A talk by Professor Richard Smith
Our September talk was given by Professor Richard Smith on the topic of the Normans in Suffolk. He gave us a detailed, fascinating account of how life had changed from Anglo Saxon England, which had marginal status on the edge of the medieval world, to Norman England.
An interesting observation was the disappearance of old Anglo-Saxon names such as Baldwin, Oswald and Wulfric replaced by Norman names such as John, William, Philip and Stephen, which we encounter everywhere today.
The Great and Little Domesday Books of 1066 and 1086 illustrated how land had changed hands from the Anglo Saxons to the Normans. The purpose of the survey was to record the value of all landed property and the resources of land, labour force and livestock. The little Domesday Book covered Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk. Prominent Normans were Hugh de Montfort, who owned an earthwork castle with two baileys in Haughley, Richard Fitzgilbert, landholder in Clare, and William Malet who had 221 holdings in Suffolk and whose main estate was in Eye. William the Conqueror also gave Richard Fitzgilbert land in Kent and Surrey.
William built castles to dominate the land, initially thirty-six castles and by 1100, over five hundred castles were built. Motte and bailey castles were quick and easy to build and defend.
Did the nature and scope of the Norman Conquest wipe the Anglo Saxon slate clean? Most of the landed gentry were displaced but hundreds of Anglo Saxon administrative units remained well into the 20th Century. English was not replaced by French as the language of the country. The Anglo Saxon word “sheriff” still exists, even though it has moved to America…
This talk was of special interest in the light of the Bayeux Tapestry Exhibition which opened this week in London. A fascinating talk giving an insight into how the Normans changed local life and landscape.
Clare Mortimer