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During the mid 11th the duke of Normandy, France was a warrior named William, nicknamed the bastard. William was a relative of the Anglo Saxon King of England, Edward the Confessor, and since Edward was childless many believed that William was to be the heir to the throne. However, on his deathbed Edward declared his brother in law Earl Harold Godwinson as his successor. Feeling cheated William prepared to invade England to claim the throne that he felt was his by rights. Meanwhile Harold’s exiled brother, Tostig, convinced the Norwegian King Harald Hadrada to conquer England and claim the throne for himself, thus the Anglo Saxons faced invasion on two fronts.

Invasions
The Norwegian army, accompanied by Tostig, arrived in England first in the north. They then proceeded to defeat an Anglo Saxon army lead by the Earls of Mercia and Northumbria in the Battle of Fulford. King Harold, who was awaiting the arrival of William and the Normans, was then forced to meet the Norwegians in the Battle of Stamford Bridge. This time however the Anglo Saxons prevailed, resulting in the deaths of Tostig and the Norwegian king. Shortly thereafter William and his Norman troops landed on the shores of Sussex, a county in the southern portion of England. Still recovering from the effects of the previous battle King Harold, along with 6000 other men, marched south to meet William in Hastings, and what followed would later be known as “the greatest battle in the history of England”. The Norman army had a few advantages over the Anglo Saxons: firstly the Normans were fresh whereas the English had to fend off the Norwegians; secondly the Normans possessed armor, horses, and archers whereas the Saxons mainly fought on foot and possessed axes. Unsurprisingly the Normans won decisively, resulting in Harold’s death. Afterwards the Normans marched towards London, where William claimed the throne. William, now known as the conqueror, was officially coronated a couple of months later on Christmas day. The Norman conquest of England was now complete.

Aftermath
After the Norman conquest of England many socio-economic changes took place as evident by the Domesday Book.

Domesday Book
Determined to find out the taxable values of the land holdings, in 1085 William the Conqueror sent out surveyors to interviews thousands of landowners across the country. The surveyors asked the land owners a series of questions, such as the ownership and value of the land currently and in Tempore Regis Edwardi (in the time of King Edward). The book, which was completed in 1086, offered insight into the changes from Edward’s reign in 1066 to William’s reign twenty years later, such as the appropriation and devaluing of land.

Appropriation of Land
Shortly after the conquest there were many changes in land ownership. Many southern lords had died in battle, so many of their widows were forced to marry Norman soldiers, giving the soldiers claim to their possessions. Lords who lived but fought against the Normans also had their lands taken from them. Other French as the Flemish and the Bretons were also rewarded land. Historian Orderic Vitalis stated that “He (William) gave custody of the castles to his bravest Normans, distributing among them vast possessions as inducements to undergo cheerfully the toils and perils of defending them”. Northern lords, who had not taken part in the Battle of Hastings since it was fought in the south, were initially spared of the ownership upheaval, however subsequent rebellions led to a fierce suppression by William, which is now known as the “Harrying of the North”. As a result the Northerners suffered the same fate as their southern comrades.

Devaluing of Land
The Harrying of the North led to a vast amount of destruction to the land. William and his troops arrived in Yorkshire and the border of Wales began destroying everyone and everything in his path to strike fear into the heart of his opponents to prevent any sort of rebellion to ever happen again. Many people who weren’t murdered by the Normans eventually perished due to the lack of shelter during winter. Orderic Vitalis stated that “Never did William commit so much cruelty, to his lasting disgrace, he yielded to his worst impulse, and set no bounds to his fury, condemning the innocent and guilty to a common fate”. The destruction of the land is evident by the Domesday Book.The survey used the term "waste", to describe “Land which does not render dues because it has been physically devastated”. In Yorkshire a vast amount of land was described as waste during the reign of William, which can be attributed to the Harrying. Also at least fifty lands went down in value, suggesting that although they haven't become wastelands they still suffered significant damage. Needless to say the conquest had a detrimental effect on the Anglo Saxons.