The arrival and conquest of William radically altered the course of English history.

The King was crowned at Westminster Abby on Christmas Day, 1066. Thus England entered the new era of feudalism.

English bishops were replaced to Norman ones. William built many castles to control the English people; he gave power and land to Norman aristocracy - 'vassals' (nobles, knights, freemen, who became the new governing class).

By 1086 William decided to calculate the size of his land and the tax value of other land in the country. To know this he conducted a survey and made a written record of his property which was later called the 'Domesday Book'. William wanted to find out how much land there was, who owned which piece of land, how much it was worth, how many ploughs and sheep each family had and so on. It reminded people of the Day of Judgement, or 'doom'. The 'Domesday Book' still exists and is of great historical importance becaus ... Читать дальше »