Duke William of Normandy set sail across the English Channel on 28th September 1066, with a fleet of knights, archers and horses. The English barely manage to get the army from the north (the site of the fighting with the Norsemen).

The decisive battle of Hastings (1066) proved to be fatal to the Anglo-Saxon England. Half of the Anglo-Saxon nobility were killed in the battle, whereas the rest were dispossessed.

The Bayeaux Tapestry
On Christmas Day, William, now called the Conqueror, was crowned King of England (1066-87)

The Tower of London was built with the express aim of showing the inhabitants of London who was in charge now. The English nobility lost their lands, and the new, Norman landowners built numerous castles all over England in order to ensure the Norman control over the Anglo-Saxon population.

Rebellions broke out. William crushed them mercilessly. One rebellion, in York, was punished with a particularly fiercely. William rode across the north of England burning and pillaging the area. This William's exploit is referred to as the "Harrying of the north".

The Anglo-Saxon land was given to the French-speaking Normans. However, William scattered the new baron's lands so that no unified block could rise against him. Moreover, some part of the land would also be given to the church, and some of it William would keep for himself and his successors.

The Domesday Book was the result of a great survey commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1085. William wished to know the existing and potential value of his new kingdom in order to be able to set taxes.

The last great act of William's reign was the "Oath at Salisbury" in 1087. Every free tenant of land was summoned. By this oath every tenant had as his first duty to obey the king.

William II Rufus (1087-1100) was the second son of William I. His older brother Robert, who was established as the duke of Normandy, immediately rebelled against him.

William refused ecclesiastical appointments (of bishops by the Rome) and to their endowments to himself. He was openly irreligious and homosexual. He antagonised the people by making the forest laws more harsh.

At his coronation Henry I (1100-35) swore that he would give peace to the church and people, tired after a brutal rule of William II. He revived the Shire and Hundred Courts (curbing the power of the manorial courts) and gave back the church its powers.

Curia Regis and Magnum Concilium were established. Curia Regis as day-to-day King's Council, Magnum Concilium as a great body of "tenants-in-chief" (lords and bishops).

The death of Henry caused instability in England, due to his failure to leave an uncontested succession, (despite leaving over twenty illegitimate children). He decided Matilda - his only legitimate daughter, should be his successor.

Stephen of Blois (1135-54), son of William the Conqueror's daughter seized the throne (enraging Matilda, who invaded England in 1139 with the aid of her husband, Geoffrey Plantagenet).

In 1144, Geoffrey Plantagenet completed the conquest of Normandy and, in 1152, his heir - Henry invaded England. The nobility on both sides wanted peace and, in 1153, obtained the Treaty of Westminster: Stephen was to remain king, but agreed to adopt Henry as his heir. Stephen died the following year.

Henry II (1154-89) was crowned in 1154, with his wife Eleanor of Aquitaine.

The Plantagenet Empire
(Click on the image to view a bigger picture.)
During his reign, Henry introduced many legal reforms, including a procedure to settle land disputes that became the basis for our twelve-man jury system, and he was intent on extending his reforms to the clerical courts.

The bishops opposed this request, regarding it as undermining clerical privilege, and they found a leader in Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, Henry's former Chancellor and friend. Becket's opposition enraged Henry, since he established Becket as the archbishop in order to make the church more cooperative, and the dispute dragged on for over five years.

Becket was summoned to stand trial, in 1164, for improper use of funds during his work as a chancellor - which was merely an obvious pretext. For fear of his life Becket fled abroad consequently defying the king's will yet again.

By Christmas 1170, Becket had returned to England. He was a popular figure thus was greeted with enthusiasm by the people. He tried to re-establish his position as the head of the church. He would excommunicate all the bishops who supported Henry.

Four of Henry's knights murdered Thomas Becket in Canterbury Cathedral. Henry was branded a murderer and Becket was declared a martyr. Henry took heavy penance in order to prevent rebellions.

During his reign Henry took over or started to control Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

He was plotted against by his sons - stirred by their mother who was discontent with Henry's infidelity. Their third son - Richard, actually allied himself with France and declared war on his father in 1189. He won as the English barons defected.

Henry was said to have died of a broken heart for his most beloved young son - John, also plotted against him.

Richard I (1189-99) was not born to inherit England but the duchy of Aquitaine. He was a very popular king in England as he embodied a classical image of a perfect monarch.

In general he took less interest in his English than his French possessions. Even if he did not visit England in the latter years of his reign, he had acted responsibly in his choice of ministers.

John (1199-1216) was unpredictable, oppressive and violent.

He lost control of all the lands in France, except for the Channel Islands.

He quarrelled with the church and with his barons. In England a strong opposition of barons and the clergy made him sign the Magna Carta in 1215.

He didn't intend to hold to Magna Carta. After sending an invitation to the French army by some of the barons a civil war broke out in 1216 with John loosing control over most of England.

Henry III (1216-72) was ten years old when he succeeded his father, John. His whole reign is taken up by intrigue and factions among the barons.

War in France, to recover lost lands, proved futile, as also was the case in Wales. He brought a crowd of courtiers and advisers from Poitou, who were much resented by the great lords.

Simon de Montfort was one of the king's favourites. However, the king's mismanagement of royal finances led to de Montfort's disaffection. A council was summoned at Oxford in 1258, imposing upon Henry a committee whose advice he must agree to follow (the Provisions of Oxford). Henry defied this. A number of barons went to war against him, under the leadership of de Montfort. The king and his son (the future Edward I), were defeated. De Montfort summoned a parliament.

