ENGLAND UNDER WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR, 1066-1087 A.D.;
THE NORMAN KINGSHIP
THE LAST INVASION OF ENGLAND
The Normans were the last invaders of England. Since 1066
A.D. the English Channel, not more than twenty-one miles wide between Dover and
Calais, has formed a watery barrier against Continental domination. The English
people, for eight and a half centuries, have been free to develop their ideals,
customs, and methods of government in their own way. We shall now learn how they
established a strong monarchy and at the same time laid deep and firm the
foundations of constitutional liberty.
WILLIAM'S DESPOTIC RULE
William the Conqueror had won England by force of arms. He
ruled it as a despot. Those who resisted him he treated as rebels, confiscating
their land and giving it to Norman followers. To prevent uprisings he built a
castle in every important town and garrisoned it with his own soldiers. The
Tower of London still stands as an impressive memorial of the days of the Conquest.
But William did not rely on force alone. He sought with success to attach the
English to himself by retaining most of their old customs and by giving them an
enlightened administration of the law. "Good peace he made in this
land," said the old Anglo-Saxon chronicler, "so that a man might
travel over the kingdom with his bosom full of gold without molestation, and no
man durst kill another, however great the injury he might have received from
him."
