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00:00:00In 1027, a young woman named Herleva, born just outside the castle walls here at Velaes,
00:00:22is tormented by an awful dream. A treat bursts from her stomach.
00:00:30Its branches overshadowing Normandy, and eventually all of England.
00:00:39This dream is a myth, and one that's recorded about 100 years after Herleva lived.
00:00:44But it contains a seed of truth.
00:00:48The Norman hour was approaching, and it would be led by the most famous Norman to ever live,
00:00:54William the Conqueror.
00:00:56With William, the Bastard, and then the Conqueror, we come to the climax of the Norman adventure.
00:01:03I've already seen how, by the time of William's birth, the Normans had amassed an incredible amount of power,
00:01:10melding together Scandinavian seafaring techniques with the powerful and organized violence of the Carolingians.
00:01:17This meant that William inherited a potent duchy, but it was one that he would have to fight for.
00:01:24In this episode, William builds power in Normandy,
00:01:28then takes advantage of tumultuous events across the Channel to launch an invasion of England.
00:01:37A conquest which would bring about the most radical change in society England had ever seen.
00:01:43William's father, Robert the Magnificent, was sixth in a line of Norman dukes,
00:02:02which had begun with Rollo the Viking.
00:02:06Robert came to rule the duchy in 1027.
00:02:09He had a taste for adventure.
00:02:15His thirst for spiritual inspiration led him to pilgrimage in the Holy Land.
00:02:22But he died in Jerusalem, aged just 25, in around 1043.
00:02:28He'd left the duchy in a disastrous state,
00:02:31and his young heir, William the Bastard, was immediately in danger.
00:02:39Robert's death had whetted the appetites of power across Normandy.
00:02:51And this meant that William had a very precarious childhood.
00:02:56He comes into power very young.
00:02:58We think about seven years old.
00:03:01And as a result, he's put under the governance of several tutors.
00:03:04Now, I say several tutors, because being William's guardian was an incredibly dangerous job.
00:03:10And three in total are killed while trying to look after him.
00:03:15This is so incredibly violent that several myths spring up about it.
00:03:19Including that he's hustled out of castles in the middle of the night,
00:03:23dressed as a commoner, and sleeps in peasants' houses,
00:03:26only to have a tutor killed in the same bed.
00:03:28Young William's sheltered from jealous rivals here at Vallée's castle.
00:03:35I'm meeting historian Matthias Delis.
00:03:38So for a young child, seven, eight,
00:03:41to see that his own tutors would be killed before him would have a traumatic effect on his psyche,
00:03:47and it probably made him grow up much faster than he would have.
00:03:51It sort of desensitized him, in a way.
00:03:53But he also had a keen sense of recapturing things that had been taken away from him.
00:03:59Because he spent his childhood basically seeing other people taking things that belonged to him.
00:04:04And so, you know, the name of the conqueror.
00:04:06But we could also call him William the Recapturer,
00:04:10because he spent much of his life recapturing what had been taken away from him.
00:04:15William survived the murder attempts of his early years,
00:04:18although they left scars on his personality.
00:04:20By late 1046, William had come of age and was ruling over the duchy in his own right.
00:04:28In that year, several of his opponents joined forces,
00:04:31led by Guy of Burgundy,
00:04:33and plotted to remove the young duke from power.
00:04:36They attempted to capture William in the middle of the night at Vallée.
00:04:40The story goes that a jester warned William of the attack.
00:04:44He galloped at top speed throughout the night
00:04:45to take refuge back at his birthplace, at Vallée's.
00:04:49And he was able to successfully escape his assassins.
00:04:54I suppose it's something to be said for the safety that Vallée offers as well as a castle.
00:04:59That's right.
00:05:00Strong castle wars, strong castle.
00:05:02So this was a place where he would definitely feel at home and feel safe.
00:05:06William's deep knowledge of the landscape of Normandy had spared him.
00:05:10But the threat to his rule was growing.
00:05:14He faced a rebellion of nearly half his subordinates.
00:05:18So, William rode directly to the French King Henry's court in Poissy,
00:05:22where he reminded the king that a revolt against his faithful vassal
00:05:27was a revolt against the king himself.
00:05:29It might seem odd, because only a few years earlier,
00:05:34Henry had been attacking the borders of Normandy.
00:05:38But William has made a very shrewd political move here.
00:05:42See, he's calling into question the entire system of vassalage.
00:05:46As the king's vassal, he has every right to present himself and demand protection.
00:05:50If Henry says no, then what's the point of being a king's vassal anyway?
00:05:55The pressure was on King Henry to keep the structure of the feudal system in place
00:05:59and to support William against his cousin Guy of Burgundy and the rebel forces.
00:06:06William and Henry combined forces
00:06:08and rode out to meet the rebels on the plains to the southeast of Caen.
00:06:14Now, we don't have super great records about exactly what happened there.
00:06:18Our best come from Wasse's Romain Doreau.
00:06:21And according to him, a certain rebel named Ralph Tyson
00:06:25decides at the very last moment to switch sides.
00:06:28He brings with him about 400 men and 140 cavalrymen.
00:06:33This makes an incredibly big difference.
00:06:35The rebels are pushed into the River Olme,
00:06:38and many of them drown because of the weight of their armor.
00:06:48William and Henry then go on to hunt down the rebels,
00:06:53capturing many of them, while a few get away.
00:06:56And this marks a huge difference in the trajectory of William's career.
00:07:00For the next few years, he'll spend his time
00:07:03hunting down various rebels and securing his borders.
00:07:06Even three years later, in 1050,
00:07:09he besieges the castle of Guy of Burgundy,
00:07:11taking the castle and exiling Guy.
00:07:14We've learned a little bit about William's personality here.
00:07:17This is a guy who can hold grudges.
00:07:20If he thinks that you have wronged him,
00:07:22he will hunt you down.
00:07:24And he very well might win.
00:07:26The Battle of Val-e-Dune
00:07:28was not the end of William's struggle
00:07:30to gain the upper hand over his nobility.
00:07:34Continuous warfare raged on.
00:07:36But William had learned how to combine diplomacy with military strategy.
00:07:42The battle was a key turning point in tightening his grip over Normandy.
00:07:48William was now strong enough to turn his attention outwards
00:07:52and annex land nearby.
00:07:55Passé was the last new territory to be added to the duchy.
00:07:59In the process,
00:08:00William besieged the strategically important castle of Alençon.
00:08:04His brutal actions there were an infamous example
00:08:07of William's increasing ruthlessness.
00:08:12The castle at Alençon had sided with William's enemy,
00:08:16the Count of Anjou.
00:08:17And as a result,
00:08:18William felt the need to attack it.
00:08:21When he showed up, however,
00:08:22the people inside decided
00:08:23they were going to antagonize him slightly.
00:08:26Legend has it
00:08:27that they hung skins out over the top
00:08:29and beat them saying,
00:08:30we want the skin of the tanner.
00:08:31We want the skin of the tanner.
00:08:33Which is allegedly a reference
00:08:34to William's grandfather's humble origins.
00:08:38Rather than scaring him off,
00:08:39this enrages William.
00:08:41He took the castle
00:08:42and apparently cut the hands and feet off
00:08:44those who had been taunting him.
00:08:46The entire story might be an exaggeration,
00:08:48playing up on William's humble origins.
00:08:51The violence is fairly believable, though.
00:08:55William had secured Normandy's borders.
00:08:57Now, he looked to secure the future
00:09:00of his dynasty through marriage.
00:09:03His chosen wife was Matilda of Flanders
00:09:05from the other great territory
00:09:06in northern France.
00:09:08She was also of royal blood
00:09:10through her mother Adela.
00:09:13In the city of Caen
00:09:14stands the magnificent abbey
00:09:16Matilda founded
00:09:17in the heart of Normandy.
00:09:20There's actually evidence
00:09:21to suggest that William and Matilda
00:09:23were a love match.
00:09:24First off is that William
00:09:26got to pick whoever he wanted to marry.
00:09:27Super odd for someone
00:09:29in his position of power,
00:09:30but his father was dead
00:09:31and his mother didn't really
00:09:32have any power of her own.
00:09:33And he wanted Matilda.
00:09:35Secondly, we don't have any evidence
00:09:37that William had a concubine
00:09:39and that's really, really odd,
00:09:40both for Normans
00:09:41and medieval rulers
00:09:43more generally at the time.
00:09:45So if he doesn't have
00:09:46any pieces on the side,
00:09:47he probably really likes his wife.
00:09:49The third piece of evidence
00:09:51is this building itself.
00:09:53Because it was built in penance
00:09:56because the Pope insisted
00:09:57that William and Matilda
00:09:58shouldn't marry
00:09:59and they did it anyway.
00:10:03You see, William and Matilda's marriage
00:10:05took place at a time
00:10:06when the papacy
00:10:06was increasingly trying to insist
00:10:08that it got to decide
00:10:09who was married.
00:10:10And this is incredibly new.
00:10:12Usually royalty and nobility
00:10:14just married whoever
00:10:15they wanted to.
00:10:16But increasingly,
00:10:18as time went on,
00:10:18the papacy wanted to ensure
00:10:20that they were involved,
00:10:21usually so that they could
00:10:23swing their own power around
00:10:24and also stop powerful couples
00:10:26from getting married
00:10:26if they felt like they shouldn't.
00:10:31A marriage alliance
00:10:32between Normandy and Flanders
00:10:34would make William very powerful.
00:10:37So there might be people,
00:10:38for example,
00:10:39the German emperor
00:10:40who are not so sure
00:10:42this is a good idea
00:10:43or other people in France
00:10:47who are like,
00:10:47well, this is going to set up
00:10:49somebody who's very powerful already,
00:10:51make him more powerful.
00:10:53Is there some way
00:10:54we can stop this marriage?
00:10:55So Pope Leo IX
00:10:57says that William and Matilda
00:10:59can't marry
00:10:59because they are fifth cousins.
00:11:02And also, more nebulously,
00:11:04at one point in time,
00:11:05William's father
00:11:07had been betrothed
00:11:08to Matilda's mother,
00:11:10but nothing ever came of it.
00:11:11So technically,
00:11:13they couldn't get married
00:11:14because of consanguinity
00:11:15or the idea
00:11:16that they were too closely related.
00:11:18But fifth cousins
00:11:19get married all the time.
00:11:22The meeting of two incredibly rich
00:11:24and powerful areas
00:11:25is too much too soon
00:11:27for Pope Leo.
00:11:28So he steps in.
00:11:30But despite the challenges
00:11:31from the papacy,
00:11:32William and Matilda
00:11:33married in 1051.
00:11:36They then fell out of favor
00:11:37with the church.
00:11:39By the time Pope Leo IX dies,
00:11:41and Pope Nicholas II comes in,
00:11:43they see an opportunity
00:11:44to reconcile with the papacy.