As quarrels broke out amongst the barons, Edward escaped from prison, raised a loyal army, and defeated and killed de Montfort in 1265. By now a weak man, Henry was content to allow his son to practically run the country.

Edward I (1272-1307) - "Hammer of Scotland". In 1275 he summoned to Parliament burgesses and citizens from the towns as well as knights of the shire.

He finally managed to overtake Wales, after a successful campaign agaist a rebellious Welsh prince - Llewelyn.

He worked as a referee for the dispute for the Scottish throne. John Ballioll was chosen to be the next king of Scotland at the time. When Balliol was overthrown Edward took Scotland for himself until Robert Bruce drove the English off after Edward I's death.

Edward II (1307-28) was always in the hands of some favourite.

His wife - Isabella, with their son Edward, moved to Aquitaine being angered with one of such favourites.

In 1326, she returned with her lover, Roger de Mortimer, to depose and murder Edward.

Edward III (1327-77) moved to invade Scotland in 1332, after his mother and her advisor's decision to give Scotland independence in 1328.

France supported Scotland, which, with various other reasons, led to war with France in 1337.

The campaigns in France (1339, 1340) led to the king's bankruptcy, but also with the destruction of the whole of the French navy.

The origins of the Hundred Years' War lay with the English possession of Gascony in France, with rivalries over rich Flanders trade, and with fear caused by continual French intervention in Scotland. These disputes were exacerbated by Edward III's claim (1340) to the French throne (through his mother, Isabella) and the Hundred Years' War began.

Some indecisive campaign followed, but in 1343 Edward returned to England. The war was renewed in 1346 Edward with his son, the Black Prince, marched almost to the gates of Paris. Then he moved back, and the French followed.

The French caught up with him at Crécy, but thanks to the Welsh archers the French lost 1,500 knights, and about 15,000 men. Edward's casualties were little over a hundred. But Edward lacked in strategical sense, and the result was no more than the capture of Calais.

In 1349 the Black Death swept England with one-third of the population dying.

In 1360, at the treaty of Calais, Edward renounced his claim to the throne of France in return for the recognition of his rights to Aquitaine.

Charles V of France repudiated the treaty of Calais in 1369, and the war was renewed, and Edward renewed his claim to France.

England was going more and more bankrupt and kept loosing lands in France.

Edward's younger son - John of Gaunt - the Duke of Lancaster, took control over Edward for a while, but was opposed by his older brother - the Black Prince.

House of Commons and House of Lords start to appear during Edward's reign.

After the death of Edward III's son - Edward The Black Prince, the son of the Black Prince - Richard II (1377-99) becomes the next king of England at the age of ten.

John of Gaunt, Richard's uncle, ruled on his behalf for during first years of his reign. Owing to the insurrection known as the Peasants' Revolt, Richard rid himself of his uncle's supervision and gained full regal power.

Richard's behaviour as the king repelled many of the English barons. He perceived himself as a monarch with a divine right to rule. He also surrounded himself with his own favourites as his councillers.

Richard was overpowered by the barons' forces, which outnumbered his own.

Nevertheless, after a while he managed to take his revenge on the barons and regain his power.

After the death of his uncle, John of Gaunt, Richard took over his lands, thus disinhering Gaunt's son - Henry Bolingbroke. In response to this, Henry, aided by the forces of the king of France, landed in England and consequently managed to imprison Richard.

Eventually, Richard was murdered (left to starve), while Henry Bolingbroke, accepted by the Parliament, became the next king of England.

Henry IV (1399-1413), the first of the new, Lancaster dynasty, was for most part of his reign haunted by the uncertainty of his royal title. Numerous rebellions broke out against him, as the taboo of a king's deposition was already broken.

At the end of his reign and life Henry suffered from various illnesses, including a skin disease - which were another alleged proof to Henry's opponents that he had not been meant to become king.

Henry V (1413-22) was a much more firm king than his father.

He started his rule by pardoning his father's opponents and giving Richard II's body a ceremonial burial - thus, calming the opposition.

He is mostly remembered by restarting the Hunder Year's War with France. Among the pretexts to renew the war were: the alliance (The Auld Alliance) of France with Scotland, which continuously threatened England, and disputes over commercial trade.

The campaign in France proved to be tremendously successful, with a particularily brilliant victory at Agincourt. Eventually Henry was promised the throne of France and married Catherine, the French king's daughter.

Unfortunatelly, Henry did not live long enough to be crowned the king of France.

Henry VI (1422-61/1470-71) was only an infant on his accession to the throne.

While Henry was still a child, and England was ruled by a regency government, much of the French territories his father gained was lost.

Henry also lacked the appropriate wisdom to successfully rule the country. Instead, he proved to be a deeply spiritual person. He was also generous in founding education venues, including the Eton College.

In the later years Henry's rule became more and more unpopular. The campaigns in France were gradually becoming a failure, while in England there was a breakdown in law and order. While Henry himself had a mental breakdown.

It lead to the duke of York being named regent as Protector of the Realm in 1454. Seven years later, York also took the throne, after a violent struggle with the Lancastrians, also known as the Wars of the Roses.

Eventually Henry VI was imprisoned in the Tower of London, where he was murdered in 1471.

The third of the York kings Richard III (1483-85) stirred controversy with the alleged murder of the sons of Edward IV (1461-70/1471-1483), incuding the ruling young king Edward V (1483).