Hello, welcome to history here at Oak National Academy.

My name's Mr. Newton and I'll be your teacher today guiding you through the entire lesson.

Right, let's get started.

In these lessons, we will focus on a specific historical environment, Durham Cathedral.

What can Durham Cathedral tell us about the wider context of this period? What can it tell us about the background story, the people or events at the time? What's the significance of the Church and cathedrals in Norman England? Does Durham Cathedral tell us to what extent the Normans reformed the English Church? This is how we will use the site of Durham Cathedral to address broader questions about Norman England.

And by the end of this lesson, you'll be able to explain the relationship between Norman kings and the bishops of Durham.

Before we begin, there are a few keywords that we need to understand.

Embezzlement is the crime of secretly taking money that is in your care or that belongs to an organisation or business you work for.

And bishopric is an area for which one bishop is directly responsible.

Today's lesson is split up into two parts.

We'll first look at William II and the bishops of Durham before moving on to Henry I.

Right, let's start with William II and his relationship with the bishops of Durham.

In September 1087, William the Conqueror died.

Before his death, he expressed that his son William Rufus could be king of England if it was God's will.

William Rufus quickly seized his chance and was crowned King of England by Archbishop Lanfranc on the 26th of September.

Lanfranc's support was essential in making William I's recommendation a reality.

However, William II soon faced conflicts with the Church.

And if we have a look at the illustration on the left, it shows William II holding a church in his hand, and perhaps this symbolised how he saw his relationship with the Church, that he saw that the king should have authority over the Church, at least to some extent.

And like his father, William II was less skilled at maintaining good relations with the papacy while keeping his authority.

While William the Conqueror seemed genuinely religious, William II appeared more interested in profiting from the Church.

In 1088, a rebellion against William II included senior Norman church leaders like Bishop Odo of Bayeux and the Bishop of Durham, William of Saint-Calais.

And we can see a manuscript image of William Saint-Calais on the left.

Initially, Bishop Calais informed the king of the plot and promised to bring reinforcements, but later changed his mind and never returned with his troops.

William II confiscated their English lands and banished Odo.

He also wanted to put Bishop Calais on trial for treason in the king's court, which led to a conflict with the pope, since bishops, the papacy believed, should be tried in church courts.

William II argued that the bishop had broken his oath of fealty to the king and therefore needed to face the king's court.

This is also what had happened in 1082 when Bishop Odo was accused of a similar offence by William I.

The illustration on the left shows the ceremonial act of taking an oath of fealty.

And landholders, such as clergy, would take this oath of fealty.

So from William II's perspective, he may have respected that certain religious matters were within the Church's authority.

However, the Church and its clergy had to operate within his kingdom, and since the king gave land to many bishops, this land came with certain obligations to the king.

So William II argued that Bishop Calais should face trial in the king's court.

This was a common power struggle between the monarchy and the Church.

In November 1088, the trial of Bishop Calais took place in a secular, non-religious court at Salisbury.

It lasted just one day and the bishop was found guilty.

He had his lands taken away from him and he was exiled.

Pope Urban II disapproved.

And in the image, we can see an illustration of the king on the left and the pope on the right.

We can imagine the discussion that could take place between these two powerful individuals.

Pope Urban II argued that the bishop should have been tried in a church court, and this event increased tensions between the Church and the monarchy.

Okay, let's have a check for understanding.

Which bishop did William II remove from his position for treason? A, Bishop Lanfranc.

B, Bishop Odo of Bayeux.

C, Bishop William of Saint-Calais.

Pause the video, have a think, and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back and well done if you knew the correct answer was C, Bishop William of Saint-Calais.

Okay, let's continue.

So in 1091, Bishop Calais later returned as Bishop of Durham and he began the construction of Durham Cathedral in 1093, which we can see in the photo on the left.

So clearly, this places Bishop Calais at the centre of Durham Cathedral's story.

But what had happened to Bishop Calais also revealed a wider story because the trial showed William II's control of the Church and demonstrated that he had the support of nobles and prelates.

When Lanfranc died in 1089, William II delayed appointing a new archbishop of Canterbury.

This delay was part of a pattern.