00:11:47As part of that,
00:11:48Pope Nicholas II
00:11:49says that they can create
00:11:51two abbeys.
00:11:52And as a result,
00:11:54that will get them right with God.
00:11:56See, the monks and nuns
00:11:57in abbeys
00:11:58can pray for your soul
00:11:59and that will help
00:12:00get rid of any sins
00:12:01that you've committed.
00:12:03William followed Matilda's lead
00:12:05and also built a huge abbey
00:12:07in Caen,
00:12:07the Abbe Aux-Homme.
00:12:09Founding the two abbeys
00:12:10in the same Norman city
00:12:12served several purposes,
00:12:14not least to restore relations
00:12:15with the papacy.
00:12:17But William and Matilda
00:12:18were also acting out of faith.
00:12:21Both, particularly William's,
00:12:22very pious,
00:12:23as we know,
00:12:23and Matilda also,
00:12:26they think,
00:12:27well, you know,
00:12:27we need to be above suspicion.
00:12:29So they do found the abbeys,
00:12:32not just, I think,
00:12:33because it's a way
00:12:34of doing penance
00:12:35for a possibly
00:12:35consanguineous marriage.
00:12:37Founding abbeys
00:12:38is what you do
00:12:39if you are a high-ranking,
00:12:42noble person.
00:12:43It was no coincidence
00:12:45that these important
00:12:46new abbeys
00:12:47were founded in Caen.
00:12:49William wanted an outpost
00:12:50of power in Lower Normandy,
00:12:52strategically crucial
00:12:53to face any rebellions
00:12:54by his noblemen.
00:12:56He set about making
00:12:57the new town of Caen
00:12:59the second city
00:13:00of his duchy.
00:13:05Wow.
00:13:06This is the Abbe Aux-Homme
00:13:09in Caen.
00:13:10And it was founded
00:13:12by William the Conqueror
00:13:13in 1063.
00:13:15It's a Benedictine monastery,
00:13:17which is the oldest form
00:13:18of rule of monks.
00:13:20This is also possibly
00:13:21the most important piece
00:13:23of Romanesque architecture
00:13:24in Normandy.
00:13:26Now, Romanesque architecture
00:13:27is the kind that comes
00:13:27a bit before Gothic architecture.
00:13:30You'll know you have
00:13:31a Romanesque building
00:13:31if you have very rounded
00:13:33arches on it.
00:13:34And it doesn't have
00:13:35a lot of extra detail work,
00:13:36you know,
00:13:37no very fancy gargoyles.
00:13:39And for them,
00:13:40this is a way of saying,
00:13:41I'm a new kind of Roman.
00:13:42I understand the connection
00:13:44between Rome and power
00:13:45and Rome and the church.
00:13:48We can see that William
00:13:49is a very astute
00:13:51and cultured guy
00:13:51who understands
00:13:52the place of power
00:13:53and Christianity
00:13:54in his duchy.
00:13:57Now,
00:13:58it's a real statement
00:13:59about the riches
00:14:00that William has.
00:14:00If you're going to build
00:14:01something this impressive,
00:14:02it means you've got money.
00:14:04If you're going to build
00:14:05something this impressive,
00:14:05it also means
00:14:06you need people.
00:14:08And Caen was a small town
00:14:09before William got to it.
00:14:11But he wanted to make it
00:14:12a city.
00:14:13Building an abbey like this
00:14:14will do that.
00:14:15And now,
00:14:16if you think that this abbey
00:14:17is impressive
00:14:17in the 21st century,
00:14:19and it absolutely is,
00:14:21consider what it would mean
00:14:22for people
00:14:23who were living
00:14:23where they didn't see
00:14:24buildings that were higher
00:14:25than two stories tall.
00:14:27They're going to understand
00:14:28that Caen is a new city
00:14:30and a new place
00:14:32to be
00:14:32full of Norman power.
00:14:35But although relations
00:14:39with the papacy
00:14:40had been restored,
00:14:41there was a looming threat
00:14:43from the French throne.
00:14:45King Henry I of France,
00:14:47William's former
00:14:48protector and ally,
00:14:50was worried about
00:14:51William's growing power
00:14:52and took advantage
00:14:53of any opportunities
00:14:55he could find
00:14:55to support William's rivals.
00:14:58This monument
00:14:59of a Norman helmet
00:15:00and shield
00:15:01marks the bloody spot
00:15:02where it all came to a head.
00:15:05By 1057,
00:15:07tensions between
00:15:07the French throne
00:15:08and Normandy
00:15:09had come to a head.
00:15:10They happened here
00:15:11at Varaville.
00:15:12King Henry's men
00:15:13bypassed the town of Caen
00:15:15on their way
00:15:15to attack Normandy's capital,
00:15:17Rouen.
00:15:18They wanted to put an end
00:15:19to William's ambitions
00:15:20once and for all.
00:15:23They were forced
00:15:24to take the one road
00:15:25open to them
00:15:25near Varaville.
00:15:27This trapped them
00:15:28into a tight formation
00:15:30between a lagoon
00:15:31and a marsh.
00:15:32As the tide rolled in
00:15:36and King Henry's men
00:15:37were split in two,
00:15:38William took the opportunity
00:15:39to pounce.
00:15:41He ambushed the men
00:15:42and massacred
00:15:43half the king's army.
00:15:48The king could do nothing.
00:15:50He was reduced
00:15:51to contemplating
00:15:52the disaster
00:15:52from a nearby hill.
00:15:55It was a complete disaster.
00:15:57This put a complete end
00:15:59to all of Henry's ambitions
00:16:00for Normandy.
00:16:01Two years later,
00:16:02he would sign
00:16:03a peace accord
00:16:04with William
00:16:04and die.
00:16:06Normandy
00:16:06was officially secure.
00:16:10Varaville marks
00:16:11the point
00:16:11where real
00:16:12Norman independence
00:16:13began.
00:16:15William had cut
00:16:16his teeth
00:16:17in the relentless
00:16:17defense of his territory.
00:16:20And Normandy
00:16:21was never invaded again
00:16:22in his lifetime.
00:16:23Now that he was
00:16:25in firm control
00:16:26of his homeland,
00:16:27it was time
00:16:28to look outwards.
00:16:30Across the sea.
00:16:31While William
00:16:32was busy strengthening
00:16:33his rule in Normandy,
00:16:35a succession crisis
00:16:36was brewing
00:16:37across the channel.
00:16:39It makes up
00:16:40some of the opening scenes
00:16:41of the great piece
00:16:42of Norman propaganda
00:16:43that was created
00:16:44in the following decade.
00:16:46We know it
00:16:46as the Bayou Tapestry.
00:16:48The King of England,
00:16:51Edward the Confessor,
00:16:52had no natural successor.
00:16:55In 1064,
00:16:56he sent his brother-in-law,
00:16:58Harold Godwinson,
00:16:59a supremely wealthy
00:17:00nobleman
00:17:01from the House of Wessex,
00:17:03to Normandy.
00:17:05Harold's visit
00:17:05is shrouded
00:17:06in mystery.
00:17:07Some accounts
00:17:08even suggest
00:17:08he was shipwrecked
00:17:09on the French coast
00:17:10and taken prisoner.
00:17:11If he was
00:17:12in Normandy
00:17:13intentionally,
00:17:14it may have been
00:17:15to free his nephew
00:17:16and brother,
00:17:17who were
00:17:17William's prisoners.
00:17:19Either way,
00:17:20Harold was taken
00:17:21under William's wing
00:17:22in hunting trips
00:17:23and even got involved
00:17:24in the Normans'
00:17:25military exploits.
00:17:27Harold had come
00:17:28down to Normandy
00:17:29to help William
00:17:30in a campaign
00:17:30against the Bretons.
00:17:32Here at Mont-Saint-Michel,
00:17:34he actually distinguished
00:17:35himself as he
00:17:36rode out valiantly
00:17:37to rescue several knights
00:17:38who become trapped
00:17:39in the quicksand.
00:17:41So we know
00:17:42that there's already
00:17:43an established relationship
00:17:44between the Normans
00:17:45and the English.
00:17:46Just maybe not
00:17:48as strong
00:17:48as it would
00:17:48subsequently become.
00:17:52On January 5th,
00:17:541066,
00:17:55the elderly
00:17:56Edward the Confessor
00:17:57died,
00:17:58sparking one
00:17:59of the bloodiest
00:17:59periods in English
00:18:01history.
00:18:02Edward's closest
00:18:03living heir,
00:18:04his great nephew
00:18:05Edgar the Eighthling,
00:18:06was just 14 years old
00:18:08and ill-prepared.
00:18:10He was written off,
00:18:11and in the confusion
00:18:12that followed,
00:18:13three rival claimants
00:18:15for the throne emerged.
00:18:17Earl Harold Godwinson,
00:18:19the powerful Earl
00:18:20of Wessex,
00:18:21brother-in-law
00:18:22and friend
00:18:22of the late king.
00:18:24He claimed
00:18:24that Edward the Confessor
00:18:25named him as successor
00:18:27on his deathbed.
00:18:28Harold Hadrata,
00:18:30a Viking
00:18:30and king of Norway.
00:18:32He was a distant relative
00:18:33of King Canute,
00:18:34who had previously
00:18:35been a king of England
00:18:36when the Vikings
00:18:37had invaded.
00:18:39And Duke William,
00:18:40a close kinsman
00:18:41of the late king,
00:18:43his first cousin
00:18:43once removed.
00:18:45William claimed Edward
00:18:46had promised him
00:18:47the throne in 1051,
00:18:49and that Harold Godwinson
00:18:51had sworn an oath
00:18:52that he would help
00:18:53William succeed Edward
00:18:54in return for helping
00:18:55Godwinson in Normandy
00:18:56in 1064.
00:18:58Whatever the case,
00:19:00William was convinced
00:19:01he was the rightful
00:19:02king of England.
00:19:04Harold was accepted
00:19:05as king by the English magnates,
00:19:07and William decided on war.
00:19:11William convened a council
00:19:13of his leading nobles
00:19:14in Normandy
00:19:14to announce his plans
00:19:15for conquest.
00:19:17He bestowed special authority
00:19:19on his wife Matilda
00:19:20and his son Robert.
00:19:22William also sought
00:19:23international approval
00:19:25for his venture.
00:19:27If you're going to go
00:19:28and invade another kingdom,
00:19:30which was not the norm,
00:19:31even in the 11th century,
00:19:32people didn't generally do that,
00:19:34you need to make sure
00:19:35you've got everything sorted,
00:19:37you need to make sure
00:19:38you've secured your borders
00:19:39at home,
00:19:39you've got good people in charge,
00:19:40and it does help
00:19:41if you've got the church
00:19:42on side.
