The Church in Norman England (Edexcel GCSE History)

The Norman Church was incredibly important to William. The Church filled key roles in society such as:

• Helping William control England's finances. The Church managed land and collected taxes. They also made written records of what people owed and passed this on to the king

• Managing the law. Bishops and abbots acted as judges in shire courts due to their legal education. The Church also kept legal documents safe

• Passing political messages to their congregation. This helped to legitimise William as king and reduce the number of rebellions

• Providing William with knights for his army. They also ensured that knights had sufficient landholding and the money and equipment to serve the king

William believed that the support of the Church was fundamental to his success as King of England. As a result, he acted to bring the Church under his control. This conflicted with the authority of the Pope. Archbishops like Lanfranc had a complicated choice: whether to show loyalty to William as king or the Pope as head of the Church. This dilemma continued into the medieval period.

New laws banned the clergy from marrying or having sexual relationships. Lanfranc did allow priests to remain married if this occurred before the passing of these laws

Lanfranc believed that Anglo-Saxon clergy were immoral. He did not want Norman priests to act as normal people in society

In 1076, the Church established exclusive bishop courts to hear and try legal cases involving the clergy. The Church delivered all trials by ordeal 

Lanfranc did not want the hundreds courts to hear Church cases. It made the Church separate from society and increased its legal power

The Church built cathedrals in strategically important places like Chichester and Salisbury

Anglo-Saxon cathedrals were in isolated positions. The Norman cathedrals gave the bishops security and allowed them to manage their diocese better

Lanfranc increased the number of archdeacons - a role below bishops but above priests in the Church hierarchy

Archdeacons increased the Church's control over parish priests. Archdeacons also assisted Church courts and enforced discipline in a bishop's diocese

Lanfranc brought legal documents from Normandy over to England

Lanfranc wanted to bring elements of the Norman legal system to England. It helped him introduce new laws to the English Church

Lanfranc revived monasteries, especially in the North. The religious standards of English monasteries improved

In Anglo-Saxon England, the levels of spirituality and number of monasteries had declined

Castles and Norman-style churches dominated Norman England. Castles became more important for trade than burhs

Life in villages remained very similar under Norman rule. Peasants still provided labour for a lord and faced many challenges in life

The Harrying of the North and the end of trade with Scandinavia impacted the economy of the Danelaw. Parts of Yorkshire remained wasteland throughout William's reign. Instead, Normans traded with Normandy. Cities grew in size

William's royal household remained in the same structure as Edward the Confessor's. The king had personal servants, administrative workers and advisers. Normans replaced Anglo-Saxons in these roles

William had more power over tenants-in-chief than Anglo-Saxon kings had over earls

William continued to charge geld tax to his subjects. Normandy did not have a similar tax to the geld tax. William raised the amount of geld tax people had to pay to make himself wealthier

William replaced thegns with knights. Knights had less independence than thegns, who began rebellions against William. Knights were controlled by tenants-in-chief and were poor in comparison to thegns

In Anglo-Saxon times, invasion caused a combining of cultures. For example, in the Danelaw, Danish tradition mixed with English customs. The Norman Conquest caused a similar exchange to create an Anglo-Norman culture