Lesson video

Hello and welcome to today's lesson on the Norman Conquest.

This lesson is part of a broader inquiry looking at how mediaeval England was impacted by migration.

In this inquiry, we'll cover lots of different things.

However, for today, we're just going to be focusing on the Norman Conquest.

And in order to do that, you're going to need a piece of paper and a pen.

If you don't have one, not to worry, just pause the video now, get everything you need, and then come back and press play when you're ready to go.

Great.

Now, we're ready to get started.

We can have a look at our lesson outcome on the slide.

And for today, we need to be able to explain the reasons for and the impact of the Norman Conquest from England, as well as the experience of Norman settlers.

And in order to do that, we're going to need some keywords.

And for today, we have three.

Christendom, which is a term used to describe the collection of Christian kingdoms in the Mediaeval period.

We also have monasteries, which is a building, housing a community of monks.

And finally, we have clergy, people who work in the church, typically monks or bishops.

So, if I'm referring to clergymen, I'm referring to people who work in the church, probably bishops or monks.

Now, we've seen our three key words, we'll see them again in the context of the lesson.

I'll make a lot more sense then.

But for now, we can get started.

And first, we are going to be looking at why the Normans migrated.

But you may already know that the Vikings had begun to take hold of England in the 800s.

By the 1000s, they had largely assimilated into Anglo-Saxon life.

Left to a further trading opportunities in other countries, all returned to their homelands in Scandinavia.

Therefore, by the mid-1000s, England was left ready for another invasion on the horizon, and this time for much closer Normandy in modern day France.

And it was William, Duke of Normandy who believed that he was the rightful heir to the English throne.

As the English king, Edward the Confessor had promised him the throne in 1051.

William also maintained that this promise had been upheld by an important English nobleman called Harold Godwinson in 1064.

This meant that when Edward died in 1066 and Harold was crowned king, William was furious, and he planned an invasion to take the land that he believed was his.

William's determination was further fueled with the support of the pope, the most famous religious figure at the time.

So, before we go on to look at how this played out, we are just going to pause and check our understanding of the reasons why William was determined to invade before we move on.

I'd like you to have a quick discussion.

If you're doing this lesson by yourself, not to worry, just have a go at articulating your response out loud for me.

However, if you're doing this lesson with another person or in a classroom, I'd like you to talk to the person next to you and very quickly discuss why William Duke of Normandy was determined to invade England in 1066.

Pause the video now.

Give yourself enough time to articulate your response out loud or both of you enough time to have a go at answering this question.

And when you've had a go, come back and press play.

Hopefully in your responses, you mentioned that he believed he was the rightful heir to the English throne, that Harold Godwinson had been crowned king of England, but also that the pope supported his claim to the throne.

Really well done.

Let's get on to have a look at what happened after he was prepared to launch an invasion to take the land that he believed was his.

In September 1066, William defeated Harold in the Battle of Hastings and was crowned king of England that Christmas.

After this, several Normans migrated to England, although not as many as you can expect, because if you have a look on the slide here, we can see a photo of the Bayeux Tapestry showing William rallying his troops, which we saw on the slide earlier.

So, it gives the sense that there was loads and loads of Normans that would've come with William after this huge battle.

But in reality, there was only about 10,000 who made the move.

And those that did had very, very clear reasons for doing so.

Had very, very clear reasons for doing so.

The Norman nobility were attracted by the wealth of fertile land that had brought the Vikings to the English shores in the 800s.

Furthermore, William offered to award the nobleman with land and titles if they migrated to England with him.

So, a number of French monks who migrated, but for slightly different reasons, William and the Normans wanted to increase the power of the English church, which they viewed as weak.

Therefore, devout French monks were invited to help restore the power of the church, which would ultimately restore England's place in Christendom.

There was also the added bonus on monasteries like Lanfranc Abbey playing a huge role in the English wool trade, bringing an economic incentive for the French monks as well.

Before we go on to look at what the experiences of these people were, we are just going to pause and check our understanding so far, thinking about why William migrated, why his nobles migrated, but also why the French monks migrated, because it's not always as simple as bringing it all together in one simple generalised reason.

So, firstly, I'd like you to recall how many Normans migrated to England? Was it 10,000, 100,000, or 1,000? Pause the video now, make a decision, and then come back and press play when you've got an answer for me.

