Did the Papacy Support the Norman Conquest?

Gone Medieval

History Hit

History

4.6 • 2.2K Ratings

🗓️ 30 October 2021

⏱️ 36 minutes

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Summary

In October 1066, William the Conqueror led his army to victory over Harold Godwinson and his Anglo Saxon forces. This was to begin the Norman invasion of England, inspire the famous Bayeux Tapestry and result in thousands of deaths. Many Many have argued that William's Conquest had the pope's support, with a supposed papal banner being carried by the Normans into battle. But is this true? And why else might this have been written into history? Daniel Armstrong is a PhD student at St. Andrews and Royal Historical Society Centenary Fellow at the Institute of Historical Research. He takes us through the evidence and explores the possible reasons for such a story.

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0:00.0	Have you ever wondered why one of Ruan Cathedral's towers is called the Tower of Butter, or what
0:06.2	animals have faced trials in courts for, or even how the black country got its name?
0:12.4	Well, you can find the answers to questions like these and hundreds more in our new book,
0:18.4	The History Hit Misscellanie. It's the perfect present for any history fan.
0:23.3	It's available to buy now from your favourite bookshop or by visiting historyhit.com forward slash
0:29.8	book. Welcome to this episode of Gone Medieval from History Hit. I'm Matt Lewis. The Battle of
0:39.6	Hastings looms large over medieval history. We've already spoken about the Bayer Tapestry and the
0:45.3	way in which it tells the story of the Norman Conquest. But I was intrigued to be put in touch
0:50.4	with Daniel Armstrong, who is working on a PhD at St Andrews University and has just written his
0:55.6	thesis on a particularly interesting aspect of the Battle of Hastings that has perhaps been taken
1:01.1	for granted. So thank you very much for agreeing to share this with us today, Dan.
1:04.6	No, thank you for inviting me, Matt. It's a pleasure to be here. So if we dive right in,
1:09.5	is it ever possible to overestimate the importance of the Battle of Hastings as an event in medieval
1:16.0	Western European history? Well, I mean, seen from a purely political perspective, the battle is
1:22.4	clearly important. Now there is a fair bit of debate amongst historians over the cultural,
1:28.4	social, economic impacts of the battle. But as your question stresses, if we're seeing it from
1:34.0	a purely political perspective, it clearly is important. This is a violent regime change.
1:38.8	And indeed, the second violent regime change we've had in the space of 50 years after the conquest
1:43.6	of Canute in 1016. And I think one of the crucial points about the battle, which makes it so
1:50.6	important, is something very rare happens. And that is a king is killed on the battlefield.
1:56.8	And in the middle ages, this is a big event politically in anyone's eyes. But to really appreciate
2:03.0	the importance of the battle, and this is a stress in your question in terms of its importance,
	...

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