Hello, welcome to History here at Oak National Academy.

My name is Mr. Newton, and I will be your teacher today, guiding you through the entire lesson.

Right, let's get started.

Over the next few lessons we'll be thinking about our big inquiry question.

How different was the English Church by 1100? This is the question we will use to investigate the nature of Norman England and the Church.

We know that the Normans had particular ideas on Christianity and how the Church should operate.

Therefore, the Normans wanted to reform the English Church.

But the question is how much change did the Normans introduce? By the end of this lesson, you'll be able to discuss the extent to which the Church changed under the Normans.

Before we begin, let's make sure that we understand the word veneration.

Veneration means to show great respect and honour to something.

Today's lesson is split up into three parts, we'll first look at the Church organisational structure before moving on to Church beliefs and practises, and then ending the lesson on religious buildings and monasteries.

Right, let's begin with Church organisation.

So to cast our mind back to before 1066, we can look at this photo of an Anglo-Saxon church and imagine that this church represents a microcosm of what the wider Anglo-Saxon Church was like.

The Anglo-Saxon Church was smaller, more local, and closer to the community, and perhaps not ultra strict about piety and adhering to all the religious rules.

Of course, these are generalisations, but more specifically, the Anglo-Saxon Church had a hierarchical structure with the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Archbishop of York at the top.

Bishops managed dioceses, which were divided into parishes overseen by priests.

Bishops were influential in governance, advising kings and working closely with the monarchy.

And priests were usually ordinary members of the community with small land holdings like peasants who lived a married life.

However, there were significant changes in Church organisation in England after 1066.

So let's look at some of the changes the Normans had made by 1100.

In 1070 Lanfranc, who's in the illustration on the left, replaced Stigand as Archbishop of Canterbury and led reforms of the English Church.

As Archbishop of Canterbury, Lanfranc standardised Church practises across England.

To communicate his reforms, Lanfranc held a series of councils.

These were meetings of Church leaders where he set up decrees that standardised Church practises and increased discipline.

Three of the most important were in 1072, 1075, and 1076.

If you have a look at the map on the left, it shows Lanfranc using his councils to centralise his power, ensuring that his reforms from the centre are being standardised and enforced across England.

Okay, let's have a check for understanding.

What structural change occurred regarding the role of Archbishop of Canterbury? A, primacy was given to the Archbishop of York.

B, the Archbishop of Canterbury became Archdeacon, C, the Archbishop of Canterbury became the head of the English church.

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.

The Archbishop of Canterbury became the head of the English Church.

Okay, let's continue.

So Lanfranc restructured the Church to centralise control under the Archbishop of Canterbury.

The Archbishop of York, Thomas of Bayeux now formally recognised the primacy of Canterbury, which meant that he swore to obey Lanfranc as the head of the English Church.

And we can see that Lanfranc is now at the top of the Church hierarchy in the diagram.

Bishops gained more authority over their dioceses, but were directly accountable to the Archbishop of Canterbury and swore fielty to their archbishop.

Archdeacons and rural deans were introduced to ensure bishops' orders were followed and a clear chain of command was established.

Many Anglo-Saxon bishops and abbots were replaced by Normans, aligning the Church more closely with Norman rule and reducing its previous autonomy.

As we will remember, a similar thing happened with land ownership and the introduction of the feudal system where we saw Anglo-Saxon Earls and Thanes being replaced by Norman Lords.

In 1072, William the first decreed that all legal cases involving clergy should be tried in Church courts rather than secular courts.

This allowed Church authorities to judge cases based on ecclesiastical law.

That's Church law.

Church courts also known as synods or episcopal courts were established.

So these courts were established by bishops and archdeacons, giving them greater control over clerical discipline.

They ensured that the clergy who violated Church laws could be tried within the ecclesiastical system, the Church system, reinforcing the reforms introduced by Lanfranc and others.

We should also remember that the Normans didn't just add things onto the English Church, they also removed things.

For example, Normans took wealth from churches and monasteries and transferred it to Normandy.

The Church also suffered from land grabs by Norman Barons.

There were continuities in Church organisation too though.

Much of the Church hierarchy was the same, for example, bishops overseeing dioceses and priests managing parishes, and the Church continued to play a significant role in governance with bishops advising the king.

