage the Norwegian forces before Harold could arrive from the south. Although Harold Godwinson had married Edwin and Morcar's sister [[Edith of Mercia|Ealdgyth]], the two earls may have distrusted Harold and feared that the king would replace Morcar with Tostig. The result was that their forces were devastated and unable to participate in the rest of the campaigns of 1066, although the two earls survived the battle.<ref name=Marren65>Marren ''1066'' pp. 65–71</ref>

Hardrada moved on to York, which surrendered to him. After taking hostages from the leading men of the city, on 24 September the Norwegians moved east to the village of [[Stamford Bridge, East Riding of Yorkshire|Stamford Bridge]].<ref name=Marren73>Marren ''1066'' p. 73</ref> King Harold probably learned of the Norwegian invasion in mid-September and rushed north, gathering forces as he went.<ref name=Harold158/> The royal forces probably took nine days to cover the distance from London to York, averaging almost {{convert|25|mi|km|abbr=off}} per day. At dawn on 25 September Harold's forces reached York, where he learned the location of the Norwegians.<ref name=Marren74>Marren ''1066'' pp. 74–75</ref> The English then marched on the invaders and took them by surprise, defeating them in the [[Battle of Stamford Bridge]]. Harald of Norway and Tostig were killed, and the Norwegians suffered such horrific losses that only 24 of the original 300 ships were required to carry away the survivors. The English victory was costly, however, as Harold's army was left in a battered and weakened state, and far from the [[English Channel]].<ref name=Harold158>Walker ''Harold'' pp. 158–165</ref>

==Norman invasion==
===Norman preparations and forces===

William assembled a large invasion fleet and an army gathered from Normandy and all over France, including large contingents from [[Brittany]] and Flanders.<ref name=Bates79/> He mustered his forces at [[Saint-Valery-sur-Somme]] and was ready to cross the English Channel by about 12 August.<ref name=Douglas192>Douglas ''William the Conqueror'' p. 192</ref> The exact numbers and composition of William's force are unknown.<ref name=Gravett20>Gravett ''Hastings'' pp. 20–21</ref> A contemporary document claims that William had 726 ships, but this may be an inflated figure.<ref name=Bennett25>Bennett ''Campaigns of the Norman Conquest'' p. 25</ref> Figures given by contemporary writers are highly exaggerated, varying from 14,000 to 150,000 men.<ref name=Lawson163>Lawson ''Battle of Hastings'' pp. 163–164</ref> Modern historians have offered a range of estimates for the size of William's forces: 7000–8000 men, 1000–2000 of them cavalry;<ref name=Bennet26>Bennett ''Campaigns of the Norman Conquest'' p. 26</ref> 10,000–12,000 men;<ref name=Lawson163/> 10,000 men, 3000 of them cavalry;<ref name=Marren89>Marren ''1066'' pp. 89–90</ref> or 7500 men.<ref name=Gravett20/> The army would have consisted of a mix of cavalry, infantry, and archers or crossbowmen, with about equal numbers of cavalry and archers and the foot soldiers equal in number to the other two types combined.<ref name=Gravett27>Gravett ''Hastings'' p. 27</ref> Although later lists of [[companions of William the Conqueror]] are extant, most are padded with extra names; only about 35 individuals can be reliably claimed to have been with William at Hastings.<ref name=Gravett20/><ref name=Marren108>Marren ''1066'' pp. 108–109</ref>{{efn|Of those 35, 5 are known to have died in the battle&nbsp;– Robert of Vitot, Engenulf of [[L'Aigle family|L'Aigle]], Robert fitzErneis, Roger son of Turold, and [[Taillefer]].<ref name=Marren107>Marren ''1066'' pp. 107–108</ref>}}

Though contemporary historian [[William of Poitiers]] states that William obtained [[Pope Alexander II]]'s consent for the invasion, signified by a papal banner, along with diplomatic support from other European rulers, these claims should be treated with caution and were probably made to strengthen William's claims to legitimacy.<ref name=Armstrong>Armstrong "Norman Conquest of England" ''Haskins Society Journal'' pp. 70–71</ref><ref name=Huscroft120/> Although Alexander did give papal approval to the conquest after it succeeded, no other source claims papal support before the invasion.{{efn|It is possible that the [[Bayeux Tapestry]] depicts William's forces carrying a papal banner, though it is not named as such.<ref name=Huscroft120/>}} William's army assembled during the summer while an invasion fleet in Normandy was constructed. Although the army and fleet were ready by early August, adverse winds kept the ships in Normandy until late September. There were probably other reasons for William's delay, including intelligence reports from England revealing that Harold's forces were deployed along the coast. William would have preferred to delay the invasion until he could make an unopposed landing.<ref name=Huscroft120>Huscroft ''Norman Conquest'' pp. 120–123</ref>

===Landing and Harold's march south===
[[File:BayeuxTapestry39.jpg|Scene from the [[Bayeux Tapestry]] depicting ships grounding and horses landing in England|thumb|upright=1.5|left]]

The Normans crossed to England a few days after Harold's victory over the Norwegians at Stamford Bridge on 25 September, following the dispersal of Harold's naval force. They landed at [[Pevensey]] in [[Sussex]] on 28 September and erected a wooden castle at [[Hastings]], from which they raided the surrounding area.<ref name=Bates79>Bates ''William the Conqueror'' pp. 79–89</ref> This ensured supplies for the army, and as Harold and his family held many of the lands in the area, it weakened William's opponent and made him more likely to attack to put an end to the raiding.<ref name=Marren98>Marren ''1066'' p. 98</ref>

After defeating Tostig and Harald Hardrada in the north, Harold left much of his force there, including Morcar and Edwin, and marched the rest of his army south to deal with the threatened Norman invasion.<ref name=Carpenter72>Carpenter ''Struggle for Mastery'' p. 72</ref> It is unclear when Harold learned of William's landing, but it was probably while he was travelling south. Harold stopped in London for about a week before reaching Hastings, so it is likely that he took a second week to march south, averaging about {{convert|27|mi|km|abbr=off}} per day,<ref name=Marren93>Marren ''1066'' p. 93</ref> for the nearly {{convert|200|mi|km|abbr=off}} to London.<ref name=Huscroft124>Huscroft ''Norman Conquest'' p. 124</ref> Although Harold attempted to surprise the Normans, William's scouts reported the English arrival to the duke. The events preceding the battle remain obscure, with contradictory accounts in the sources, but all agree that William led his army from his castle and advanced towards the enemy.<ref name=Lawson180>Lawson ''Battle of Hastings'' pp. 180–182</ref> Harold had taken up a defensive position at the top of Senlac Hill (present-day [[Battle, East Sussex]]), about {{convert|6|mi|km|abbr=off|sigfig=1}} from William's castle at Hastings.<ref name=Marren99>Marren ''1066'' pp. 99–100</ref>