00:19:44So,
00:19:44Lanfranc,
00:19:45who is William's
00:19:46close confidant,
00:19:47goes off to Rome
00:19:48to sell this
00:19:49to the Pope
00:19:50and say,
00:19:51we need your blessing
00:19:52on the invasion
00:19:53of England.
00:19:54And one of the ways
00:19:55they're able to do that
00:19:56is because
00:19:57the incumbent archbishop
00:19:59of Canterbury,
00:19:59Stigand,
00:20:00is very problematic.
00:20:02He's been excommunicated
00:20:03by several popes.
00:20:05So they can sell it
00:20:06as a way of saying,
00:20:07well, you know,
00:20:07we'll invade
00:20:08and we can also clean up
00:20:09the English church.
00:20:12Throughout the summer
00:20:13of 1066,
00:20:14William built up his army.
00:20:20Meanwhile,
00:20:21Norwegian King
00:20:22Harold Hadrata
00:20:23was launching
00:20:23his own invasion
00:20:25of England.
00:20:26200 Viking longboats
00:20:28sailed on the northeast
00:20:29coast of England
00:20:30and descended on York.
00:20:33At the same time,
00:20:34William's army
00:20:35took their time
00:20:36preparing to leave Normandy
00:20:37and get their southern
00:20:39invasion of England started.
00:20:41There was a huge delay
00:20:42before William set out
00:20:44across the English Channel.
00:20:46And there's a couple
00:20:47of theories as to why.
00:20:48According to William of Poitiers,
00:20:50it was due to unfavorable winds.
00:20:52And as you can see,
00:20:54yes, Normandy does have
00:20:56some of those,
00:20:56but a month of them
00:20:58is perhaps a bit much.
00:21:00Which gives rise
00:21:01to another theory,
00:21:02and that is one
00:21:03of cunning.
00:21:05You see,
00:21:05the delay also kind of
00:21:06adds up to
00:21:07about how long
00:21:08we would expect
00:21:09a messenger to take
00:21:10to get from
00:21:11Harold Hadrata
00:21:12in the north
00:21:12down here
00:21:13to Normandy
00:21:14to William.
00:21:15And William might have
00:21:16thought he would
00:21:16just wait it out
00:21:17and see how long
00:21:18Harold was going
00:21:19to be distracted
00:21:20in the north of England
00:21:21before he set out.
00:21:23Either way,
00:21:24timing is incredibly crucial
00:21:26to success in England.
00:21:27Across the channel,
00:21:30King Harold and his men
00:21:31made the long journey
00:21:32from London to Yorkshire.
00:21:34On the 25th of September,
00:21:361066,
00:21:37the English army
00:21:38faced up to the invading
00:21:40Norwegian force
00:21:40at the Battle of Stanford Bridge.
00:21:43After a bloody battle,
00:21:45Hadrata and most of his army
00:21:47was killed.
00:21:49Harold Godlinson
00:21:50had come out on top,
00:21:51but he had no time
00:21:53to cherish victory.
00:21:53In Normandy
00:21:55on September 27th,
00:21:57the winds turned
00:21:58in William's favor.
00:22:00The second invasion
00:22:01of England
00:22:01that year
00:22:02was underway.
00:22:04Imagine the scenes
00:22:06as the speech
00:22:06is full of boats
00:22:08with William
00:22:08preparing for his invasion.
00:22:15What would have been
00:22:16really weird
00:22:16was the number
00:22:17of horses
00:22:18that you would see here.
00:22:23The Normans
00:22:27were building up
00:22:28tens of tens of horses,
00:22:29loading them
00:22:30on these boats,
00:22:31and then getting ready
00:22:31to take them
00:22:32across the sea
00:22:33to pillage,
00:22:34but, you know,
00:22:34just over there
00:22:36for a change.
00:22:39William embarked
00:22:40his army
00:22:40and set sail.
00:22:46The following morning,
00:22:48on September 28th,
00:22:491066,
00:22:50he landed.
00:22:53took the unresisting towns
00:22:55of Pevensey
00:22:56and Hastings
00:22:56and began
00:22:57to organize
00:22:58a bridgehead,
00:22:59complete with
00:23:00a quick-build castle.
00:23:02The Normans
00:23:02rarely went anywhere
00:23:04without building
00:23:05a fortress.
00:23:06Harold raced south
00:23:07with his exhausted troops.
00:23:09Battle was about
00:23:10to commence.
00:23:12Now,
00:23:12we all know
00:23:13the outcome
00:23:14of the Battle of Hastings,
00:23:15the battle
00:23:16that gave England
00:23:17its most famous date.
00:23:18But this wasn't
00:23:20just a battle.
00:23:22It was a momentous
00:23:23turning point
00:23:24in European history.
00:23:25And to really
00:23:27understand Hastings
00:23:28and see it
00:23:29through the eyes
00:23:29of contemporaries,
00:23:31we have to examine
00:23:32our key source,
00:23:34where most of our knowledge
00:23:35about the battle
00:23:36comes from.
00:23:37The incredible
00:23:39Bayou Tapestry,
00:23:40probably commissioned
00:23:41a decade
00:23:42after the battle
00:23:43to embellish
00:23:44the newly built
00:23:44Bayou Cathedral.
00:23:45I've referred
00:23:47to it before,
00:23:48but there's nothing
00:23:49like seeing
00:23:50the real thing,
00:23:51up close and personal,
00:23:53and over 900 years old.
00:23:56I'll tell you this.
00:23:58When you're
00:23:59a medieval historian,
00:24:00you see pictures
00:24:01of the Bayou Tapestry
00:24:02constantly.
00:24:04When I was first
00:24:04learning medieval Latin
00:24:05from classical,
00:24:07they would put
00:24:07translations of it
00:24:08in front of us
00:24:09so that we could
00:24:10understand the difference.
00:24:12But seeing it
00:24:13in person
00:24:13is so
00:24:14incredibly
00:24:16different,
00:24:17you get such
00:24:17texture from
00:24:19all of the embroidery,
00:24:20the colors
00:24:21absolutely pop.
00:24:23Something that
00:24:24someone said to me
00:24:24once is that
00:24:25the Bayou Tapestry
00:24:26is actually smaller
00:24:27than you think it is,
00:24:28but this is
00:24:28so much bigger.
00:24:30I was thinking
00:24:31it would be
00:24:32like a sheet
00:24:32of Ape 4 paper,
00:24:33not something
00:24:35this large.
00:24:37And you really
00:24:38see how the
00:24:39narrative works.
00:24:40It's moving
00:24:41you up
00:24:42and through it.
00:24:43it's really
00:24:44a kind of magic,
00:24:47a kind of movie,
00:24:49a kind of comic book
00:24:51almost.
00:24:52All of these colors
00:24:53still absolutely
00:24:55pop.
00:24:56You've got detail
00:24:57work on all
00:24:58of the churches.
00:24:59You can see
00:24:59the individual tiles
00:25:01on the roof.
00:25:03And, you know,
00:25:04you can see the joints
00:25:05in the armor
00:25:06of the various people.
00:25:07And all of this
00:25:09is just
00:25:10for someone
00:25:11who's seen it
00:25:12repeatedly.
00:25:13Imagine
00:25:14you were living
00:25:15a thousand years ago
00:25:16and you're presented
00:25:17with something
00:25:18like this.
00:25:20How rich
00:25:21and grand
00:25:22is this
00:25:23as a piece
00:25:23of art
00:25:24in a world
00:25:26before movies?
00:25:27It's absolutely
00:25:30an overwhelming
00:25:32kind of sense
00:25:34of beauty
00:25:35and also
00:25:37technique.
00:25:39The Bayou Tapestry
00:25:39provides us
00:25:40with a remarkable
00:25:41narrative
00:25:42illustrating the
00:25:43saga from the
00:25:44initial justification
00:25:45of William the Conqueror's
00:25:46claim to the throne
00:25:47to the ultimate
00:25:49outcome at Hastings.
00:25:51To learn more,
00:25:53I'm meeting
00:25:53historian
00:25:53Martin Bostol.
00:25:55Martin,
00:25:56I suppose the best
00:25:57place to begin
00:25:57is at the beginning.
00:25:58So who do we see
00:25:59depicted here?
00:25:59We've got a lot
00:26:00of named characters
00:26:01immediately.
00:26:02There is a lot
00:26:02of name dropping
00:26:03in the Bayou Tapestry.
00:26:04Here you have
00:26:05Edward the Confessor
00:26:06and he's speaking
00:26:07to Harold,
00:26:07his brother-in-law
00:26:08and also
00:26:09Earl of Wessex.
00:26:10And we don't know
00:26:11actually what
00:26:11he's telling him
00:26:12but from different
00:26:13texts
00:26:13we can imagine
00:26:14that he sent him
00:26:16to Normandy
00:26:17to speak about
00:26:18his little cousin
00:26:18William
00:26:19to promise him
00:26:20the throne of England
00:26:21after Edward's death.
00:26:23So we have also
00:26:24a lot of interesting
00:26:25animals along here.
00:26:26Medieval people
00:26:27they love to put
00:26:28a symbol in a border.
00:26:29There is a lot
00:26:30of symbols
00:26:30in the Bayou Tapestry.
00:26:32So here you can see
00:26:33the raven
00:26:33which is on the top
00:26:34of the tree
00:26:35and also the fox
00:26:36under it
00:26:36and you can see
00:26:37the cheese
00:26:38which is the goal
00:26:38of the two animals
00:26:39between them.
00:26:40So we don't know
00:26:41who is winning.
00:26:42So I guess
00:26:43that this is a little
00:26:44bit of foreshadowing
00:26:46about what's about
00:26:47to happen.
00:26:47Yes, of course.
00:26:49Oh, so the ships
00:26:50are arriving.
00:26:50They've gone to
00:26:51Pevensey.
00:26:52Yes.
00:26:52And now we're
00:26:53in England.
00:26:54Yes, and we are
00:26:55in Hastings.
00:26:55It's written here
00:26:56Hastinga.
00:26:57Yeah.
00:26:58And you have to
00:26:59imagine at the time
00:26:59that the Norman
00:27:00was invaders
00:27:01and they were
00:27:02not very kind
00:27:04to the different
00:27:05people living
00:27:05in the sort of
00:27:06England.
00:27:07They took animals
00:27:08killing them
00:27:08for feeding the army
00:27:10and you can see
00:27:11them taking up
00:27:12like maybe a pig
00:27:13I don't know
00:27:13and here are an ox.
00:27:16Actually the tapestry
00:27:17is kind of smart
00:27:19about it
00:27:19because they
00:27:20didn't show murder.
00:27:21Soon after dawn
00:27:23on the 14th
00:27:24of October
00:27:25Harold arranged
00:27:26his forces.
00:27:27On the English
00:27:28side, 8,000
00:27:30soldiers stretched
00:27:31for half a mile
00:27:32tired from
00:27:34defeating Harold's
00:27:35forces at
00:27:35Stamford Bridge.
