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Battle
of Hastings: After the last Anglo-Saxon king died in
England, several people claimed the throne. One was the late king's
cousin, William, Duke of Normandy. William was also a vassal of the
king of France. He had a very strong feudal organization in northern
France. His vassals included nearly all the Norman nobles. He had no
trouble putting together a huge army of 6000 men, along with several
hundred ships. He invaded England, and at the Battle of Hastings in
1066, William defeated another rival for the throne. He was crowned
King of England.
To keep all his Norman nobles happy and to thank them for
their help, he took all the land away from the Saxon church officials and
nobles, and gave it all to his Norman vassals. Anyone who had helped him
became rich. What the Saxon people in England thought about all this mattered
not to the new king of England, William the Conqueror.
The Great
Council: William set up a council of Norman nobles and bishops. He
called it the Great Council. The council's job was to help him rule
effectively. But the Normans were very busy at first setting up their new land
and homes. Still, William knew he could call on the nobles whenever he needed
them.
The Great Council grew to become an important part of
government. By the 1200's, the Great Council was called Parliament. It is
still called Parliament today.
By the 1400's, Parliament had divided into two
chambers - the House of Lords and the House of Commons. Nobles and clergy ran
the House of Lords. Knights and burgesses (a class of extremely wealthy
merchants) ran the House of Commons.
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