Normans Invaded England Drawing Charlemagne is Crowned Roman Emperor by the Kings Easy Drawing
 | The Norman Kings of England |
The Norman Kings of England
William I (the Conqueror) Reign: 1066-1087
William the Conqueror at the Battle of Hastings
As we learned in the previous chapter, William, Duke of Normandy, invaded England to seize the crown from Harold II, the man William claimed had promised to back him as the next king of England after the death of Edward the Confessor. William's forces landed in Southern England and defeated Harold's Saxon English army at the Battle of Hastings on October 14, 1066. King Harold was killed on the Battlefield, according to the Bayeux Tapestry, he was shot in the eye with an arrow.
William had defeated Harold, but he now had to subdue a population of 2 million English with an invasion force of only 7,000 men. He did this by terrorizing the English, burning homes, killing people, and destroying livestock and crops. William was crowned William I in London on Christmas Day, 1066. The English feared their new ruler, and, taking no chances, the Normans went to work building castles to protect themselves from the English. The most famous of these castles is William's Tower of London, which still stands today.
William brought three things over from France that were new to the English: Stone building, the feudal system, and the French language. One example of the French influence in the English language is the word, curfew which comes from the French words courve feu, meaning cover fire.
It took almost ten years for William to put down many revolts in England, especially in the north. William was determined to find out the wealth of his new kingdom. He sent accountants into England to check the value of people's property and items and wrote down the findings in a book called the Domesday Book.
William died in France while fighting one of his enemies. He was injured while riding his horse in battle. On his death bed, William indicated that he wished that his oldest son, Robert, become the new Duke of Normandy, while his son, William should be the next king of England. This came to pass, while the youngest son, Henry, was given money to buy land.
William Rufus is killed while hunting in New Forest
William II (Rufus) 1087-1100
William II was a man very similar to his father. Rufus ruled England with an iron fist. He treated the English as cruelly as his father had and kept his vassals, called barons, under his watchful eye.
William Rufus loved material wealth and extravagant homes. In order to have the things he wanted, Rufus imposed heavy taxes on the English people. When there still was not enough money to fund his lifestyle, Rufus took over churches and took church money. William Rufus had few friends, and he never married.
One day in the year 1100, William Rufus was hunting with a group of Normans on his private hunting grounds called New Forest. Rufus' father, William I, had taken this land from the English people and created a personal hunting area. No English were permitted to hunt in New Forest, and the punishments for doing so were severe.
Rufus set off with his friend, Walter Tyrell. However, when the hunting party gathered, the king and Tyrell were nowhere to be seen. The king was later found with a single arrow through his heart, and Tyrell was missing. Tyrell fled to France, and always claimed that it was a hunting accident. It is possible, given how unpopular William Rufus was a king, that Tyrell assassinated the king. This remains a mystery we may never solve.
Henry I (Beauclerc) 1100-1135
Henry I is ready to defend his crown
Henry, the youngest son of William and Matilda, became king of England almost immediately after the death of his brother, William. Robert, the oldest brother was just returning home from the First Crusade, a holy war called for by Pope Urban II, it was an attempt by Western Christians to take the Holy Land away from the Muslims, who had captured these lands earlier and taken them away for the Byzantine Empire.
Upon his return to Normandy, a war broke out between Robert and Henry for the throne. In the end, Henry was victorious, and Robert was imprisoned by his younger brother.
Henry set out to win over the people of England. He realized that his father and brother had been harsh and unpopular rulers. Henry wrote a document stating that he would do a better job protecting the people and ruling by their will. Henry's first gesture was to marry the princess of Scotland. This princess, Matilda, was a descendant of Alfred the Great. This marriage pleased the English as now they would at least have an English queen, and any children from this marriage would be Anglo-Norman. The royal couple had a son, named William Adelin, and he was the heir to the English throne.
Henry was strict with his Norman barons but kind to the English People. His reign was a success until one day, everything changed for Henry. On November 25, 1120, the White Ship was carrying prince William Adelin home from Normandy. The people on board were having a party, and the boat struck a rock formation that is not easily seen during high tide. White Ship sank, and prince William died. The ship's butcher was the sole survivor. No one wanted to break this bad news to the king, and it finally fell to one of the baron's young sons to deliver the news. Henry fell to the ground when he heard what had happened. It was said that he never smiled again.
Henry's wife died two years before the sinking of White Ship, he was getting older, and his chances for having another son were fading. Henry called his barons together on several occasions and had them swear an oath of allegiance to his daughter, Matilda. Henry wished that she would rule England after his death. Matilda's first marriage was to the Holy Roman Emperor in Germany. The Emperor died, leaving Empress Matilda a widow. Her second marriage was to Geoffrey Plantagenet, the Count of Anjou. Though Geoffrey was 15 years younger than Matilda, Anjou was a powerful area in Northern France, it seemed like a good political marriage for Matilda.
In 1133, Matilda and Geoffrey had a son, they named him Henry after his grandfather. Now, it was King Henry's hope that his grandson would be the next king of England. Tragedy struck Henry again when in 1135, he died of indigestion after eating a plate of Lamprey eels, his favorite dish. Young Henry was only 2 years old and unable to take the throne. Many barons, who had earlier promised to back Matilda, now chose her cousin, Stephen, dead King Henry's favorite nephew, as king. Stephen claimed that as Henry lay on his deathbed, he changed his mind and wished that Stephen should succeed him as king.
There were several reasons why some of the barons switched their loyalty to Stephen. Geoffrey, Matilda's husband, was the Count of Anjou, an area in France that had always been an enemy to Normandy. With Matilda on the throne, it was feared that England would be run by Geoffrey and that he would replace Norman barons with his friends from Anjou. Matilda was brought up in Germany, she spoke three languages fluently but seemed out of touch with England. Stephen was easygoing, while Matilda was as strong-willed as her father. Some Norman barons felt they could get away with more with Stephen as King, virtually running their own mini-kingdoms.
Stephen of Blois 1135-1154
Matilda controlled the west (blue) while Stephen controlled the east (red). There was only one major battle during the Anarchy, at Lincoln, which is located about 125 miles north of London.
Stephen's reign was troubled by a civil war between the barons backing him against those who backed Matilda's claim to the throne. This war between the cousins is known as the Anarchy. Anarchy means a time of lawlessness when no one seems to be in charge. Most of the battles during the Anarchy were castle sieges, with either Matilda or Stephen, cornered in a castle and surrounded by enemy forces.
Both Matilda and Stephen were captured during the Anarchy. When Stephen captured Matilda, he treated her with respect and hospitality. When Matilda captured Stephen after the Battle of Lincoln on February 2, 1141, she threw him in a cold, damp, dungeon. After the Battle of Lincoln, Matilda raced to London, where she proclaimed herself "Lady of the English." Matilda's victory was short-lived because the people of London chased her out of town. She released Stephen in exchange for Robert, her half-brother, who had been captured by forces loyal to Stephen.
Matilda escapes Oxford Castle during the Anarchy
The Anarchy continued until the year 1153, when Eustace, Stephen's son and heir, died. Stephen signed the Treaty of Wallingford, which stated that Stephen would rule England until his death, and the crown would pass to Matilda's son, Henry. Two years later, Stephen died, and Henry became King Henry II of England. Stephen may have been a kind and considerate man, but he was a failure as a king. During his reign, the English fought a bitter civil war, the poor suffered greatly, and the barons did whatever they pleased, hiding behind castle walls. There was no law or order throughout the kingdom.
Norman Read Aloud
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Source: https://www.penfield.edu/webpages/jgiotto/onlinetextbook.cfm?subpage=1508928
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