The Norman Conquest
Early Britainto 1066
In 1066, William, Duke of Normandy, crossed the Channel from what is now northern France and defeated the English king's forces at the Battle of Hastings, a victory that put him on the throne and earned him the title William the Conqueror. The Norman Conquest is remembered as the last foreign invasion of England that actually succeeded, and it reshaped the country that followed: new rulers, a new ruling language, and new ways of running government took hold in the years after.
One of the clearest signs of that new administration came soon after the conquest, when William ordered a survey of the whole kingdom, sending people out to record every town and village, who lived in each one and what they owned. The result was written up as the Domesday Book, and it survives today as a detailed picture of English society in the years right after the Norman takeover.
What to remember
| The Battle of Hastings | 1066 The last foreign invasion of England to succeed. |
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| The invasion of 1066 | William, Duke of Normandy Won at Hastings and became king: William the Conqueror. |
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 The survey that produced the Domesday Book | William, Duke of Normandy Every town and village listed, with who lived there and what they owned, just after the Conquest. |
| The Norman Conquest | being the last successful foreign invasion of England It changed government and social structure; nobody has managed it since. |
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Everything in Early Britainor the whole course, from the beginning