Both Bishop Odo and Archbishop Lanfranc served as regents.

The Church remained a major landholder in Norman England, and that gave it power and wealth, even if some of its wealth was sent back to Normandy.

And we should say that despite the new Church courts, when Churchmen acted against the monarchy, as seen with Bishop Odo of Bayeux and Bishop William of Saint Calais, they were tried in the King's Court for political reasons.

And despite pressure from the reform papacy, Norman kings continued to uphold their authority within their own country, including in religious matters such as investiture.

Okay, let's have a check for understanding.

Which are examples of continuities in the English Church under Norman rule? Select two correct answers A, archdeacons and rural deans were introduced to ensure bishops' orders, B, bishops advised the king, C, many Norman bishops and abbots were replaced by Anglo-Saxons, D, the Church remained a major landholder.

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

Okay, welcome back, and well done if you knew the correct two answers were B, bishops advised the king, and D, the church remained a major landholder.

Okay, great, let's move on to task A.

What I want you to do here is complete the table on the impact the Normans had on English Church organisation.

And you can see that some boxes have been done for you already.

So for the first row, hierarchical structure, we can argue that the Normans made a small impact to the hierarchical structure because bishops overseeing dioceses and priests managing parishes remained intact as they had done under the Anglo-Saxons.

And if we move down to the second row, religious laws, we can make the case that the Normans had a large impact on religious laws because Church courts were established for the clergy and enforced by Norman reforms. And on the last row, England's governance, again, we could say a large impact occurred because Odo and Lanfranc served as regents.

Okay, so I want you to complete the rest of the boxes.

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

Okay, great, welcome back.

So for hierarchical structure, as I'd already explained, we could have made the case that there was a small impact made to the Church hierarchical structure, but we could also argue that there'd been some major changes too, and have said something like Lanfranc centralised control, he became head of the Church as the Archbishop of Canterbury, councils standardised his reforms across England, and he set up a clear chain of command from Lanfranc right to the bottom of the hierarchy with the priests.

And on religious laws, we could have again argued that there'd been a small impact made by the Normans because Odo was tried in the King's court despite being a bishop.

So this was despite the Normans setting up those Church courts.

And finally England's governance, we could have argued a small impact there too, as Anglo-Saxon bishops had previously advised the king, and that continued under the Normans with Norman bishops advising the king too.

Okay, great, so we've recapped some of our understanding of the Anglo-Saxon Church structure and how the Normans may have changed some of that.

Now let's do the same with Church beliefs and practises.

Again, let's cast our mind back to before 1066.

We can have a look at this illustration.

The figure on the left is an Anglo-Saxon king, and on the right we can see St Cuthbert a Celtic saint.

And this reminds us that, of course, Anglo-Saxons were Christian, as were the Normans, however, there were some differences, especially the veneration of particular saints such as St Cuthbert.

So before 1066, the Anglo-Saxon Church followed the Pope in Rome, but incorporated local customs, conducting services in Latin, but using old English for sermons and prayers.

Local Anglo-Saxon and Celtic saints were highly venerated and pilgrimages to shrines were common.

Furthermore, holy relics and saints' feast days were integral.

And then of course, after Lanfranc becomes the Archbishop of Canterbury, he reforms the Church and practises and some beliefs are affected.

So let's look at some of the changes that Normans have made by 1100.

Normans emphasised adherence to the Pope's stricter religious reforms of Christianity.

And if you have a look at the photos on the left, we can see the Pope Francis in the top right hand corner of the photo that's the current Pope.

And that's set within the larger photo, which shows St.

Peter's Square in the Vatican City where the Pope lives.

The Pope may live in Vatican City in Rome, Italy, but his power extends far beyond Rome.

In the mediaeval period, the Pope's power spread across Western Europe, and he could appoint clergy in other countries and could even expel a king from the Church.

William and the Normans were very influenced by the papacy.

The Pope had supported the invasion of England in 1066.

Therefore, William was happy along with Lanfranc to carry out papal reforms in England.

New liturgies or services were introduced and the use of Latin increased.

Lanfranc tried to ban clerical marriage and to enforce celibacy among the clergy, addressing previous issues of clerical discipline.