00:27:38William ranged
00:27:39his army
00:27:40to the south
00:27:40also numbering
00:27:428,000.
00:27:43His Norman
00:27:44troops were
00:27:45in the center
00:27:45probably with
00:27:47the Bretons
00:27:47to the west
00:27:48and the French
00:27:48to the east.
00:27:49The battle
00:27:50happened here
00:27:51on Senlac Hill
00:27:52in Sussex.
00:27:53Harold and the
00:27:54English on the
00:27:55upper ground
00:27:56William and the
00:27:57Normans
00:27:57attacking from
00:27:58below
00:27:58but the real
00:28:00evidence for
00:28:01what took place
00:28:01is on the
00:28:02tapestry.
00:28:04The battle
00:28:05was about to
00:28:06begin.
00:28:07See,
00:28:08we're finally
00:28:09actually entering
00:28:10battle.
00:28:11Yes,
00:28:11batteries preparing
00:28:12here so it's
00:28:12going to be a
00:28:13bloody,
00:28:13bloody battle
00:28:14during all day.
00:28:16Here you can see
00:28:17the first charge
00:28:18of the Normand
00:28:19against the Saxons
00:28:21which are depicted
00:28:22only in foot.
00:28:23On foot, yeah.
00:28:24They didn't use
00:28:25horses at the time
00:28:26for battle,
00:28:26only for travel.
00:28:28What I'm really
00:28:28struck by in terms
00:28:30of seeing this
00:28:30is how much
00:28:31movement there is
00:28:33when you see it.
00:28:34So it really
00:28:34comes alive.
00:28:35It doesn't seem
00:28:36like a static piece.
00:28:38It really feels
00:28:40almost like a movie
00:28:41or something
00:28:41as you move along.
00:28:42There's a real
00:28:42surge of movement
00:28:43and it's mainly
00:28:45using colors
00:28:46to show the
00:28:46different elements
00:28:47like a horse
00:28:48has legs
00:28:49from different
00:28:50colors
00:28:51showing the
00:28:52depth of the
00:28:53chronography.
00:28:54One of the
00:28:54things that I've
00:28:55noticed here
00:28:56is that now
00:28:57that we're in
00:28:57battle,
00:28:58we've lost our
00:28:58animals at the
00:28:59bottom border
00:29:00and instead we
00:29:01have scenes
00:29:02from the battle
00:29:02and here it seems
00:29:03things are getting
00:29:05pretty decisive.
00:29:06You know,
00:29:06we've got people
00:29:06with their heads
00:29:07cut off.
00:29:08Here we have
00:29:08corpses whose armor
00:29:10is being looted.
00:29:11so it seems
00:29:12like the tide
00:29:13is really
00:29:14turning here.
00:29:14Yes, the tide
00:29:15is turning here
00:29:15and from the
00:29:16first attack
00:29:17of the battle
00:29:17there is no
00:29:18animal on
00:29:18the lower
00:29:19border,
00:29:19only the
00:29:20victim of
00:29:20the battle
00:29:21to show
00:29:21what a
00:29:22bloody mess
00:29:22it was at
00:29:23the time.
00:29:24The battle
00:29:24raged on
00:29:25all day.
00:29:26Imagine the
00:29:27grim scene,
00:29:28the hillside
00:29:29slippery with
00:29:30blood and
00:29:31littered with
00:29:32bodies,
00:29:33arrows and
00:29:33broken weapons,
00:29:34the fear of
00:29:35the surviving
00:29:36combatants
00:29:37and the
00:29:37commanders
00:29:37shouting to
00:29:39rally their
00:29:39exhausted
00:29:40forces.
00:29:41With the
00:29:42autumn daylight
00:29:43fading,
00:29:44the Normans
00:29:44made one
00:29:45final effort
00:29:46to take
00:29:46the ridge.
00:29:47By that
00:29:48time,
00:29:48Harold's
00:29:49two brothers
00:29:49and other
00:29:50English
00:29:50commanders
00:29:51were almost
00:29:52certainly
00:29:52dead.
00:29:53Then came
00:29:54the decisive
00:29:55moment.
00:29:57And here
00:29:58we are
00:29:58arrived nearly
00:30:00at the end
00:30:00of the battle
00:30:01in the famous
00:30:01scene where
00:30:02Harold is
00:30:03going to be
00:30:04killed and
00:30:04it's kind of
00:30:05a mystery of
00:30:06its own.
00:30:07In the
00:30:07construction
00:30:07of the
00:30:08scene,
00:30:08you can
00:30:09saw just
00:30:10before the
00:30:10death of
00:30:11Harold
00:30:11there is
00:30:12a character
00:30:13holding a
00:30:14stick with
00:30:15an animal,
00:30:15which is
00:30:15a wyvern,
00:30:17which was
00:30:17at the
00:30:17time the
00:30:18symbol of
00:30:19the house
00:30:19of Wessex.
00:30:20And just
00:30:20before the
00:30:21wyvern is
00:30:22on the
00:30:22ground and
00:30:23is stepped
00:30:23on by
00:30:24a horse.
00:30:25So it
00:30:25can indicate
00:30:26the end
00:30:27of the
00:30:27house of
00:30:28Wessex
00:30:28itself,
00:30:29just before
00:30:30the death
00:30:31of Harold.
00:30:32So what's
00:30:33particular about
00:30:34the scene of
00:30:34death of
00:30:35Harold is
00:30:36that we are
00:30:36not actually
00:30:37sure which
00:30:38character it
00:30:39refers to
00:30:39here,
00:30:40because you
00:30:41can see one
00:30:41of these
00:30:42characters
00:30:42which seems
00:30:43to have
00:30:44an arrow
00:30:44in the
00:30:45eye.
00:30:47But just
00:30:48after you
00:30:49can see a
00:30:50character which
00:30:50is sliced
00:30:51on the
00:30:52knee,
00:30:52which is the
00:30:53version of
00:30:53the death
00:30:53of Harold.
00:30:54So we don't
00:30:55know which
00:30:55of these
00:30:56characters are
00:30:56Harold,
00:30:57and maybe
00:30:57it's both
00:30:58two versions
00:31:00of the
00:31:00death,
00:31:01depending on
00:31:01what was
00:31:02said at
00:31:02the time.
00:31:03Maybe it
00:31:03was sticked
00:31:04by an arrow
00:31:04then sliced
00:31:05by a
00:31:06Norman
00:31:06knight.
00:31:07At a time
00:31:08when such
00:31:08conquests were
00:31:09often decided
00:31:10within one
00:31:10hour,
00:31:11nine hours
00:31:12of grueling
00:31:14conflict were
00:31:14needed to
00:31:15settle this
00:31:16battle.
00:31:17The tapestry
00:31:18depicts this
00:31:18day as the
00:31:19crucial moment
00:31:20of the Norman
00:31:21conquest of
00:31:21England,
00:31:22the heroic
00:31:23scene when
00:31:24a worthy
00:31:24foe was
00:31:25beaten into
00:31:26the ground.
00:31:28But the
00:31:28reality was
00:31:29far different.
00:31:30Winning a
00:31:31single victory
00:31:32in the south
00:31:32was only the
00:31:33beginning of
00:31:34the battle
00:31:35to rule
00:31:35the whole
00:31:35country.
00:31:37The Bayou
00:31:38tapestry
00:31:38portrays the
00:31:39whole lengthy
00:31:40conquest project
00:31:41as a single
00:31:42God-given
00:31:42triumph decided
00:31:43on the
00:31:44battlefield.
00:31:45It was
00:31:46pure spin.
00:31:50Where would
00:31:50this be
00:31:51displayed?
00:31:51Who is it
00:31:51for?
00:31:52Who is it
00:31:52talking to?
00:31:53It's actually
00:31:54the whole
00:31:54mystery here.
00:31:55It's talking
00:31:57obviously to
00:31:58a lot of
00:31:59people,
00:32:00both English
00:32:01and French
00:32:02and Norman
00:32:02at the time.
00:32:03but we
00:32:03have to
00:32:04remind us
00:32:05that it's
00:32:06not the
00:32:07reality but
00:32:07only a
00:32:09propaganda
00:32:09and a
00:32:11selected
00:32:12version of
00:32:12the reality
00:32:13that serve
00:32:14a purpose
00:32:14here.
00:32:15The Battle
00:32:16of Hastings
00:32:17was only the
00:32:18start of a
00:32:19massive upheaval.
00:32:21Work lay
00:32:22ahead for
00:32:22William.
00:32:23He needed
00:32:24to conquer
00:32:25the rest of
00:32:25the country
00:32:26and take
00:32:26his place
00:32:27as king.
00:32:32He marched
00:32:32to secure
00:32:33the strategically
00:32:34important towns
00:32:35of Dover,
00:32:36then Canterbury.
00:32:38Norman
00:32:39military might
00:32:39intimidated
00:32:40those in
00:32:41their path
00:32:41and they
00:32:42faced little
00:32:42resistance in
00:32:43the southeast.
00:32:45As he
00:32:46marched around
00:32:47London,
00:32:47he accepted
00:32:48the surrender
00:32:48of the
00:32:49Saxon
00:32:49establishment.
00:32:51Stegand,
00:32:52the Archbishop
00:32:52of Canterbury,
00:32:53submitted to
00:32:54William at
00:32:54Wallingford.
00:32:56And at
00:32:56Berkhamstead,
00:32:57Eldred,
00:32:57the Archbishop
00:32:58of York,
00:32:59surrendered.
00:33:00By December,
00:33:01William and
00:33:02his advancing
00:33:02Normans
00:33:03reached the
00:33:03capital,
00:33:04London.
00:33:09It was here
00:33:11on Christmas
00:33:11Day 1066
00:33:12that William
00:33:13the Conqueror
00:33:14is the first
00:33:15king ever
00:33:16crowned inside
00:33:17the beautiful
00:33:17Westminster Abbey.
00:33:19And his
00:33:20coronation was
00:33:20a truly
00:33:21multicultural affair.
00:33:22You had
00:33:23the Old
00:33:24English
00:33:24barons
00:33:25proclaiming
00:33:25the entire
00:33:26ceremony
00:33:26in Old
00:33:27English.
00:33:28At the same
00:33:28time,
00:33:28it was being
00:33:29translated into
00:33:30Norman French
00:33:30by William's
00:33:31parties.
00:33:33But because
00:33:33it was a
00:33:34multicultural
00:33:34affair,
00:33:34there was
00:33:35also a
00:33:35slight
00:33:35cultural
00:33:36misunderstanding.
00:33:38When the
00:33:38English went
00:33:39out to sing
00:33:40the praises
00:33:41of their
00:33:41new king
00:33:41and gave
00:33:42a clamorous
00:33:43yell,
00:33:44the Normans
00:33:44outside thought
00:33:45their new
00:33:45king was
00:33:46under attack.