It was 10,000.

It wasn't as many as you thought, but it was many noblemen.

Now, I'd like you to have a think about the following statements and think about which two of them explain why French monks migrated to England.

Was it, A, to rule England as the rightful heir following the Battle of Hastings.

B, to help restore the power of the English church and restore England to Christendom.

C, to earn money from the monasteries involved in the wool trade.

Or, D, to be given fertile land by William as a reward for migrating with him.

Pause the video now.

Think about the question again if you need to.

We are talking specifically about French monks.

And then come back and press play when you've got an answer.

Brilliant.

We know that French monks migrated to restore the power of the church and to restore England to Christendom, but also to earn money from the monasteries involved in the wool trade.

Really well done.

Now, I'd like you to put what we've learned into practise by explaining why the Normans migrated to England and aim to discuss three possible reasons in your answer, trying to include the following in your response, rightful heir, pope, nobility, French monks, and one of our key keywords, Christendom.

So, pause the video now.

Give yourself 5 to 10 minutes to complete this task and come back when you're done.

Brilliant.

So, now, let's have a look at what your answer might have included.

So, you might have said the Normans migrated to England for various reasons.

Firstly, to gain political influence as William believed he was the rightful heir to the English throne.

With the support of the pope, William launched an invasion and successfully defeated Harold Godwinson, becoming king of England.

Secondly, the nobility migrated for financial gain as William rewarded his followers with land if they migrated with him.

And finally, French monks migrated to England to restore the power of the English church and England's place in Christendom.

Furthermore, French monks also migrated to benefit financially from the role of the monasteries in the wool trade.

Really, really well done on this part of the lesson.

I'm sure you've done a brilliant job of explaining why the Normans migrated.

And now, we can move on to look at the experiences of Norman migrants.

So, we're going to be thinking about what was the experience of Norman migrants in mediaeval England.

Although migrants in this period were typically considered aliens, the Normans took control of England in 1066.

And so, they experienced England as rulers.

Despite their ruler status, they did face rebellions across England, particularly from Anglo-Saxon groups who oppose their rule.

However, these rebellions such as the rebellion in the north in 1068 were often brutally crushed by the Norman rulers, and therefore had very little impact on the experiences of the majority of Norman migrants.

And as the Norman nobility migrated in smaller numbers compared to the Vikings, the number of noblemen remained small in England.

This made it much easier for them to maintain more autonomy, continuing to speak French and practise their devout Christianity just as they had done in Normandy.

French monks, however, did face increasing hostility, and this was due to the fact that Lanfranc, an Italian monk made Archbishop of Canterbury in 1070 did not appoint any English bishops.

In fact, only one was appointed between 1070 and 1140.

And here on the slide, we can see a painting of Lanfranc who became the Archbishop of Canterbury in 1070.

It was the continued invitation of foreign monks and bishops, which led to increasing hostility from English subjects about the growing number of alien as they would've called them clergymen in England.

So, there was a mixed experience of Norman migrants.

If we're thinking about the nobility, they were largely protected from the rebellions, migrating in small numbers, and were able to maintain both their language and their devout Christian practises.

But when we think about the French monks, although they would've been largely fine having positive experiences, they also would've faced hostility as their English subjects were growing resentful and hostile towards the growing number of migrant clergy in England, or as they would've called them, alien clergy.

Now, before we go on to look at the impact of these different groups of Normans who migrated, we're just going to pause, check our understanding, and have a go at a practise task to put what we've learned here into practise.

So, firstly, I'd like you to tell me, think back to about four minutes ago, why were most Norman experiences not impacted by Anglo-Saxon rebellions? Was it because there was only one small rebellion against the Normans, because Norman rulers brutally suppressed rebellions? Or because rebellions were only targeted at William of Normandy? So, pause the video now, make a decision, and then come back and press play when you've got an answer for me.

Brilliant.

The reason that Norman experiences were often not impacted by Anglo-Saxon rebellions was because Norman rulers brutally suppressed rebellions.

Now, I'd like you to have a discussion.

How did the Normans maintain autonomy? And remember, autonomy is when a group of people or an individual is able to maintain some of the practises and cultures from their homelands.

