How did the Normans consolidate control of post-conquest England Essay

How did the Normans consolidate control of post-conquest England - Essay Example Following King Edward’s death, a council of influential men commonly known as Witan settled on Harold Godwin to take charge of England. This decision did not augur well with several people including William, who was the then King of the Normans and Harold’s brother Tostig. William particularly took issue with the fact that Edward had promised him the crown of England when he retired, and swore to that in 1063. King Harold’s, first obstacle was to face his brother Tostig, who had combined forces with the then King of Norway to overthrow Harold’s rule. Tostig’s desire to rise to power nevertheless, came to an abrupt end in September of that year when the English army won against them (Warren 1987, pg. 18). Buoyed by the victory he had just had over his brother, Harold marshalled his troops to carry on with their match, with their next destination being King William’s sphere of influence, located within the northern region of France. In October of 1066, the two warring parties met near Hastings, and the great battle over the English crown began. At first, Harold Godwin’s men were destined to beat the Normans. However, their weariness became evident when the situation changed suddenly and Harold was killed in the process . The battle did not stop until such a time when all of Harold’s loyal bodyguards were all eliminated (Warren 1987, pg. 19). William the then Norman king ascended to the English crown, and with it came the Norman invasion of England. As mentioned in the section above, the Norman conquest of England began in 1066, following the invasion of the Kingdom of England by William the Duke of Normandy. Moreover, William’s victory during the battle of Hastings heightened his claim for the English crown. Though it came with a mixed bag of reactions, the Norman conquest of the English Kingdom proved vital for the history of England (Roche 1995, pg. 46). This is majorly because the invasion linked England more