The Norman Conquest was one of the turning points in British history. It occurred in 1066 when William, the duke of Normandy, invaded and defeated England. William later came to be known as William the Conqueror. The Norman Conquest resulted in far-reaching changes in the government and society of the British Isles.

Chronology

Edward the Confessor, the last king of the Old English royal line, died on January 5, 1066. He had no children. On his deathbed he named Harold, the powerful earl of Wessex, as the next king. However, it is almost certain that he had earlier promised the crown to his cousin William, the duke of Normandy. Upon Edward's death, Harold crowned himself king. The British nobility also accepted him.

Harold's position was far from secure. By August 1066 William had gathered a force of 5,000 knights to attack England. Stationed on the coast of Normandy, in France, they crossed the English Channel and landed in Pevensey Bay on September 28.

William's army captured the towns of Pevensey and Hastings. Harold made a forced march southward to face William. By October 13 he had approached Hastings with about 7,000 men. Much of his army was poorly armed and untrained.

William launched a surprise attack on October 14, about 10 miles (16 kilometers) northwest of Hastings. The battle that followed is known as the battle of Hastings. Throughout the day William kept up his attack. The English soldiers were gradually exhausted. Late in the afternoon an arrow killed Harold, and by nightfall the remaining English forces had scattered and fled.

William then advanced to London. At the town of Berkhamstead the major English leaders submitted to him. He was crowned king in Westminster Abbey on Christmas Day in 1066.

Revolts against William continued until 1071. The most serious one was in Northumbria in 1069–70. William stopped it himself. He then destroyed vast areas of the north. He built many castles for his followers.

Lasting effects in Britain

By the time the last of the revolts against William was put down, the English nobility had been ruined. William's victory destroyed England's links with Scandinavia and brought the country instead into close contact with Western Europe.

William established a system that divided England among 180 Norman nobles. These nobles held the king's land in return for military service. They had to supply a certain number of knights for the royal army. Soon many of these nobles began to grant some of their own lands to knights who would serve them just as they in turn served the king. As a result, the English nobility was almost totally replaced by a Norman one. A similar change took place among the upper religious and government officers.

However, William allowed the people to keep their own laws and courts. The common law of England continued to be managed by the king's court, with a few changes. One major change was William's removal of religious cases from the regular courts. This led to the introduction of canon law, or the law of the church, in England.

A major effect of the Norman Conquest was the disappearance of English as the language of literature, law, and government in Britain. It was first replaced by Latin in official documents and other records. Then Norman-French became dominant in all forms of writing. Written English did not reappear until the 13th century.