Innholdsfortegnelse for Normans i History Extra

“Is there a more famous day in English history than 14 October 1066? On that momentous date, William of Normandy defeated King Harold at the battle of Hastings. This was the pivotal moment in the Norman conquest of England, marking the end of the Anglo-Saxon era, and ushering in sweeping changes to the country – changes whose effects still resonate today. This collector’s edition charts the history of the Normans, from their Viking origins to the troubled reign of King Stephen, their last English monarch. We reveal how Norman forces burst from their small patch of land in northern France to overwhelm the powerful Anglo-Saxon realm, establishing a sphere of influence that eventually spread as far as the Mediterranean and the Middle East. Plus, you’ll find explorations of some of…

The Normans stride across the pages of 11th- and 12th-century European history as larger-than-life figures, like the ones so vividly depicted on the Bayeux Tapestry. Whether in the British Isles, southern Italy and Sicily, Spain, or on the Crusades, the Normans strutted their stuff. Their own historians celebrated their military exploits under charismatic leaders such as William the Conqueror, Robert Guiscard, Bohemond, and Roger II, first king of Sicily. Later historians too have been inclined to accept their significance, not only in the military and political spheres but also in the worlds of government, scholarship, and in the medieval church. How then are we to explain the impact on European history of relatively small numbers of knights from northwestern France? Should their activities in different theatres be seen as part…

This article might best begin by paraphrasing a popular bon mot: “behind every successful Norman man was a brilliant woman.” Here I will focus on four of them: Gunnor (c950–1031), Emma of Normandy (c985–1052), Matilda of Flanders (c1031–1083) and Sichelgaita (1040–1090). We are fortunate that enough evidence survives from the 11th and 12th centuries to provide insights into the lives, activities and roles expected of the women who married Normans, or who were themselves Norman and married into other ruling houses. Chronicles such as the History of the Normans by Dudo of Saint-Quentin, and works by Orderic Vitalis, Amatus of Montecassino and Anna Comnena, furnish us with glimpses into how these women were regarded by their contemporaries. In addition, charters, epitaphs and the remarkable Encomium Emmae Reginae – a lavishly…

1 Gate Fulford 20 SEPTEMBER 1066 Disgruntled Tostig, ousted from his earldom, enlists Viking help to take back the north The amazing drama of 1066 began 12 months earlier, when Edward the Confessor was in his final year as England’s king. The power behind the throne was the Godwin family, with Harold Godwinson as would-be heir. Harold’s ambitious brother Tostig was suddenly unseated as earl of Northumbria by a coup led by Edwin and Morcar of the house of Ælfgar, deadly rivals to the Godwins. Tostig appealed to Harold to use force to restore him, but Harold, fearing civil war, refused. The incandescent Tostig then sought allies elsewhere. His first stop was Normandy, where duke William promised help, but his plans were too slow for the ambitious Tostig, who next made…

Robert ‘Curthose’ William’s eldest son was also the least competent, beaten to the English throne by two brothers Robert ‘Curthose’ (‘short socks’) was the eldest and the longest lived of the sons of William the Conqueror: born c1050, he was in his eighties when he died in 1134. His career was defined by pride and bone-headedness. Inheriting Normandy, he contested the claim to the English throne of his brother, William ‘Rufus’. The resulting civil war ended with Robert being sent off to Jerusalem on the First Crusade. He returned to Normandy in time to witness the accession in England of his third brother, Henry I. Rebelling again, Robert was taken captive in 1106 at the battle of Tinchebray in Normandy, spending the next 28 years as a prisoner. The fact…

1 Chepstow Established by the Conqueror’s friend William fitz Osbern soon after 1066, Chepstow was acquired by the king in 1075, after which construction is reckoned to have started on its Great Tower. 2 Pevensey William built his first castle in England here, the point of the Normans’ disembarkation, to protect his army while they prepared to engage Harold Godwinson. 3 Dover After his victory at Hastings, William reportedly spent eight days at Dover, an Iron Age hillfort, “adding the fortifications it lacked”. Afterwards it was entrusted to his half-brother Odo of Bayeux. 4 London This was established shortly before Christmas 1066, “as a defence against the inconstancy of the numerous and hostile inhabitants” (wrote William of Poitiers). Work on the White Tower started in the 1070s and continued until…

What’s the background to Domesday? In 1085, William the Conqueror faced the greatest crisis of his life and reign. This, of course, came two decades after his famous invasion and conquest of 1066. For the next 20 years he and his Norman followers colonised England – but then, in the 1080s, William’s position as king began to look vulnerable. His eldest son, Robert, was in rebellion and courting allies in northern France for an attack on Normandy, and King Cnut of Denmark was preparing to invade England in alliance with the count of Flanders. William’s response was characteristically vigorous. According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, he mobilised the largest “force of mounted men and infantry” ever seen in England, compelled his vassals “to provision the army each in proportion to his…