Simony, the selling of Church offices and nepotism were targeted for reform, although these practises were not entirely eradicated.

And the relics of some of what the Normans believed were unreliable Anglo-Saxon saints were burned to test if they were really holy men or not.

But there were continuities in Church beliefs and practises too.

The basic structure of religious services remained unchanged, but there was an increased focus on Latin liturgy and the veneration of saints and holy relics continued.

And this included some Anglo-Saxon saints like St Swithun and St Cuthbert who were popular with pilgrims. Okay, true or false? Norman Church reforms relaxed Christian beliefs and practises.

Is that true or false? Pause the video, have a think, and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back, and the correct answer is false.

But why is that false? I want you to justify your answer.

Is it false, because A Normans emphasised adherence to local saints who had a stricter form of Christianity, or B, Normans emphasised adherence to the Pope's stricter religious reforms of Christianity? Pause the video, have a think, and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back, and well done if you knew the correct answer was B, Normans emphasised adherence to the Pope's stricter religious reforms of Christianity.

Okay, let's have another check, which are examples of Lanfranc's reforms of the English Church? Select three correct answers, A, combat simony in Church appointments.

B, promote celibacy among the clergy.

C, reduce the amount of nepotism.

D, remove the use of Latin in Church services.

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

Okay, welcome back and well done if you knew the correct answers were A, combat simony in Church appointments, B, promote celibacy among the clergy, and C, reduce the amount of nepotism.

Okay, great, let's move on to task B.

Alex and Sofia have been asked to do a presentation on the extent of change in Church beliefs and practises in Norman England.

What I want you to do is write notes for each of them to use.

And you can see I've given you a couple of sentence starters for Alex and Sofia to help you to begin writing their notes.

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

Okay, great, welcome back.

So there's many ways you could have written those notes, but your notes for Alex, which were the changes, could include that Normans emphasised adherence to the Pope's stricter of religious reforms of Christianity.

New liturgies were introduced.

The use of Latin increased and reforms were made to reduce clerical marriage, simony and nepotism.

You might have also said that the relics of some unreliable in quotation marks, Anglo-Saxon and Celtic saints were burned to test if they were really holy men or not, which meant some were judged not holy.

And your notes for Sofia were about continuity and they could include beliefs and the basic structure of religious services remained unchanged, but there was an increased focus on Latin liturgy.

And the veneration of saints and holy relics continued too, and this included some Anglo-Saxon saints like St Swithun and St Cuthbert who were popular with pilgrims. Okay, great, let's move on to the final part of the lesson, religious buildings and monasteries.

So before 1066, monasteries had become part of everyday community life, serving as centres of learning, education, charity, and hospitality.

And if we have a look at the illustration on the left, it shows the scale of a monastery.

There could be one large building or a collection of buildings, and they needed to be large enough to house a religious community of monks or nuns.

Monasticism followed the rule of St Benedict, although many monasteries have become more connected to local communities and less strict in their practises.

So let's look at some of the changes the Normans had made by 1100.

The Normans initiated a massive building programme, constructing grand new stone cathedrals, churches, and monasteries built in the Normans' favourite Romanesque style, and this replaced modest wooden Anglo-Saxon structures.

And the photo on the left shows Durham Cathedral, one of the best surviving examples of Norman Romanesque architecture.

And these structures were a very visible symbol of the Norman conquest of England.

Okay, let's have a check for understanding.

How did the Normans bring change to religious buildings in England? Select three correct answers.

A, Norman architecture was bigger and grander.

B, Norman architecture was smaller and modest.

C, they built and rebuilt many new religious buildings.

D, they rebuilt using the Romanesque style.

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

Okay, welcome back, well done if you knew the correct answers were A, Norman architecture was bigger and grander, C, they built and rebuilt many new religious buildings, D, they rebuilt using the Romanesque style.

Okay, let's continue.

So new monastic orders such as the French Cluniacs were introduced to England, bringing reforms in monastic life.

Monasteries were reformed to follow the rule of St.

Benedict more strictly, reducing their interactions with local communities and focusing on spiritual discipline.

Norman abbots and monks replaced many Anglo-Saxon ones, enforcing new liturgical practises and standards brought in by Lanfranc.