00:33:47So in
00:33:48retaliation,
00:33:48they began
00:33:48to burn
00:33:49all of the
00:33:50houses around
00:33:51Westminster Abbey
00:33:51down.
00:33:52This made
00:33:53smoke blow
00:33:54into the
00:33:54abbey.
00:33:55And then
00:33:55everyone inside
00:33:56thought the
00:33:57new king
00:33:57was under
00:33:58attack.
00:33:58So they
00:33:58all rush
00:33:59out into
00:33:59the street.
00:34:00Riots start.
00:34:01There's fighting
00:34:01everywhere.
00:34:03Only William
00:34:03is left inside
00:34:04with the clergy
00:34:05shaking as he's
00:34:06finally crowned
00:34:07king.
00:34:08It's an
00:34:08incredibly
00:34:08interesting
00:34:09portrait of
00:34:10William.
00:34:10Because usually
00:34:11we're led to
00:34:12see him as
00:34:12this all-powerful
00:34:13conqueror who
00:34:14comes and
00:34:14takes what is
00:34:15his.
00:34:16But here we
00:34:17see him as
00:34:17an incredibly
00:34:18vulnerable,
00:34:19frightened man.
00:34:20And it shows
00:34:21us that while
00:34:22William may
00:34:22have conquered,
00:34:24he still had
00:34:24a long way
00:34:25to go if
00:34:26he wanted
00:34:26to rule.
00:34:38After the
00:34:39absolute fiasco
00:34:41of his
00:34:41coronation,
00:34:42William realized
00:34:43that oaths
00:34:44and words
00:34:45weren't going
00:34:45to do enough
00:34:46to ensure
00:34:47that everybody
00:34:47knew he
00:34:48was the
00:34:48king of
00:34:49England.
00:34:50He needed
00:34:50something more,
00:34:52a real symbol
00:34:53of his military
00:34:53prowess.
00:34:55And that
00:34:55became the
00:34:56architectural symbol
00:34:57that we now
00:34:58know as the
00:34:59Tower of London.
00:35:08Look at the
00:35:10White Tower.
00:35:11It's absolutely
00:35:12dominating when
00:35:14you come and
00:35:14stand underneath
00:35:15it.
00:35:16But think
00:35:16about how
00:35:17much more
00:35:17threatening it
00:35:19would have
00:35:19been in the
00:35:2011th century.
00:35:21And that's
00:35:22kind of the
00:35:22point.
00:35:23This isn't
00:35:23just a
00:35:24building.
00:35:25It's an
00:35:25actual military
00:35:26threat to the
00:35:27people of
00:35:27London.
00:35:28And I
00:35:29assure you
00:35:29they would
00:35:29have felt
00:35:30it.
00:35:30This was
00:35:31the tallest
00:35:31building in
00:35:32London for
00:35:32quite some
00:35:33time.
00:35:34In the
00:35:34same way
00:35:34this tower
00:35:35makes me
00:35:35feel small
00:35:36now,
00:35:37it dominated
00:35:38the skyline
00:35:39of London
00:35:39and loomed
00:35:40over the
00:35:41psyche of
00:35:41every single
00:35:42English person
00:35:43who was just
00:35:44trying to live
00:35:45day to day
00:35:45in their own
00:35:46capital.
00:35:47But this
00:35:47reveals a little
00:35:48bit something
00:35:49about their
00:35:49position.
00:35:50The White
00:35:50Tower isn't
00:35:51just a way of
00:35:51dominating the
00:35:52skyline and
00:35:52threatening
00:35:53everyone.
00:35:54It also shows
00:35:54they feel
00:35:55really unsafe
00:35:55and they're
00:35:56worried that
00:35:57the English
00:35:57might at any
00:35:57moment rise
00:35:58against them
00:35:59and they
00:35:59will need
00:35:59somewhere to
00:36:00retreat.
00:36:02We've already
00:36:03seen in Kong
00:36:04how William
00:36:05loved building
00:36:06in stone.
00:36:07Well, he
00:36:07liked it so
00:36:08much he wanted
00:36:09to import not
00:36:10just the
00:36:11architecture from
00:36:12Normandy but
00:36:13the building
00:36:13materials too.
00:36:15For me, the
00:36:16most exciting
00:36:17part of the
00:36:17Tower of London
00:36:18is these
00:36:19stones.
00:36:20They were
00:36:20actually imported
00:36:22all the way
00:36:23from Caen
00:36:24by William
00:36:25and it's a
00:36:26physical link
00:36:27between his
00:36:28capitals there
00:36:28in Normandy
00:36:29and here in
00:36:30London.
00:36:31We call it
00:36:32Caen's stone
00:36:32and you can
00:36:33see it's
00:36:33really chunky.
00:36:34They're part
00:36:34of the
00:36:35balustrading
00:36:35that would
00:36:35have kept
00:36:36the original
00:36:37keep safe.
00:36:38And you
00:36:39can just
00:36:39imagine the
00:36:40stubbornness
00:36:41of loading
00:36:42these rocks
00:36:43onto ships
00:36:44to bring
00:36:45here in
00:36:46order to
00:36:46say this
00:36:47is now
00:36:47a part
00:36:48of Normandy.
00:36:50So these
00:36:51stones are
00:36:52still here
00:36:52but the
00:36:54Tower of London
00:36:54wasn't
00:36:55originally a
00:36:55stone edifice.
00:36:56It started
00:36:57out as being
00:36:57wooden.
00:36:58And it's not
00:36:59until 1078
00:37:00according to
00:37:01the Textus
00:37:01Ranulfis that
00:37:02the stone
00:37:03fortifications
00:37:03began.
00:37:04They were
00:37:05overseen by
00:37:05the Bishop
00:37:06of Rochester
00:37:07Gundolf who
00:37:08was a
00:37:08Norman so
00:37:09could be
00:37:09trusted with
00:37:10these kind
00:37:10of things.
00:37:11And you
00:37:11will notice
00:37:11that it's
00:37:12not just
00:37:12the stones
00:37:13from Caen
00:37:14that link
00:37:14it to
00:37:14Normandy.
00:37:15It's the
00:37:15architecture
00:37:16itself.
00:37:17This looks
00:37:17a lot
00:37:18like the
00:37:18Abel's Alms.
00:37:19You see
00:37:20these wonderful
00:37:20Romanesque
00:37:21rounded arches
00:37:22over all the
00:37:23windows and
00:37:24the incredibly
00:37:24simple towers
00:37:26at the sides.
00:37:27It means
00:37:28that William
00:37:28is here
00:37:29as much
00:37:30as he is
00:37:30in Normandy
00:37:31because we
00:37:32have Norman
00:37:32buildings
00:37:33for Norman
00:37:34rulers.
00:37:38I've
00:37:39come to
00:37:39Rochester
00:37:40Castle
00:37:40another one
00:37:41of the
00:37:41Norman
00:37:42power bases
00:37:42established
00:37:43early on
00:37:43after the
00:37:44conquest
00:37:45to control
00:37:45the local
00:37:46population.
00:37:48Places like
00:37:48Rochester
00:37:49Castle
00:37:49embedded the
00:37:50Normans
00:37:51in England
00:37:51and enabled
00:37:53William to
00:37:53get back
00:37:54to the
00:37:54continent.
00:37:56Just three
00:37:56months after
00:37:57William's
00:37:57Christmas
00:37:58coronation
00:37:58he was
00:37:59confident
00:38:00enough to
00:38:00return to
00:38:01Normandy.
00:38:02But to
00:38:02make sure
00:38:03he maintains
00:38:04control in
00:38:04England he
00:38:05does a
00:38:05couple of
00:38:05things.
00:38:06First
00:38:06he takes
00:38:07noble
00:38:07hostages.
00:38:08They go
00:38:09back to
00:38:09Normandy
00:38:09they're
00:38:10treated
00:38:10very well
00:38:11but it's
00:38:11very clear
00:38:12that they're
00:38:12under his
00:38:13control.
00:38:13It's a vague
00:38:14threat.
00:38:14He also
00:38:15leaves
00:38:15Normans
00:38:16in positions
00:38:17of power.
00:38:18Here in
00:38:18Rochester
00:38:19that's the
00:38:19Bishop
00:38:20Gundolf.
00:38:20He's both
00:38:21overseeing
00:38:21construction
00:38:22at the
00:38:22Tower of
00:38:23London
00:38:23and here.
00:38:27All right
00:38:28so if
00:38:29what William
00:38:30wants from
00:38:30England is
00:38:31a bunch
00:38:31of money
00:38:32and then
00:38:32to go
00:38:32back to
00:38:33Normandy
00:38:33and build
00:38:33abbeys
00:38:34what's in
00:38:35it for
00:38:35all the
00:38:35Normans
00:38:35who stay
00:38:36here?
00:38:36The answer
00:38:37is it's
00:38:37also kind
00:38:38of Norman
00:38:38to stay
00:38:39here.
00:38:39They are
00:38:41a warrior
00:38:42culture
00:38:42and their
00:38:43loyalty
00:38:43is predicated
00:38:44on getting
00:38:45land when
00:38:45they take
00:38:45over
00:38:46somewhere.
00:38:48You can't
00:38:48do that
00:38:49back in
00:38:49France
00:38:50anymore.
00:38:50William
00:38:51needs to
00:38:51stay in
00:38:51good with
00:38:52the king
00:38:52but you
00:38:53can do
00:38:53it in
00:38:53England.
00:38:54So say
00:38:55you're a
00:38:55Norman
00:38:55without any
00:38:56lands or
00:38:57titles
00:38:57you can
00:38:58get them
00:38:59here in
00:38:59England.
00:39:00It's
00:39:00better to
00:39:01be rich
00:39:01and in
00:39:02England
00:39:02than back
00:39:03in France
00:39:03with no
00:39:04money.
00:39:06In
00:39:07replacing
00:39:07the
00:39:08English
00:39:08landowning
00:39:09elite
00:39:09and the
00:39:10church
00:39:10elite
00:39:10with his
00:39:11Norman
00:39:11supporters
00:39:12William
00:39:13embedded
00:39:13a new
00:39:14nobility
00:39:14whose
00:39:15names,
00:39:16language
00:39:17and impact
00:39:18would echo
00:39:19throughout the
00:39:19following
00:39:20centuries.
00:39:22Norman
00:39:22castles
00:39:23huge
00:39:25hulks of
00:39:25stone
00:39:25built to
00:39:26dominate
00:39:26would
00:39:27change
00:39:28the
00:39:28landscape
00:39:28of
00:39:28England.
00:39:29Nothing
00:39:30like this
00:39:31kind of
00:39:31architecture
00:39:31had existed
00:39:32in England
00:39:33before.