Contemporary sources do not give reliable data on the size and composition of Harold's army, although two Norman sources give figures of 1.2&nbsp;million or 400,000 men.<ref name=Lawson128>Lawson ''Battle of Hastings'' p. 128</ref> Recent historians have suggested figures of between 5000 and 13,000 for Harold's army at Hastings,<ref name=Lawson130>Lawson ''Battle of Hastings'' pp. 130–133</ref> but most agree on a range of between 7000 and 8000 English troops.<ref name=Gravett28>Gravett ''Hastings'' pp. 28–34</ref><ref name=Marren105>Marren ''1066'' p. 105</ref> These men would have comprised a mix of the ''[[fyrd]]'' (militia mainly composed of foot soldiers) and the ''[[housecarl]]s'' (nobleman's personal troops), who usually also fought on foot. The main difference between the two types was in their armour; the ''housecarls'' used better protecting armour than the ''fyrd''. The English army does not appear to have had many archers, although some were present.<ref name=Gravett28/> The identities of few of the Englishmen at Hastings are known; the most important were Harold's brothers [[Gyrth Godwinson|Gyrth]] and [[Leofwine Godwinson|Leofwine]].<ref name=Gravett20/> About 18 other named individuals can reasonably be assumed to have fought with Harold at Hastings, including two other relatives.<ref name=Marren107/>{{efn|Of these named persons, eight died in the battle&nbsp;– Harold, Gyrth, Leofwine, Godric the sheriff, Thurkill of Berkshire, Breme, and someone known only as "son of Helloc".<ref name=Marren107/>}}

===Battle of Hastings===
{{Main|Battle of Hastings}}
[[File:Bayeuxtapestrydeathofharold.jpg|Likely depiction of Harold's death from the Bayeux Tapestry|thumb]]

The battle began at about 9&nbsp;am on 14 October 1066 and lasted all day, but while a broad outline is known, the events are obscured by contradictory accounts in the sources.<ref name=Huscroft126>Huscroft ''Norman Conquest'' p. 126</ref> Although the numbers on each side were probably about equal, William had both cavalry and infantry, including many archers, while Harold had only foot soldiers and few archers.<ref name=Carpenter73>Carpenter ''Struggle for Mastery'' p. 73</ref> The English soldiers formed up as a [[shield wall]] along the ridge, and were at first so effective that William's army was thrown back with heavy casualties. Some of William's Breton troops panicked and fled, and some of the English troops appear to have pursued the fleeing Bretons. Norman cavalry then attacked and killed the pursuing troops. While the Bretons were fleeing, rumours swept the Norman forces that William had been killed, but William rallied his troops. Twice more the Normans made [[Feigned retreat|feigned withdrawals]], tempting the English into pursuit and allowing the Norman cavalry to attack them repeatedly.<ref name=Huscroft127>Huscroft ''Norman Conquest'' pp. 127–128</ref> 

The available sources are more confused about events in the afternoon, but it appears that the decisive event was the death of Harold, about which different stories are told. [[William of Jumièges|William of Jumieges]] claims that Harold was killed by William. The [[Bayeux Tapestry]] has been claimed to show Harold's death by an arrow to the eye, but this may be a later reworking of the tapestry to conform to 12th-century stories that Harold had died from an arrow wound to the head.<ref name=Huscroft129>Huscroft ''Norman Conquest'' p. 129</ref> Other sources state that no one knew how Harold died because the press of battle was so tight around the king that the soldiers could not see who struck the fatal blow.<ref name=Marren137>Marren ''1066'' p. 137</ref> William of Poitiers gives no details about Harold's death.<ref name=Gravett77>Gravett ''Hastings'' p. 77</ref>

===Aftermath===

The day after the battle, Harold's body was identified, either by his armour or marks on his body.{{efn|A 12th-century tradition stated that Harold's face could not be recognised and [[Edith the Fair]], Harold's [[common-law wife]], was brought to the battlefield to identify his body from marks that only she knew.<ref name=Gravett80>Gravett ''Hastings'' p. 80</ref>}} The bodies of the English dead, which included some of Harold's brothers and his ''housecarls'', were left on the battlefield,<ref name="Huscroft131" /> although some were removed by relatives later.<ref name=Gravett81>Gravett ''Hastings'' p. 81</ref> [[Gytha Thorkelsdóttir|Gytha]], Harold's mother, offered William the weight of her son's body in gold for its custody, but her offer was refused. William ordered that Harold's body be thrown into the sea, but whether that took place is unclear.<ref name=Huscroft131/> Another story relates that Harold was buried at the top of a cliff.<ref name=Marren146>Marren ''1066'' p. 146</ref> [[Waltham Abbey Church|Waltham Abbey]], which had been founded by Harold, later claimed that his body had been buried there secretly.<ref name=Huscroft131>Huscroft ''Norman Conquest'' p. 131</ref> Later legends claimed that Harold did not die at Hastings but escaped and became a hermit at Chester.<ref name=Gravett81/>

After his victory at Hastings, William expected to receive the submission of the surviving English leaders, but instead [[Edgar Ætheling]]{{efn|Ætheling is the Anglo-Saxon term for a royal prince with some claim to the throne.<ref name=Bennett91>Bennett ''Campaigns of the Norman Conquest'' p. 91</ref>}} was proclaimed king by the Witenagemot, with the support of Earls Edwin and Morcar, [[Stigand]], the Archbishop of Canterbury, and [[Ealdred (archbishop of York)|Ealdred]], the Archbishop of York.<ref name=Douglas204>Douglas ''William the Conqueror'' pp. 204–205</ref> William therefore advanced, marching around the coast of [[Kent]] to London. He defeated an English force that [[Burning of Southwark|attacked him at Southwark]], but being unable to storm [[London Bridge]], he sought to reach the capital by a more circuitous route.<ref name=Douglas205>Douglas ''William the Conqueror'' pp. 205–206</ref>

