1066 the year of the conquest
The book 1066: The Year of the Conquest, written by David Howarth, tells the story of how England was governed, organized, and how the common man lived during this century. It very accurately depicts the daily life of the medieval English town. There is also great insight of the influence the Normans had over England and how they forever changed the culture of the country. The Normans defeated the English under the rule of William the Conqueror in the year 1066 at the Battle of Hastings. William's conquest can easily be viewed as one of good fortune rather than one of strong military tactics. King Harold of England did not appear to have taken William as seriously as he should have. For example, William caught English spies viewing his army and rather than punishing them, he sent them back to Harold with a clear message. William's message to Harold was that he "need not waste his money paying spies because William would be in England before the year was out to show him the strength of the Norman army (105)." Harold was naive to this because he not only knew William was coming but through his spies he knew what kind of troops he was bringing. Harold only used an army of foot soldiers, fa
After the invasion of the Normans, English life endured many changes. The English used bells as their main way of telling time. Different bells were rung for different events, such as alarms, fires, attacks, and meetings. Shops usually opened around six, which allowed people to shop before breakfast at around nine. William and the Normans' influence changed many aspects of the previous society that they came in to. "When he (William) was dying, he was said to have repented for the cruelties he knew he had inflic!ted on them (198). iling to summon a mounted army like the Normans possessed. The Normans had a government that was strictly an autocracy. There was also a problem with livestock, such as pigs in the streets, which caused a dirty nuisance (www. He also separated the church and justice system. There were drainage ditches along the sides of the streets. It produced a superfluity of conceited illiterate young men who had no ideals except to ride and hunt and fight, whose only interest in life was violence (62). The Normans also brought many French words to the language.
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