William II often postponed appointing new abbots or bishops because the crown received income from their estates while these positions were vacant.

Indeed, when Bishop Calais died in 1096, it took three years before Ranulf Flambard was appointed the Bishop of Durham.

Nonetheless, in 1099, Ranulf Flambard was appointed the Bishop of Durham.

Flambard was a close supporter of William II and was a royal clerk who served both William I and William II.

Flambard was popular with William II, probably because Flambard was also skillful in his ability to raise money from the Church.

Orderic Vitalis said that William II gave Church positions to those who could serve the king well, rather than their service to God.

Flambard managed many abbeys and bishoprics.

However, he was unpopular with the clergy.

They criticised him for being greedy and having lax morals.

Nonetheless, Flambard took the powerful and wealthy post of Bishop of Durham in 1099.

Flambard had a flamboyant character, was very generous to his supporters, though he faced accusations of greed, and was willing to fund building projects.

He oversaw the final stages of construction on Durham Cathedral and fortified Durham Castle.

Okay, let's have a check for understanding.

What do the actions of William II and Ranulf Flambard reveal about the relationship between the Church and monarchy? A, it was dominated by the Church's authority.

B, it was strictly separate with no interference.

C, it was used for power and money.

Pause the video, have a think, and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back and well done if you knew the correct answer was C.

It was used for power and money.

Okay, great.

Let's move on to Task A.

What I want you to do here is, working with your partner, list examples of William II's control of the Church.

I want you to use the examples of the bishops of Durham and your contextual knowledge to make your list.

Pause the video, have a go at the task, and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back.

And well done for having a go at that task.

So there's multiple things that we could have on our list here, but your answer may include the following.

So firstly, you might have said that William II put Bishop Calais on trial for treason in the king's court, clearly demonstrating William II asserting authority over the Church.

You might have put that William II confiscated Bishop Calais's lands and exiled him.

And that William II allowed Bishop Calais to return and he began construction of Durham Cathedral.

William II delayed bishop appointments, waiting three years to appoint Ranulf Flambard as the Bishop of Durham.

And finally, Flambard was a royal clerk who raised money for William II.

Okay, great.

Let's move on to the second part of the lesson, Henry I and the Bishop of Durham.

In August 1100, William II was killed in a hunting accident in the New Forest.

The story goes that he was mistakenly shot by his friend's arrow.

Hunting accidents were very common.

Another of William I's son, Richard, was also killed in a hunting accident in the New Forest.

But later, historians raised suspicions that William II's younger brother, Henry, might have plotted the murder because in 1100, Henry quickly claimed the throne.

Henry I imprisoned Ranulf Flambard in the Tower of London on charges of embezzlement.

In other words, secretly taking money from the Church.

Flambard became the first inmate and the first escapee of the Tower.

And you can see the illustration on the left showing the escape of Flambard from the Tower of London.

The story goes that the rope had been smuggled inside the Tower in a flagon of wine.

Flambard gave the wine to his guards, and whilst they were drunk and asleep, he used a rope to climb down the Tower wall.

Flambard's friends had arranged for a ship loaded with his treasures to take into Normandy.

Okay, let's have a check for understanding.

Why did Henry I imprison Bishop Ranulf Flambard in the Tower of London? A, for embezzlement.

B, for treason.

C, for simony.

Pause the video, have a think, and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back and well done if you knew the correct answer was A, for embezzlement.

In Normandy, Flambard became an advisor to Henry's brother, Robert Curthose, the Duke of Normandy.

By now, Henry had dispossessed Flambard of his lands and had him deposed as Bishop.

Anselm, the Archbishop of Canterbury, had arranged for a trial in a papal court and Flambard was found guilty of simony.

Perhaps in an attempt to regain his estates, Flambard decided to help lead Robert Curthose's army in an invasion of England.

On the map, we can see Robert and Flambard in Normandy with their ships ready to invade England.

And we can see, once again, the English Channel was witnessing another attempted invasion.

Robert was the eldest brother and had always believed that he was the legitimate heir to England's throne after William I had died.

In 1101, Henry and Robert reached an agreement to remain in their own realms, and Flambard was pardoned and restored to his bishopric.

