Free Custom «The Conquest of Medieval London» Essay Paper

After the conquest of Medieval London by the Normans and the Danes, several changes took place in the lives of the English people. These changes commenced with a total disruption of the old English aristocracy. The English who controlled the Catholic Church lost it to the Normans as every senior member of the church got a replacement by the Normans. Nonetheless, all senior government officials lost their positions to the Normans. The only post available for the Londoners was that of a Sherriff who headed a shire (Inwood, 1998).

There was a mass emigration after the conquest too. The most memorable is the mass movement of the Anglo-Saxons by 235 ships heading to the Byzantine Empire (Inwood, 1998). They also moved to Ireland and Scandinavia in the search of peace. There was also a loss of women rights upon the revision of law by King Cnut of the Danes. This denied women several social rights concerning marriage and divorce. However, the laws got a boost upon the return of the Normans. Many changes were introduced in the government system and the language. The Normans replaced the senior government officials thus affecting the normal running of the system. The official language of presenting documents got a shift from old English to Latin. The Anglo-Norman language became common instead of the Old English.

 

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The main non-English community in the Medieval London was the Jews community. This was evident when the Jews presented an act that asked for acceptance of their naturalist and position as natives of the land. The Jews participated in the formation of laws that governed them as they lived in London. They also took part in writing, printing, and music. This enabled them to earn their leaving and tighten their relationship with the English (Inwood, 1998).

The church in Medieval London participated in various activities that had both a negative criticism and a positive approval. They visited the sick, prayed for them and organized funerals in case of death. However, their main aim was to serve God, what they did almost the whole day. They also spent few hours in farms growing their own food crops. They got criticism from the activities performed by the monk-soldiers. The soldiers often raided the Muslims and grabbed their land.