00:39:34So the
00:39:34Normans
00:39:35were at
00:39:35their most
00:39:36distinctive
00:39:36here.
00:39:37I'm
00:39:38meeting
00:39:39historian
00:39:39Mark
00:39:39Morris
00:39:40to
00:39:40understand
00:39:41the
00:39:41roles
00:39:41of
00:39:42castles
00:39:42in
00:39:42conquest.
00:39:45So Mark,
00:39:46here we are
00:39:47in
00:39:47Rochester.
00:39:48There's
00:39:48this
00:39:48incredible
00:39:50Norman
00:39:51castle
00:39:51here.
00:39:52Obviously
00:39:52they want
00:39:52to secure
00:39:53this area.
00:39:54What makes
00:39:54Rochester so
00:39:55important?
00:39:56Well,
00:39:57it's its
00:39:57position on
00:39:57the River
00:39:58Medway.
00:39:58Since
00:39:58time immemorial,
00:39:59this has
00:40:00been an
00:40:00absolutely
00:40:01crucial crossing
00:40:02point and a
00:40:02crucial point
00:40:03that you want
00:40:03to defend.
00:40:03And this
00:40:04must be the
00:40:05place where
00:40:06the Normans
00:40:07cross the
00:40:07Medway in
00:40:08order to
00:40:08approach
00:40:09London.
00:40:10And very
00:40:10soon after
00:40:11the conquest
00:40:12is complete
00:40:13and William
00:40:13is crowned,
00:40:14a castle
00:40:14would be
00:40:15planted here.
00:40:15So the
00:40:15Normans
00:40:16probably put
00:40:16something
00:40:17here in
00:40:18the autumn
00:40:18of 1066.
00:40:20And then
00:40:20in the
00:40:21months and
00:40:22years that
00:40:22follow,
00:40:22the castle
00:40:23is granted
00:40:23to William's
00:40:25younger
00:40:25half-brother,
00:40:26the notorious
00:40:26Bishop Odo
00:40:27of Bayeux.
00:40:28So he's
00:40:29the person
00:40:29creating the
00:40:30first castle
00:40:31on this
00:40:31site.
00:40:32And then
00:40:32eventually,
00:40:32by the
00:40:33time you
00:40:33get to
00:40:34the 12th
00:40:34century,
00:40:34we get
00:40:35this
00:40:35magnificent
00:40:36great stone
00:40:37tower,
00:40:37the tallest
00:40:37certainly
00:40:38Norman
00:40:38stone
00:40:39tower
00:40:39in the
00:40:39British
00:40:40Isles.
00:40:43So obviously
00:40:43this is
00:40:44kind of
00:40:44what we
00:40:45would call
00:40:45a
00:40:45quintessentially
00:40:46Norman
00:40:47castle,
00:40:47but what
00:40:48does that
00:40:48mean?
00:40:49If you've
00:40:50seen the
00:40:50Tower of
00:40:50London,
00:40:51you'll
00:40:51remember
00:40:51the
00:40:51Tower of
00:40:51London
00:40:52is
00:40:52squatter
00:40:52and it
00:40:53doesn't
00:40:53have this
00:40:54extra
00:40:54building
00:40:55sticking
00:40:55out
00:40:55the
00:40:55side,
00:40:56the
00:40:56so-called
00:40:56four
00:40:56building.
00:40:58So if
00:40:59you like,
00:41:00the Tower of
00:41:00London is
00:41:00the daddy,
00:41:01it's the
00:41:02prototype.
00:41:03This is now
00:41:03settling into
00:41:04what I would
00:41:05call an
00:41:05archetype.
00:41:05As you say,
00:41:06it is a very
00:41:07typically Norman
00:41:08building.
00:41:08It's superlatively
00:41:09tall,
00:41:10but otherwise
00:41:11it's got all
00:41:11the kind of
00:41:12features you
00:41:12expect to see
00:41:13of a building
00:41:13of this age.
00:41:14You can see
00:41:15very clearly
00:41:16that it is
00:41:16built with
00:41:16defence in
00:41:17mind,
00:41:18because we
00:41:18start off
00:41:19on the
00:41:19ground floor
00:41:20there,
00:41:20we've got
00:41:21tiny little
00:41:22single-line
00:41:23openings,
00:41:23almost like
00:41:24an arrow
00:41:24slip,
00:41:25and then as
00:41:25you go up
00:41:27through the
00:41:27stages,
00:41:27the windows
00:41:28get bigger
00:41:28and grander,
00:41:29so by the
00:41:29time you reach
00:41:30the top door
00:41:30they're letting
00:41:31in quite a lot
00:41:31of light,
00:41:32but of course
00:41:32by that point
00:41:32you're 80 feet
00:41:33up in the
00:41:33air,
00:41:34so who cares?
00:41:36It is a
00:41:37building built
00:41:38to keep you
00:41:38out.
00:41:39We've got the
00:41:40entrance at
00:41:41first floor
00:41:41level,
00:41:42and now we've
00:41:43got this
00:41:43floor building
00:41:44which you see
00:41:44creeping in
00:41:45in the early
00:41:4612th century,
00:41:47and partly
00:41:47that's to
00:41:48protect the
00:41:49entrance to
00:41:50the Great
00:41:50Tower itself.
00:41:53It's also,
00:41:53it gives you
00:41:54a ceremonial space
00:41:55and a sort of
00:41:56waiting room
00:41:56for people
00:41:57who are
00:41:58waiting to
00:41:58get into
00:41:58the Great
00:41:58Tower to
00:41:59meet the
00:41:59very important
00:42:00person who's
00:42:00inside.
00:42:03Lords in
00:42:04this period,
00:42:04whether they're
00:42:05bishops,
00:42:05archbishops,
00:42:06barons or
00:42:07kings,
00:42:07they're constantly
00:42:08on the move,
00:42:09they're constantly
00:42:10in the saddle,
00:42:11so this might
00:42:11only be lived
00:42:12in for two or
00:42:12three weeks a
00:42:13year by its
00:42:14lord,
00:42:14but the rest
00:42:15of the year
00:42:16it stands
00:42:16there,
00:42:17it stands
00:42:17as sort of
00:42:17a standing
00:42:18threat to
00:42:19the people
00:42:20around it
00:42:20of know your
00:42:21place,
00:42:22we are in
00:42:22charge.
00:42:26It would
00:42:27take William
00:42:28six years
00:42:29to consolidate
00:42:30his conquest.
00:42:31In those
00:42:32years,
00:42:32he faced
00:42:33constant
00:42:34uprisings
00:42:34from the
00:42:35English.
00:42:36There are
00:42:36minor rebellions
00:42:38in 1067,
00:42:39but they
00:42:39start to
00:42:40grow in
00:42:41momentum and
00:42:41size from
00:42:42one year to
00:42:43the next.
00:42:44There's a big
00:42:45rebellion down
00:42:46in the West
00:42:46Country in
00:42:471068,
00:42:47there's a big
00:42:48rising in the
00:42:49Midlands in
00:42:501068,
00:42:51and then in
00:42:511069,
00:42:53you have a
00:42:53huge rebellion
00:42:54in the North,
00:42:55two in the
00:42:56course of
00:42:561069,
00:42:57and not
00:42:58just the
00:42:58natives rising
00:43:00in North
00:43:00Umbria and
00:43:01Northern England,
00:43:02but also
00:43:03supported by
00:43:03an invasion
00:43:04from Denmark.
00:43:06There really
00:43:07is a sense
00:43:07there,
00:43:07we think of
00:43:081066 as
00:43:09being like a
00:43:10date that's
00:43:10set in
00:43:10stone.
00:43:11We know,
00:43:12you and I
00:43:12know,
00:43:13the Norman
00:43:13Conquest
00:43:13isn't going
00:43:14to be
00:43:14reversed.
00:43:15People at
00:43:15the time
00:43:15didn't have
00:43:16that benefit
00:43:17of hindsight,
00:43:18so for
00:43:18them,
00:43:19the Norman
00:43:19Conquest
00:43:19could have
00:43:20been a
00:43:20flash in
00:43:20the pan,
00:43:21and you
00:43:21sense that
00:43:22in the
00:43:22sources in
00:43:231069,
00:43:24that they
00:43:25are going to
00:43:25drive these
00:43:26guys out.
00:43:29And William
00:43:29finds that
00:43:30wherever else
00:43:31he's gone,
00:43:32the sort of
00:43:33standard way of
00:43:34dealing with
00:43:34rebellions,
00:43:35after the
00:43:35fighting and
00:43:36the killing,
00:43:37is to plant a
00:43:38castle.
00:43:39So you plant a
00:43:40new castle,
00:43:40like here at
00:43:41Rochester,
00:43:42or the Tower
00:43:42of London,
00:43:42or anywhere,
00:43:44in the north,
00:43:45he plants a
00:43:46castle at York,
00:43:47it is destroyed,
00:43:48he plants another
00:43:48castle at York,
00:43:49it is destroyed
00:43:50and overrun.
00:43:51So what do
00:43:52you do in
00:43:53order to
00:43:54stop that?
00:43:55If you
00:43:56can't hold
00:43:57the land,
00:43:58you make
00:43:58damn sure
00:43:59no one can
00:43:59hold the
00:44:00land,
00:44:00you make it,
00:44:01you know,
00:44:01that's the
00:44:02famous phrase,
00:44:02you create a
00:44:03desert and
00:44:04call it
00:44:04peace.
00:44:081069 to
00:44:091070,
00:44:10William the
00:44:11Conqueror laid
00:44:11waste to the
00:44:13north of
00:44:13England.
00:44:15The herring of
00:44:16the north is
00:44:16recorded in the
00:44:1712th century
00:44:18annals of
00:44:19Durham.
00:44:21So great a
00:44:22famine prevailed
00:44:23that men,
00:44:25compelled by
00:44:26hunger,
00:44:27devoured human
00:44:28flesh,
00:44:29that of
00:44:29horses,
00:44:30dogs and
00:44:31cats,
00:44:31and whatever
00:44:32custom abhors.
00:44:34Others sold
00:44:35themselves to
00:44:36perpetual slavery
00:44:37so that they
00:44:38might in any
00:44:39way preserve
00:44:40their wretched
00:44:41existence.
00:44:45And writing
00:44:46about the
00:44:46herring of
00:44:47the north,
00:44:47the Anglo-Norman
00:44:48chronicler,
00:44:49Odaric Vitalis,
00:44:51wrote,
00:44:52The king
00:44:53stopped at
00:44:54nothing to
00:44:55hunt his
00:44:55enemies.
00:44:56He cut
00:44:57down many
00:44:57people and
00:44:58destroyed
00:44:59homes and
00:45:00land.
00:45:01Nowhere
00:45:02else had he
00:45:03shown such
00:45:03cruelty.
