The Laws of William The Conqueror

 Shortly after becoming king of England in 1066, William The Conqueror made clear the laws that were to be implemented by him. These are referred to as The Articles of William I. Firstly, William emphasised his faith in God, stating his wish that God be revered throughout the entire realm. Of course, in a highly religious age, there was nothing radical about this.William then made mention that peace was to be preserved between the English and Normans. Again, it’s no particular surprise that peace was high on William’s agenda. As a Conquering king, he knew full well that there was going to be, at the very least, extreme tensions between the Normans and the English population. Whether he was prepared for the strength of the English resistance is another question altogether.

William then aimed to secure the safety of the men he had brought with him from Normandy and who could realistically expect to be the target of English jealousy and frustration. Any Englishman who dared to cut down a Norman, was to be apprehended within 5 days by the man he served. If the lord failed to bring the culprit to justice in the allotted time, then he could expect to pay a hefty fine. William also expected every free person in the country to swear loyalty to him and to promise to assist the king should he come under attack from internal or external enemies.

William ordered Normans who had been living in England during the reign of Edward The Confessor, whom he referred to as my relative, to pay a tax. Over time, William would become increasingly obsessed with money and this was a creative way of boosting his finances early in his reign. William ordered the sale of livestock to be conducted inside the walls of a secure town only with three reliable witnesses present. If this wasn’t followed, and William surely knew very often it wouldn’t be, then the transaction would be reversed and fines issued. In that case, the king again would benefit.

William attempted to demonstrate fairness in the laws that he was implementing. If an English native was accused by a Norman of a crime, ranging from theft to murder, and the evidence was fairly clear, then the Englishman could still expect to be given the ability to clear his name despite any evidence against him. He could choose  a trial of ordeal, using a hot iron, or trial by combat. If he was not fit to do either, then he could choose somebody else to take his place. Whoever of the accused and the accuser was defeated, they would then have to pay a fine to the king. Again, William manipulated situations to suit his own ends. William promised to the English that he would maintain laws regarding lands that had worked well in previous reigns. Any free man, who wished to remain free, would be kept under pledge in order to guarantee his good behaviour.

William outlawed the sale of slaves outside of England and, perhaps the most interesting of William’s articles, was his banning of the death penalty. Instead, punishments such as blinding and castration were to be used. Whatever laws William put in place, however, the stability of his authority would be sorely tested in the years following his successful invasion. Rebellion would push him to the brink of endurance and in 1070, William was pushed past what he could tolerate and he resorted to one of the worst massacres of the Middle Ages in a bid to keep control of his kingdom. He may have attempted to look a wise and just king in the laws he passed but his actions spoke of a very different man indeed.