William The Conqueror Research Paper

The Middle Ages brought about the rise of a governmental system known as feudalism. Feudalism is the name given to the system of government William I introduced to England after he defeated Harold at the Battle of Hastings. Although feudalism was a highly decentralized system of authority, it was most successful in meeting the needs of the medieval period nobles. The primary political authority rested in local dukedoms and baronies and established a political system, which had never been conceived before. Feudalism was an exchange of land for protection in which discipline; order and a different type of currency set a new course in style of government. Here was a type of government where no coin currency would have to change hands. Feudalism

He had defeated the English army lead by Harold but he had to gain control of all of England before he could be truly called king of England. He was a foreigner who had forced his way to London. He was not popular with the people of England and he had to use force to maintain his control on England.

William could not rule every part of the country himself – this was physically impossible. Not only was travel difficult and slow in the eleventh century, he was also still Duke of Normandy and he had to return to Normandy to maintain his control of this land in France. Therefore, he had to leave the country for weeks at a time. He needed a way of controlling England so that the people remained loyal.

William spent much of his time in London. He built his own castle – the Tower of London – so that it dominated the city. It was also his home while in London. He did not trust the builders of London – or English stone – so he used Norman craftsmen to do the skilled work while the English acted as laborers and he brought in from Caen (in France) the stone needed for what we now call the White Tower. He also built the first castle at Windsor. The motte is still visible. Castles represented a visible threat to the people of England. Soldiers were kept in them and they could be used against the English should they cause

These were ‘given’ to those noblemen who had fought bravely for him in battle. William argued that those noblemen, who were willing to die in battle for him, would also be loyal to him. The land was not simply given to these nobles. They had to swear an oath of loyalty to William, they had to collect taxes in their area for him and they had to provide the king with soldiers if they were told to do so. In the eleventh century, a sworn oath on the Bible was a very important thing and one, which few men would dare to break as it would condemn them to Hell. The men who got these parcels of land would have been barons, earls and dukes Within their own area, they were the most important person there. In the terms of the Feudal System, these men, the barons etc., were known as