The Battle of Hastings in 1066 followed a succession crisis after Edward the Confessor died without a clear heir. Three men claimed the English throne: Harold Godwinson, who was crowned king; William of Normandy, who claimed the throne had been promised to him; and Harald Hardrada, who invaded from the north.

After defeating Hardrada, Harold rushed south and was killed at Hastings. William won the battle and was crowned William the Conqueror later that year. 

The story is famously told in the Bayeux Tapestry, a near-contemporary visual account likely commissioned by Norman patrons. While many details align with written sources, the tapestry presents William’s claim as legitimate and Harold as an oath-breaker, making it both invaluable evidence and deliberate political storytelling.

How William the Conqueror reshaped England

After 1066, William did more than win a battle. He rewired how England worked.

He replaced the ruling class.
Most land once held by Anglo-Saxon nobles was confiscated and redistributed to Norman lords loyal to him. By 1086, almost all major English landholders had been replaced. Power followed loyalty.

He tied land directly to the crown.
Land was no longer owned outright. All land was held from the king, in exchange for service and allegiance. This reduced the independence of local power brokers and strengthened central control.

He enforced control through record-keeping.
To lock this system in place, William ordered the creation of the Domesday Book, a detailed survey of land, wealth, and obligations across England. It fixed ownership in writing, enabled taxation, and made royal authority enforceable.

He reshaped governance and the Church.
Norman officials replaced English ones. Courts and administration shifted to Norman French and Latin. English law survived, but it was administered through a new ruling class aligned with continental Europe.

Why it mattered

William’s changes centralized royal power, turned land into a tool of governance, and bound England’s future more closely to Europe, laying foundations that still shape English law and government today.