Editing Norman Conquest (section)

==Consequences==

===Elite replacement===
A direct consequence of the invasion was the almost total elimination of the old English aristocracy and the loss of English control over the [[Catholic Church]] in England. William systematically dispossessed English landowners and conferred their property on his continental followers. The [[Domesday Book]] of 1086 meticulously documents the impact of this colossal programme of expropriation, revealing that by that time only about 5 per cent of land in England south of the [[River Tees|Tees]] was left in English hands. Even this tiny residue was further diminished in the decades that followed, the elimination of native landholding being most complete in southern parts of the country.<ref>Thomas ''English and Normans'' pp. 105–137</ref><ref>Thomas "Significance" ''English Historical Review'' pp. 303–333</ref>

Natives were also removed from high governmental and ecclesiastical offices. After 1075 all earldoms were held by Normans, and Englishmen were only occasionally appointed as sheriffs. Likewise in the Church, senior English office-holders were either expelled from their positions or kept in place for their lifetimes and replaced by foreigners when they died. After the death of [[Wulfstan (died 1095)|Wulfstan]] in 1095, no bishopric was held by any Englishman, and English abbots became uncommon, especially in the larger monasteries.<ref>Thomas ''English and Normans'' pp. 202–208</ref>

===English emigration===
{{see also|New England (medieval)}}
[[File:The body of Leo V is dragged to the Hippodrome through the Skyla Gate.jpg|thumb|Depiction of the [[Varangian Guard]], which had many English recruits, from the 12th-century ''[[Madrid Skylitzes]]'', in the {{Lang|es|[[Biblioteca Nacional de España]]|italic=no}}.]]

Following the conquest, many Anglo-Saxons, including groups of nobles, fled the country<ref name= Byzantium>Ciggaar ''Western Travellers'' pp. 140–141</ref> for Scotland, Ireland, or Scandinavia.<ref name= Daniell>Daniell ''From Norman Conquest to Magna Carta'' pp. 13–14</ref> Members of King Harold Godwinson's family sought refuge in Ireland and used their bases in that country for unsuccessful invasions of England.<ref name=Huscroft140>Huscroft ''Norman Conquest'' pp. 140–141</ref> The largest single exodus occurred in the 1070s, when a group of Anglo-Saxons in a fleet of 235 ships sailed for the [[Byzantine Empire]].<ref name= Daniell/> The empire became a popular destination for many English nobles and soldiers, as the Byzantines were in need of mercenaries.<ref name= Byzantium/> The English became the predominant element in the elite [[Varangian Guard]], until then a largely Scandinavian unit, from which the emperor's bodyguard was drawn.<ref>Heath ''Byzantine Armies'' p. 23</ref> Some of the English migrants were settled in Byzantine frontier regions on the [[Black Sea]] coast and established towns with names such as New London and New York.<ref name= Byzantium/>

===Governmental systems===
[[File:Map of England 1086.png|thumb|upright|English counties in 1086 – most of these have a modern equivalent in the 21st century.]]

Before the Normans arrived, Anglo-Saxon governmental systems were more sophisticated than their counterparts in Normandy.<ref name=Thomas59>Thomas ''Norman Conquest'' p. 59</ref><ref name=Conquest187>Huscroft ''Norman Conquest'' p. 187</ref> All of England was divided into administrative units called [[shire]]s, with subdivisions; the royal court was the centre of government, and a justice system based on local and regional tribunals existed to secure the rights of free men.<ref name=Govern176>Loyn ''Governance of Anglo-Saxon England'' p. 176</ref> Shires were run by officials known as shire [[reeve (England)|reeves]] or [[sheriff]]s.<ref name=Thomas60>Thomas ''Norman Conquest'' p. 60</ref> Most medieval governments were always on the move, holding court wherever the weather and food or other matters were best at the moment;<ref name=Conquest31>Huscroft ''Norman Conquest'' p. 31</ref> England had a permanent treasury at [[Winchester, Hampshire|Winchester]] before William's conquest.<ref name=Conquest194>Huscroft ''Norman Conquest'' pp. 194–195</ref> One major reason for the strength of the English monarchy was the wealth of the kingdom, built on the English system of taxation that included a land tax, or the geld. English coinage was also superior to most of the other currencies in use in northwestern Europe, and the ability to mint coins was a royal monopoly.<ref name=Conquest36>Huscroft ''Norman Conquest'' pp. 36–37</ref> The English kings had also developed the system of issuing [[writ]]s to their officials, in addition to the normal medieval practice of issuing [[charter]]s.<ref name=Conquest198>Huscroft ''Norman Conquest'' pp. 198–199</ref> Writs were either instructions to an official or group of officials, or notifications of royal actions such as appointments to office or a grant of some sort.<ref name=Writ>Keynes "Charters and Writs" ''Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Anglo-Saxon England'' p. 100</ref>

[[File:Domesday book--w.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Page describing [[Warwickshire]] in the [[Domesday Book]] of 1086.]]

