To truly understand the Norman Conquest, you need to go back about fifty years, to 1016, and an earlier invasion. In that year, Cnut of Denmark managed to take over England by exploiting the conflicts between Aethelred the Unready and his son. Cnut’s invasion wasn’t altogether unexpected and many of Aethelred’s men had been preparing for just such an event, aligning themselves with the Danish interests. One such man was Eadric, an ealdorman of Mercia, who essentially handed the kingdom over to Cnut by betraying Aethelred at the Battle of Ashingdon.
But Cnut didn’t trust betrayers, and at the Christmas Court of 1017, he had Eadric and his supporters murdered, along with nearly every member of Aethelred’s family that he could find. Cnut spared Aethelred’s widow, Emma, and married her, in an attempt to legitimatize his rule. A few of Aethelred’s younger sons also escaped Cnut’s purge and went to Normandy, where they went to the court of Duke Richard II, who was their mother’s brother. One of the younger sons was Edward, who later came to the throne as Edward the Confessor.
Normandy was a region of northern France, which had been settled by Viking invaders. The Carolingian King Charles the Simple had allowed them to do so, hoping to curtain their violent raids on France. Over time, they had adapted to French ways and intermarried with the indigenous people, making the Normans an unusual mix of French and Viking culture.
Edward, son of Aethelred, grew up in the Norman court, had Norman friends and relatives, and learned the Norman ways. Back in England, Cnut died and was succeeded by his son, Harthacnut. When Harthacnut died, England was pretty much up for grabs. Edward wanted to return and claim what he regarded as his rightful throne, but he was blocked by Cnut’s supporters. To overcome them he made alliances with a few powerful houses, and by bringing along his own Norman friends and supporters.
One of these powerful houses was the Godwine family. Edward went so far as to marry Edith, a daughter of Godwine, in order to cement his relationship with the clan. He came to loathe her later, and it is said that he refused to consummate their marriage. He threw himself into religious matters instead, which gave rise to his nickname of “Edward the Confessor.” One of his religious projects was the erection of Westminster Abbey, the first Norman Romanesque church in England.
Meanwhile, back in Normandy, there were other power struggles going on. Edward’s uncle, Duke Richard II, had died, leaving as heir his son, Robert. Robert had also died, and his successor was his eight year old illegitimate son, William. Remarkably, he survived a childhood fraught with assassination attempts and civil war, and grew up knowing the value of trusted supporters. He was a powerful and able ruler, and was well primed to fill any power vacuums that might occur in nearby England.
Edward the Confessor died childless, no doubt as a result of his pious and celibate life. The Witenagemot (literally, “meeting of wise men”), a body of the most influential leaders in England, both clerical and secular, elected Harold Godwinson as King of England, early in the year 1066. The decision was not accepted by everyone: two powerful neighboring kings also aspired to the Throne of England.
One rival was William of Normandy. He was, at least related to the previous kings. His great-aunt had been married to both Aethelred and Cnut. Additionally, he claimed that Edward had promised him the throne, if he died without an heir. In fact, he claimed that Harold Godwinson had also promised to secure the throne for him, during a visit to the Norman court. The other contender was Harald III of Norway. His claim came from an agreement that had been made between his predecessor, Magnus I, and Harthacnut. By their agreement, Magnus or his descendants would inherit England if Harthacnut died without issue.
Harald of Norway was the first to attack. He landed in northern England in early September, and was joined by Harold Godwinson’s own brother, Tostig Godwinson, and his forces. Harold Godwinson, meanwhile, had his troops deployed in on the south coast, where he was awaiting an attack from William of Normandy. Most of his soldiers were fyrdmen, or militia, and when the harvest came, they returned home to work their farms. When Harold got news of Harald’s invasion, he sped to the north, gathering whatever troops he could find as he went.
The Battle of Stamford Bridge took place on September 20, and Harold Godwinson defeated Harald of Norway. Harald and Tostig were both killed, along with the vast majority of the Norwegian forces. In fact, although it had taken 300 ships to bring the Norwegians to England, it required only 24 to return the survivors.
Harold Godwinson may have triumphed, but his forces were severely depleted. He was also two weeks march away from the southern outposts, and William was still coming. He had intended to sail on August 12, but had been delayed by bad weather. If he had sailed in August, he would have met much stronger resistance from the English.
On September 28th, William and his forces landed at Pevensey, in Sussex. They quickly erected a wooden fort at Hastings, and began raiding the surrounding area. The Norman Invasion had begun.
Harold, meanwhile, was steadily marching south. He stopped in London to pick up additional troops, and met William’s forces on October 14, in a field eight miles south of Hastings. After a battle of several hours, the English were defeated. Harold was killed, along with two of his brothers.
William fully expected to be crowned King, but that was not yet to be. Instead, the Witenagemot decided for Edgar Atheling, an Anglo-Saxon who had spent his early years in exile during the reign of Cnut. More battles followed, but the English were ill-prepared to oppose William, and finally he was accepted, acclaimed, and crowned on December 25, 1066.
This was far from the end of conflict between the Normans and the Anglo-Saxons, however. The Normans were vastly outnumbered, but William managed to maintain control by his strong measures of control. Whereas Cnut had rewarded his followers with money, William gave his supporters titles and land — Anglo-Saxon land, taken from the vanquished. He claimed possession of all the land of England for himself, and distributed it as he saw fit. Those who rebelled, in particular, were subject to confiscation of their property. This led to more rebellions, which led to more confiscations.
In addition, the King controlled many other aspects of English life. If a landholder died without issue, the King had the right to distribute his property as he saw fit. He also controlled the property of widows and daughters, and could force them to marry whomever he chose for them, putting even more lands into the hands of Norman nobles. Eventually, the Normans completely dominated all aspects of upper-class English life.
William, for most of his reign, was an absentee ruler, which makes his control even more remarkable. In order to prevent rebellions from his own Norman lords, he distributed land to them in relatively small, scattered holdings, which made it impossible for them to mount an effective revolt. It also had the effect of uniting the landholders as a class, rather than making them tend to regional alliances.
Perhaps the most obvious change to the English culture as a result of the Norman Conquest lies in the matter of language. The Anglo-Norman hybrid tongue that evolved may have started in the Norman court, but soon spread to all levels of society. Of particular interest are the pairs of words in which both words have been incorporated into the English vocabulary. Pig/pork, calf/veal, cow/beef, sheep/mutton are particularly interesting in that the Anglo-Saxon word denotes the animal, and the Norman equivalent the meat. In many cases, words of a more abstract or technical meaning tend to come to us from the French, it being the language of the more educated classes.
Sources: Chase’s Calendar of Events, 2011 Edition: The Ultimate Go-To Guide for Special Days, Weeks, and Months, Editors of Chase’s Calendar of Events; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September 28; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_Conquest; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_the_Bastard; http://www.essentialnormanconquest.com/story/introduction.htm; http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/normans/background_01.shtml; http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/bayeux.htm.