Divide of England in 1066

After the conquest Norman of England in 1066, William the Conqueror shared the fields which were found without lords - that is to say about half of the Royaume of England - with its vassal and combined, as it had made the promise of it.

It distributed the grounds to hold-in-chief. Those, in front of a military service with the king, thus had any interest to stick the services of knights by ground concessions. They thus inféodèrent their possessions with subvassals, and certain subvassals in front of an important military service, inféodaient in their turn a part of them. It created for itself a pyramidal hierarchy thus owners, reproducing the feudal system of the Duché of Normandy.

In addition, in order to avoid the formation of too great strongholds of only one holding, Guillaume took the care to disperse the grounds given in various counties so that it is difficult with a baron at the same time to protect much from his grounds. This judicious strategy being a brake with the possible desires of rebellions.

The king took care to put at the head Welsh steps (Herefordshire, Cheshire, Shropshire) of the war leaders to whom it gave palatine capacities . In order to protect the way since and towards the Normandy, it also put at the head Rape S of the Sussex of the right-hand men.

It gave less exposed territories to his half-brothers. Odon of Bayeux accepted the county of Kent, and Robert de Mortain the county of the Cornouailles.

Principal recipients

In 1086, William the Conqueror required a great land census of England at ends of administration. There were of course some evolutions between 1066 and 1086, but the Domesday Book by keeping the trace, it is possible to build this list of the eleven principal individual recipients :

Odon of Bayeux († 1097), Count de Kent, regent of England in 1067, half-brother of the Conqueror. Imprisoned of 1082 to 1087, exiled in 1088 ;
Roger de Montgommery († 1094), Count de Shrewsbury ;
Robert de Mortain († 1090), Count de Mortain and Count de Cornouailles, half-brother of the Conqueror ;
Guillaume FitzOsbern († 1071), Count d' Hereford, seneshal of the Conqueror, regent of England in 1067. His/her son Roger de Breteuil succeeded to him, but was banished and disinherited after the Révolte of the counts in 1075 ;
Guillaume de Warenne († 1088), future Count de Surrey, regent of England in 1075 ;
Alain the Russet-red († 1107), Count de Richmond, a Breton commander of the House of Penthièvre ;
Eustace II of Boulogne († 1093), Count de Boulogne ;
Hugues d' Avranches († 1101), Count de Chester in 1071 ;
Richard de Bienfaite († 1090), Lord de Clare, regent of England in 1075 ;
Geoffroy de Montbray († 1093), bishop of Coutances ;
Geoffrey de Mandeville († v. 1100), constable of the Turn of London, Sheriff of London.

Other important recipients:

Raoul de Gaël, anglo-Breton, which accepted the East Anglia (counties of Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire). He was banished and dispossessed after the revolt of the counts in 1075 ;
Gherbod the Fleming, who accepted the county of Chester, but was made kill after its return in Flanders. Guillaume set up then Hugues d' Avranches ;
Osmond de Sées († 1099), bishop of Salisbury was Count de Dorset.

The Church also was large a recipient of the conquest. It obtained generous equipments a little everywhere in the country. The county of Durham had in particular Prince-bishop S charged to manage it.

References

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