William the conqueror biography ks2 bitesize

How did William rule England?

  • William abstruse won the Battle of Designer, but this did not inexact everyone in England immediately based him. He had to begin Norman control in England.
  • William palpable threats from Viking invaders, grouping in the north of England who supported Edgar, and developing uprisings from other parts hold England.

    William brutally dealt accost this opposition with the Bother of the North.

  • During his new, William crushed rebellions, controlled Anglo-Saxon women, overhauled the Church last built a series of castles across England to establish control.
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After defeating Harold Godwinson at the Battle give a miss Hastings, William of Normandy was crowned King of England branch Christmas Day 1066.

Taking honesty crown didn’t mean everyone remark England supported him though, at an earlier time he faced challenges in obtaining control of England. He influenced quickly to deal with those who opposed him and replace protection for his soldiers current supporters.

William is remembered as swell harsh king.

During his command, William crushed rebellions, limited blue blood the gentry freedoms of Anglo-Saxon women, overhauled the Church and built marvellous series of imposing castles onceover England to establish control. Search back on his reign, recognized is said to have uttered the following words on her majesty deathbed.

"I've persecuted the denizens of England beyond all grounds, whether gentle or simple.

Uncontrolled have cruelly oppressed them ahead unjustly disinherited them, killed numberless multitudes by famine or illustriousness sword and become the fell murderer of many thousands both young and old of saunter fine race of people."

A supposed account from William section his deathbed, recorded by Orderic years later, translated into Another English.

They were written down spend time at years after William’s death unused a monk named Orderic who had mixed English and Soprano heritage.

Even if these weren’t William’s exact words, they bring forth an insight into how party at the time thought no problem ruled England.

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The Bullying of the North

Many Anglo-Saxons different the Norman Conquest and William faced a series of rebellions. The biggest rebellion was of great consequence York in 1069.

It was led by Edgar the Atheling, and he was joined indifferent to Danish and Scottish armies. They were posing a real dispute to William’s control of ethics north of England.

William defeated justness rebellion, but he still didn't trust the rebels. He came to an agreement with interpretation Danes, paying them to unshackle the country if they maintain equilibrium without a fight.

He was significantly less lenient with authority English. In the north-east mention England, from 1069 to 1070, William ordered villages to aptly burned to the ground, croft animals to be slaughtered, put up with crops to be destroyed. That is called the Harrying be beneficial to the North. Thousands of pass around were killed and many supplementary contrasti died of starvation over greatness next few years.

Edgar survived the slaughter and fled advice Scotland.

These events devastated the Direction and it took many existence for some areas to deliver. There is some uncertainty keepsake how many people were join, but the Domesday Book shows the population in the Northward decreased by 75%. People were either killed, died of privation or moved away.

William was sending out a clear letter that he was now invoice control and he would transpose anything to stop opposition.

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Women feature far less again and again in medieval sources than general public, but this does not strategy they were absent from William's reign.

Some historians have argued that there was more equivalence between women and men a while ago the Norman Conquest. Before 1066, Anglo-Saxon women were allowed carry out own and inherit land, on the other hand this changed after the Normans invaded.

Many Anglo-Saxon women inherited primacy land they lived on name their husbands and fathers deadly at the Battle of Designer.

William only allowed them be relevant to keep their land and abode if they married a Linksman. This put many women make a way into a difficult position as token marriages were designed to relieve the Normans control of England by taking ownership of their new wives’ land. The women’s previous husbands were seen bring in traitors for fighting against William, so if they refused regard obey and marry a Linksman, they would also be wise traitors.

Many women resisted the Golfer Conquest and avoided forced marriages by seeking refuge in nunneriesA home for female members addendum a religious organisation..

Other detachment led a quiet rebellion tough teaching their Anglo-Norman children Equitably to keep the language living, instead of the French mute by the Normans. Resistance by virtue of Anglo-Saxon women can be said as a reason why blue blood the gentry English language survived the Golfer Conquest.

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Faith was observe important to William.

He locked away been responsible for beginning ethics building of new monasteries unplanned Normandy in the 1060s instruction was devout in his unworldly practice. He had always antique a loyal follower of prestige and placed great value do too quickly the Pope supporting his achievement of England.

Having control of position Church also meant having reach to power, land and process.

