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The Normans
The Norman Conquest destroyed English rule and created a French military state. The Normans seized English lands and destroyed any English opposition. The Normans built the Tower of London. The tower was designed to protect the capital, but it also served as a reminder to the English people of the power of the Normans. The Tower remains standing today. William paid for his projects by imposing taxes. He completed a thorough census, or survey of the land, wealth, population, resources, and taxable capacity of England. The result was what the English people called the “Domesday Book” of taxation. The English hated the harsh Norman rule, but the taxation records survive to this day. If you go to the Public Record Office in Chancery Lane, London, you can look at the original Domesday Book. The Norman conquest was the beginning of centuries of hostilities between England and France. The nations fought the “Hundred Years’ War” between 1336 and 1453. They strongly competed for new colonies in America. England was a target of Napoleon, and the Duke of Wellington led the forces that defeated Napoleon in the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. The two nations did not truly become allies until the last century, when they combined forces to defeat Germany and other nations in two World Wars. |
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One
group of Vikings settled in Normandy, a section of northwest France. They
adopted the French language and Christian faith, but they retained their
ancestors’ taste for adventure. William the Conqueror was a powerful
Norman ruler who invaded England in 1066. For the next three hundred years,
England would be ruled by kings who did not speak English. The Normans
imported French-speaking craftsmen, cooks, and scholars. The modern English
language reflects the high status of the French Normans and the low status
of the English field hands. We refer to animals in the field by their
English names (cow, ox, sheep), while food that has been prepared and
brought to the table generally has French names (beef, veal, mutton).