William moved up the [[River Thames|Thames]] valley to cross the river at [[Wallingford, Oxfordshire|Wallingford]], Berkshire; while there he received the submission of Stigand. He then travelled north-east along the [[Chiltern Hills|Chilterns]], before advancing towards London from the north-west, fighting further engagements against forces from the city. Having failed to muster an effective military response, Edgar's leading supporters lost their nerve, and the English leaders surrendered to William at [[Berkhamsted]], Hertfordshire. William was [[Coronations of William the Conqueror and Matilda|acclaimed King of England and crowned by Ealdred]] on 25 December 1066, in [[Westminster Abbey]].<ref name=Douglas205/>{{efn|The coronation was marred when the Norman troops stationed outside the abbey heard the sounds of those inside acclaiming the king and began burning nearby houses, thinking the noises were signs of a riot.<ref name=Gravett84>Gravett ''Hastings'' p. 84</ref>}} King William attempted to conciliate the remaining English nobility by confirming Morcar, Edwin, and [[Waltheof, Earl of Northumbria]], in their lands as well as giving some land to Edgar Ætheling. William remained in England until March 1067, when he returned to Normandy with English prisoners, including Stigand, Morcar, Edwin, Edgar Ætheling, and Waltheof.<ref name=Huscroft138>Huscroft ''Norman Conquest'' pp. 138–139</ref>

==English resistance==

===First rebellions===
Despite the submission of the English nobles, resistance continued for several years.<ref name=Douglas212/> William left control of England in the hands of his half-brother [[Odo of Bayeux|Odo]] and one of his closest supporters, [[William FitzOsbern, 1st Earl of Hereford|William fitzOsbern]].<ref name=Huscroft138/> In 1067 [[Kentish Revolt of 1067|rebels in Kent]] launched an unsuccessful attack on [[Dover Castle]] in combination with [[Eustace II, Count of Boulogne|Eustace II of Boulogne]].<ref name=Douglas212>Douglas ''William the Conqueror'' p. 212</ref> The [[Shropshire]] landowner [[Eadric the Wild]],{{efn|Eadric's [[Epithet|by-name]] "the Wild" is relatively common, so despite suggestions that it arose from Eadric's participation in the northern uprisings of 1069, this is not certain.<ref name=EadricDNB>Williams "Eadric the Wild" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography''</ref>}} in alliance with the Welsh rulers of [[Gwynedd]] and [[Powys]], raised a revolt in western [[Mercia]], fighting Norman forces based in [[Hereford]].<ref name=Douglas212/> These events forced William to return to England at the end of 1067.<ref name=Huscroft138/> In 1068 William [[Siege of Exeter (1068)|besieged rebels in Exeter]], including Harold's mother Gytha, and after suffering heavy losses managed to negotiate the town's surrender.<ref name=Harold186>Walker ''Harold'' pp. 186–190</ref> In May, William's wife [[Matilda of Flanders|Matilda]] was crowned queen at Westminster, an important symbol of William's growing international stature.<ref name=Huscroft140/> Later in the year Edwin and Morcar raised a revolt in Mercia with Welsh assistance, while [[Gospatric, Earl of Northumbria|Gospatric]], the newly appointed Earl of Northumbria,{{efn|Gospatric had bought the office from William after the death of [[Copsi]], whom William had appointed in 1067. Copsi was murdered in 1068 by [[Osulf II of Bamburgh|Osulf]], his rival for power in Northumbria.<ref name=Huscroft142>Huscroft ''Norman Conquest'' pp. 142–144</ref>}} led a rising in Northumbria, which had not yet been occupied by the Normans. These rebellions rapidly collapsed as William moved against them, building castles and installing garrisons as he had already done in the south.<ref name=Douglas214>Douglas ''William the Conqueror'' pp. 214–215</ref> Edwin and Morcar again submitted, while Gospatric fled to Scotland, as did Edgar the Ætheling and his family, who may have been involved in these revolts.<ref name=Williams24>Williams ''English and the Norman Conquest'' pp. 24–27</ref> Meanwhile, Harold's sons, who had taken refuge in Ireland, raided [[Somerset]], Devon and [[Cornwall]] from the sea.<ref name=Williams20>Williams ''English and the Norman Conquest'' pp. 20–21</ref>

===Revolts of 1069===
{{Main|Harrying of the North}}
[[File:Baile Hill, York.JPG|The remains of [[Baile Hill]], the second [[motte-and-bailey castle]] built by [[William the Conqueror]] in York, on the west bank of the [[River Ouse (Yorkshire)|River Ouse]]|thumb|upright=1.5|left]]

Early in 1069 the newly installed Norman Earl of Northumbria, [[Robert de Comines]], and several hundred soldiers accompanying him were massacred at Durham. The Northumbrian rebellion was joined by Edgar, Gospatric, [[Siward Barn]] and other rebels who had taken refuge in Scotland. The castellan of York, Robert fitzRichard, was defeated and killed, and the rebels besieged the Norman castle at York. William hurried north with an army, defeated the rebels outside York and pursued them into the city, massacring the inhabitants and bringing the revolt to an end.<ref name=Williams27>Williams ''English and the Norman Conquest'' pp. 27–34</ref> He built a second castle at York, strengthened Norman forces in Northumbria and then returned south. A subsequent local uprising was crushed by the garrison of York.<ref name=Williams27/> Harold's sons launched a second raid from Ireland and were defeated at the [[Battle of Northam]] in Devon by Norman forces under Count [[Brian of Brittany|Brian]], a son of [[Odo, Count of Penthièvre|Eudes, Count of Penthièvre]].<ref name=Williams35>Williams ''English and the Norman Conquest'' p. 35</ref> In August or September 1069 a large fleet sent by [[Sweyn II of Denmark]] arrived off the coast of England, sparking a new wave of rebellions across the country. After abortive raids in the south, the Danes joined forces with a new Northumbrian uprising, which was also joined by Edgar, Gospatric and the other exiles from Scotland as well as Waltheof. The combined Danish and English forces defeated the Norman garrison at York, seized the castles and took control of Northumbria, although a raid into Lincolnshire led by Edgar was defeated by the Norman garrison of [[Lincoln, England|Lincoln]].<ref name=Williams35a>Williams ''English and the Norman Conquest'' pp. 35–41</ref>