So, how will the Normans able to do this? Pause the video now, and if you are doing this lesson by yourself, just have a go at articulating it out loud or getting some ideas down on paper.

Or if you're doing this lesson with someone else or in a classroom, have a go at having a discussion with them, with both of you having a chance to articulate a response out loud.

So, pause the video now and come back when you're done.

Brilliant.

So, hopefully in your discussions, you mentioned that they migrated in small numbers and became the nobility in England, that they continue to speak French and they continue to practise their devout faith.

Really, really well done.

Final question for our practise task.

Why did French monks face hostility? Was it, A, growing hostility about the growing number of alien clergy? B, no English bishops were appointed between 1070 and 1140.

Or, C, monasteries contributed significantly to the wool trade.

Pause the video now, make a decision, and then come back and press play when you've got one.

Great work.

It's because there was growing hostility about the growing number of alien clergy.

So, it wasn't just that no English bishops were appointed between 1070 and 1140.

It's that there were many migrant bishops appointed in what some English subjects felt were the place of those English bishops.

Now, let's put what we've learned into practise.

And in order to do that, I want you to have a look at this statement.

The Normans had an entirely positive experience of England.

Now, I want you to tell me how far you agree with this statement.

And in your response, I'd like you to include the following, rulers, rebellions, Lanfranc, remember we saw a painting of him, and alien clergy, using one of our keywords there.

So, pause the video now.

Give yourself 5 to 10 minutes to get a response down to this question, and then come back and press play when you're done.

Brilliant.

So, your response might have looked like this.

I disagree with this statement as it fails to acknowledge the experience of French monks.

On the one hand, many Normans did have overwhelmingly positive experiences as they were considered rulers, not aliens.

Even with several rebellions, including the rebellion in the north in 1068, many Normans' experiences were unaffected as the rebellions were brutally suppressed by Norman rulers.

On the other hand, French monks did not have entirely positive experiences.

This was as a result of Lanfranc, the Archbishop of Canterbury, continuing to invite foreign monks and bishops to work in the English church.

This led to increasing hostility from English subjects about the growing number of alien clergy in England.

Therefore, the statement is incorrect as it does not consider the experience of all Norman migrants in England in this period.

So, really well done if you were able to acknowledge that there were some positive experiences, but to say that they were all entirely positive is incorrect, because you're not taking into account the variety of experiences and specifically the experience of French monks who faced increasing hostility.

And now, in the third and final part of our lesson, we're going to be looking at how the Normans impacted England.

And the Normans had a significant impact on the economy.

That's the first thing we're going to look at.

An example of this is the French monks who supported the growth of the monasteries, which had already made significant contributions to the wool trade in England.

And with the increase in the number of monasteries, the wealth from this industry increased too.

The Normans also invited several migrant groups who helped grow the economy, mostly European craftspeople and Jewish money lenders.

And if we have a look at the slide here, we can see a photograph of the remains of a Norman abbey.

This would've been one of the many places that contributed to the wool trade in England.

But they didn't just impact the economy.

The Normans also impacted culture.

When the Normans invaded in 1066, they also brought their language with them, as we mentioned earlier.

And as the ruling class, French became the language of the nobility for centuries to come.

And as well as language, the Normans also impacted religion.

Under the Normans, French monks worked hard to increase the power and influence of the church and restore English place in Christendom, especially following reforms introduced by Lanfranc.

Remember we saw a painting of him earlier.

These reforms changed both the culture, but also the built environment.

So, they impacted the economy, culture, and now we're talking about the built environment.

We're talking about what we can see, how the environment around people changed, what buildings were introduced, what buildings were torn down, what buildings were replaced.

Now, the Normans went on to build 65 motte and bailey castles by 1100.

And we can see on this map here a location of all the castles that the Normans built around England.

They also transformed small wooden Anglo-Saxon churches into large stone churches and cathedrals.

This transformation of the religious built environment sent a very clear message of the power of the church and the power of the Normans.

So, we know that they impacted the economy, specifically French monks through the work of the monasteries in the wool trade, but also through inviting European craftspeople and Jewish merchants, many of whom worked as money lenders.

We know they impacted culture through both language and religion, but also the built environment as their motte and bailey castles and their huge stone cathedrals showed the power of the church and the power of the Normans.

Now, we're going to check our understanding very quickly before our last practise task of today.

