Norman England (1066 - 1154)

The Normans were the people who gave their name to Normandy, a region in northern France. They were descended from Viking conquerors of the territory and the native Merovingian culture formed from Germanic Franks and the Roman Gauls (see Gallo-Roman culture). Their distinct identity emerged initially in the first half of the 10th century and gradually evolved over succeeding centuries.

The Normans played a major political, military, and cultural role in medieval Europe and even the Near East. They were famed for their martial spirit and eventually for their Christian piety, becoming exponents of the religious orthodoxy into which they assimilated. They quickly adopted the Romance language of the land they settled, their dialect becoming known as Norman, Normand or Norman French, an important literary language. The Duchy of Normandy, which they formed by treaty with the French crown, was one of the great fiefs of medieval France. The Normans are famed both for their culture, such as their unique Romanesque architecture, and their musical traditions, as well as for their military accomplishments and innovations. Norman adventurers established a kingdom in Sicily and southern Italy by conquest, and a Norman expedition on behalf of their duke, William the Conqueror, led to the Norman conquest of England. Norman influence spread from these new centres to the crusader states in the Near East when Bohemond I established the Principality of Antioch in the First Crusade, to Scotland, England and Wales in Great Britain and to Ireland.

The Duchy of Normandy began in 911 as a fief established in the former kingdom of Neustria by the treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte between King Charles III of West Francia and Rollo, leader of the Norse. The treaty granted Rollo and his soldiers all the land between the river Epte and the sea, corresponding to the northern part of present-day Upper Normandy down to the Seine, but the Duchy would eventually extend west beyond the Seine. The treaty permitted the Normans to settle in Neustria in return for their protection of Charles' kingdom from any new invasion by the "northmen". No written records survive concerning the creation of the Duchy of Normandy.

The Normans were in contact with England from an early date. Not only were their original Viking brethren still ravaging the English coasts, they occupied most of the important ports opposite England across the English Channel. This relationship eventually produced closer ties of blood through the marriage of Emma, sister of Duke Richard II of Normandy, and King Ethelred II of England. Because of this, Ethelred fled to Normandy in 1013, when he was forced from his kingdom by Sweyn Forkbeard. His stay in Normandy (until 1016) influenced him and his sons by Emma, who stayed in Normandy after Cnut the Great's conquest of the isle.

When finally Edward the Confessor returned from his father's refuge in 1041, at the invitation of his half-brother Harthacnut, he brought with him a Norman-educated mind. He also brought many Norman counsellors and fighters, some of whom established an English cavalry force. This concept never really took root, but it is a typical example of the attitudes of Edward. He appointed Robert of Jumièges archbishop of Canterbury and made Ralph the Timid earl of Hereford. He invited his brother-in-law Eustace II, Count of Boulogne to his court in 1051, an event which resulted in the greatest of early conflicts between Saxon and Norman and ultimately resulted in the exile of Earl Godwin of Wessex.

In 1066, Duke William II of Normandy conquered England killing King Harold II at the Battle of Hastings. The invading Normans and their descendants replaced the Anglo-Saxons as the ruling class of England. The nobility of England were part of a single Normans culture and many had lands on both sides of the channel. Early Norman kings of England, as Dukes of Normandy, owed homage to the King of France for their land on the continent. They considered England to be their most important holding (it brought the title of King—an important status symbol).

Eventually, the Normans merged with the natives, combining languages and traditions. In the course of the Hundred Years' War, the Norman aristocracy often identified themselves as English. The Anglo-Norman language became distinct from the Latin language, something that was the subject of some humour by Geoffrey Chaucer. The Anglo-Norman language was eventually absorbed into the Anglo-Saxon language of their subjects (see Old English) and influenced it, helping (along with the Norse language of the earlier Anglo-Norse settlers and the Latin used by the church) in the development of Middle English. It in turn evolved into Modern English.

The Norman dukes were:

Rollo, 911–927
William I, 927–942
Richard I, 942–996
Richard II, 996–1027
Richard III, 1027
Robert I, 1027–1035
William II, 1035–1066 (became King of England)

The Norman monarchs of England and Normandy were:

William I & II, 1066–1087
William II, 1087–1100 (not Duke of Normandy)
Robert II, 1087–1106 (not King of England)
Henry I, 1100–1135; 1106–1135
William III Adelin, 1120 (not King of England)
Matilda of England, 1135–1153[1]
Stephen (non-agnatic; a member of the House of Blois), 1135–1154

Court Favorites:

Stewed hen with cumin sauce
Fish in water and wine with green sauce