At the same time resistance flared up again in western Mercia, where the forces of [[Eadric the Wild]], together with his Welsh allies and rebel forces from [[Cheshire]] and Shropshire, attacked the castle at [[Shrewsbury]]. In the southwest, rebels from Devon and Cornwall attacked the Norman garrison at Exeter but were repulsed by the defenders and scattered by a Norman relief force under Count Brian. Rebels from [[Dorset]], Somerset and neighbouring areas besieged [[Montacute Castle]] but were defeated by a Norman army gathered from London, [[Winchester]] and [[Salisbury]] under [[Geoffrey de Montbray|Geoffrey of Coutances]].<ref name=Williams35a/> Meanwhile, William attacked the Danes who had moored for the winter south of the Humber in Lincolnshire and drove them back to the north bank. Leaving [[Robert, Count of Mortain|Robert of Mortain]] in charge of Lincolnshire, he turned west and defeated the Mercian rebels in battle at [[Stafford]]. When the Danes attempted to return to Lincolnshire, the Norman forces drove them back across the Humber. William advanced into Northumbria, defeating an attempt to block his crossing of the swollen [[River Aire]] at [[Pontefract]]. The Danes fled at his approach, and he occupied York. He bought off the Danes, who agreed to leave England in the spring, and during the winter of 1069–70 his forces systematically devastated Northumbria in the [[Harrying of the North]], subduing all resistance.<ref name=Williams35a/> As a symbol of his renewed authority over the north, William ceremonially wore his crown at York on Christmas Day 1069.<ref name=Huscroft142/>

In early 1070, having secured the submission of Waltheof and Gospatric, and driven Edgar and his remaining supporters back to Scotland, William returned to Mercia, where he based himself at Chester and crushed all remaining resistance in the area before returning to the south.<ref name=Williams35a/> [[Papal legate]]s arrived and at Easter re-crowned William, which would have symbolically reasserted his right to the kingdom. William also oversaw a purge of prelates from the Church, most notably Stigand, who was deposed from Canterbury. The papal legates also imposed [[penance]]s on William and those of his supporters who had taken part in Hastings and the subsequent campaigns.<ref name=Huscroft145>Huscroft ''Norman Conquest'' pp. 145–146</ref> The [[see of York]] had become vacant following the death of Ealdred in September 1069. Both sees were filled by men loyal to William: [[Lanfranc]], abbot of William's foundation at [[Abbey of Saint-Étienne, Caen|Caen]], received Canterbury while [[Thomas of Bayeux]], one of William's chaplains, was installed at York. Some other bishoprics and abbeys received new bishops and abbots, and William confiscated some of the wealth of the English monasteries which had served as repositories for the assets of the native nobles.<ref name=Bennett56>Bennett ''Campaigns of the Norman Conquest'' p. 56</ref>

===Danish troubles===
{{Further|Danish attacks on Norman England| Ely Rebellion}}
[[File:Coin king of denmark sven estridsen.jpg|Coin of Sweyn II of Denmark|thumb|right]]
In 1070 Sweyn II arrived to take personal command of his fleet and renounced the earlier agreement to withdraw, sending troops into [[the Fens]] to join forces with English rebels led by [[Hereward the Wake]],{{efn|Although the [[epithet]] "the Wake" has been claimed to be derived from "the wakeful one", the first use of the epithet is from the mid-13th century, and is thus unlikely to have been contemporary.<ref name=HerewardDNB>Roffe "Hereward" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography''</ref>}} at that time based on the [[Isle of Ely]]. Sweyn accepted a payment of [[danegeld]] from William and returned home.<ref name=Douglas221>Douglas ''William the Conqueror'' pp. 221–222</ref> After the departure of the Danes, the Fenland rebels remained at large, protected by the marshes, and early in 1071 there was a [[Ely Rebellion|final outbreak]] of rebel activity in the area. Edwin and Morcar again turned against William, and although Edwin was quickly betrayed and killed, Morcar reached [[Ely, Cambridgeshire|Ely]], where he and Hereward were joined by exiled rebels who had sailed from Scotland. William arrived with an army and a fleet to finish off this last pocket of resistance. After some costly failures, the Normans managed to construct a pontoon to reach the Isle of Ely, defeated the rebels at the bridgehead and stormed the island, marking the effective end of English resistance.<ref name=Williams49>Williams ''English and the Norman Conquest'' pp. 49–57</ref> Morcar was imprisoned for the rest of his life; Hereward was pardoned and had his lands returned to him.<ref name=Huscroft146>Huscroft ''Norman Conquest'' pp. 146–147</ref>

===Last resistance===
{{main|Revolt of the Earls}}

William faced difficulties in his continental possessions in 1071,<ref name=Douglas225>Douglas ''William the Conqueror'' pp. 225–226</ref> but in 1072 he returned to England and marched north to confront King [[Malcolm III of Scotland]].{{efn|Malcolm, in 1069 or 1070, had married [[Saint Margaret of Scotland|Margaret]], sister of Edgar the Ætheling.<ref name=Huscroft142/>}} This campaign, which included a land army supported by a fleet, resulted in the [[Treaty of Abernethy]] in which Malcolm expelled Edgar the Ætheling from Scotland and agreed to some degree of subordination to William.<ref name=Huscroft146/> The status of this subordination was unclear&nbsp;– the treaty merely stated that Malcolm became William's man. Whether this meant only for Cumbria and Lothian or for the whole Scottish kingdom was left ambiguous.<ref name=Douglas227>Douglas ''William the Conqueror'' p. 227</ref>

In 1075, during William's absence, [[Ralph de Gael]], the [[Earl of Norfolk]], and [[Roger de Breteuil, 2nd Earl of Hereford|Roger de Breteuil]] the [[Earl of Hereford]], conspired to overthrow him in the [[Revolt of the Earls]].<ref name=Douglas231/> The reason for the rebellion is unclear, but it was launched at the wedding of Ralph to a relative of Roger's, held at [[Exning]]. Earl Waltheof, despite being one of William's favourites, was also involved, and some Breton lords were ready to offer support. Ralph also requested Danish aid. William remained in Normandy while his men in England subdued the revolt. Roger was unable to leave his stronghold in Herefordshire because of efforts by [[Wulfstan (died 1095)|Wulfstan]], the [[Bishop of Worcester]], and [[Æthelwig]], the [[Abbot of Evesham]]. Ralph was bottled up in [[Norwich Castle]] by the combined efforts of Odo of Bayeux, Geoffrey of Coutances, [[Richard fitz Gilbert|Richard fitzGilbert]], and [[William de Warenne, 1st Earl of Surrey|William de Warenne]]. Norwich was besieged and surrendered, and Ralph went into exile. Meanwhile, Sweyn II's brother [[Canute IV of Denmark|Cnut]] arrived in England with a fleet of 200 ships, but he was too late as Norwich had already surrendered. The Danes then raided along the coast before returning home.<ref name=Douglas231/> William did not return to England until later in 1075, to deal with the Danish threat and the aftermath of the rebellion, celebrating Christmas at Winchester.<ref name=Bates181>Bates ''William the Conqueror'' pp. 181–182</ref> Roger and Waltheof were kept in prison where Waltheof was executed in May 1076. By that time William had returned to the continent, where Ralph was continuing the rebellion from Brittany.<ref name=Douglas231>Douglas ''William the Conqueror'' pp. 231–233</ref>