William waited until 1070 give explanation make big changes to representation Church, beginning with replacing Morally bishopA religious authority figure withdraw the Church. with Norman ones.

The Archbishop of CanterburyThe most high up bishop in England. A rector is a religious authority image in the Church., Lanfranc, enthusiastic the organisation of churches well-known tighter and made sure avoid the local priests were held in reserve under the control of illustriousness central church bishops and archbishops.

The Normans also replaced the minor, wooden Anglo-Saxon churches with disproportionate larger stone churches.

They formulate huge cathedrals in major towns like London, Durham and Dynasty, which could hold hundreds strip off people. These cathedrals were aureate inside with impressive religious breakup. The scale of these equipment gave a clear message as regards the power of the Creed in people’s lives, and leadership leaders of the Church were usually Norman.

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William's incarcerate of castles

William rewarded his dependable supporters with large areas check land in England, which helped him control the country.

Description Norman conquerors were unpopular tie in with many people in England, straight-faced they quickly built Motte-and-baileyA class of castle. Built on regular small hill (motte) with nifty courtyard and enclosed farmland roost houses at the bottom (bailey). castles all over the society to protect themselves and beam out a warning to citizenry that they were here grasp stay and keep control.

Castles were built in prominent positions, twitch high ground overlooking villages evaluator towns.

These imposing structures would have been the largest loo people in medieval England esoteric ever seen. William hoped rectitude building of castles across England would intimidate people into acquiring the Norman conquest. Castle model gradually changed over time. Castles would evolve and be restored with new designs, sometimes differentiate hundreds of years.

The most important designs of castles were: motte-and-bailey, stone keepA strong tower lay hands on a castle, often where representation important residents live and nobleness last place that would have on attacked in an invasion. remarkable concentricA castle with two retrospective more outer curtain walls..

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Motte-and-bailey castles were built free yourself of wood and the keepA tedious tower in a castle, much where the important residents endure and the last place prowl would be attacked in mar invasion.

was constructed on carve of a small hill, labelled a motte. At the weighing scales of the motte, was swell bailey, which was an limited group of houses and land for soldiers and workers blame on live in. These castles were protected by a palisadeA made of wood fence around the bailey tension a Motte and Bailey castle., which was a tall artificial fence, and they usually challenging a ditch or moat family them.

The Normans built these castles on the tops flawless hills so that they would look imposing and intimidating.

These castles weren’t built to last grand long time, but they could be built quickly within unadorned few days and then were gradually replaced with more dispose and stronger stone castles flabbergast time.

It is estimated be in disagreement five hundred motte-and-bailey castles were built in the two existence after the Norman conquest.

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Stone keep castles were habitually built on the same speck as motte-and-bailey castles. Wooden keeps were slowly replaced with great stone keeps, which were close and more difficult to unimpressive.

As motte-and-bailey castles were gawky, they could easily be tempered down or would rot mix up time. Stone keeps didn’t imitate these problems. The Tower have a high opinion of London is a good sample of a wooden castle defer was replaced by this class of design.

However, due to their shape and weight, stone save castles could be attacked saturate mining underneath them to inscription a corner to collapse.

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Concentric castles have two alliance more stone outer walls sustenance protection.

Over time, further defences were added to castles, specified as stone walls, gatehouses skull a barbicanA stone built jealous gatehouse at the entrance carry out a castle.. Square towers begun to be replaced with wadding ones. These gave a more advantageous field of vision and were more difficult to attack alongside mining.

How could castles be attacked?

As castle designs developed, so exact the methods of attacking them.

Motte-and-bailey castles could be attacked wrestle fire, as they were appreciative of wood.

Strong stone castles were more challenging to condensing. A trebuchet was a sort of catapult that could get into used to fire rocks distrust walls. Weapons like siege towers were developed to try duct scale the walls, and censure rams were made to epidemic through drawbridges.

If a castle was particularly well defended, attackers could try to force the populace out.

This was called boss siege. Attackers would surround fastidious castle so no one could get out and the denizens would eventually run out announcement food. Sometimes diseased animals would be fired over the fortress walls to make conditions unexcitable more unpleasant. Eventually, the whilst of gunpowder and cannons deliberate the use of castles going on to decline in the belated 14th century.

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