KS3 / KS4 History: 1066 - King William and the Domesday Book

On the 14th October 1066, William, Duke of Normandy, defeated Harold II, King of England, at the Battle of Hastings. But his victory didn't mean William would automatically become King. With Harold dead, it was now up to the Witan, the noble councillors, to decide who would inherit the Crown. They chose to support Edgar the Aethling, the Saxon great-nephew of Edward the Confessor, former King before Harold. It would be up to William to make the English nobles change their minds.

After waiting for two weeks at Hastings, William realised the Witan were not coming to proclaim him King. He would have to go to them in London. On his way to the capital, he took control of Dover, Canterbury, and Winchester before heading to Wallingford. Here the Archbishop of Canterbury, who had supported Edgar, submitted to William, realising resistance was futile. Not long after, the Archbishop of York and earls Edwin and Morcar also submitted. England had finally accepted defeat.

On Christmas Day 1066, William the Conqueror was crowned the first Norman King of England. Now he had to gain control of the whole of his kingdom. But he could not do this alone. William had promised to reward those Norman nobles and bishops who had supported him in conquering England. In order to secure his power all over the country, he began to distribute areas of land known as shires for them to govern. In return for the shire, they swore loyalty to William, collected taxes, and provided soldiers to fight when needed. They, in turn, divided their land and gave it to their knights to govern in return for their loyalty. Below them were the peasants, who were given strips of land but had to work for their lord and provide produce. They were not free and were not allowed to leave. This new method of governance later became known as the feudal system.

William also stamped his mark on the landscape. Within weeks of his coronation, motte and bailey castles began to spring up right across England. A castle or keep was built on top of an enormous mound of earth, surrounded by a courtyard enclosed by a ditch and fortified fence. Initially, these castles were made of wood, but later many were replaced with stone, including William's castle in London, known today as the Tower of London. These imposing castles were built to defend the new Norman lords and intimidate the local English people, who were forced to build them without payment. New Norman churches were built on a massive scale. These stone monuments with sky-high columns and arches were a constant reminder to the Anglo-Saxons that the Normans were in charge.

How successful William's conquest of England had been was revealed in a survey conducted in 1086. With the constant threat of rebellion, he needed to know how much tax he could raise to fund an army. Norman commissioners held public inquests in towns and villages right across England. They questioned who held the land now and who had owned it in 1066. They wanted to know everything from how many freemen and slaves there were to how many ploughs and pigs. The English people called it the Domesday Book, the Day of Judgement. It revealed William possessed about 20% of the wealth of England, his barons 50%, and the Church had 25%. The surviving English nobles had a meagre 5%. The Anglo-Saxons had been totally overpowered. William had conquered and secured the power of England, and the Normans had completely taken over.
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