The role of monasteries in education was reduced with young people educated in Church schools and grammar schools.

And of course, we should also say that there were continuities in religious buildings and monasteries too.

For example, there had always been monastic communities in Anglo-Saxon England, which had followed the rules of St.

Benedict, although now the Normans had introduced more discipline.

And monasteries continued to serve as centres of learning, maintaining their role in manuscript production and chronicling historic events.

How were monasteries reformed by the Normans? Select three correct answers.

A, Anglo-Saxon abbots and monks replaced many Norman ones B, monks reduced their interactions with local communities.

C, Norman abbots and monks replaced many Anglo-Saxon, ones, D, they had to follow the rule of St Benedict more strictly.

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

Okay, welcome back and well done if you knew the correct answers were B, monks reduced their interactions with local communities, C, Norman abbots and monks replaced many Anglo-Saxon ones, and D, they had to follow the rule of St Benedict more strictly.

Okay, great, let's move on to task C.

So this is an extended piece of writing task, answering this question, to what extent did the Normans change the English Church? And I want your answer to try and consider the following points.

Church organisation, religious buildings, beliefs and practises.

And you can also use your own knowledge as well.

So this is bringing together all the knowledge from today's lesson and any of the wider knowledge that you have to write an extended answer on the question of how much did the Normans change the English Church? And of course, anytime that you see, to what extent or how far do you agree in a question like this, you should know that the question is prompting you to think about both sides of the argument, to measure both sides, to weigh both sides of the argument, to what extent you agree with something.

And in this example, it's asking you to measure change.

And of course we know the opposite of change is continuity.

So we need to think about both of those in our answer.

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

Okay, welcome back, well done for having a go at that task.

And there's many ways that you could have written your answer, but compare what you've got with my example answer here.

The Normans transformed the English Church by restructuring the Church hierarchy, enforcing stricter religious discipline and conducting a vast church-building programme.

with William's approval, Lanfranc, the Archbishop of Canterbury became the head of the Church.

Lanfranc centralised his control of the Church hierarchy.

Bishops now swore to obey their archbishop and their authority in dioceses was increased in order to drive through Church reforms. Anglo-Saxon prelates were replaced by Normans to remove their threat to William's rule and Lanfranc used councils to standardise and reform practises across England.

The Normans' primary objective was to have the English Church aligned with the Pope's stricter religious reforms of Christianity.

New liturgies were introduced and the use of Latin increased.

Reforms were made to clerical marriage, simony and nepotism.

The relics of some unreliable Anglo-Saxon Saints were tested and then destroyed if deemed not holy.

New monasteries were built in Romanesque style and occupied by Cluniac monks from France.

English monks were forced to accept a stricter interpretation of Benedict's rule.

If they refused, their new Norman leadership would try them in Church courts.

However, there was some continuity from the Anglo-Saxon Church.

Most of the Church organisation was the same, even if it now was under stronger central control.

Beliefs were largely unchanged despite some local saints no longer being in favour.

The Church also remained a major landholder and Church leaders had important roles in England's government.

Monasteries in Anglo-Saxon England had followed the rule of St Benedict's centuries, although not as strictly as Lanfranc wished.

In comparison to the scale of change caused by Lanfranc's reforms, the continuity was less significant.

So overall, the Normans changed the English Church to a large extent.

And we can see there right at the end, after having articulated some of the change and some of the continuities, the answer then goes on to state to what extent the Normans changed the English Church.

But we can only start to develop that judgement after unfolding both sides of the argument.

Okay, great, let's summarise today's lesson, the Norman Church.

the pre-1066 Anglo-Saxon Church had many similarities with the Norman Church.

However, the Normans emphasised adherence to the Pope's stricter religious reforms of Christianity.

William and Lanfranc implemented a programme of reform which would also give them a greater control of the Church, and religious practises and beliefs enforced stricter religious discipline.

New monasteries were built in a Romanesque style and occupied by Cluniac monks from France.

New liturgies were introduced.

The use of Latin increased and reforms were made to clerical marriage, simony and nepotism.

Well done on a brilliant lesson.

I hope you've learned a lot about monasticism and the changes and continuities of the Norman Church.

And I will see you next time.