Erhalten Sie Zugang zu diesem und mehr als 300000 Büchern ab EUR 5,99 monatlich.
- Herausgeber: Pitkin
- Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
- Sprache: Englisch
An illustrated guide to the Normans – the invaders of 1066 who changed English life forever The 1066 Norman conquest of England, led by William, Duke of Normandy ("the Conqueror"), was the single greatest political change England has ever seen. The Normans brought with them a new culture, which included law, architectural style and methods, and leisure pursuits. The old aristocracy was stripped of their assets and denounced, and in its place a new French aristocracy began to run the country – even bringing their language with them. The guide examines the impact the new Norman rule had on the English way of life. Look out for more Pitkin Guides on the very best of British history, heritage and travel.
Sie lesen das E-Book in den Legimi-Apps auf:
Seitenzahl: 33
Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2019
Das E-Book (TTS) können Sie hören im Abo „Legimi Premium” in Legimi-Apps auf:
Ähnliche
The buildings of Battle Abbey: the site of the Battle of Hastings.
The Last Anglo-Saxon King
THE YEAR OF 1066 FOUND ENGLAND IN CRISIS. Even before the Normans landed on British shores, the English monarchy was in unsteady hands, with multiple claimants vying for an increasingly fractured country.
This medieval painting shows Edward the Confessor seated at a banquet.
Edward the Confessor
Edward ruled from 1042–66. Interested in art and religion, his devotion led him to rebuild Westminster Abbey and earned him his title: the Confessor. Half Norman, and exiled in Normandy for many years, he preferred Norman ways. But he was a weak man, and having returned from exile found himself dominated by Earl Godwin and his son Harold. When, to counter them, the king appointed officials from Normandy, he roused resentment among the mainly Anglo-Scandinavian aristocracy, who kept close links with rulers in the Viking homelands.
Three claimants
Edward the Confessor’s reign was largely peaceful but, despite his marriage to Edith, daughter of Earl Godwin, he failed to produce an heir. As the king’s life drew to a close, three claimants were clawing for the throne: Duke William of Normandy; Harald Hardrada, King of Norway; and Harold Godwinson of Wessex, son of the politically acute Earl Godwin.
Edward’s Norman allies had urged him to make William his heir and the duke was quick to put forward his claim to the English Crown with the backing of the Pope in Rome. However, in England, both the Witan (king’s noble council) and the Church supported Edward’s brother-in-law, the soldierly and popular Harold Godwinson.
Death of a king
Born in 1022, Harold had been supreme in the council since his father’s death in 1053. It was he that Edward the Confessor, on his deathbed, named as his successor, and he was duly crowned King Harold II. It is possible that Harold was crowned in Westminster Abbey, that awe-inspiring place that also saw the burial of Edward the Confessor. If so, so began the tradition of funerals and coronations at Westminster Abbey.
The funeral of Edward the Confessor, depicted in the Bayeux Tapestry. His masterpiece, Westminster Abbey, can be seen to the left.
A 13th-century imagining of the Battle of Hastings; Duke William of Normandy stabs King Harold of England as they fight on horseback.
The Conquerors Come
THE NEW KING, HAROLD II, didn’t offer any stability to the kingdom. England was still ripe for the conquest, with claimants in both Scandinavia and Normandy ready to seize its throne.
Normandy, founded by the Vikings in 911, was already a kingdom of conquerors. In the first half of the 11th century, they had attacked Sicily, southern Italy and parts of Byzantium. By 1130, as well as England, the Normans also ruled these lands, as well as huge sections of the North African coastline.
One hundred and fifty years after the foundation of the Norman peoples, an army of descendants of these ‘Northmen’ prepared to cross the Channel and invade the bigger, richer kingdom of the English. The Norman leader, Duke William, considered the land rightfully his, promised both by his childless kinsman, Edward the Confessor, and by Harold Godwinson.
Attack from the north
Expecting William’s reaction to his coronation, Harold deployed forces on the south coast, but found himself instead facing invasion from Scandinavia. This was led by the King of Norway, Harald Hardrada, and Harold’s own wayward brother, Tostig. They landed in northern England. Marching swiftly north, on 25 September 1066, Harold won a famous victory at Stamford Bridge, near York: both Harald Hardrada and Tostig were killed.
Three days later, a fleet of 700 Norman ships landed at Pevensey on the Sussex coast. King Harold wheeled south, spurning delay for reinforcements in favour of speed and surprise.
A map depicting the routes of the various military forces during the turbulent year of 1066.