==Control of England==
[[File:Tower of London White Tower.jpg|The [[White Tower (Tower of London)|White Tower]] of the [[Tower of London]], originally built by William the Conqueror to control London.<ref name=Douglas216>Douglas ''William the Conqueror'' p. 216 and footnote 4</ref>|thumb|upright=1.3|left]]

Once England had been conquered, the Normans faced many challenges in maintaining control.<ref name=Stafford102>Stafford ''Unification and Conquest'' pp. 102–105</ref> They were few in number compared to the native English population; including those from other parts of France, historians estimate the number of Norman landholders at around 8000.<ref name=Mastery82>Carpenter ''Struggle for Mastery'' pp. 82–83</ref> William's followers expected and received lands and titles in return for their service in the invasion,<ref name=Mastery79>Carpenter ''Struggle for Mastery'' pp. 79–80</ref> but William claimed ultimate possession of the land in England over which his armies had given him ''de facto'' control, and asserted the right to dispose of it as he saw fit.<ref name=Mastery84/> Henceforth, all land was "held" directly from the king in [[Feudal land tenure|feudal tenure]] in return for military service.<ref name=Mastery84>Carpenter ''Struggle for Mastery'' p. 84</ref> A Norman lord typically had properties scattered piecemeal throughout England and Normandy, and not in a single geographic block.<ref name=Mastery83>Carpenter ''Struggle for Mastery'' pp. 83–84</ref>

To find the lands to compensate his Norman followers, William initially confiscated the estates of all the English lords who had fought and died with Harold and redistributed part of their lands.<ref name=Mastery75>Carpenter ''Struggle for Mastery'' pp. 75–76</ref> These confiscations led to revolts, which resulted in more confiscations, a cycle that continued for five years after the Battle of Hastings.<ref name=Mastery79/> To put down and prevent further rebellions the Normans constructed castles and fortifications in unprecedented numbers,<ref name=Chibnall11>Chibnall ''Anglo-Norman England'' pp. 11–13</ref> initially mostly on the [[motte-and-bailey]] pattern.<ref name=Forts110>Kaufman and Kaufman ''Medieval Fortress'' p. 110</ref> Historian Robert Liddiard remarks that "to glance at the urban landscape of Norwich, Durham or Lincoln is to be forcibly reminded of the impact of the Norman invasion".<ref>Liddiard ''Castles in Context'' p. 36</ref> William and his barons also exercised tighter control over inheritance of property by widows and daughters, often forcing marriages to Normans.<ref name=Mastery89>Carpenter ''Struggle for Mastery'' p. 89</ref>

A measure of William's success in taking control is that, from 1072 until the [[French invasion of Normandy (1202–1204)|Capetian conquest]] of Normandy in 1204, William and his successors were largely absentee rulers. For example, after 1072, William spent more than 75 per cent of his time in France rather than England. While he needed to be personally present in Normandy to defend the realm from foreign invasion and put down internal revolts, he set up royal administrative structures that enabled him to rule England from a distance.<ref name=Mastery91>Carpenter ''Struggle for Mastery'' p. 91</ref>

==Consequences==

===Elite replacement===
A direct consequence of the invasion was the almost total elimination of the old English aristocracy and the loss of English control over the [[Catholic Church]] in England. William systematically dispossessed English landowners and conferred their property on his continental followers. The [[Domesday Book]] of 1086 meticulously documents the impact of this colossal programme of expropriation, revealing that by that time only about 5 per cent of land in England south of the [[River Tees|Tees]] was left in English hands. Even this tiny residue was further diminished in the decades that followed, the elimination of native landholding being most complete in southern parts of the country.<ref>Thomas ''English and Normans'' pp. 105–137</ref><ref>Thomas "Significance" ''English Historical Review'' pp. 303–333</ref>

Natives were also removed from high governmental and ecclesiastical offices. After 1075 all earldoms were held by Normans, and Englishmen were only occasionally appointed as sheriffs. Likewise in the Church, senior English office-holders were either expelled from their positions or kept in place for their lifetimes and replaced by foreigners when they died. After the death of [[Wulfstan (died 1095)|Wulfstan]] in 1095, no bishopric was held by any Englishman, and English abbots became uncommon, especially in the larger monasteries.<ref>Thomas ''English and Normans'' pp. 202–208</ref>

===English emigration===
{{see also|New England (medieval)}}
[[File:The body of Leo V is dragged to the Hippodrome through the Skyla Gate.jpg|thumb|Depiction of the [[Varangian Guard]], which had many English recruits, from the 12th-century ''[[Madrid Skylitzes]]'', in the {{Lang|es|[[Biblioteca Nacional de España]]|italic=no}}.]]

Following the conquest, many Anglo-Saxons, including groups of nobles, fled the country<ref name= Byzantium>Ciggaar ''Western Travellers'' pp. 140–141</ref> for Scotland, Ireland, or Scandinavia.<ref name= Daniell>Daniell ''From Norman Conquest to Magna Carta'' pp. 13–14</ref> Members of King Harold Godwinson's family sought refuge in Ireland and used their bases in that country for unsuccessful invasions of England.<ref name=Huscroft140>Huscroft ''Norman Conquest'' pp. 140–141</ref> The largest single exodus occurred in the 1070s, when a group of Anglo-Saxons in a fleet of 235 ships sailed for the [[Byzantine Empire]].<ref name= Daniell/> The empire became a popular destination for many English nobles and soldiers, as the Byzantines were in need of mercenaries.<ref name= Byzantium/> The English became the predominant element in the elite [[Varangian Guard]], until then a largely Scandinavian unit, from which the emperor's bodyguard was drawn.<ref>Heath ''Byzantine Armies'' p. 23</ref> Some of the English migrants were settled in Byzantine frontier regions on the [[Black Sea]] coast and established towns with names such as New London and New York.<ref name= Byzantium/>

===Governmental systems===
[[File:Map of England 1086.png|thumb|upright|English counties in 1086 – most of these have a modern equivalent in the 21st century.]]

