Context 160 - July 2019

40 C O N T E X T 1 6 0 : J U L Y 2 0 1 9 The Norman abbeys, cathedrals and castles of this time were built in the Romanesque style, combining features of ancient Rome with Byzantine and local traditions. They were characterised by round arches and sturdy pillars, which by the 12th century developed into the lighter, taller, gothic style, with pointed arches, rib vaults and flying buttresses. It was in this world of castles and a monastic revival that William grew up. He surrounded himself with a loyal group of barons, some of them pupils of the cathedral schools, who would later help him apply the Norman model across England. Edward the Confessor, King of England, had no heir, but he had given instructions that his cousin William, Duke of Normandy, was to succeed him. In January 1066, Edward died, and Harold, a powerful courtier but not a blood relation, seized the throne. After Harold’s coronation, Halley’s Comet appeared in the sky, which many took to be a portent of doom. William now used the strength of Normandy to prepare to take the crown of England. He convinced his barons to support him in return for English land and treasure. William instructed his carpenters to take down the forests to build an armada of more than 700 ships that would carry his troops and horses across the English Channel. William’s ship had a banner blessed by the Pope and he believed he was engaged in a holy war. The epic story of howWilliam secured the throne of England was made into the 11th-century equivalent of a blockbuster movie in the form of the 70-metre-long Bayeux Tapestry. A box office hit for nearly 1,000 years, it is set to return to the UK, on loan from the French government, in 2022. During the late Saxon period, Winchester, England, contained the largest concentration of Christian institutions north of the Alps. It was a centre of excellence for religious thought, art and learning, a herald of the monastic revival to follow in Normandy. Edward the Confessor had been crowned in Winchester Cathedral. This may all help to explain why William also chose to be crowned, first of all, in Winchester’s Saxon cathedral. He was crowned for a second time, on Christmas day 1066, at Westminster Abbey in London.William built himself a royal residence in a castle on Roman ruins in Winchester, and he made the town a joint capital with London.Winchester remained as a royal residence for centuries. Following the Conquest, William fundamentally altered the landownership and government of England. He created an exacting form of taxation with the Domesday Book, which enabled him to raise the funds needed for his large army, including mercenaries.William transformed the whole aristocratic structure of Saxon England to the benefit of his Norman barons. All of the great Norman families, such as Beaumont, Tosny and Montgomery, held their lands by conditional tenure fromWilliam, and it was William who personally selected England’s bishops. It was a system of patronage that fitted William’s imperial ambitions. The development of castles, abbeys and cathedrals across the English landscape was tangible evidence of Norman political, military and cultural domination. New ecclesiastical schools taught a Norman curriculum, and the form of land tenure developed byWilliam for his barons and knights ensured that they would provide him with military service on demand. William, Duke of Normandy, King of England, was overlord. The Bayeux Tapestry shows Duke William lifting his helmet to be recognised on the battlefield of Hastings (Photo: Myrabella, Wikimedia)