THE NORMANS (pag.52)
When William ascended the throne, he was obliged to set the country in
order to have Norman men controlling the conquered Anglo-Saxons. He divided the
land into parts and gave it to his barons 959b13j in change of tributes and military
men. The barons divided their lands and gave them to his knights and freemen.
The relationship was based on mutual protection and loyalty to the king and
barons. William substituted the Saxon bishops with Norman bishops to control
the church. In the end William divided the country into counties where minor
criminality was administered by a sheriff whose task was also to collect the
taxes. The most important cases of criminality were administered by judges
nominated by the king himself, so he had a complete control of the country. In
1086 William ordered an inquiry of the country where there was every piece of
land, every house and every person. This was called the Domesday Book. The
Normans lived in manors that comprised the baron's or the knight's main house
surrounded by the poor houses of the enslaved Anglo-Saxons. Economy was mainly
given by sheep whose wool was exported into Italy.