Before the Normans arrived, Anglo-Saxon governmental systems were more sophisticated than their counterparts in Normandy.<ref name=Thomas59>Thomas ''Norman Conquest'' p. 59</ref><ref name=Conquest187>Huscroft ''Norman Conquest'' p. 187</ref> All of England was divided into administrative units called [[shire]]s, with subdivisions; the royal court was the centre of government, and a justice system based on local and regional tribunals existed to secure the rights of free men.<ref name=Govern176>Loyn ''Governance of Anglo-Saxon England'' p. 176</ref> Shires were run by officials known as shire [[reeve (England)|reeves]] or [[sheriff]]s.<ref name=Thomas60>Thomas ''Norman Conquest'' p. 60</ref> Most medieval governments were always on the move, holding court wherever the weather and food or other matters were best at the moment;<ref name=Conquest31>Huscroft ''Norman Conquest'' p. 31</ref> England had a permanent treasury at [[Winchester, Hampshire|Winchester]] before William's conquest.<ref name=Conquest194>Huscroft ''Norman Conquest'' pp. 194–195</ref> One major reason for the strength of the English monarchy was the wealth of the kingdom, built on the English system of taxation that included a land tax, or the geld. English coinage was also superior to most of the other currencies in use in northwestern Europe, and the ability to mint coins was a royal monopoly.<ref name=Conquest36>Huscroft ''Norman Conquest'' pp. 36–37</ref> The English kings had also developed the system of issuing [[writ]]s to their officials, in addition to the normal medieval practice of issuing [[charter]]s.<ref name=Conquest198>Huscroft ''Norman Conquest'' pp. 198–199</ref> Writs were either instructions to an official or group of officials, or notifications of royal actions such as appointments to office or a grant of some sort.<ref name=Writ>Keynes "Charters and Writs" ''Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Anglo-Saxon England'' p. 100</ref>

[[File:Domesday book--w.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Page describing [[Warwickshire]] in the [[Domesday Book]] of 1086.]]

This sophisticated medieval form of government was handed over to the Normans and was the foundation of further developments.<ref name=Govern176/> They kept the framework of government but made changes in the personnel, although at first the new king attempted to keep some natives in office. By the end of William's reign, most of the officials of government and the royal household were Normans. The language of official documents also changed, from [[Old English]] to Latin. The forest laws were introduced, leading to the setting aside of large sections of England as [[royal forest]].<ref name=Thomas60/> The Domesday survey was an administrative catalogue of the landholdings of the kingdom, and was unique to medieval Europe. It was divided into sections based on the shires, and listed all the landholdings of each [[tenant-in-chief]] of the king as well as who had held the land before the conquest.<ref name=Conquest200>Huscroft ''Norman Conquest'' pp. 200–201</ref>

===Language===
{{See also|Influence of French on English}}
One of the most obvious effects of the conquest was the introduction of [[Anglo-Norman language|Anglo-Norman]], a northern dialect of [[Old French]] with limited Nordic influences, as the language of the ruling classes in England, displacing Old English. [[Norman French]] words entered the English language, and a further sign of the shift was the usage of names common in France instead of [[Germanic name|Anglo-Saxon names]]. Male names such as [[William (name)|William]], [[Robert]], and [[Richard]] soon became common; female names changed more slowly. The Norman invasion had little impact on [[placenames]], which had changed significantly after earlier [[Norse activity in the British Isles|Scandinavian invasions]]. It is not known precisely how much English the Norman invaders learned, nor how much the knowledge of Norman French spread among the lower classes, but the demands of trade and basic communication probably meant that at least some of the Normans and native English were bilingual.<ref name=Conquest323>Huscroft ''Norman Conquest'' pp. 323–324</ref> Nevertheless, [[William the Conqueror]] never developed a working knowledge of English and for centuries afterwards English was not well understood by the nobility.<ref>Crystal "Story of Middle English" ''English Language''</ref>

===Immigration and intermarriage===
An estimated 8000 Normans and other continentals settled in England as a result of the conquest, although exact figures cannot be established. Some of these new residents intermarried with the native English, but the extent of this practice in the years immediately after Hastings is unclear. Several marriages are attested between Norman men and English women during the years before 1100, but such marriages were uncommon. Most Normans continued to contract marriages with other Normans or other continental families rather than with the English.<ref name=Huscroft321>Huscroft ''Norman Conquest'' pp. 321–322</ref> Within a century of the invasion, intermarriage between the native English and the Norman immigrants had become common. By the early 1160s, [[Ailred of Rievaulx]] was writing that intermarriage was common in all levels of society.<ref name=Thomas107>Thomas ''Norman Conquest'' pp. 107–109</ref>

===Society===
[[File:Anglo-Saxon village at West Stow 6337 Keith Evans.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|right|Modern-day reconstruction of an Anglo-Saxon village at [[West Stow Anglo-Saxon Village]] in [[Suffolk]]]]

The impact of the conquest on the lower levels of English society is difficult to assess. The major change was the elimination of [[Slavery in the British Isles|slavery in England]], which had disappeared by the middle of the 12th century.<ref name=Huscroft327>Huscroft ''Norman Conquest'' p. 327</ref> There were about 28,000 slaves listed in the [[Domesday Book]] in 1086, fewer than had been enumerated for 1066. In some places, such as Essex, the decline in slaves was 20 per cent for the 20 years.<ref name=Clanchy93>Clanchy ''England and its Rulers'' p. 93</ref> The main reasons for the decline in slaveholding appear to have been the disapproval of the Church and the cost of supporting slaves who, unlike [[serf]]s, had to be maintained entirely by their owners.<ref name=Ruling94>Huscroft ''Ruling England'' p. 94</ref> The practice of slavery was not outlawed, and the ''[[Leges Henrici Primi]]'' from the reign of King Henry I continue to mention slaveholding as legal.<ref name=Clanchy93/>

