Events Tagged: "Norman"

Edward the Confessor becomes king - son of Ethelred, raised in Normandy, dominated by Earl Godwin

Normans bring advanced cider-making to England - cider becomes English national drink, orchards expand rapidly

William the Conqueror retains shire reeve system - Normans call them 'sheriffs' (shire-reeve), expand their powers as direct royal agents

Domesday Book shows social change - most ceorls now recorded as villeins (unfree peasants), Norman conquest degrades Saxon freemen

Thegns become knights - Norman feudalism transforms Anglo-Saxon thegns into knights, similar military obligations but different legal status

Normans invade Ireland - begin 800 years of English involvement

Strongbow invades Ireland - beginning of English involvement in Ireland that will last 800 years