| HOUSE OF NORMANDY |
|
1066 - 1087 |
1087 - 1100 |
1100 - 1135 |
1135 - 1154 |
 |
Harold found, a formidable opponent in the second
cousin of Edward, William
of Normandy, who instigated
the Danes to invade the northern counties, while he, with 60,000 men, landed in the south. Harold vanquished the
Dane, and hastening southwards met the Normans near Hastings, at Senlac, afterwards called Battle. Harold and his two brothers fell (Oct. 14, 1066), and William (1066 - 87) immediately claimed the government as lawful king of England, being subsequently known as William I., the Conqueror. |
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Time Line |
For some time he conducted the government with great moderation; |
England was divided into four great Earldoms, continental feudalism in a modified form was established, the revolts of the native English were quickly crushed. The Norman king's recieved a revenue from rents, and the offices of government. The English Church was reorganized with Lanfranc as Archbishop of Canterbury.
On the death of William I. (1087), the conquerors second son, William II,
commonly known by the name of Rufus, obtained the crown, Robert the eldest son,
received the duchy of Normandy. When William II. (1100) was accidentally killed in the New Forest, Robert was again
cheated of the throne of England, by his younger brother Henry I.(1106),
who took the duchy of Normandy, and entered into a dispute with Anselm the primate, and with the pope, concerning
the right of granting investure to the clergy. He supported his quarrel with firmness, and brought it to a not
unfavorable issue. His reign was also marked by the suppression of the greater Norman nobles in England, whose
power (like that of many continental feudatories) threatened to overshadow that of the king, and by the substitution
of a class of lesser nobles. In 1135 he died in Normandy, leaving behind him a daughter, Maud or Matilda, wife
of Geoffrey Plantagenet, Count of Anjou, and frequently styled the Empress Matilda, because she had first been
married to Henry V., emperor of Germany, who was declared his successor.
But Stephen, son of the Count of Blois, and of Adela, daughter of William the Conqueror, raised an army in Normandy, landed in England, and declared himself king. After years of civil war and bloodshed an amicable arrangement was brought about, by which it was agreed that Stephen should continue to reign during the remainder of his life but that he should be succeeded by Henry, son of Matilda and the Count of Anjou. Stephen died in 1154, and Henry Plantagenet ascended the throne with the title of Henry II., being the first of the Plantagenet or Angevin kings. A larger dominion was united under his sway than had been held by any previous sovereign of England, for at the time when he became King of England he was already in the possession of Anjou, Normandy, and Aquitaine .