So, I'd like you to have a discussion with the person next to you, or again, if you're doing this lesson by yourself, not to worry.

You can have a go at explaining out loud or jotting down some key ideas.

But the discussion point for now is how did the Normans impact the economy? So, pause the video, give yourself a few minutes to articulate a response out loud or for both of you to have a go, and then come back and press play when you're done.

Brilliant.

So, hopefully in your response, you mentioned that French monks supported the growth of monasteries who contributed to the wool trade.

You might also have said that Norman leaders invited European craftspeople and Jewish money lenders to help grow the economy.

Really well done.

I'd like you to have a think about this statement.

The Normans only had a short-term impact on culture.

Pause the video now.

Think about whether this statement is true or false, and then come back and press play when you have an idea.

Brilliant.

We know that this statement is false, but we need to have a think about why.

Is it false because French became the language of the nobility for centuries to come? Or is it false because French became the language of ordinary people for centuries to come? Pauses the video now, make a decision, and then come back and press play when you've got an idea.

Brilliant.

We know that French became the language of the nobility for centuries to come.

So, it was not a short impact on culture, but it had a long-lasting impact.

We are talking about centuries here.

Last discussion of today.

I want you to discuss with the person next to you or articulate out loud how the Normans impacted the built environment.

So, remember, we talked about their impact on the economy, culture, but also the built environment.

So, how did they impact the built environment? Pause the video now.

Give yourself a chance to articulate a response out loud or for both of you to contribute to the discussion, and then come back and press play when you're done.

Brilliant work.

You hopefully mentioned that the Normans built 65 major motte and bailey castles by 1100.

You might have also mentioned that they replace small wooden Anglo-Saxon churches with large stone churches and cathedrals.

Really, really well done.

So, our final task for today requires you to read Laura's account of the impact of the Normans in England.

She says, the Normans had a limited impact on the economy.

This was due to the number of French monks who migrated to England and contributed to the steel trade through the role of the monasteries.

They also invited Asian crafts people and Christian money lenders to help support the economy.

They impacted the language as French became the language of ordinary people, and the French clergy decreased the power of the government.

Normans also impacted the built environment as they built a hundred major motte and bailey castles and also converted large stone churches into small wooden churches and cathedrals.

I'm sure as you were reading that along with me, you realised she's got a lot of things wrong.

There are 10 errors in her statement, and I'd like you to correct every single one of them.

So, pause the video now.

Give yourself about five minutes to identify each of those errors, and then come back and press play when you're done.

Brilliant work.

Hopefully you acknowledge these 10 errors.

She said they had a limited impact on the economy.

They contributed to the steel trade.

They invited Asian craftspeople and Christian money lenders.

That French became the language of ordinary people.

The clergy decreased the power of the government.

That the Normans built, impacted the built environment as they built a hundred major motte and bailey castles.

That they converted large stone churches into small wooden churches.

So, we can see there's a lot going wrong here.

So, now, what I'd like you to do as your final task for today is to correct these 10 errors in her statement.

So, give yourself 5 to 10 minutes and have a go at helping Laura out here and correcting her statements.

And we've got a really great summary of the impact of the Normans on England.

Brilliant.

So, hopefully your corrected paragraph goes a little something like this.

The Normans had a significant impact on the economy.

This was due to the number of French monks who migrated to England and contributed to the wool trade through the role of the monasteries.

They also invited European craftspeople and Jewish money lenders to help support the economy.

They impacted the language as French became the language of the nobility, and the French clergy increased the power of the church.

Normans also impacted the built environment as they built 65 major motte and bailey castles and also converted small wooden churches into large stone churches and cathedrals.

Really well done.

Hopefully that's what your summary looked like.

If there's a few of them you need to correct, don't worry.

Just pause the video now and make those corrections.

So, before we finish up for today, let's have a look at a summary of what we've learned.

In 1066, the Normans conquered England for political and religious influence, as well as the opportunity for wealth.

We also learned that although migrants normally had an alien status, the Normans experienced England as rulers.

However, French monks did face some hostility from English subjects.

We learned that the Normans migrated in fairly small numbers, but impacted the economy, culture, and built environment of England.

And finally, we learned that the migration of French monks supported church reforms and restored England's place in Christendom.

Really well done.

You've done some brilliant work today.