History glossary
Norman Conquest
the conquest of England by William of Normandy in 1066.
- Category
- Conquest
- Region
- England and Normandy in modern France
- Date range
- from 1066
What it means
The Norman Conquest began when William, Duke of Normandy, defeated Harold Godwinson at Hastings in 1066. It tied England more closely to northern France, transformed aristocratic landholding, reshaped government, expanded castle-building, and changed English language and law.
Related terms
Stories using this term
The Anglo-Saxons
The Anglo-Saxons were the peoples and kingdoms that shaped Anglo-Saxon England after the end of Roman rule in Britain. From migration and settlement in Anglo-Saxon Britain to Christian conversion, Viking attacks, Alfred the Great, and the road to 1066, Anglo-Saxon history explains how early medieval England took form. Their language, laws, kingdoms, monasteries, and political traditions left a lasting mark on English identity before the Norman Conquest transformed the realm.
The Norman Conquest of England
From Viking settlers to conquerors, the Normans reshaped England, Italy, and the medieval Mediterranean.
Feudalism and Medieval Society
From the estates of Charlemagne's empire to the flowering of Gothic cathedrals, this story explores how feudal hierarchies, manorial agriculture, and Church authority shaped the lives of kings, knights, and peasants alike.
