After his coronation in
1066, William
the Conqueror claimed
that all the land in England now
belonged to him. William retained about a fifth of this land for his
own use. The rest
was distributed to those men who had helped him defeat Harold
at the Battle
of Hastings. The 170 tenants-in-chief (or barons) had to provide
armed men on horseback for military service. The number of knights
a baron had
to provide depended on the amount of land he had been given.
Richard
Fitz Gilbert,
was granted land in Kent, Essex, Surrey, Suffolk and Norfolk. In exchange
for this land. Richard had to promise to provide the king with sixty
knights. In order to supply these knights, barons divided their land
up into smaller units called manors. These manors were then passed
on to men who promised to serve as knights when the king needed them.
When William granted land
to a baron an important ceremony took place. The baron knelt before
the king and said: "I become your man." He then placed
his hand on the Bible and promised to remain faithful for the rest
of his life. The
baron would then carry out similar ceremonies with his knights.
By the time William and
his barons had finished distributing land there were about
6,000 manors in England. Manors varied in size, some having only one
village, while others had several villages within its territory.
The baron often lived
in a castle at the centre of his estates Richard
Fitz Gilbert
built castles at Tonbridge
(Kent), Clare (Suffolk), Bletchingley (Surrey) and
Hanley (Worcester). His knights normally lived in the manor that they
had been granted.
Once or twice a year, Richard would visit his knights to
check the manor accounts and to collect the profits that the land
had made.
Barons like Richard Fitz
Gilbert often kept about a third of the land in the manor for their
own use (the demesne). Another large area was given to the knight
who looked after the manor. The rest was divided up between the church
(the glebe land) and the peasants who lived in the village.
Those peasants who were
freeman would rent the land for an agreed fee. However, the vast majority
of the peasants were unfree. These unfree peasants, who were called
villeins or serfs, had to provide a whole range of services in exchange
for the land that they used. The main requirement of the serf was
to supply labour service. This involved working on the demesne without
pay for several days a week. As well as free labour, serfs also had
to provide the oxen plough-team or any equipment that was needed.
(S1)
A knight promises to be loyal to his king (c. 1390)
The
Normans: Classroom Activities
(S2)
Kettering Abbey provided land for forty villeins. In exchange for
holding 30 acres the villeins had to provide several feudal services.
Kettering Abbey provided land for forty villeins. In exchange
for holding 30 acres the villeins had to provide several feudal services.
Three days a week work on the 88 acres held by the abbey. Every year
they had to provide 50 hens, 640 eggs and 2s. Id. in cash.
(S3)
Pope Gregory VII in a letter to the Bishop of Metz in 1081.
Kings and leaders are sprung from men who were ignorant of
God, who by pride, robbery, murder, in a word, by almost every crime
in the devil... to dominate over their equals, that is, over mankind.
(S4)
Bishop
Fulbert of Normandy (c. 1150)
He who swears fealty to his lord must not injure his lord
by giving up secrets of his castles... he must do nothing to injure
the rights of justice of his lord... he must do no wrong to his lord's
possessions.
(S5)
Edward Hasted, The History of the County of Kent (1797)
Richard de Clare came into England with William the Conqueror
and gave him great assistance at the Battle of Hastings... in return
he was granted large estates in England.
(S6)
Jennifer Ward, The Lands of the Clare Family (1980)
William the Conqueror aimed to secure Kent and Sussex and
to guard the routes to London by giving estates there to men on whom
he especially trusted... important places like Tonbndge on the River
Medway, was given to Richard de Clare... Richard de Clare granted
some of his manors to vassals. Stoke in Surrey, for instance, was
given to Roger
de Abernon... vassals like Roger de Abernon performed military service
(S7)
Letter
sent by William of Siward to King Henry
II in 1166
I am letting you know by this letter that I hold from you
a certain village, Gosford by name, and the half of another which
is called Milton, for the fee and service of one knight, which I faithfully
perform for you, as my ancestors
have done to your ancestors.
(S8)
Walter of Guisborough, Chronicle (c. 1310)
Earl Warenne was called before the king's judges. The judges
asked to see his warrant (documents that proved that he owned his
land)... he produced an ancient and rusty sword and said: "Look
at this, my lords, this is my warrant! For my ancestors came with
William and conquered their lands with the sword, and by the sword
I will defend them from anyone intending to seize them. The king did
not conquer and subject the land by himself, but our forebears were
sharers and partners with him."
(S9)
Jean
Froissart, Chronicles (c.
1395)
It is the custom in England, as in other countries, for the
nobility to have great power over the common people, who are their
serfs. This means that they are bound by law and custom to plough
the fields of their masters, harvest the corn, gather it into barns,
and thresh and winnow the grain; they must also mow and carry home
the hay, cut and collect wood, and perform all manner of tasks of
this kind.
(S10)
Domesday entry for Standon
in Hertfordshire (1086)
Rohese, wife of Richard, son of Count Gilbert, holds Standon.
Land for 24 ploughs. 29 villagers with a priest. 15 smallholders,
2 freemen and a Frenchman have 12 ploughs. 9 cottagers and 8 slaves.
5 mills at 45s; meadow for 24 ploughs; pasture for livestock; woodland,
600 pigs. Total value in 1086 £33; before 1066 £34. Archbishop
Stigand held this manor in 1066. In this manor were six freemen.
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