The Norman Conquest

In 1066 William the Conqueror defeated the Saxon king Harold and took his throne by force. The Norman Conquest made it clear that a monarch would only remain on the throne if he was strong. Others could try to take power for themselves, even members of the king’s family. This is an image of William the Conqueror taken from my chronicle. I am trying to show his power and majesty. Do you think I have done this successfully? I have drawn him sitting upon a throne and he is holding Battle Abbey, just one of the many churches he had built. Building great churches was just one of many ways in which kings could demonstrate their wealth and power. Very few others could do this. William’s rule, and even his life, would depend on his barons (and some powerful churchmen like bishops). They kept order, collected taxes and gave William troops when he fought wars. William needed their support. But he also kept a watchful eye on them in case they became too powerful. This was one reason why he commissioned Domesday Book – so that he knew exactly who owned what – which would tell him how rich and powerful his subjects were. This extract from the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle was written at the time of Domesday and shows what I mean. Forgive me, you may not be able to read Old English. The document says "[King William] sent his men over all England into every shire and had them find out how much land he had. He also recorded how much land his archbishops had and his bishops and his abbots and his earls. He also recorded how much each landholder in England had in land or livestock and how much money it was worth". Domesday Book was mainly a tax document. By knowing what his barons owned William could make them pay the right amount of tax. However, it was also a clever way to keep an eye on his barons and find out how powerful they really were. Having heard this section of my chronicle which doodle would you add to show the balance of power?