In 1066 William the Conqueror and his forces began the Normandy invasion of England when they landed in Pevensy.
Edward the Confessor (so called because he was extremely religious) was crowned King of England. Edward was the penultimate Anglo-Saxon King of England. His father Ætherald II (or Etherald the unready) was exiled in Normandy after the Danish invaded in 1013 but returned to be reinstated as King in 1014. Upon Ætheralds death in 1016 the Danish took control again and Edward was forced into exile once more with his mother in Normandy. In 1041 the Danish King Sweyn died and Edward returned to England to claim his crown. His mother Emma of Normandy was daughter of Richard 1st of Normandy and during his reign Edward sought council with many Norman subjects. This infuriated the many powerful English nobles including from the Godwin family. King Edward married Godwin’s daughter Edith in 1043, but when Godwin and the king argued over the Norman presence in the royal court, King Edward had the Godwin family exiled. The Godwin family returned in 1052 with support from other nobles. The Godwin family were in many ways more powerful than the King and to prevent civil war King Edward exiled the Norman subjects. It is not known for certain if Edward had promised the crown to his cousin William (later to be William the Conqueror) but with the Normans gone it was Harold Godwinson (Godwin’s son and Edwards brother in law) that took leadership in the country by making subjects of the Welsh and securing the Kingdom for Edward.
On the 28th of September Williams forces landed in Penvensy, England and built a wooden fort from where they wrecked havoc on the locals. Harold led his soldiers south to meet William and on the 18th of October both sides fought for the English throne. William was victorious and Harold was killed in what became known as the Battle of Hastings.
the Conqueror was successful in claiming the throne but as a foreigner he knew it would be difficult for him to hold onto it. Added to this William was also the Duke of Normandy, controlling lands in France and therefore needed to maintain control of his French assets.
One way he attempted to maintain control in England was by building many Castles that had not been seen before in England. In 1076 William had started construction of the ‘White Tower’, the main keep of the ‘Tower of London’ and from where it gets its name. The White Tower, like all his castles, were full of men ready to crush any uprising against William by the people of the towns and cities. But his new Kingdom was vast and William needed help to control the entire nation. His answer was to first divide the country into sections and then assign someone he could trust to govern these areas and his subjects. William chose noblemen that had proved their allegiance and awarded them with titles and land. In return these noblemen had to collect taxes and supply men for the king’s foreign campaigns. In tern these noblemen divided their land up to be governed by those they felt worthy. These people would pledge allegiance to their noblemen and collect taxes on his behalf. This system was known as the Feudal System and it served many kings since very well. In 1085 William ordered the production of a book containing details of who owned what in England as well as who owed him tax and how much they owed. The book became known as the ‘Doomsday Book’ and allowed William the Conqueror to demand all taxes owed to him.
