L'incoronazione di Guglielmo era solo il primo passo della conquista normanna dell'Inghilterra, che in tutto durò circa 20 anni. Ebbero luogo grandi ribellioni e la nobiltà anglosassone non si arrese senza combattere. Guglielmo represse le ribellioni con grande brutalità e la popolazione civile ne soffrì enormemente. Costruì castelli per controllare il paese, sostituì in molte posizioni di potere anglosassoni con normanni e organizzò matrimoni tra normanni e anglosassoni. Il Domesday Book, un inventario delle proprietà e del potere economico del regno, fu prodotto poco prima della sua morte. Questo dettagliato manoscritto mostra quanto l'Inghilterra fosse cambiata nonostante i Normanni conservarono molte delle tradizioni precedenti.
Winchester, 13 April 1069
Observe: + HOC . NORMANNORVM WILLELMVM NOSCE . PATRONVM SI[GNO]
Reverse: + HOC . ANGLIS . REGEM . SIGNO . FATEARIS EVNDEM
Wax
Pierrefitte-sur-Seine, Archives Nationales, Inv. X 679
After his coronation on Christmas Day 1066, William ruled in a dual capacity as King of England and Duke of Normandy. This is reflected by his seal, which devotes one side to each function. The kingship is represented by the image of the enthroned and crowned ruler bearing a sword and a sceptre. The dukedom instead shows William as a knight with lance and shield. The inscription of the seal continues on both sides and reads: “By this sign recognise William, patron of the Normans / by this sign recognise the same as King of the English.”
Observe: + ILLEMV REX V
Reverse: + PIILFILLERON
London, 1066–1068
Silver
Rouen, Musée des Antiquités, Inv. 464.6 (A)
Observe: + PILLEL(M R in Ligatur)EX I
Reverse: + IN[..]PINE ON PIILI
Probably Wilton, 1083–1086
Silver
Rouen, Musée des Antiquités, 218.3.1 (A)
When William became king of England, his representation changed. In presenting himself to his new subjects, however, “the conqueror” imitated his royal predecessors and for example adopted their coinage. During his reign of more than twenty years, William minted a series of coins bearing his likeness. Shown here are two examples from different phases of his reign. The first (2) shows William in profile and was minted during his first years as king, the second (3) shows him in a frontal portrait and dates to his last years.
Sicily (?)/Iberian Peninsula (?), 11th–12th c./14th c.
Ivory with silver mounts
Bayeux, Le Trésor de la Cathédrale, ohne Inv.
The ivory box on display is part of the treasure of the Bayeux Cathedral. There it was used as a reliquary for an important relic of St. Regnobert and is mentioned in the inventory of the treasure from 1476. Various legends surround the origin of this precious casket, which bears an Arabic inscription. One important tradition links it to Odo of Bayeux, brother and close confidant of William “the Conqueror”. He died on his way to the Holy Land in Palermo and was buried there. An origin in Sicily is not improbable, but recent stylistic studies point more to the Iberian Peninsula and a later date of production.
Bishophill, 1000–1066
Ceramic, silver
York, York Museums Trust (Yorkshire Museum), Inv. YORYM : 1947.724 (vessel), Inv. YORYM : 2000.717–19, 2000.721–29, 2000.731–35, 2000.737–62, 2000.1337–42, 2000.1344 (coins)
This hoard originally contained over 600 coins, which were buried in a ceramic vessel. The treasure dates back to the period after the Norman Conquest, which was marked by rebellions of the Anglo-Saxon population and elites, especially in the north of England. William reacted with great brutality against these revolts which resulted in the so-called “Harrying of the North” with great devastation and many deaths. Like a number of other hoards found in the region, the treasure was never recovered. Perhaps its owner was among the many victims of the Norman retaliation.
Production: Ralph Gellwitzki Animation und Videodesign
To consolidate his rule and control the land, William “the Conqueror” covered England with a network of fortresses. Even today, there are many traces of this form of power consolidation to be found all over England. Learn more about the fortification type called “motte and bailey” established by the Normans in England, take a closer look at some details, and selected examples.
Probably Trondheim, Norway, end 12th/beginning 13th c.
Pot whale tooth
Edinburgh, National Museums Scotland, Inv. H.NS 28
On loan courtesy of National Museums Scotland
The Lewis chess pieces are exceptional in every respect and are evidence of the complex interconnectedness of the Middle Ages. In 1831, a total of 78 chess pieces were found on the Isle of Lewis in Scotland. During the 12th century, this island belonged to the Kingdom of Norway and was located in a cultural contact zone. The pieces include important representatives of the medieval world: kings, queens, bishops and warriors of various shapes. In part, they are decorated in the Scandinavian style. The figure presented here is that of a warder which corresponds to the rook of a modern chess set. The standing warrior is bearded, wears a long armoured shirt that falls straight down and a helmet. He holds a sword in his right hand and a large, teardrop-shaped shield in his left. After the Norman conquest of England, the relationship with Scotland was changeable and varied between conflict and rapprochement. The son of William “the Conqueror”, Henry I, eventually married the Scottish princess Matilda (or Edith) and linked the two kingdoms dynastically.
England, 1086
Parchment
Exeter, Cathedral Library, MS 3500, fol. 29r (1); fol. 95r (2); fol. 175r (3)
The so-called Exon Domesday is the earliest extant manuscript and the only surviving original evidence of the Great Survey in the Kingdom of England. William “the Conqueror” commissioned this in 1086 to get a better idea of the status quo and the potential for taxation. For several months, the king’s emissaries travelled around the kingdom and collected data on the basis of a catalogue of questions. The Exon Domesday contains the result of this survey for south-west England. Shown here are three parts of the manuscript, which is now unbound. On fol. 29r (1) the fiefs of Queen Matilda in Dorset are recorded, on fol. 95r (2) lands of the king in Devon and on fol. 175r (3) a fief of the Bishop of Winchester Walkelins in Somerset.
The entries of the royal land in Devon also provide information about changes since 1066 and unlawful extensions. Thus, it records that two further pieces of land had been added to the royal manor of Molland since 1066. However, in the case of “Nimeta”, a now unidentifiable place, this had been done unlawfully (injuste). The text on this page concludes with a comment pointing out that the king had not received certain dues for Molland “since he himself has England” (postquam ipse habuit Angliam). In fact, Exon is the earliest surviving document from the English treasury, the first to use that term, and the most substantial record of land taxation from anywhere in post-Roman Europe.
Facsimile
Original: England, 1086/87
Parchment
Mannheim, Private (Original: Kew, National Archives, E 31/1/1–2, fol. 280v / 281r)
The Great Domesday Book was written in only one year, and its creation was an administrative tour de force. Large amounts of data were not only collected, but also analysed, structured and finally written down. The Domesday Book, which received its name only later, reveals a lot about the social changes in England between 1066 and 1086, but also about the value and management of the land. The open page shows the beginning of the entries on the possessions in the county of Nottinghamshire (Snotinghamscire) in the north of England.
The entry for Hedingham [Castle] in the hundred of Hinckford and the county of Essex
The questionnaire of the Domesday Surveys
The investigation that resulted in the Domesday Book was based on a fixed set of questions that have been handed down:
There also was put the question whether more could be had than is had (in other words, if the manor could raise more tax revenue)?