00:45:05He ordered
00:45:05that crops
00:45:06and herds,
00:45:07tools and
00:45:08food be
00:45:08burned to
00:45:09ashes.
00:45:10More than
00:45:11100,000
00:45:12people
00:45:13perished of
00:45:14starvation.
00:45:14This isn't
00:45:19just a story
00:45:20about the
00:45:21heroic deeds
00:45:22of glorious
00:45:22men.
00:45:23There is a
00:45:24human toll
00:45:25to war,
00:45:26and it
00:45:26matters.
00:45:29Normans had
00:45:30always used
00:45:31brutality to
00:45:32suppress the
00:45:33rebellious
00:45:33English.
00:45:34But the
00:45:35destruction wrought
00:45:36by the
00:45:37herring of the
00:45:38north was at
00:45:38an unprecedented
00:45:39scale,
00:45:40a grim
00:45:41message to
00:45:42all their
00:45:43new subjects.
00:45:46After the
00:45:47herring,
00:45:47there were no
00:45:48more major
00:45:49rebellions.
00:45:50By the
00:45:511080s,
00:45:51conquest was
00:45:52secure enough
00:45:53for William to
00:45:53set about on
00:45:54a project to
00:45:55investigate and
00:45:56record the
00:45:56potential wealth
00:45:57of his new
00:45:58kingdom.
00:46:00I've come to
00:46:01the National
00:46:01Archives to see
00:46:02the result of
00:46:03this unmatched
00:46:04administrative
00:46:05project, the
00:46:06two-volume
00:46:07doomsday book
00:46:07of 1086.
00:46:09The National
00:46:10Archives look
00:46:11after the
00:46:11original book,
00:46:12nearly 1,000
00:46:13years old.
00:46:14But to get
00:46:15into the
00:46:15details, I'm
00:46:17looking at a
00:46:17facsimile copy
00:46:18with curator
00:46:19Jess Nelson.
00:46:21Okay, so let
00:46:22me start you
00:46:22off with a
00:46:23huge question
00:46:24for a huge
00:46:25book.
00:46:26Exactly what
00:46:27is doomsday?
00:46:29I mean, that
00:46:30is a big
00:46:30question, because
00:46:31inevitably it's
00:46:32for several
00:46:33different things,
00:46:35but we need to
00:46:35see it in the
00:46:36context of
00:46:36William the
00:46:37Conqueror's
00:46:37conquered
00:46:37kingdom.
00:46:39So it's a
00:46:39survey of lands
00:46:40and landholding
00:46:41in his
00:46:41conquered
00:46:42kingdom, which
00:46:43he was able
00:46:43to use to
00:46:44see how much
00:46:44tax could
00:46:45potentially be
00:46:46levied on that
00:46:46kingdom.
00:46:49The town of
00:46:50Ripon in
00:46:50North Yorkshire
00:46:51is an example
00:46:52of how detailed
00:46:53information about
00:46:54the wealth and
00:46:54resources of the
00:46:55land were recorded.
00:46:57In Ripon of
00:46:58St. Wilfrid's
00:46:59League, there
00:47:00could be ten
00:47:00plows.
00:47:02Archbishop
00:47:02Eldred held
00:47:03this manor.
00:47:04Now, Archbishop
00:47:06Thomas has in his
00:47:07demeans two plows
00:47:08plows and one
00:47:08mill, one
00:47:09fishery rendering,
00:47:11eight villains
00:47:11and ten
00:47:12boarders having
00:47:13six plows.
00:47:14There are ten
00:47:15acres of
00:47:15meadow and
00:47:16scrubland.
00:47:19In recording
00:47:20who is holding
00:47:21the land and
00:47:23the resources of
00:47:23the land, he's
00:47:24also recording,
00:47:25in effect, his
00:47:26conquest and
00:47:27consolidating his
00:47:29status as the
00:47:30king.
00:47:30He was very
00:47:31keen to
00:47:32emphasize his
00:47:33legitimacy.
00:47:34He didn't, I
00:47:34don't think,
00:47:35necessarily see
00:47:36himself as a
00:47:36conqueror, he
00:47:37saw himself as
00:47:38the heir, and
00:47:39by writing this
00:47:40all down, by
00:47:41enshrining the
00:47:42kind of new
00:47:43structures of
00:47:44society, the
00:47:45Norman elite,
00:47:46himself and his
00:47:47family and his
00:47:48tenants-in-chief,
00:47:49the men, mostly
00:47:50men, some women
00:47:50who hold lands
00:47:51from him, he's
00:47:53enshrining those
00:47:53new structures of
00:47:54society.
00:47:55He's really making
00:47:56a statement about
00:47:57his power and
00:47:58about his status
00:47:59as the king of
00:48:00this kingdom, but
00:48:01it's also a sort
00:48:02of a presentation
00:48:02document.
00:48:04I think he wants
00:48:05people to almost
00:48:06revere it.
00:48:07It mentions that
00:48:08the natives, so
00:48:10the English, call
00:48:11it doomsday, in
00:48:13reference to
00:48:13doomsday as the
00:48:15day of judgment
00:48:15because it kind of
00:48:18records everything
00:48:19and there can be
00:48:20no appeal against
00:48:21it, just like there
00:48:21will be no appeal
00:48:22against the day of
00:48:23judgment.
00:48:23So it's obvious
00:48:24that even in its
00:48:25own time, doomsday
00:48:26had a really
00:48:27significant reputation.
00:48:28It wasn't a
00:48:28document that was
00:48:29put together and
00:48:30then kind of
00:48:30faded away.
00:48:31It always had
00:48:32this rather austere
00:48:34and important and
00:48:35reverential reputation.
00:48:37Well, one thing that
00:48:37I think is quite
00:48:38interesting to talk
00:48:39about, though, in
00:48:40terms of this sort
00:48:41of representing what
00:48:43it is that William
00:48:44intends to do with
00:48:45the kingdom, this is
00:48:46sort of reflected in
00:48:47the way that
00:48:48everything is itemized
00:48:49here because it's not
00:48:50just that it's saying,
00:48:51oh, this is the
00:48:52entries for Kent.
00:48:53It leads sort of
00:48:54with who owns them,
00:48:56right?
00:48:57Absolutely.
00:48:58And actually, we
00:48:58should think of it in
00:48:59terms of who holds
00:49:00the land rather than
00:49:01who owns the land
00:49:02because one of the
00:49:03really important
00:49:04things about the
00:49:05Norman Conquest is it
00:49:06sort of brings in this
00:49:07slightly different
00:49:08structure where
00:49:09William, in effect,
00:49:11has acquired the
00:49:12entire kingdom.
00:49:13So he owns the
00:49:14entire kingdom.
00:49:14He holds England of
00:49:16God alone, if you
00:49:17like.
00:49:17And everybody who
00:49:19holds land elsewhere
00:49:20in England ultimately
00:49:21holds it of him.
00:49:22And as part of that,
00:49:23it also kind of
00:49:24positions him as a
00:49:27kind of rightful new
00:49:29king of England,
00:49:30because it gives us
00:49:31not just the snapshot
00:49:33of time when
00:49:34Doomsday was created
00:49:35but before them as
00:49:36well.
00:49:36The survey itself,
00:49:37there was a sort of
00:49:38set of questions that
00:49:39were asked about each
00:49:40of the manors, but it
00:49:41doesn't ask just about
00:49:43how it is now when
00:49:44Doomsday, when the
00:49:45survey is taking place.
00:49:46It asks the questions
00:49:47about what the
00:49:48situation was in the
00:49:49time of King Edward,
00:49:50that's Edward the
00:49:50Confessor, and then at
00:49:52the time that it was
00:49:53re-granted, which is
00:49:53effectively at the
00:49:54time of the conquest,
00:49:56and then now, which is
00:49:57at the time of the
00:49:58survey.
00:49:58And it records all those
00:49:59details, but it just
00:50:01records them as the
00:50:02time of King Edward,
00:50:02and then it might use a
00:50:04term like afterwards,
00:50:05and then now.
00:50:07And it never, ever
00:50:08refers to the conquest,
00:50:09and that's one of the
00:50:10most fascinating things
00:50:11about it, that even
00:50:13though William is, of
00:50:14course, a new king,
00:50:15virtually all the
00:50:16tenants-in-chief are
00:50:18new men, as I say,
00:50:20in some cases women,
00:50:22they're continental,
00:50:24almost all of them,
00:50:25very, very few of the
00:50:26Anglo-Saxon tenants-in-chief
00:50:28survive, but it doesn't
00:50:29refer to that at all.
00:50:31If you were just, if
00:50:32Doomsday was your only
00:50:33piece of evidence for
00:50:35England at that time, you
00:50:36wouldn't know there had
00:50:36been a conquest.
00:50:38So do you have any nice
00:50:39little bits of colour that
00:50:40we find in the Doomsday
00:50:41book?
00:50:42One of the other great
00:50:43things about Doomsday is
00:50:44it records the customs in
00:50:46the boroughs, which were
00:50:46sort of the urban centres.
00:50:48So here we've got Chester,
00:50:49and down here it's talking
00:50:50about the consequences for
00:50:51brewing bad beer, and it
00:50:54mentions that if those
00:50:56people who were found
00:50:57guilty of brewing bad
00:50:58beer have to have a
00:50:59trip on the, on what is
00:51:02literally translated as
00:51:04the dung stool.
00:51:06So I assume that they're
00:51:08being kind of sat on a
00:51:09stool and dipped in
00:51:10poo.
00:51:11Wow.
00:51:12So this is, that is so
00:51:13interesting to me because
00:51:14I'm really obsessed with
00:51:15the way that we talk
00:51:16about who brews bad
00:51:17beer because it's how we
00:51:18find out about women a lot
00:51:20of the time in the
00:51:20Middle Ages because one,
00:51:22they're brewing beer, and
00:51:23then two, they get in
00:51:23trouble if it's done
00:51:24badly.
00:51:25But I've never heard of
00:51:26that before.
00:51:27Very, very common to put
00:51:28a woman on a chair and
00:51:30have everyone come by and
00:51:31yell at her for brewing
00:51:32bad beer, but in, wow, in
00:51:34Chester they're going above
00:51:35and beyond.
00:51:36They absolutely are.
00:51:38Women also appear in
00:51:40Doomsday entries as
00:51:41landholders.
00:51:42There are far fewer women
00:51:44landholders in Doomsday,
00:51:45but there are still a
00:51:47sizable number.
00:51:48There are around 20 female
00:51:50tenants-in-chief compared to
00:51:51perhaps a couple of
00:51:52hundred male tenants-in-chief.
00:51:54So it's certainly a
00:51:55minority.
00:51:56But you do get women
00:51:57landholders.
00:51:58And I think in most
00:52:00situations where women hold
00:52:02land as part of their
00:52:03family, they hold it as
00:52:04often as widows.
