The Battle of HastingsTHE NORMAN INVASION OF ENGLAND

King After the last Anglo-Saxon king died in England, several people

claimed the throne. One was the late king's cousin, William, Duke of Normandy. William was also a vassal of the king of France. He had a very strong feudal organization in northern France. His vassals included nearly all the Norman nobles.

The Normans (from North men) were 3rd generation decedents of Vikings that had settled in what’s now called Normandy, France (northern France).

Invasion

He had no trouble putting together a huge army of 6000 men, along with several hundred ships. He invaded England, and at the Battle of Hastings in 1066, William defeated another rival for the throne. He was crowned King of England.

Payback

To keep all his Norman nobles happy and to thank them for their help, he took all the land away from the Saxon church officials and nobles, and gave it all to his Norman vassals. Anyone who had helped him became rich.

Great Council

William set up a council of Norman nobles and bishops. He called it the Great Council. The council's job was to help him rule effectively.

The Great Council grew to become an important part of government. By the 1200's, the Great Council was called Parliament. It is still called Parliament today.

Parliament By the 1400's, Parliament had divided into two chambers - the

House of Lords and the House of Commons. Nobles and clergy ran the House of Lords. Knights and burgesses (a class of extremely wealthy merchants) ran the House of Commons.

Those divisions stand today, although the House of Commons has almost all the power.

Sheriffs William had another great idea. He knew his nobles and bishops

were going to need tax money to run their fiefs. William needed tax money to run the kingdom. He wanted local officials, under his control, in all the towns anyway.

He created a new office called a sheriff. A sheriff's job was to collect taxes. Since the sheriff was a local official, a representative of the king, local sheriffs had a great deal of power.

Results Anglo-Saxon rule ended in England. England hasn’t been successfully invaded since 1066. It introduced many French words into the English language (1/3

of English words have a French origin). A census (Latin = to count), the 1st since Roman times, that

told us a great deal about daily life. The Bayeux Tapestry is a highly decorated work of art that tells the story, in pictures & words, of the battle.

The Normans built many castles to control Britain.

The Battle of HastingsTHE NORMAN INVASION OF ENGLAND

King After the Anglo-Saxon

died in England, several people claimed the throne. One was the late king's cousin, ,

of . William was also a vassal of the king of France. He had a

very strong organization in northern France.

His vassals included nearly all the Norman .

The Normans (from North men) were rd generation decedents of that had settled in what’s now called

, France (northern ).

InvasionHe had no trouble putting together a huge army of men, along with several hundred . He invaded England, and at the Battle of in , William defeated another rival for the throne. He was crowned of

.

Payback

To keep all his Norman nobles and to thank them for their help, he took all the

away from the Saxon officials and

, and gave it all to his Norman vassals. Anyone who had helped him became

.

Great Council

William set up a of Norman and

. He called it the Council. The council's job was to

help him rule effectively. The Great Council grew to become an important part of

government. By the 's, the Great Council was called

. It is still called Parliament today.

Parliament By the 's, Parliament had divided into

chambers - the House of and the House of

. and ran the House of

. and burgesses (a class of extremely wealthy

) ran the House of .

Those divisions stand , although the House of

has almost all the power.

Sheriffs William had another great idea. He knew his nobles and bishops

were going to need money to run their fiefs. William needed tax money to run the kingdom. He wanted local officials, under his control, in all the towns anyway.

He created a new office called a . A sheriff's job was to collect taxes. Since the

sheriff was a local official, a representative of the king, local sheriffs had a great deal of

.

Results Anglo-Saxon rule in

England. England hasn’t been successfully

since . It introduced many words into

the English language ( of English words have French origin).

A census (Latin = to ), the 1st since times, that told us a great deal about

daily . The Bayeux is a highly decorated work of art that tells

the story, in pictures & words, of the battle. The Normans built many to

Britain.