In 1105, the English Channel saw action again when Henry I invaded Normandy this time, and in 1106, he defeated his brother Robert Curthose.

By 1107, Henry I ruled both Normandy and England as his father had originally achieved after the Norman Conquest.

So we can see that William's sons had something of their father's conquering spirit within them.

Ranulf Flambard died in 1128 and was buried in Durham Cathedral's chapter house alongside William Saint-Calais.

We can see the image on the left showing Durham Cathedral's chapter house.

Even the chapter house is built with thick stone walls and has a magnificent vaulted ceiling, Romanesque arched windows, and blind arcading featuring intersecting arches.

Okay, let's have a check for understanding.

Who did Flambard join after escaping from the Tower of London? A, Henry I.

B, Pope Urban II.

C, Robert Curthose.

Pause the video, have a think, and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back and well done if you knew the correct answer was that Flambard joined Robert Curthose after escaping the Tower of London, joining him in Normandy.

Okay, let's have another check.

Where is Ranulf Flambard buried? A, Canterbury Cathedral.

B, Durham Cathedral.

C, Normandy.

Pause the video, have a think, and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back and well done if you knew that Ranulf Flambard is buried in Durham Cathedral.

Okay, great.

Let's move on to Task B.

And I've got a statement here for you.

"Norman kings' relationship with the Church was based on religious respect." What I want you to do here is, use the example of Durham Cathedral and your contextual knowledge to disagree with this statement.

And I also want you to write one paragraph for William II and one paragraph based on Henry I.

So obviously, there's plenty of evidence and contextual knowledge that we could use to agree with the statement.

But I want you to think about the evidence of William II and Henry I and their relationship with the Church not being about religious respect.

Pause the video, have a go at the task, and then come right back.

Okay, great.

Welcome back.

And well done for having a go at Task B.

So there's many ways that you could have answered this question.

But compare your answer with what I have here.

So let's have a look at this example answer on William II.

I disagree with this statement because William II's relationship with the Church was based on control and money.

And you can see I've highlighted the first sentence there so we can see the overall content of the paragraph will be about that, control and money.

So let's see what evidence I bring to bear.

He first put Bishop Calais on trial for treason in the king's court, knowing this went against Pope Urban II, confiscating Calais's land and exiling him.

He then delayed the appointment of a new bishop so that he could collect the vacant position's income.

When he finally appointed a new Bishop of Durham, he did not choose someone known for great piety.

He chose a close supporter who raised him lots of money, Ranulf Flambard.

So you can see there the paragraph is disagreeing with the statement that Norman kings' relationship with the Church was based on religious respect.

And my answer here is stating, relationship was actually more about control and money.

I'm using William II, Bishop Calais, and Flambard as my examples.

Okay, now let's look at Henry I and see how I've used his example to disagree with the statement.

I also disagree with this statement because Henry I's relationship with the Bishop of Durham was tumultuous and based on politics.

And before I read this paragraph, I want you to note that I'm always bringing this answer back to Durham.

Because even though the statement has been more broader about the king's relationship with the Church, in these questions, we always want to bring it back to our historical environment, Durham Cathedral.

So let's read the rest of the paragraph.

Henry I imprisoned Ranulf Flambard in the Tower of London on charges of embezzlement.

Flambard then escaped and joined Robert Curthose's invasion of England.

Flambard was only pardoned and restored to his Durham bishopric after Henry and Robert reached an agreement in 1101.

This showed that Henry's relationship was resolved politically and not through religious respect.

Okay, great, let's summarise today's lesson, the king and the bishops of Durham.

William II put Bishop Calais on trial for treason in the king's court, removing him as the Bishop of Durham.

He also delayed appointing the next bishop, eventually selecting a close supporter who raised him lots of money, Ranulf Flambard.

Henry I imprisoned Ranulf Flambard in the Tower of London on charges of embezzlement.

Flambard then escaped and joined Robert Curthose's invasion of England.

Flambard was restored to his bishopric and is buried in Durham Cathedral's chapter house alongside William Saint-Calais.

Well done on a brilliant lesson and thank you for joining me as we delved into the king and the bishops of Durham, giving us a sense of the people with links to Durham Cathedral.

See you in the next lesson.