Many of the free peasants of Anglo-Saxon society appear to have lost status and become indistinguishable from the non-free serfs. Whether this change was due entirely to the conquest is unclear, but the invasion and its after-effects probably accelerated a process already underway. The spread of towns and increase in nucleated settlements in the countryside, rather than scattered farms, was probably accelerated by the coming of the Normans to England.<ref name=Huscroft327/> The lifestyle of the peasantry probably did not greatly change in the decades after 1066.<ref name=Huscroft329>Huscroft ''Norman Conquest'' p. 329</ref> Although earlier historians argued that women became less free and lost rights with the conquest, current scholarship has mostly rejected this view. Little is known about women other than those in the landholding class, so no conclusions can be drawn about peasant women's status after 1066. Noblewomen appear to have continued to influence political life mainly through their kinship relationships. Both before and after 1066 aristocratic women could own land, and some women continued to have the ability to dispose of their property as they wished.<ref name=Huscroft281>Huscroft ''Norman Conquest'' pp. 281–283</ref>

==Historiography==
Debate over the conquest started almost immediately. The ''[[Anglo-Saxon Chronicle]]'', when discussing the death of William the Conqueror, denounced him and the conquest in verse, but the king's obituary notice from William of Poitiers, a Frenchman, was full of praise. Historians since then have argued over the facts of the matter and how to interpret them, with little agreement.<ref name=Clanchy31/> The theory or myth of the "[[Norman yoke]]" arose in the 17th century,<ref name=Debate6>Chibnall ''Debate'' p. 6</ref> the idea that Anglo-Saxon society had been freer and more equal than the society that emerged after the conquest.<ref name=Debate38>Chibnall ''Debate'' p. 38</ref> This theory owes more to the period in which it was developed than to historical facts, but it continues to be used to the present day in both political and popular thought.<ref name=Huscroft318>Huscroft ''Norman Conquest'' pp. 318–319</ref>

In the 20th and 21st centuries, historians have focused less on the rightness or wrongness of the conquest itself, instead concentrating on the effects of the invasion. Some, such as [[Richard Southern]], have seen the conquest as a critical turning point in history.<ref name=Clanchy31>Clanchy ''England and its Rulers'' pp. 31–35</ref> Southern stated that "no country in Europe, between the rise of the barbarian kingdoms and the 20th century, has undergone so radical a change in so short a time as England experienced after 1066".<ref name=QClanchy32>Quoted in Clanchy ''England and its Rulers'' p. 32</ref> Other historians, such as H. G. Richardson and [[G. O. Sayles]], believe that the transformation was less radical.<ref name=Clanchy31/> In more general terms, Singman has called the conquest "the last echo of the national migrations that characterized the early Middle Ages".<ref name=Singmanxv>Singman ''Daily Life'' p. xv</ref> The debate over the impact of the conquest depends on how change after 1066 is measured. If [[Anglo-Saxon England]] was already evolving before the invasion, with the introduction of [[feudalism]], castles or other changes in society, then the conquest, while important, did not represent radical reform. But the change was dramatic if measured by the elimination of the English nobility or the loss of Old English as a literary language. Nationalistic arguments have been made on both sides of the debate, with the Normans cast as either the persecutors of the English or the rescuers of the country from a decadent Anglo-Saxon nobility.<ref name=Clanchy31/>

==See also==
* [[Ermenfrid Penitential]]
* [[Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland]]
* [[Norman invasion of Wales]]
* [[Norman conquest of southern Italy]]