00:52:06Sometimes they hold lands
00:52:07which they've been granted
00:52:08by their husbands for their
00:52:09support during their
00:52:10marriages.
00:52:11I think we shouldn't just
00:52:12assume because there aren't
00:52:13all that many women mentioned
00:52:15in Doomsday that women
00:52:17had no power.
00:52:18It doesn't tell us
00:52:18everything.
00:52:19Another typical entry of the
00:52:21Doomsday book is the village
00:52:22of Hadlow in Kent.
00:52:24So we've got Richard of
00:52:25Tunbridge holds Hadlow of
00:52:27the Bishop.
00:52:28So that's Odo of Bayeux, who
00:52:30was also Earl of Kent.
00:52:32And then it talks, as I say,
00:52:33about how much it's worth in
00:52:34terms of its taxable worth.
00:52:37It talks about the land for
00:52:38how many plowshares there are,
00:52:40the different types of men that
00:52:42work on the lands.
00:52:43It also mentions that there are
00:52:45ten slaves.
00:52:45So these are the sort of
00:52:47peasants who are very much
00:52:48totally at the bottom of the
00:52:50social scale, who have no
00:52:51resources of their own, very
00:52:53few rights.
00:52:54And then it tells us in the
00:52:56time of King Edward and after
00:52:58and now it was worth ÂŁ30.
00:53:02So it's been worth ÂŁ30, which
00:53:04is a sizable amount of money
00:53:06since before the conquest.
00:53:09And, you know, if you live in
00:53:10Hadlow now, you could read that
00:53:11and it mentions the church,
00:53:13which still stands.
00:53:14So there's actually some really
00:53:16tangible elements which are
00:53:17still there today.
00:53:20Look at this absolutely sweet
00:53:23and wonderful Saxon church.
00:53:24Looks nothing like any of the
00:53:26Norman architecture we've seen
00:53:27so far.
00:53:28Very small windows, very chunky
00:53:30construction.
00:53:31And that's because it was built
00:53:32in the 10th century, which makes
00:53:34it and Hadlow incredibly
00:53:36remarkable because not many
00:53:37churches survive in the
00:53:38Norman conquest.
00:53:40Hadlow before the Norman
00:53:41conquest was a pretty sizable
00:53:43place, and we know in the
00:53:44Doomsday book that it had about
00:53:4572 houses.
00:53:47That's a pretty sizable
00:53:48settlement.
00:53:50Very interestingly, though, the
00:53:51person that all this land was
00:53:52taken from was actually a woman.
00:53:55But before you go thinking that
00:53:57this is kind of like story of a
00:53:59feminist wronged, that woman
00:54:00held a lot of enslaved people.
00:54:04And this is one of the big
00:54:05changes that Normans bring in.
00:54:07Old English nobles were very happy
00:54:10to enslave people, but Normans,
00:54:12because they are consummate
00:54:13Christians, don't think it's a
00:54:15great idea for Christians to be
00:54:17enslaving Christians, and it's a
00:54:18practice that they abolish.
00:54:20So it's a kind of swings and
00:54:21roundabout situation.
00:54:23On the one hand, you have land
00:54:25taken off of local women and
00:54:27given to foreign men.
00:54:28But on the other hand, well,
00:54:31there's a lot of women who were
00:54:33enslaved who are freed as a result
00:54:35of this, in addition, of course, to
00:54:36the men and children.
00:54:37And these are the kind of
00:54:38interesting stories that you have
00:54:39to dig through the data of the
00:54:41Doomsday Book to get.
00:54:42There's humans behind those
00:54:44numbers.
00:54:49As the Doomsday Survey was
00:54:50compiled in England, William was
00:54:53back on the continent.
00:54:54Once again, he was drawn into
00:54:56conflict with the Franks, leading a
00:54:58counter-offensive against King
00:54:59Philip's annexation of outlying
00:55:01Normandy territory.
00:55:03He goes to Vexon to address these
00:55:05skirmishes at the border.
00:55:06It's there that William receives a
00:55:09wound, which eventually ends up
00:55:11killing him.
00:55:13William died in Rouen early in the
00:55:15morning of September 9th, 1087, at the
00:55:17age of 59, having ruled England for
00:55:2121 years and Normandy for 31 more, ever
00:55:25since he had inherited the duchy aged
00:55:27seven.
00:55:29When William died, the wealthier nobles
00:55:32and knights in attendance immediately
00:55:33left to protect their property across
00:55:35Normandy.
00:55:37They knew the Conqueror's death would
00:55:39lead to uncertainty and upheaval
00:55:40across the duchy.
00:55:44Those household servants who stayed
00:55:45behind, says Odorick,
00:55:47seized the arms, vessels, clothing,
00:55:51linen and all the royal furnishings and
00:55:54hurried away, leaving the king's body
00:55:56almost naked on the floor of the
00:55:58house.
00:55:58It was decided that William's body would
00:56:04be taken to Caen and buried in the
00:56:06church in the Abbe aux Almes.
00:56:08It fell to a common night to make the
00:56:11burial arrangements.
00:56:12When it came time to bury William's
00:56:14heavy body, it was discovered that the
00:56:16stone sarcophagus had been made too
00:56:18short.
00:56:20There was an attempt to force the bloated
00:56:21corpse and, says Odorick,
00:56:23The smell could not be masked, and the
00:56:34rites were hurriedly concluded.
00:56:36It might be a bit surprising now to
00:56:39people that a king of England would
00:56:41choose to be buried in Normandy, but
00:56:43this tells us a lot about life in the
00:56:4511th century.
00:56:47See, for William, he's a Norman first
00:56:49and foremost.
00:56:50That's what his life was about.
00:56:52If he can't get power overseas, that's
00:56:53fantastic.
00:56:55However, Normandy is an incredibly rich and
00:56:57important place.
00:56:58This is where he wants to be connected
00:56:59to.
00:57:00Sure, it's great to be the king of
00:57:02England, but he is the Duke of Normandy,
00:57:04and this is where he wants to be buried.
00:57:07So, being buried here really says Normandy
00:57:09is actually the place that the family is
00:57:11focusing on.
00:57:13The division of land in William's
00:57:15inheritance also reflects this.
00:57:17His oldest son, Robert, receives Normandy,
00:57:20and his younger son, William Rufus,
00:57:23receives England.
00:57:25Robert and William then, like any good
00:57:27Norman, immediately start to fight each
00:57:29other over each other's land.
00:57:31It's a really Norman sickness.
00:57:33Within this system, your subordinates expect
00:57:36land in return for fighting for you.
00:57:39And this means that boundaries constantly
00:57:41have to be expanded.
00:57:46This always results in violence.
00:57:53Normandy would continue to be of huge
00:57:55importance even further down the line of
00:57:58the Anglo-Norman dynasty.
00:58:00So-called kings of England continued to have
00:58:03their body parts buried in the great religious
00:58:05houses of Normandy, long after William the
00:58:08Conqueror set the trend.
00:58:09I'm in the Neuron Cathedral, and this is the tomb
00:58:16of Richard the Lionheart.
00:58:18And this is very, very interesting for our
00:58:20purposes, because it shows you that even 200 years
00:58:23after the conquest of England, English kings still
00:58:26thought of themselves as Norman.
00:58:29This is where Richard the Lionheart's heart is
00:58:31buried.
00:58:32And it shows us that he really thinks of himself
00:58:35as a Norman.
00:58:36Sure, he's the king of England, and he would
00:58:38absolutely tell you that.
00:58:39But he spent way more time in Normandy over the
00:58:41course of his lifetime than he ever did back in
00:58:43his home shores.
00:58:45So if you asked Richard the Lionheart, he would
00:58:47absolutely tell you that he was the king of
00:58:48England.
00:58:49But he was also a Norman, and he identified with
00:58:52that so much that this is where he wanted to be
00:58:55buried.
00:58:57The Lionheart's heart would forever be in Normandy.
00:59:01The Normans had arrived in England, and with them
00:59:10brought language, culture, and a new way of doing
00:59:13things.
00:59:15They imposed a new aristocracy, savagely cutting
00:59:19down opposition, and built scores of castles and
00:59:22cathedrals to intimidate and control.
00:59:25This was medieval shock and awe.
00:59:28They've kept historians busy ever since.
00:59:31From my point of view, the Norman Conquest is the
00:59:33biggest change that England ever undergoes.
00:59:36Because what happens as a result of the Norman
00:59:38Conquest is the ruling class is swept clean away.
00:59:41And I don't just mean the king and the earls and the
00:59:43barons.
00:59:44I mean right down to the level of local lordship, nine
00:59:47times out of ten when you go into a village or a manor, the
00:59:51person in charge is a foreigner speaking a different
00:59:54language with utterly different alien ideas about the
00:59:57way society should be regulated.
00:59:59That's the driver of change.
01:00:01The fact that you have the entire ruling class that takes
01:00:04over speaks French, and they are ruling a bunch of people
01:00:06who speak English, that means you get this crazy mashup that
01:00:10we today call modern English.
01:00:12Had that not happened, you and I would be speaking something
01:00:14nowadays that sounds a lot more like modern Flemish.
01:00:17So you get obviously castles.
01:00:21You get this brand new architectural style Romanesque.
01:00:23Every major church is ripped down and rebuilt in this new style.
01:00:28You get changes in attitude towards human life.
01:00:31So slavery starts to wane after the conquest.
01:00:33Chivalry comes in.
01:00:35The Anglo-Saxons have been very happy to murder each other
01:00:39over dinner.
01:00:40The Normans, for all their viciousness on the battlefield
01:00:43and in war, they didn't do that.
01:00:45So you get a chivalrous society.
01:00:47You might say all of these things would have happened anyway.
01:00:50You know, England would have become part of the kind of European mainstream
01:00:53and this change would have happened gradually.
01:00:56What makes the Norman Conquest so important and so exciting
01:00:59is it just happens overnight because of that replacement of the ruling class.
01:01:04Exploring the Normans is a wild ride into some dark corners of history
01:01:09and some brilliant creations.
01:01:16How marine marauders settled, became formidable rulers,
01:01:21carved out a corner of what's now France,
01:01:23and then struck out
01:01:25and won themselves a kingdom,
01:01:30building a monumental place in history.
01:01:33The Normans were exceptional conquerors.
01:01:39But military prowess isn't enough.
01:01:42Conquering doesn't give you the ability to settle.
01:01:45And that's why even more impressive was their ability to adapt.
01:01:50So much so that here at the Tower of London,
01:01:52these crowds of tourists are not here to see Norman history.
01:01:55They would tell you they were here to see the history of Britain.
01:01:57These Viking conquerors came to settle.
01:02:02So much so that today,
01:02:03you might not even realize they'd been here in the first place.
01:02:06So much so that they were here in the first place.