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A Norman lord typically had properties scattered piecemeal throughout England and Normandy, and not in a single geographic block. [93] To find the lands to compensate his Norman followers, William initially confiscated the estates of all the English lords who had fought and died with Harold and redistributed part of their lands. [94]
Freeman was a man of deeply held convictions, which he expounded in the History of the Norman Conquest and other works with vigour and enthusiasm. These included the belief, common to many thinkers of his generation, in the superiority of those peoples that spoke Indo-European languages, especially the Greek, Roman and Germanic peoples, and in their genetic cousinhood; also in the purely ...
The English name "Normans" comes from the French words Normans/Normanz, plural of Normant, [17] modern French normand, which is itself borrowed from Old Low Franconian Nortmann "Northman" [18] or directly from Old Norse Norðmaðr, Latinized variously as Nortmannus, Normannus, or Nordmannus (recorded in Medieval Latin, 9th century) to mean "Norseman, Viking".
William and his nobles spoke and conducted court in Norman French, in both Normandy and England. The use of the Anglo-Norman language by the aristocracy endured for centuries and left an indelible mark in the development of modern English. Upon being crowned, on Christmas Day 1066, William immediately began consolidating his power.
The Norman conquest of England brought Britain and Ireland into the orbit of the European continent, especially what remained of Roman-influenced language and culture. The England emerging from the Conquest owed a debt to the Romance languages and the culture of ancient Rome. It transmitted itself in the emerging feudal world that took its place.
The Normans extended the shire system into the north. The counties of Rutland, Lancashire, Westmorland, Cumberland, Durham, and Northumberland were created after the Conquest. [62] England was ultimately divided into 39 counties, which existed with only minor boundary changes until 1974 when the Local Government Act 1972 went into effect. [63]
Anglo-Saxon England or Early Medieval England covers the period from the end of Roman Britain in the 5th century until the Norman Conquest in 1066. It consisted of various Anglo-Saxon kingdoms until 927, when it was united as the Kingdom of England by King Æthelstan (r. 927–939).
In the history of England, the High Middle Ages spanned the period from the Norman Conquest in 1066 to the death of King John, considered by some historians to be the last Angevin king of England, in 1216. A disputed succession and victory at the Battle of Hastings led to the conquest of England by William of Normandy in 1066.