It represents a feature of the administration of England.

1. A Feudal Society William’s Fiscal Policies It represents a feature of the administration of England. In terms of personality William was avaricious, whereas Edward was parsimonious (tight with money). William had expensive habits like warfare on mainland Europe and ecclesiastical building projects such as a monastery at Caen in Normandy. The payment of ‘feudal incidents’ can be linked to feudalism, particularly as they were more expensive then heriots paid pre-1066. The feudal system, the term itself an invention of historians, was nevertheless an example of Norman traditions imposed on the English. People lower in the hierarchy would pay homage to their over-lord. They would also pay tax and owe military service. William inherited an efficient coinage system which he continued to use, though he charged more for the privilege of the mints to produce his coin. On one hand this is not massively different to the structure of England before 1066. Thegns often owed military service and there was a hierarchy of King, earls, thegns, peasants. On the other hand it signalled some great changes. The earls, and the three great earls in particular, were significantly more powerful than the barons under William. William too held more wealth and power than Edward by far, particularly in relation to his barons. William continued to levy the Danegeld, sometimes increasing it to high levels such as in 1084. He did have reason to fear Viking invasion but he probably used the Danegeld as another way to extract money from England. Again linked to feudalism, William often gave land to the highest bidder, they then wanted the most from their land so exerted pressure onto their vassals who did the same in turn. This led to the increased exploitation of the peasantry. The payment of ‘feudal incidents’ to allow a son to inherit land and titles from his father was not too different to the ‘heriot’ that men often paid to Edward for the same reason. The feudal incidents however were known to be more costly. The southern ports benefitted from increase trade with mainland Europe. The north was devastated socially and economically by the Norman conquest and the harrying of 1069-70. The feudal system gave William ‘…military service, money, sources of patronage and also social and political control.’ according to historian David Carpenter. David Bates – The Norman Conquest of England was a process in which William, many of his Norman followers and the duchy of Normandy in general were massively and deliberately enriched.‘ William controlled the marriages of the widows of tenants-in-chief.

2. William’s Ecclesiastical Policies Aristocracy and Government Initially William used the English church who seemed willing to collaborate with the Normans to prevent further bloodshed. Stigand was firs to submit in London and was allowed to continue as Archbishop of Winchester and Canterbury, despite the Pope’s feelings toward pluralism. Ecclesiastical courts were introduced, whereby members of the clergy could be tried in their own court as could laymen (not church men) who were guilty of religious crimes e.g. blasphemy. This gave greater power to the church. William was an absentee monarch, very different from Edward who was known to have rarely ventured from London, but quite similar to Cnut. Due to William’s absenteeism he installed regents such as William fitzOsbern, Bishop Odo or Lanfranc. The great earls were soon disbanded, their lands shared or they themselves dead, imprisoned or exiled. In their place the sheriff became more powerful. They were responsible for carrying out the king’s wishes in writs, collecting tax and overseeing the hundred courts. Writs were used during the reign of Edward but William’s absenteeism meant writs became more important, as did the role of the Chancellor. Lanfranc was installed from 1070, Stigand was imprisoned after the visit of papal legates. Lanfranc attempted to achieve the primacy of Canterbury above all other archbishoprics. Lanfranc was in favour of allowing English women who had fled to become nuns, to ‘renounce the veil’. He also introduced church reform after 1070, including making it illegal for clergymen to marry. The Anglo-Norman state at the beginning of William’s reign was soon abandoned, leaving just a handful of minor nobles left such as Almaer, Lord of Bourn by the writing of the Domesday book in 1086. They were replaced by mainly Normans and some other northern Europeans. William continued the use of hundred and shire courts to keep law and order. Introducing the French custom of trial by ordeal but allowing some English customs to continue. William had a better working relationship with the Pope. William allowed the church to keep 26% of all the land in England, whereas he took and divided much of the rest of the land. David Carpenter – ‘The pre-Conquest church under the other-worldly Confessor and the all too wordlyStigand was very different from that after 1066, driven forward by William and Lanfranc.’ David Bates on Norman government of England – ‘He exploited ruthlessly and he used existing arrangements most capably to control and organise a conquest, but he changed little of the basic structure.’ William had a desire to save his soul.