==Notes==
{{notelist|60em}}

==Citations==
{{Reflist|40em}}

==References==
{{refbegin|60em}}
* {{cite journal |author=Armstrong, Dan |title=The Norman Conquest of England, the Papacy, and the Papal Banner |journal=The Haskins Society Journal |year=2021 |volume=32 |pages=47–72 |doi=10.1017/9781800104471.004|isbn=978-1-80010-447-1 }}
* {{cite book |author=Bates, David |title=Normandy Before 1066 |author-link=David Bates (historian) |publisher=Longman |location=London |year=1982 |isbn=978-0-582-48492-4 }}
* {{cite book |author=Bates, David |title=William the Conqueror |author-link=David Bates (historian) |publisher=Tempus |location=Stroud, UK |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-7524-1980-0 }}
* {{cite book |author=Bennett, Matthew |title=Campaigns of the Norman Conquest |series=Essential Histories |publisher=Osprey |location=Oxford, UK |year=2001 |isbn=978-1-84176-228-9 }}
* {{cite book |author=Carpenter, David |title=The Struggle for Mastery: The Penguin History of Britain 1066–1284 |author-link=David Carpenter (historian)|publisher=Penguin |location=New York |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-14-014824-4 }}
* {{cite book |author=Chibnall, Marjorie |title=Anglo-Norman England 1066–1166 |author-link=Marjorie Chibnall |publisher=Basil Blackwell |location=Oxford, UK |year=1986 |isbn=978-0-631-15439-6 }}
* {{cite book |author=Chibnall, Marjorie |title=The Debate on the Norman Conquest |author-link=Marjorie Chibnall |series=Issues in Historiography |publisher=Manchester University Press |location=Manchester, UK |year=1999 |isbn=978-0-7190-4913-2 }}
* {{cite book |author=Ciggaar, Krijna Nelly |title=Western Travellers to Constantinople: the West and Byzantium, 962–1204 |year=1996 |isbn=978-90-04-10637-6 |publisher= Brill |location= Leiden, Netherlands}}
* {{cite book |author=Clanchy, M. T. |title=England and its Rulers: 1066–1307 |publisher= Blackwell |edition=Third |year=2006 |series=Blackwell Classic Histories of England |location=Oxford, UK |isbn=978-1-4051-0650-4 }}
* {{cite book |author=Crouch, David |title=The Normans: The History of a Dynasty |author-link= David Crouch (historian) |publisher=Hambledon & London |location=London |year=2007 |isbn=978-1-85285-595-6 }}
* {{cite book |author=Crystal, David |title=The English Language: A Guided Tour of the Language |section=The Story of Middle English |publisher=Penguin |location=New York |edition=Second |date=2002 |isbn= 0-14-100396-0 }}
* {{cite book |author=Daniell, Christopher |title=From Norman Conquest to Magna Carta: England, 1066–1215 |year= 2003 |isbn= 978-0-415-22216-7 |publisher=Routledge |location= London}}
* {{cite book |author=Douglas, David C. |title=William the Conqueror: The Norman Impact Upon England |author-link=David C. Douglas |year=1964 |publisher=University of California Press |location= Berkeley |oclc= 399137 }}
* {{cite book |author=Gravett, Christopher |title=Hastings 1066: The Fall of Saxon England |author-link=Christopher Gravett |series=Campaign |volume=13 |publisher=Osprey |year=1992 |location=Oxford, UK |isbn=978-1-84176-133-6 }}
* {{cite book |author1=Hallam, Elizabeth M. |author2=Everard, Judith |title=Capetian France 987–1328 |edition=Second|publisher=Longman |location=New York |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-582-40428-1 }}
* {{cite book |author=Heath, Ian |title=Byzantine Armies AD 1118–1461 |publisher=Osprey |year=1995 |location=London |isbn=978-1-85532-347-6 }}
* {{cite book |author=Higham, Nick |title=The Death of Anglo-Saxon England |publisher=Sutton |location=Stroud, UK |year=2000 |isbn=978-0-7509-2469-6 }}
* {{cite book |author=Huscroft, Richard |title=The Norman Conquest: A New Introduction |publisher=Longman |location=New York |year=2009 |isbn=978-1-4058-1155-2 }}
* {{cite book |author=Huscroft, Richard |title=Ruling England 1042–1217 |publisher=Pearson/Longman |location=London |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-582-84882-5 }}
* {{cite book |author1=Kaufman, J. E. |author2=Kaufman, H. W. |name-list-style=amp |title=The Medieval Fortress: Castles, Forts, and Walled Cities of the Middle Ages |publisher=Da Capo Press |location=Cambridge, MA |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-306-81358-0 }}
* {{cite encyclopedia |author=Keynes, Simon |title=Charters and Writs |author-link=Simon Keynes |encyclopedia=Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Anglo-Saxon England |publisher=Blackwell |pages=99–100 |editor1=Lapidge, Michael |editor-link=Michael Lapidge |editor2=Blair, John |editor3=Keynes, Simon |editor4=Scragg, Donald |location=Malden, MA |isbn=978-0-631-22492-1 |year=2001 }}
* {{cite encyclopedia |author=Keynes, Simon |author-link=Simon Keynes |title=Harthacnut |encyclopedia=Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Anglo-Saxon England |publisher=Blackwell |pages=229–230 |editor1=Lapidge, Michael |editor-link=Michael Lapidge |editor2=Blair, John |editor3=Keynes, Simon |editor4=Scragg, Donald |location=Malden, MA |isbn=978-0-631-22492-1 |year=2001}}
* {{cite book |author=Lawson, M. K. |title=The Battle of Hastings: 1066 |publisher=Tempus |location=Stroud, UK |year=2002 |isbn=978-0-7524-1998-5 }}
* {{cite book |author=Liddiard, Robert |year=2005 |title=Castles in Context: Power, Symbolism and Landscape, 1066 to 1500 |publisher=Windgather Press |location=Macclesfield, UK |isbn=978-0-9545575-2-2 }}
* {{cite book |author=Loyn, H. R. |title=The Governance of Anglo-Saxon England, 500–1087 |author-link= H. R. Loyn |publisher=Stanford University Press |location=Stanford, CA |year=1984 |isbn=978-0-8047-1217-0 }}
* {{cite book |author=Marren, Peter |title=1066: The Battles of York, Stamford Bridge & Hastings |publisher=Leo Cooper |series = Battleground Britain |location=Barnsley, UK |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-85052-953-1 }}
* {{cite encyclopedia |author=Roffe, David |title=Hereward (fl. 1070–1071) |encyclopedia=Oxford Dictionary of National Biography |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2004 |url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/13074 |access-date=29 March 2013 | doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/13074|url-access=subscription }} {{ODNBsub}}
* {{cite book |author=Singman, Jeffrey L. |title=Daily Life in Medieval Europe |publisher=Greenwood Press |location=Westport, CT |series=Daily Life Through History |year=1999 |isbn=978-0-313-30273-2 }}
* {{cite book |author=Stafford, Pauline |title=Unification and Conquest: A Political and Social History of England in the Tenth and Eleventh Centuries |author-link=Pauline Stafford |publisher=Edward Arnold |location=London |year=1989 |isbn=978-0-7131-6532-6 }}
* {{cite book |author=Stenton, F. M. |title= Anglo-Saxon England |author-link= Frank Stenton |year=1971 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford, UK |edition=Third |isbn=978-0-19-280139-5 }}
* {{cite book |author=Thomas, Hugh M. |title=The English and the Normans |year=2003 |location=Oxford, UK |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-925123-0 }}
* {{cite book |author=Thomas, Hugh |title=The Norman Conquest: England after William the Conqueror |series=Critical Issues in History |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc |location=Lanham, MD |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-7425-3840-5 }}
* {{cite journal |author=Thomas, Hugh M. |title=The Significance and Fate of the Native English Landowners of 1086 |date=April 2003 |journal=[[The English Historical Review]] |volume=118 |pages=303–333 |doi=10.1093/ehr/118.476.303 |issue=476 |jstor= 3490123 }}
* {{cite book |author=Walker, Ian |title=Harold the Last Anglo-Saxon King |publisher=Wrens Park |location=Gloucestershire, UK |year=2000|isbn=978-0-905778-46-4 }}
* {{cite book |author=Williams, Ann |title=Æthelred the Unready: The Ill-Counselled King |author-link=Ann Williams (historian) |publisher=Hambledon & London |location=London |year=2003 |isbn=978-1-85285-382-2 }}
* {{cite encyclopedia |author=Williams, Ann |title=Eadric the Wild (fl. 1067–1072) |encyclopedia =Oxford Dictionary of National Biography |author-link=Ann Williams (historian) |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2004 |url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/8512 |access-date=29 March 2013 |doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/8512 |url-access=subscription }} {{ODNBsub}}
* {{cite book |author=Williams, Ann |title=The English and the Norman Conquest |author-link=Ann Williams (historian) |publisher=Boydell Press |location=Ipswich, UK |year=2000 |isbn=978-0-85115-708-5 }}
{{refend}}

== External links ==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070304102625/http://www.essentialnormanconquest.com/ Essential Norman Conquest] from [[Osprey Publishing]]
* [https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/normans/background_01.shtml Normans&nbsp;– a background to the Conquest] from the [[BBC]]

{{Norman conquest of England}}
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