The Conquest and its Aftermath

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• 1. Collaboration
• 2. Odo and the Bayeux Tapestry
• 3. Orderic Vitalis
• 4. Robert D'Oilly
• 5. Land seizure
• 6. The Sheriff of Cambridge
• 7. The Rebellion of 1069
• 8. Retribution
• 9. Consolidation in the north
• 10. Treachery of the Earls
• 11. Hereward and the Isle of Ely
• 12. The taking of Ely
• 13. English exiles: the Varangian story
• 14. Domesday Book
• 15. Defending the Conquest
• 16. Find out more
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Collaboration

William intended to make his rule easier as the successor to Edward, with the co-operation of the English. In this, the English magnates readily acquiesced, remembering the lessons learned from the Danish Conquest 50 years before. After all, Edwin and Morcar were the grandsons of one of the most successful collaborators, and Waltheof had nothing to lose by supporting the new régime. We should also note that William did not move immediately against Stigand, despite the disapproval of the Pope. In fact, the two chief prelates of England were perhaps the staunchest supporters of William among the English magnates, once they had accepted William as God's chosen successor to Edward the Confessor.

William returned to Normandy in 1067, taking the three English Earls with him as hostages and leaving Odo of Bayeux and William fitzOsbern in charge of England. During these early stages of the Conquest, he was most concerned with the security of his newly won kingdom. He ensured this security by granting a compact area of land to trusted Norman nobles whose task it was to build a castle and guard it against all comers. These were the castleries. The earliest were the so-called 'rapes' of the south, granted to William's two half-brothers, Odo of Bayeux and Robert of Mortain as well as his two trusted followers the Comte d'Eu and William fitzOsbern.

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Published: 2001-05-01