This sophisticated medieval form of government was handed over to the Normans and was the foundation of further developments.<ref name=Govern176/> They kept the framework of government but made changes in the personnel, although at first the new king attempted to keep some natives in office. By the end of William's reign, most of the officials of government and the royal household were Normans. The language of official documents also changed, from [[Old English]] to Latin. The forest laws were introduced, leading to the setting aside of large sections of England as [[royal forest]].<ref name=Thomas60/> The Domesday survey was an administrative catalogue of the landholdings of the kingdom, and was unique to medieval Europe. It was divided into sections based on the shires, and listed all the landholdings of each [[tenant-in-chief]] of the king as well as who had held the land before the conquest.<ref name=Conquest200>Huscroft ''Norman Conquest'' pp. 200–201</ref>

===Language===
{{See also|Influence of French on English}}
One of the most obvious effects of the conquest was the introduction of [[Anglo-Norman language|Anglo-Norman]], a northern dialect of [[Old French]] with limited Nordic influences, as the language of the ruling classes in England, displacing Old English. [[Norman French]] words entered the English language, and a further sign of the shift was the usage of names common in France instead of [[Germanic name|Anglo-Saxon names]]. Male names such as [[William (name)|William]], [[Robert]], and [[Richard]] soon became common; female names changed more slowly. The Norman invasion had little impact on [[placenames]], which had changed significantly after earlier [[Norse activity in the British Isles|Scandinavian invasions]]. It is not known precisely how much English the Norman invaders learned, nor how much the knowledge of Norman French spread among the lower classes, but the demands of trade and basic communication probably meant that at least some of the Normans and native English were bilingual.<ref name=Conquest323>Huscroft ''Norman Conquest'' pp. 323–324</ref> Nevertheless, [[William the Conqueror]] never developed a working knowledge of English and for centuries afterwards English was not well understood by the nobility.<ref>Crystal "Story of Middle English" ''English Language''</ref>

===Immigration and intermarriage===
An estimated 8000 Normans and other continentals settled in England as a result of the conquest, although exact figures cannot be established. Some of these new residents intermarried with the native English, but the extent of this practice in the years immediately after Hastings is unclear. Several marriages are attested between Norman men and English women during the years before 1100, but such marriages were uncommon. Most Normans continued to contract marriages with other Normans or other continental families rather than with the English.<ref name=Huscroft321>Huscroft ''Norman Conquest'' pp. 321–322</ref> Within a century of the invasion, intermarriage between the native English and the Norman immigrants had become common. By the early 1160s, [[Ailred of Rievaulx]] was writing that intermarriage was common in all levels of society.<ref name=Thomas107>Thomas ''Norman Conquest'' pp. 107–109</ref>

===Society===
[[File:Anglo-Saxon village at West Stow 6337 Keith Evans.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|right|Modern-day reconstruction of an Anglo-Saxon village at [[West Stow Anglo-Saxon Village]] in [[Suffolk]]]]

The impact of the conquest on the lower levels of English society is difficult to assess. The major change was the elimination of [[Slavery in the British Isles|slavery in England]], which had disappeared by the middle of the 12th century.<ref name=Huscroft327>Huscroft ''Norman Conquest'' p. 327</ref> There were about 28,000 slaves listed in the [[Domesday Book]] in 1086, fewer than had been enumerated for 1066. In some places, such as Essex, the decline in slaves was 20 per cent for the 20 years.<ref name=Clanchy93>Clanchy ''England and its Rulers'' p. 93</ref> The main reasons for the decline in slaveholding appear to have been the disapproval of the Church and the cost of supporting slaves who, unlike [[serf]]s, had to be maintained entirely by their owners.<ref name=Ruling94>Huscroft ''Ruling England'' p. 94</ref> The practice of slavery was not outlawed, and the ''[[Leges Henrici Primi]]'' from the reign of King Henry I continue to mention slaveholding as legal.<ref name=Clanchy93/>

Many of the free peasants of Anglo-Saxon society appear to have lost status and become indistinguishable from the non-free serfs. Whether this change was due entirely to the conquest is unclear, but the invasion and its after-effects probably accelerated a process already underway. The spread of towns and increase in nucleated settlements in the countryside, rather than scattered farms, was probably accelerated by the coming of the Normans to England.<ref name=Huscroft327/> The lifestyle of the peasantry probably did not greatly change in the decades after 1066.<ref name=Huscroft329>Huscroft ''Norman Conquest'' p. 329</ref> Although earlier historians argued that women became less free and lost rights with the conquest, current scholarship has mostly rejected this view. Little is known about women other than those in the landholding class, so no conclusions can be drawn about peasant women's status after 1066. Noblewomen appear to have continued to influence political life mainly through their kinship relationships. Both before and after 1066 aristocratic women could own land, and some women continued to have the ability to dispose of their property as they wished.<ref name=Huscroft281>Huscroft ''Norman Conquest'' pp. 281–283</ref>