1066-the year of the "Conqueror"

In 1066 C.E., after the death of King Edward the Confessor, the throne of England was claimed by three powerful men, Earl Harold Godwinson of Wessex, King Harald Hardrada of Norway and Duke William II of Normandy.  While each of these men felt justified in claiming the rightful kingship of England, it was Harold Godwinson who was first to succeed in being crowned king in January 1066.  In response, both King Harald and Duke William II made plans to invade England and take the crown by force of arms. In September, at the Battle of Samford Bridge near the city of York, the English Army under King Harold killed Harald and destroyed most of his Viking army.

With one claimant to the throne dead, it now William's time to make his try for the crown of England. After successfully crossing the English Channel with an army in excess of 8,000 men (some estimates range up to over 12,000 warriors) of which around half were mounted, armored "shock troops," William was ready to throw the die of battle with the stakes being the rulership of England. In face of this crisis, King Harold had rushed with his troops from Northern England to face the second invasion of his realm in less than two months and prepared for battle with an enemy army that probably heavily outnumbered his own (the numbers of his troops are unknown but are most often estimated to be well below 10,000 and contained very few cavalry).  So, it occurred that on 14 October 1066, the bloody Battle of Hastings decided the fate of the rulership of England.  The English had formed a traditional shield wall defensive formation atop a sloping hillock where they were able to resist multiple Norman charges for most of the day.  Late in the day, in the confusion of battle the Normans wavered when it was thought William had been killed, nothing could be further from the truth, William was alive and rallied his troops.  Rather it was Harold who was killed, and the English Army eventually overrun.

With the battle won England was to receive her third crowned king in less than a year, William I "the Conqueror." The new king now added England to his dukedom in France to become one of the most powerful leaders in late 12 century Western Europe. William I "the Conqueror" was a French nobleman, descendent of "Viking" Norsemen. He was born circa 1028 CE, was Duke of Normandy from 1035 to 1087 and King of England from 1066 to 1087. Queen Elizabeth II and the House of Windsor are direct descendants of William I. 

Feudalism-Military Government on the Cheap

Feudalism was the dominant Social/Political system in Europe during the Middle Ages (circa 9th to 16 centuries but still in use in many countries well into the 19th century). In Feudalism the Lords of a kingdom were given property called fiefs (fiefs could be anything from a farm, village, forest etc. to whole towns) from the “King.” In exchange the fiefs the Lords would become vassals to the king and give him military service (eventually cash rents), honor and loyalty. The Lords would in turn divided their properties into smaller fiefs and give them to vassals (tenants) of their own. The process would be continued down to the lowest class of Lords, the knights, who were given enough property to afford their life as the warrior class of the kingdom. The common peasants (villeins or serfs) were required to live on their lord's land and give him homage, labor, and a share of the produce, nominally in exchange for military protection from the "lord." Without the expense of a single coin, through Feudalism the "King" had a ready made army of knights and men-at-arms that would give him military service in return for land.

The Basic Medieval-Feudal Society

LORDS

The King-in theory owned the land of the kingdom.

Nobles (Dukes, Earls, Counts, Viscounts, Barons etc.) were given land (fiefs) as Vassals to the King, giving military service, loyalty and eventually taxes in return to the Monarch. This system of fief and vassal was in perpetuity (unless one broke the oaths of fealty, or the family died out) and passed through inheritance to the oldest male of the line.

Knights (lowest of the Lord Class) were given land (fiefs) by the Nobles and became their Vassals giving military service, loyalty and eventually rent to their Lord.

In all but the rarest of cases you were born into the Lord Class. Social mobility within the class was possible but difficult (and often dangerous-"Uneasy rests the head that wears the Crown").

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COMMONERS

Commoners originally had very limited social mobility, but as the Middle Ages progressed men of exceptional skill, and a good bit of luck, were able to improve their status and wealth within the commoner class.

Merchants-townsfolk-Guildsmen produced goods and services that enriched the kingdom and eventually provided a tax base for the government.

Freedmen tenant farmers rented the land and paid taxes.

Serfs were "owned" by the fief lands of a Lord and had extremely limited rights (virtual slaves except they were not the "property" of the Lord). They paid a portion of their crops as well as service to the lord.

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THE CHURCH

Was outside the normal social, political rankings of the Middle Ages.

In the early Middle Ages, the Church was one of the few systems that mobility and elevation in rank was based on skill vs heredity, as all positions were earned vs inherited. As the Western Clergy was not allowed to marry (although there were those individuals who failed to follow the "letter" of this rule) there was a constant need for new members to fill the positions from Monk to Pope as current members died, this is what allowed the unprecedented social movement in this organization in the Middle Ages.

The Pope was the elected head of the Church in Western Europe and often held immense power (Religious, Political and often Military).

Just like in the Lord Class, the Religious Orders had officials of rank that helped run the Church-Cardinals, Archbishops and Bishops were chosen for their positions-a rarity in the Middle Ages where positions of power were most often inherited or taken by force.

The greatest influence of the faith was through the countless small community churches manned by tens of thousands of priests that spread the religion and power of the Church.

Monks full filled a vital role in the early days of the Middle Ages as virtually the only repositories of book making and writing.  With the coming of educational centers of learning (later the first Universities) in the 9th and 10th centuries, which were initially established to teach reading and writing to the clergy, this task reverted to the lay community.

Castle Over View

Model of Ludlow castle circa 1590, note the Tudor style remodeled gatehouse on the bottom right.

Keeps were towering structures.

The Inner Bailey/Ward served two purposes, it was a training ground in times of piece and a killing ground in time of war.

Many joints between stones were strengthened by lead cross bars.

A sight to impress friend and foe alike, an imposing castle rising from a hill above town.

Stages of Knighthood

The Page Boy (Varlet) 5 to 14:

Lives at another knight's castle-Learns basic skills of weapons & tactics-Taught to be religious, graceful, quick & strong

The Squire 15-19:

Sharpens his hunting & fighting skills-Cleaned & prepared knights equipment-Dressed the knight-Accompanied knight on campaign-Learns the Code of Chivalry

Knight 20+:

Becomes a Vassal to a Lord who gives the knight his "spurs" and Fief

Follows the Code of Chivalry (Honor):-Loyalty to his Lord--Faithful to his lady love--Loyal to the Church--Protect weak/poor/helpless/women/children-Be brave, well trained & bear hardship-Be fair, just, kind & truthful

Gives Homage-honor and service to his Lord

The Lord (a knight himself) could be a hard taskmaster, regardless, a knights duty was to follow his Lords orders without fail.

Knights of the Realm

A troop of knights advances to the commands of their Lord.

Each man is equipped at his own expense and carries his families crest or coat of arms design to identify himself to friends and foes.

For the centuries of the Middle Ages after the fall or Rome, knights were the main fighting force of the Nobles and Monarchs of Europe. The equipment, warhorse and training of knights was extremely expensive and limited to those who could afford the cost. This meant that in most cases the number of knights in an army was relatively small (William the Conquer took over the entire Kingdom of England by using a force of less than 7000 knights.    The advent of cheap workable firearms would eventually destroy the power of these elite warriors.