Norman Conquest

The Norman Conquest was William, Duke of Normandy’s seizure of the English throne in 1066, beginning with victory at Hastings and transforming England’s rulers, landholding, and institutions.

Battle of Hastings: The 1066 battle in which William, Duke of Normandy, defeated King Harold II of England. Its outcome opened the way for William’s conquest of the English kingdom.
Edward the Confessor: King of England from 1042 to 1066, whose death without an heir prompted a succession crisis. His death left the English throne contested.
Norman aristocracy: The class of nobles of Norman origin who held much of England’s land and political power after 1066. Norman lords replaced most of the pre-conquest English elite.
Norman invasion of England: William’s 1066 military expedition across the English Channel to claim the English throne. The landing at Pevensey began the campaign that culminated at Hastings.
House of Godwin: The powerful Anglo-Saxon noble family that dominated English politics under Edward the Confessor. Its influence embodied the English aristocratic order displaced by William’s victory.
Harrying of the North: William I’s campaign of devastation in northern England in 1069–1070 to suppress resistance. Its brutality shows how military force was used to secure Norman control.
Harold Godwinson: The English nobleman crowned king in 1066 who was defeated and killed at Hastings. His accession challenged William’s claim and made him the conquest’s principal opponent.
Anglo-Norman language: The variety of Old French used by the ruling class in England after the Norman Conquest. It brought sustained French influence into England’s ruling culture and vocabulary.
Coronation of William the Conqueror: William’s crowning as king of England at Westminster Abbey on Christmas Day 1066. The ceremony asserted royal authority after his victory, though resistance continued.
Anglo-Saxon England: The period of English history before the Norman Conquest, shaped by Anglo-Saxon kingdoms and institutions. Its political and social structures provide the clearest comparison for post-conquest change.

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