1 Oxford Castle Where Matilda made a daring escape Matilda based herself at Oxford Castle in 1141 but quickly found herself under siege from Stephen’s forces. Surrounded, the empress was forced to escape under the cover of darkness, allegedly lowered down the walls and dressed in white as camouflage against the snow. You can visit the castle’s medieval motte, crypt and tower. oxfordcastleunlocked.co.uk 2 Wareham Castle Where allegiances changed constantly Built in the 12th century, Wareham Castle was often employed as a transit point for armies just arrived in England from western Normandy. The castle was seized on a number of occasions, allegedly changing hands five times between Stephen and Matilda. Today, only the motte and ditches of the castle remain. visitwareham.com/norman-wareham 3 Leicester Castle Where an earl promoted peace…

911 According to later writer Dudo of Saint-Quentin, in this year the king of the Franks, Charles the Simple, grants land around the city of Rouen to Rollo, or Rolf, leader of the Vikings who have settled the region: the duchy of Normandy is founded. In return Rollo undertakes to protect the area and to receive baptism, taking the Christian name Robert. 1016 A group of Norman pilgrims en route to Jerusalem are ‘invited’ to help liberate southern Italy from Byzantine (Greek) control. Norman knights have already been operating as mercenaries here since the turn of the first millennium, selling their military services to rival Lombard, Greek and Muslim rulers. 1051 Duke William visits England. His rule in Normandy now established, and newly married to Matilda of Flanders, William crosses…

1066 was a disastrous year for the English nobility as much of it was cut down. William’s conquest was made all the more possible by the loss of personnel among the English In 1066, England existed as a kingdom and had done since the 10th century, but its boundaries were not as they are now. The men who guided the collection of evidence that was used to compile Domesday Book did not survey lands north of the river Tees; and across the Pennines in the north-west, the commissioners took in only a portion of land beyond the Mersey. Administratively, then, the kingdom of England stopped a long way short of the boundaries of the modern country. But the land beyond the Tees and beyond the Ribble was claimed by English…

“Mention the Normans to most people in England, and the first thing they think of is the Conquest of 1066. And with good reason: William’s invasion that year changed England more than any other event in its history. Prior to 1066 the Anglo-Saxons had some connections with western and central Europe but they were more strongly bound to Scandinavia and a world of longships, sagas and blood feuds. The coming of the Conqueror and his companions altered this forever, wrenching the country off its North Sea axis and realigning it with events and affairs across the English Channel – a brave new world of knights, castles, chansons and chivalry, with a church that was newly reformed and increasingly militant. The scale of the transformation wrought by the Normans in England…

The Normans were the violent parvenu opportunists of their day: Vikings who settled in Normandy and became French before conquering England and becoming English. From obscure Scandinavian origins, the Normans relied on their military proficiency – and ruthlessness – to dominate the institutions and elites of Europe, and assimilated cultures, ideas and whole political systems in their pursuit of glory. Norman knights and generals occupied areas from the lowlands of Scotland to the deserts of the near east, thrusting themselves into the midst of conflicts and seizing chances whenever they appeared. They also left behind some of the most remarkable ecclesiastical and military architecture of the period, which speaks volumes about both their self-importance and their piety. Where did the Normans come from? The people who became Normans burst on…

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The Norman conquest was presented as God’s punishment for England’s sins, so William could be portrayed as divinely appointed scourge Put at its crudest, William the Conqueror was, both literally and figuratively, ‘William the Bastard’. His modern heroic reputation results from the deliberate distortions of evidence by his contemporaries. Conquerors who control the historical record are generally feted as heroes. Alexander the Great, Genghis Khan, to some extent Napoleon – all commissioned memorials to prolong their fame. Those who lose such control are dismissed as megalomaniacs: Attila, Hitler, Stalin. William the Conqueror is generally placed in the first of these categories. Were it not for his iron grip over the writing of history, he might easily have been consigned to the second. What we know of William comes to us…

In the summer of 1100, a young woman rode swiftly to Kent on a mission to save her marriage – before it had even begun. She had spent much of her early life in the confines of abbeys in Wilton and Romsey, yet now she found herself racing east towards Canterbury Cathedral and an appointment with the church’s long-serving archbishop, Anselm. To gain an audience with England’s most senior churchman in its religious heart was a extraordinary privilege. Yet the marriage the woman was attempting to secure that summer day was anything but ordinary. That’s because the woman – known to history as Matilda of Scotland – had royal blood coursing through her veins. Aged no more than 20, she was the daughter of a Scottish king and an English…